rockin the rice field

My Farewell Speech

2008-07-18T11:16:00.001+09:00

I thought it would be fun to show you guys what I said to my students and co-workers this morning at my farewell speech. This is the English version. I actually did the whole speech IN JAPANESE and while wearing a yukata! Pictures to come.

Good Morning!

As most of you know, I have been in Japan for one year. Yesterday was my last day of teaching at Inabe High School, and I am sad to have to say goodbye to all of you. Living in Japan has been a great and memorable experience. Being a city girl my whole life, it was an adjustment to live in Inabe. But, seeing you everyday made living in the rice field worth it.

This year I had the opportunity to immerse myself in Japanese culture. I have learned to put on a kimono, tie my own obi, serve Japanese tea, and write calligraphy. Despite the language barrier, my small interactions with you everyday make me so happy. I love it when you say hi to me in the hallways, or come talk to me after school.

Some of you have taught me how to play badminton, or helped me dress in a kimono. The tea ceremony club has treated me not as a teacher, but as a fellow student, and I appreciate that as I learned the techniques of serving tea.

I’d like to give a few special thank-yous. First, can all the san-nenseis that have EVER taken a class with me stand up. You guys have made this year so amazing for me. I love your participation in class, and your interest in my life. I hope that you will continue to learn English and go abroad! Go travel the world! You have heard all about my travels this year, and now I want to hear about yours. I care deeply for each of you and I hope some of you will keep in touch when I leave.

To the baseball boys – even if I didn’t have you in my class, you still came to say hi to me and always made me smile. I really love your excitement and enthusiasm. Thank you for being so outgoing.

To Kobori-sensei – you are an amazing mentor and I can not thank you enough for all that you have done for me.

To the English staff – I am so lucky to have so many people that speak English around me. Thank you for helping me out with daily life and letting me join your classes.

To the other teachers – You made me feel welcome in a new and strange place. I loved playing soccer with you, and being able to joke around in the staff room. Thank you for being my friend this year and I hope you can continue to have more “Inabe Nabe” parties in my absence.

To the office staff – You guys are amazing. I can’t thank you enough for all the hard work you put in helping me sort out my daily life.

As for my life after Japan, it is still undecided. I will return home to San Diego after traveling around South East Asia. I hope to go back to graduate school in the future and pursue a career in politics or advocacy for women.

I hope that each of you will pursue your own dreams. You have the ability to choose your own path in life. If you choose to continue on with English, there are many tools and people to support your decision.

Out of all the things I will miss about Japan, I will miss you, the students, the most when I leave. But just know that purikura machines and hello kitty come in as a close second.

All my love and best wishes for your future,

Robyn

2 1/2 weeks

2008-07-16T21:29:00.003+09:00

That's how long I have left in Japan.

Sometimes after my day is over and I'm coming back home from school or the gym, I think, wow look at all those interesting things that happened to me today. I should write it on my blog. Then I get lazy, come home, and watch a movie or TV show.

Not today! Well, actually, it was stuff that happened yesterday.

1. I've been going to my gym for 10 months now. Yesterday was the FIRST time someone said something to me in the locker room. This lady asked me, whilst we were both naked, if I liked the Japanese baths. Well, yes, I do like them indeed. Thank you for asking ;) (as opposed to just staring at me like I'm an alien).

2. I had a class of 14 students do a quick 25 minute collage using PEOPLE magazines from home, then they had to talk about it in English. As I walk around, a group of boys are looking at this one article/picture. It was a set of 4 pictures of the latest "Project:Runway" star showing you how he styles his hair. The first picture was him parting his hair, the second was him with a straightener, the third had a blowdryer, and the fourth ... I dunno, maybe hairspray. The boys are oogling over this picture going "Oh...Sougoiiiiiii..." (Cooooolllllll). Oh Japan. Here is a pic of the guy---
I guess I forgot to mention that the boys here spend more time on their hair than the girls. The girls spend more time on their makeup instead of their hair. But the "cooler" you are as a guy, that means the more feminine your hair looks. This includes colorful clippy things, sky-high hair, and other dramatic affects.

3. I got loads of cookies and cakes from my girls, along with cute letters saying how much they love me :) I am going to miss my students so much!!

4. Starting to pack up now. Packing is going to succck! I have one box done, and a few more to go ...

5. One of my students is one of the best junior golfers in Japan and he just left for Torrey Pines Golf Course this weekend for the junior world championships!

6. I am climbing Mt. Fuji this weekend. Pray for me.

I know there were other interesting things, I just can't remember ...

Oh, and its flipping hot here!!!!!!

What is quaff?

2008-06-26T08:40:00.002+09:00

This morning I decided to delight in a milk coffee ... And as I walk back to my desk I read the English on the label. It says, "Let's take a quaff of milky mild coffee! This is big in size and rich in taste!!"

So I ask myself, what is a quaff? I've never heard this word before. Have you? (It'd be great for scrabble if it was a real word, I think to myself ... )

I proceed to dictionary.com where I learn that *gasp* quaff is a real word, although it is mostly used as a verb, which this bottle clearly does not. (Unless I am failing English again, in which case I am sure James will correct me!)

Here are the definitions:
–verb (used without object)

1.	to drink a beverage, esp. an intoxicating one, copiously and with hearty enjoyment.

–verb (used with object)

2.	to drink (a beverage) copiously and heartily: We spent the whole evening quaffing ale.

–noun

3.	an act or instance of quaffing.

4.	a beverage quaffed.

(These noun ones kinda just sound like verbs to me...)

So next time you sit down with your milky coffee, I hope you quaff it.

This Week in Review

2008-06-24T14:38:00.002+09:00

Yup, been skimping on the blog posts again. At least I update more than Dan! Ha!

Speaking of Dan, The Philippines just got hit by a major typhoon. Dan didn't have power for 60 hours, but other than that and lots of trash and fallen trees, his area is okay. Other parts of the Philippines are much harder hit and I hope they can recover ... But after going there I know lots of people probably lost their homes and are displaced.

So, I just got back from my second trip to the Philippines. Dan and I met in Manila on Sat morning and headed to the island of Palawan for a wedding and some exploring. A total of 8 real days in the Philippines and we managed to hit five cities -- Manila, Puerto Princesa, Brooke's Point, El Nido, and Sabang. More on that trip in another post ...

As for this week, decided to give a little review.

Yesterday I made nachos and chocolate chip cookies with a group of 12 students. I had been wanting to do a cooking class the whole year so I am really happy that it worked out, even though there should have been more English usage and structure, but they loved the cookies and it was fun.

Since it is the end of my year here I have been getting much more leniency in what I want to do for my classes and if I want to show them something a little off color. For instance, a few weeks ago my daily english class watched "Mean Girls" to learn more about American high schools (they found there were little to no similarities between American and Japanese high schools). Today I showed "Hairspray" to my Oral II class. When the movie came out in Japan I had planned to go to see it with my group of 10 students -- all girls -- that were in my Oral I class. Well, it stayed in the theatre for one week and we missed our chance, but I wanted them to see it still. So when one of them informed me it was out in the rental shops, I asked my teacher if we could show it in class. Kind of like an end of the midterm thing but also I realized it is a really great lesson about America in the 1960s and racial segregation. I'm hoping my students enjoyed not only the music but the theme of racial integration and got a glimpse at American life, once again.

So, a cooking class and 2 movies later ... Back to the grind of real classes.

I bought my ticket to Thailand, so I will officially be in Thailand from July 29th to around August 10th, and then onto Cambodia and Vietnam until my flight back to Japan on August 28th. I am so excited!! (I will be traveling with my sister who I have not seen for over a year because she left to go to Israel at least a month before I left for Japan!)

This past weekend I pulled an all-nighter in Osaka. Starting off with Mexican food, a bar, a club, and ending in subconciousness in a karaoke booth, it was a great night. Street Ramen for Breakfast!!

Every weekend from here on out is booked up. This weekend we are having a Camp Inn down in the south of the prefecture. Week after I am going to a beach party in Tottori ken. Then it's the Sayonara Party and my own little picnic. Then, I take the big hike up Mt. Fuji. I've left my last weekend (July 26-27) for a little down time and well, PACKING!!

Be home anywhere from Aug 31 to Sept 2nd, depending. Be ready.

Hokkaido/Yuki Matsuri

2008-05-29T16:41:00.000+09:00

In February I went on another big trip to Hokkaido for the Yuki Matsuri -- Snow Festival. I was there for five days, a long time, but it was awesome. I arrived by myself on Thursday night. I found my spa capsule hotel and went in search of the famous "Ramen Alley." Sapporo is famous for their miso ramen, and I picked a random shop to have my first of many ramens that weekend. I couldn' t have picked a cooler place. On the walls were old records from motown and jazz singers -- and the same was playing in the shop. The place wasn't more than the size of a smal bedroom with maybe 10 stools. I took my spot next to a salaryman and got the miso ramen, sans pork. My new friend started up a conversation, mostly in Japanese, so I only caught part of what we were supposedly talking about but he was drunk and it was fun. Then he wanted to take a picture with me. And then, finally, I had my first Japanese experience that foreigners are always talking about - he paid for my meal! He was a cute old man, and I enjoyed our dinner date very much. First bowl of miso ramen in Sapporo

My date with salary man!

By the time I got back to my capsule hotel it was almost midnight but the streets were bustling as this event, Yuki Matsuri, brings in thousands of people from all over. The capsule hotel had one of the nicest onsen/spas I've ever been to and all for free for guests. I tried all the baths, the personal jacuzzi, and the lavender smelling one. Too bad the capsule bed was tres uncomfortable - should have slept in the lounging chairs in the spa. Okay, enough about this onsen, as you will hear more about the other one I went to on this trip later.

The snow festival, or Yuki Matsuri, is held every year. The main allure of the event are the massive, building-size snow sculptures that are built in the middle of the city and the subsequent ice sculptures scattered around and mainly in the streets of the area Susukino.

Sculpture of Sapporo "Lamen", there is Ramen sitting on the top of the ice bowl.

Luckily, I got to spend a lot of time with Mikey and friends from Fukushima. We spent a day going to SATO land where we sat with these hundreds of little snowmen, went through a huge ice maze, and saw the Anpanman dance be performed. We were looking for more ice bars, as they were supposed to be there, but were out of luck. Overall, a fun but exhausting day.

Kjersten, Angie, and I each got flights that left a day later than all of our friends. We took this extra day and went outside of Sapporo to the area called Noboribetsu. It is famous for Oni (monsters) and the Hell Valley, which creats great onsens. When we arrived it was snowing, but we decided to take a walk through Hell Valley and check out of the volcanic steam rising through the rifts in the valley. Then we stopped at a hotel that had 19 different kinds of onsens, and hung out there for the rest of the day. The best ones were the ones outside while it was snowing, and the ones that made it easy for you to lay down in the hot, hot water.

And then I played DDR.

Shrine on the main street in Noboribetsu. Very beautiful.

Me in Hell Valley!

One of the nights we took a trip outside of Sapporo to the town of Otaru. It is famous during the snow festival for its ice lanterns, as opposed to the sculptures and buildings that are all around Sapporo. There is a canal where loads of ice lanters and regular lanterns are lined up. Beth and I got lost from the group so we only got to do one side of the canal, but the lanterns were really pretty, and all of my pictures came out crap. Then Beth and I found the all you can eat buffet and we all feasted magnificently.

Snow hearts in Otaru

Frozen hand-washing station at Sapporo Temple

Osaka Aquarium

2008-05-28T18:55:00.001+09:00

Some snapshots from our excursion to the Osaka Aquarium!

Noteworthy links ...

2008-05-19T13:30:00.002+09:00

This is a link to a news article about an incident that happened at my nearest "big" station. I find it kinda funny that the assailant used a fruit knife ... oh Japan.

Attack at Kuwana Station

A really great SNL skit that is so right-on about Japan, it is hilarious. Featuring Ricky Gervais and Steve Carrell.

The Japanese "Office"

Okay, okay. I'll write more blog posts.

Enkais, a great Japanese tradition

2008-03-31T10:15:00.004+09:00

Well, it is the end of the school year here in Japan. They go from April to March here. Over the past 7 months Ive learned a lot about the Japanese education system. I pretty much think the whole thing needs to be thrown out and re-written, but that is a story for another time. But, to add to my frustration of already being bored and lonely, I find out that 5 of my teacher-friends are being moved to other schools. In Japan it is required that teachers transfer schools in certain situations --

1. If you are a part-time teacher you can only be at one school for 3 years max.
2. If you have been at one school for a long time, maybe around 10 years, you are usually transferred at that point.
3. You put in your grunt work time at a school you don't like or is far away from your family/base, and then you are able to switch to your area of choice.

I am really upset about all this. Two of them are English teachers, one which is my best friend at this school, the other who speaks English great and we had an awesome class last year and I was hoping to continue on with that class and her as my co-teacher. The other three are males who comprised 1/2 of our soccer team and the "boys club" that I have pushed myself into. And they are all moving far away ... which sucks. One of them I am quite close with him and his family, and they are moving over an hour away ...

...And I was told all this the day after Dan left.

But, to make up for part of it, I got to go to 2 enkais this past week. Enkais are after-school traditional eating/drinking parties. It is acceptable to get shit-faced at these events and then come to school as if nothing had happened that previous night. They were really really fun - especially the "young teachers" enkai were we had loads of Chinese food, I chugged beer with Kazuma sensei, and I got a great video of Mayagawa, Honma, and Ueda sensei imitating me with a little dance. Priceless.

And after that night, I felt great. I felt like I was on cloud 9. Look at all these Japanese friends I had! Despite not being able to speak much English or vice versa, we laughed for hours, play soccer together, and have a great time. I really felt connected.

Sometimes the little things about Japan creep up on me. I like it when they do, because it makes me feel happy. Being accepted in the Japanese young teachers clan? Alright! Talking to ladies about how they have traveled the world and one has been to Africa 10 times? She is forcing me to re-think my lame-Japanese-woman theory. Watching a man with a cane salsa-dance in a Japanese club? More power to you!

Here is one more small thing - not understanding what is goin on in Japanese, but still laughing your ass off at the situation. This happened after my English-teacher enkai were we went to a sushi place. By the end of the night all the males were goners ... too much to drink ... so we all piled into Yamakita-sensei's car with his wife at the helm. She had drove about an hour out there to pick him up and ended up with 5 other people to drop off. So began our vomit-inducing twisty-turning car ride through god knows where in the middle of no where. Two of the male teachers are acting like children during the car ride. Freakin hilarious. We get to first teachers house -- rather, street, as we dropped him off because he couldnt remember which house was his. On our way to teacher #2 house, teacher #1 calls teacher #2s cell phone saying he is reading for the nijikai, afterparty, and misses us terribly. Could we come back to hang out with him? Maybe this doesnt seem as funny when I type it out now ... But it was hilarious. We had just dropped him off and he was calling asking for more!!

I hope the small things come in big bundles soon ... before I lose more of my mind in this lonely rice town village ...

Together Again

2008-03-31T09:56:00.003+09:00

This time we only had to wait 2 months and 2 weeks to see each other again. Much more bearable than the 7 months we went through previously.

Dan arrived on March 14th and so began our 10 day whirlwind of Japan. We went mostly to places I had never been to before, so it was really fun, because you get to see everything together for the first time. We started in Osaka (after I took 2 wrong trains and nearly cried to the train lady because I didnt know I was on the super fast super expensive train) where I was a little late to picking Dan up at the airport (see above). But, we made it to our hotel and started exploring right away!

The first night we went to an amazing Middle Eastern restaurant called Cafe Absynthe and had yummy yum yum falafels and mutton and hummus. The owners were Israelis so we chatted for a bit. Dan tried absynthe, and we called it a night. (Absynthe now-a-days doesnt have the same ingredients as it used to, it just tastes like black licorice)

On Saturday we started off at the Osaka Aquarium, which has a massive tank holding its prime star, the Whale Shark! Also in there was a really cool manta ray. We spent a long time at the aquarium (obvs) but it was really fun. Then we went off to have a relaxing time at Spa World, a massive complex with one floor Asian-themed and one floor Europe-themed and depending on the month one floor is for males and one for females. We also went on a water slide, which was cool.

That night we had Mexican food. It was freaking amazing. I cant wait to be home.

Sunday we went to Osaka Castle and hung out around Nanba. Then back to little rice town ...

Monday and Tuesday there were sports games being played at my school, so I signed Dan and I up for soccer. We were on the teachers team and traded off playing 3.5 minutes of the 7 minute game. Dan had to go show off and scored the first and winning goal of the first game! I made an assist in the second game, which I was quite proud of. The teachers started calling Daniel "KaKa", after the famous Brazilian soccer player. They called him Kaka the rest of the time he was here.

Monday afternoon I set up a private calligraphy lesson for Dan and I with my teacher. It was really cool, but Daniel still needs to work on his yoko and tate strokes. Tuesday we played more soccer, chatted with shy and giggly students, and then the big surpise came!

I told Dan I had a meeting in the afternoon, but one of the teachers would come get him when I was done and take him to where I was. Little did he know as he was waiting I was getting dressed in a beautiful pink kimono, anxiously awaiting his arrival. He was brought to the tea ceremony house and told to sit in the guest seat, closest to the tea pot. I figured I must be around some where, but I am sure he was suprised when I walked over to him in a kimono, carrying his tea. I sat down in front of him, gave him his tea, dozo goyukuri, please drink. A success! I didn't spill the tea AND Dan was suprised!

Wednesday we were supposed to go on this amazing hike in Nara but it was raining so we decided to just do the regular tourist thing in Nara and check out the Buddha. Glad we did! The buddha is massive, I think it is third largest in the world or japan/ ill have to double check that. He is housed in the largest wooden structure in the world. There is also a whole of enlightenment you are supposed to go through .... Daniel made it, I was too scared to do it in front of all the Japanese people and get stuck.

Wednesday night we did yakiniku with lots of friends in Nabari, went back to Oli's house for an awesome chilling session, then slept in preparation for our next 4 days of sight seeing.

Thursday to Sunday we spent in Kyoto, with Saturday in Osaka at the sumo tournament. We visited illuminated temples at night, saw geishas walking the streets of Gion, ate amazing Indonesian food, walked the ponto-cho and kiyamachi areas, rode our bikes from Gion to Golden Pavilion and back, saw the infamous rock garden at Ryojin, and as our last temple, walked around Kiyomizudera, a little sad that we were a week early for cherry bloosom boom.

Sumo was one of the best days of the trip. Nothing beats seeing big fat men hit themselves and then launch themselves at each other. It was one of the only things I wanted to accomplish in my time in Japan .... Check!

Now, only 2 more months until the next time I see Kaka. Pictures coming soon!

Un-updating.

2008-03-31T09:52:00.002+09:00

I figured out why I dont update as often as I should --

1. I dont think anyone reads this.
2. The point of a blog is that I dont have to email you to tell you I updated it. Hit the "Post Subscribe" button at the bottom to get an email notification every time I update.
3. My work computer makes me feel like I have carpal tunnel syndrome (which I probably do ... I'll add that to my list of "medical ailments that need to be checked out upon return to real world")
4. I like to make my blog pretty with pictures and such, and it takes freaking forever! Blogger.com needs to get its photo uploading into the next generation (aka so it shouldnt take so long and you can only upload 5 pictures at a time) -- PS = LINKS TO THE RIGHT OF PICTURES

And with that, here come more posts ...

Snowboarding Antics

2008-03-13T09:56:00.004+09:00

The weekend after I got back from the Philippines (well, more like I got back on Monday, had a business meeting Thursday and Friday, and left Friday afternoon) I went on a snowboarding rip for 2 1/2 days. Thirty of us piled into four identical vans heading to Nagano Prefecture. It was my first time boarding (since one failed attempt in Utah in HS where I bruised my rib getting off the chairlift) so I was really nervous and excited. Look at me rip that mountain up!

The good thing was, we had lots of time so lots of people were willing to help me out. Im not gonna lie - I sucked. I didn't even stand up until the second day, and that was only because we were hit by a crazy snow storm that was freezing and causing white outs, and standing was the only way to get down the mountain.

I even managed to do a scorpion while getting off the chairlift. A scorpion is when your board comes from behind you (while strapped to your feet) and whacks you in the back of the head.

The empty slopes in Gifu

Since then I've been boarding twice - an amazing day at Niseko in Hokkaido, and an empty slope with my teacher and his family in Gifu. I am proud to say I can now get off a chair lift effectively and s-curve down the mountaing. I'm ready for the intermediate course and I am probably going to buy a board when I get home. Snow Summit here I come!

The view from the top of the run. Empty slope. This was in the middle of the day!

My teachers daughter learns how to ski

The group before a day of boarding in Nagano. Me, David, Rob, Katie, Krista, and Oli

The Philippines - A Stream of Thoughts

2008-03-04T16:00:00.000+09:00

One night on Bohol, Daniel and I only brought out a certain amount of money for dinner. We choose a beautiful place on the beach that does grilled food. We had wine with our dinner, and ordered whatever we wanted, as it was pretty cheap. Then it was time for dessert ... A few nights before we had ate at the Hayahay Pizza place and had the most amazing apple pie in my life. We knew we couldn't leave Bohol without another slice of heaven so we went back to the Hayahay and this time tried the Mango Pie and the Ube ice cream. Only thing was, we weren't sure we had enough money for both ... So we spent about five minutes calculating the different price combinations we could do with the remaining money ... We told the waitress in advance that we wanted the pie and ice cream so desperately that we didn't have enough money to leave her a tip. It was one of the most hilarious evenings of our trip because we only had enough money for the food and wanted it so badly. We even took a picture of our licked-clean plates.

There is an amazing organic restaurant and hotel on Bohol called the Bohol Bee Farm. If you ever go to Bohol, you should stay there for a few days! And the food was seriously the most delicious I have ever had. Dan and I bought the camote bread and loads of spreads -- pesto and honey butter -- to take back to Cebu. I still have the honey one. It is amazing. I cant wait to go back!!! Plus the place was beautiful, I would love to stay there.

The modes of transportation in the Philippines are either Jeepneys, trikes, or motorcycles. Although I have been on a motorcycle once (I begged my Uncle Rich to take me around the block), going on a motorcycle in the Philippines was really fun. Daniel and I hopped on the back of one for our ride to the cave. Our guide even came down to the cave with us. But riding with our hair blowing in the wind made me think of my future occupation once I move to the Philippines -- I will be the first female motorcycle driver. And it will be amazing!

Trikes are motorcycles with a basket/car attached to the side. You can either hop in the car, or get behind the motorcycle rider himself. It just stops wherever you are standing on the street and you tell the guy to stop wherever you want to get off. Quite convenient! And for the most part there is a flat fee no matter how far/long you go. Jessica, one of the other volunteers, said that she has seen like ... 15 people on one trike. I am glad I didn't have to be on one of those.

The bananas in the Phils are all shapes and sizes. In the US we have this feeling that the bigger and yellower they are, the better. This is simply not the case in the Phils. Indeed, the most tasty of them all are the short squat ones that are completely green. Then you boil them and eat them warm ... and it is seriously the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. It is more delicious than a pie, or any other sort of dessert. It is the one reason I am even considering going to live in the Phils (nevermind that guy... I am going for the bananas!!)

I beat Daniel twice in Scrabble. Thought you should all know. Daniel found this really amazing home-made Scrabble set in the Phils. Each tile carved out of wood and stamped with the letter. It will be a great souvenir I know we will cherish for a long time in our Scrabble-playing lives.

There are tons of stray cats and dogs in the Phils. It is a big problem, as it is in most third world countries. No one gets their pets spade or neutered -- we need a Bob Barker here! Dan's family has an evil cat named Grey that is constantly getting pregnant. For some reason, Daniel choose one of the new kittens to call his own. He started nurturing her and feeding her, and giving her lots of love. Her name is Zoe. She has now become a part of Daniel's host families life and looks up to Daniel as a mother. I was never a cat person ... but I think in order to become a cat person you first have to have your own little kitten. So, now that I have Zoe, I think I'd be alright with a cat. Sorry Mom, I know your girls have disappointed you on this one. (See pictures in previous post).

As previously stated, the Phils is a Catholic country. Dan's host mom, Elena, has these Jesus-wall calendars made every year. They have a slogan on them, accompanied by a huge picture of Jesus. And I guess if you are lucky enough you get to have one? And then the extras are hung up around the house. At first it was surprising to me, to see Jesus' face everywhere (including Daniel's wall clock), but you get used to it. And the wall calenders go really well with the magenta curtains and Christmas themed pillows in the living room. :) It is a cute house and I am so happy Daniel lives there.

You thought illegal DVDs were just a thing from China? Think again! They ship to the Philippines. In the malls and outside on the street, there are DVD stands everywhere. You can purchased a 26-in-1 DVD for the price of about $2 USD. It was awesome! I got Heroes Season 1 and 2, Beverly Hills 90210 Season 3, A "Teenage Comedy" set of 20 movies and a James Bond set. Daniel has promised to bring me some more when he visits ... It is just so convenient! But they have really really funny ones like "End of the World part 4" all with movies about the apocalypse (ie: Independence Day, etc.) Then they have ones like "Stallone vs. Arnold" or "Matt Damon vs. Brad Pitt", with tons of movies from each movie star. You get the point.

Lastly, a note about the Philippines in general. The hospitality is outrageous, the food full of piggies, and the country in a constant state of chaos. But it is like organized chaos. The chaos ensues, but life goes on in this weird, organized way. For example, none of the cars drive in their lanes, they stop whenever they feel like it, and people are hanging off the back and tops of all the cars. But not once did I see an accident, and that is just the way things go. But the best part was when I saw stickers on the back of Jeepneys saying "How's My Driving? Call xxx-xxx-xx-". Hmm here is the how the conversation would go:

"How was my driving?"
"Well, you didn't stay in your lane, you made sudden stops, people weren't buckled in, there were crates of chickens strapped to the top of your truck, and you cut people off."
"Right, well, this is the Philippines. What'd you expect?"
"You asked how the driving was ... perhaps think about taking the sticker off your car? Unless it is meant to be sarcastic. In that case, it was a grand joke! Well played!"

From the end to the beginning -- Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers, and Zoe

2008-03-01T17:22:00.006+09:00

Here are pictures from my trip to the Philippines. If you click on them, they should enlarge. Please enjoy! More information about the trip is on the previous and subsequent posts.

--Robyn--

Zoe, Dan's faithful cat.

Not sure whose face is scarier here ...

Family portrait (see Zoe) in Dan's living room. Note the amazingly tacky magenta curtains, Christmas patterned pillows, and Jesus Christ calendar.

"Mutual Admiration"

Last day - Leaving the hotel

Chilling on Alona Beach

Preparing for scuba

Cool gecko in the lamp

Our new pet

Tarsier in the background

Posing in front of the Chocolate Hills

The famous Chocolate Hills

Got any tatami to spare?

2008-02-28T15:17:00.002+09:00

As I was driving home the other night I was thinking about my next trip, to the Ise St. Patricks Day Parade, and how I am going to have to sleep over at someones house. That made me realize that I've been sleeping on other people's tatami mats more than is normal. Mainly this is because I am the farthest North JET in my prefecture so if I want to do anything social I have to sleep over. But I thought it would be interesting to make a little list .... of whos tatami mat I have slept on (and it has only been 7 months!)

Amy
Marsha
James
Werewolf Sam
Irish Sam
Kjersten
Angie
Anjeli
Jason
Olivia
Jay
Vanessa
David S.
Nigel
Steve (in Hyogo)
Mikey (in Fukushima)
Danielle (in Tokyo)
Ben (in Tokyo)

To be continued ...

The Philippines - Week 1

2008-02-19T18:31:00.009+09:00

Cebu is famous for guitars

okay, okay ... I know. Way behind on blog posts. WAY WAY behind. I'm sorry!

I went to the Philippines Dec. 21st to Jan. 7th. It was my first time seeing Dan since May 5th ... I had to psych myself up the whole plane ride there and was so full of emotions I was on the verge of crying every few seconds.

For the past few months when driving home late at night from the gym I would imagine how our reunion was going to be ... and was sure I would be balling too much to even be able to look at Daniel clearly. But, after psyching myself and cursing the Philippines for taking so long to get my bag out of the airplane (and not bothering to check its "customs" either) I saw Dan in his customary white t-shirt and cried a little, but mostly hugged and kissed him. And so started our great vacation...

"Shoot to Kill" fish display

We started out with 3 days in Cebu re-acquainting ourselves with ... ourselves, checking out the sights on Mactan Island, eating some "Shoot to Kill" seafood, and trying to find a pizza (or was it mexican?) place in the middle of the city (we ended up not finding it ... but getting great pizza anyway!)Front of Dan's house

We headed to Dan's province area, Borbon, via a minibus that was packed full of people, food, luggage, and god knows what else ... and we had a massive amount of baggage. A bit uncomfortable for 2 hours but finally we stepped off into a quaint street where people were excited to meet me and I was excited to meet them and see Dan's lifestyle firsthand.

A Mini-bus. Painted crazy colors and designs and usually given a cool name.

Dan took me into his workplace to meet all of his co-workers. I finally got to see what he meant all those months when he would say things like "my office is the only one that is air conditioned" and "people just hang out in the big square outside my office". Filipinos are extremely sweet and of course Dan and I were showered with compliments, etc, and everyone asking our plans.

Dan's workplace - Borbon Municipal Hall

Daniel wanted to experience a real Filipino Christmas ... We still are a little confused on what this is. But, we did go to midnight mass at the local church. All I can say is that I was sweating my life away in that church. It was hot. They dont do a present exchange like we do in the states. Maybe its because everyone doesnt get presents, or they dont want to disappoint the present-giver so they open all their presents on whatever day they feel like and mostly in private.Borbon's Mary Garden

Midnight Mass

Our next stop was the touristy island of Bohol. We spent five amazing days in Bohol and saw the Chocolate Hills, Tarsiers, a cave, and hung out at Alona Beach.

We did a scuba dive together, I got massaged, we ate dinner with Dan's Peace Corps friends, and we oooooh-ed and aaahhhh-ed at the little Tarsiers that were only two feet from us. The Chocolate Hills are an amazing geological formation of 1,200 cone-shaped hills of roughly the same size. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have seen and we had lots of fun taking pictures and enjoying the view.

Tarsiers are the smallest primate in the world. They aren't monkeys, fyi. They are noctornal, on the endagered species list, and eat insects. If our eyes were the same proportions as theirs, ours would have to be 150 times bigger than their size now. Crazy! PROTIP- Don't touch a Tarsier. They don't like it and will snarle at you.

I almost forgot to tell you about Prony ... that would have been awful! Prony was the highlight of my trip!

Getting excited to see Prony!

Prony is the largest python in captivity kept at this persons house in Albequrque, Bohol. The house has now turned into a zoo/tourist attraction. I had read abou t Prony on the flight magazine on the way over and our lovely driver (a cousin of Dan's host mom) offered to take us to see Prony, the magical wonder. Prony is massive. We were invited into the cage. We accepted. Daniel gave Prony a big kiss, while I opted for the pet. We are told that Prony eats one pig a month ... he is very specific, though. The pig can't have any spots and has to be clean. Then Prony wraps himself around the pig, crushes him to death, and gulps. I am glad it wasn't feeding day when I went. The last thing I have to say about this experience is that outside Prony's cage was a bayot. A bayot is a man that is gay. But, in the Philippines, he is not just gay, he is more like a cross dresser. It is the norm here and they start this stereotype at a young age. So the woman you see in this picture was the funniest bayot ever, singing and laughing and dancing and just loving Prony and the tourists.

Next post --- more info and more pictures!!

What do you think?

2008-01-24T10:32:00.000+09:00

Some people I know post a blog whenever they have something to say ... maybe every two days, once a week. I was just doing the "important event" type blog. But, I think my thoughts on my life here in Japan might also be interesting for you, too.

Of course, after living here for 6 months, I have had my share of "whats?" "whys?" and overall "I guess I understand that..." feelings about Japanese culture and life. Here are a few.

In Japan, the whole family sleeps together in one bed until the kids are around 6 or 7 years old. This includes new-borns that should be in a crib so they dont fall off the bed, but I guess by putting them in between the parents it is okay?

I'm not quite sure of the seatbelt laws here, but everyday I see toddlers and young kids standing up in the backseat. They'll lean into the middle console area. Extremely unsafe and I'm not sure why this has become the norm.

Speaking of safety, Japan is indeed a ridiculously safe country. It's not something I can pinpoint exactly but things like: people leave their cars running while parked outside of a convience store when they go in to get something. A lot of people don't lock their car doors or house doors. My friend James LOST his passport at a huge town festival and (not suprisingly) it was returned to the police that day. In any other country that British passport would have already been on the black market.

The heirachary of superiority reigns here. Unless you get permission from the high aboves, it cant be done. (That means no bending the rules, ever)

Do first, ask later. Example: I have to pay my rent to the bank. Banks are only open until 3 pm on weekdays. How do I pay for my rent when I should be in the staff room writing blog entries? I don't ask to go to the bank and neither do any of my other teachers, I just go. And, because Japanese people do not want to approach you directly for doing something wrong, it goes unsaid. Same for leaving during lunch to go to the convience store or to the post office. Do first, ask later. They may notice, but they won't say anything.

The word "maybe" is the bane of my existence. Maybe usually means no. Or maybe really means maybe. But it is used so often and most of the time in strange ways that I have started saying it myself just to make my English more clear to a Japanese person. But this is what happened yesterday:

I filled out an evaluation about my performance as a teacher, goals, and overall comments. I wrote this is English. My supervisor copied and pasted my English into the Japanese form and sent it off. I asked her if she was going to translate it so the person on the other end (I assume the Board of Education) could read it. She says ... "Maybe he speaks English." And if he doesn't? Then my comments and goal evaluation go un-read. And I'm pretty sure she didnt translate it because she told me yesterday morning it was due that day and because of her own procrastination she ran out of time to translate it. So, lets hope he speaks English.

The section that should make you laugh, smile, or cry

An excerpt from my students

1. There are many crows in Inabe High School. We hate the farm smell. (Much agreed)

2. What's the Tigers (sports team) ranking this year? What shall I have girlfriend?

3. Please listen to my problem! Last Sunday, I was yelled in a rage by customer at shop I work. He got mad at me for no reason! Maybe, he felt irritate. Please quiet my anger!! (haha, brilliant)

Cake, Hannukah

2008-01-17T15:09:00.000+09:00

Short update for December.

Advice: If you play the "Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel" song on repeat for 30 minutes (its a 30 second song) your Japanese students will impressively start singing it in the halls and remember it even a month later!

Helping the kids make menorah finger-painting art!

My menorah art and Diwali lantern

We played dreidel in all of my classes, sang the dreidel song, and I was the resident Jew at my friend Sam's community children's holiday festival.

Then I went to Odai for Sam, Sam and Chitos birthday where I played Wii (i rock at bowling) and made a magnificent (American) cake with Jamie (maybe the middle sunk in a little bit ...).

In case of lack of plates, use hands. And chopsticks. There is never a lack of chopsticks.

My toes swelled. Apparently from the cold. Big, red, itchy, swollen toes. Boo.

And then, I went to the Philippines.

Thanksgiving with Mikey, another Marathon, and the Story of the Tub of Ice Cream

2008-01-17T14:33:00.000+09:00

Thanksgiving weekend was absolutely fabulous.

Although I really missed being at home, it was more about missing the food. And once the food ended up at our Thanksgiving table, there was nothing more to be sad about! Plus, I got to spend it in the company of my best friend, more friends, and new friends (Japanese and JETs)!

Vinnie, Mark, and Mikey feeding eat other turkey.

I took an overnight bus to Tokyo and then a train to Mikey's. I arrived pretty early -- around 9 am. We did some T-day shopping, then went back to his (crumbling) apartment to begin our long day of cooking. Overall, success!!! We ended up bringing 1. matzoh ball soup 2. sweet mashed potatoes with marshmallows 3. a big daikon which was later destroyed in daikon battles 4. pumpkin pie!!!!!!

Cooking. The big thing I am holding is a daikon. A large, Japanese radish that can conveniently be used as a rolling pin when the occasion presents itself!

Let me tell you a little about cooking in Japan. They don't have ovens here. Sometimes your microwave can double as a microwave/oven, hence everything you cook must be very small. Mikey had no oven, so we did the yams with a microwave recipe. The pumpkin pie had to be cooked at Nas's house. I miss ovens. And microwaves with appropriate wattage. 500 kw is not enough.
Our pumpkin pie was a huge success, though. We are quite pleased!

We arrived at Nas's house and happily a group of 20 of us, including some Japanese Thanksgiving-First timers, ate real Turkey (thank you Tokyo), mashed potatoes, stuffing, pumpkin pie, drank lots of wine, beer, and were merry and happy. Then the daikon (huge radishes that only take one judo chop to be broken in half) battles began ... I tried my best to stay out of this. I also stayed out of the stupid drinking games such as "blow on the string hanging from the ceiling" and instead tried to get some sleep after my sleepless night on the overnight bus.

Mikey claims victory during "Daikon Battles"
Vinnie is noticably distraught.

Somehow, we ended up at karaoke (2 a.m.) . I slept in the karaoke booth. Until Ashlee Simpsons "Pieces of Me" came on. Then I sang my little heart out.

The next day we did some sightseeing around Iwaki, went up an observatory tower, looked at the coastline, ended up at a rooftop onsen, and ate Indian food. The night ended with a big 15 person slumber-party-esq huddle as we watched "Smokin' Aces". I kept eating pumpkin pie, for it was the most amazing pumpkin pie you could have asked for. (This was after we took 30 minutes mocking the Japanese porn section at the local video store).

Beautiful turbans, Nas and Mikey.

The day after Mikey and I went to a resort called "Hawaiians". Its a big indoor waterpark/thing, but we had free tickets. They sold expensive Macadamia nuts, shirts that said "Haliewa" on them, and fake Hawaiian food.

Proof!

Weekend after I was part of a 10-man relay race with teachers at my school. I did the 1.2 km run and it wasnt so bad!
The 10-man running team

It was around this beautiful lake where the leaves were changing and it was really nice bonding with the teachers. Other teachers came out to cheer us on, make us lunch, and let me play with their kids.

The whole group, including our cheering section

We won 7th place. After the race we went to a cafe that is known for extreme desserts. This can only be expressed in a series of pictures where 10 of us teachers had to devour our individual desserts and then finish the large tub of ice cream/cornflake/fruit monstrosity.

Me and Akiko with our parfaits

The best part is, apparently we got paid for finishing the relay race. We spent all the money on ice cream this week and a nabe (Japanese winter soup) party the next week!

The Story of the Tub of Ice Cream:

All starts out a-okay! The tub looks delicious. Can four fully-grown male Japanese teachers live up to the challenge?We are still smiling at this point, but it starts going downhill. One quarter of the way through and Honma looks like he is going to puke.

Through deligence and teamwork, we make it to the final, soupy ends. Everyone is required to take a sip of the soupy endings. The intiation continues, as the teachers each take the tub to their mouth and start swallowing the soupy ice cream. Ouch!Mayagawa sensei looks strong.I opted out of the salvia-drinking fest. This guy finishes it up for the team -- after he ate his own smaller-version tub.Successful? I think so!

This event of tub-devouring was much more devasting in real life. I was impressed and nauseas at the same time.

Hiroshima

2008-01-17T13:50:00.000+09:00

The famous floating torii (gate) in Miyajima

Okay, I apologize. I've been really terrible at updating this. Here is the end of November ...

The coolest Hello Kitty store in Miyajima
I went to Nabari for a suprise birthday party for Jamie and Amy which was really fun. We had a big sleepover at Amy's and watched Harold and Kumar. The next day we had a JET Sports Day and I am happy to say that my team won! Then the rain came and decided that they didnt want us to have Sports Day so we fled to the cars and then to the onsen ...

Changing leaves in Miyajima

I know I've talked about "onsens" before --- hot springs --- a staple of Japanese society. I try to go to as many as possible. This night we went up into the mountains of Nara prefecture and went to an amazing outside onsen that had a huge pool with Roman Waterfalls and a glittering night sky. There, in the naked hot spring water, I had a deep philosophical conversation with Jamie and anticipated my trip to the Philippines to see Daniel.

Angie and I eating famous Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki (pancakes with squid, noodles, etc) in Hiroshima
The next week I went to a teachers house for an afternoon lunch/dinner and played extensively with their 1 year old son, Yugo. I think I am finally getting the mother/child playing gene as I think I am now known around the staff room for having the ability to come to your house and throw your child around until they are beaming happily at the foreigner.

The A-bomb domb in Hiroshima. The only remnant left from the attack, in the Hiroshima Peace Park. Very haunting.

The next weekend, Nov. 16-18, Angie and I took a trip to Hiroshima. The leaves were changing, the air was crisp, and there was lots of internationalization to be had. We visited the A-Bomb dome, the childrens statue and paper cranes, walked through the museum, and hung out at the Hiroshima Peace Park. The city has transformed itself into an avenue for promoting peace, and you can really feel the vibe when walking around. There is no "woe is me" feeling here, only one of peace, happiness, prosperity, and internationalization.

Angie and I in front of the Peace Fountain

The childrens statue and glass containers holding hundreds of thousands of paper cranes sent from around the world as a sign of peace.

The most interesting part of the trip was learning something new about Hiroshima. The mayor of Hiroshima writes a letter to the leader/president/prime minister of any country that has a nuclear bomb test. Each letter is different and unique, no country is exempt. There are letters posted all around the museum to the likes of George Bush, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, etc etc. urging them to stop having nuclear bomb tests and to work towards peace. Truly inspiring.

We also visited Miyajima, the famous place with the floating torii (red gate to enter a temple). Miyajima is quientassential Japan. Very beautiful, clean, and starkly unique in Japanese style.

Pagoda in Miyajima

The best part of the weekend you ask? It must have been the falafel that we had at the Israeli-owned restaurant. And hanging out with our new French friend Remy. And eating more good food.

French friend, Remy.

Heres some more pictures for your interest.

Jumping for joy becuase of all the pretty leaves and pretty things in Miyajima. A view from Miyajima on a perfect day (And to show you that Robyn is still Robyn :)).

future travel plans

2007-12-18T09:15:00.000+09:00

just wanted to give a quick glance at the year, perhaps:

dec-jan: philippines
jan: skiing in nagano
feb: snow festival in hokkaido
march: possible visit from daniel? if not, china.
april: 4 day weekend to fukuoka
may: golden week = korea
june/july: who knows, visitors
august: vietnam and cambodia with angie
sept: maybe thailand with courtney?
after that: probably philippines
nov: visit aly in london

this is just what im thinking but im open to changes and other travel possibilities! if you want to travel gimme a holler.

Why you secretly love Eastern Washington

2007-12-13T11:11:00.001+09:00

Cow plunges off cliff onto moving minivan

A few pictures from each week ...

2007-11-30T09:14:00.000+09:00

Tea Ceremony in Tado on Culture Day

1. Me with Mariko Sensei after the ceremony

2. Little kids in kimonos for their age 3,5,7 day

3. The tea ceremony

Hiking Mt. Gozaisho with Vanessa, Olivia, and Etienne

The second tallest mountain in the Suzuka Range and we took the difficult route up --- an awesome and painful four hour rock climb up, ended with a lovely lunch on top with 15 older Japanese hikers.
The Autum leaves turning in my schools Quad
School Festival

1. Dancers

2. My kimono girls after our performance

3. Me in my kimono

Lauren and I show which way to the beach after our 5k. Halloween: Mummy Wrap!
Oktoberfest with the lovely Werewolf
Matzoh Ball Soup and Harry Potter Birthday Hats with Angie, Kjersten, and Jason (also James and Vanessa not shown)
Nagano Prefecture
1. Matsumoto Castle, surrounded by a moat, during a Soba Festival!
2. Naganese (eh?) Monkeys at the Monkey Park

The Jew group plus a few at a temple in Kyoto eating munk food.

Me in Tokyo
Tokyo Tower -- view from Danielles amazing apartment
The synagogue in Tokyo
A girl dressed up in Shibuya

Halloween Party and Cultural Day

2007-11-12T09:00:00.000+09:00

Hello loyal readers,

The last two weeks of October I gave a bunch of lessons on Halloween. I became quite good at drawing random Halloween things on the board and the students got a kick out of the fact that I "dressed up" for the occasion, which is rare here. I told my students they could dress up as well but it is kind of not allowed because of the uniform policy. But, I did have one very energetic student who wore his outfit under his uniform and spent the first 10 minutes of class taking off his uniform and putting on the whole of his costume. It was a ninja costume. He also brought a fully illustrated book on how to become a good ninja, even showing you how to make your own ninja stars and hide things in secret floorboards in your house.

My Halloween lesson plans just included some fun crosswords and wordsearches, as well as a story about how to figure out if the house you want to buy in haunted. I had one of my classes do a mummy wrap, which was hysterical. It really made me miss a true American Halloween.

Halloween Party/Oktoberfest/Ise Shrine

On the 26th there was a big Halloween party in Matsusaka. I dressed as a swan. Pictures will be coming. The next day Mikey took the train down to visit me and we went to Odai to hang out with Angie. From there we took scary mountain road over to Iinan for Sam's Oktoberfest. On the scary road we saw a weird looking rapid dog/hyena which we have now learned is some kind of animal only found in Japan. We also saw 3 deer.

Oktoberfest was really awesome -- Sam did such a great job putting it together. Basically we all were split up to sit in tables with Japanese people. Then we ate food, which included lots of cheese, bread, fruit, meat .... The beer was all German beer and cheap. There was a fun little quiz about Germany and just a really great atmosphere. Then about 30 of us went back to Sam's palace and slept -- or tried to sleep. I thought I was going to get puked on all night by the kid sleeping next to me who was passed out drunk and snoring.

On Sunday, Mikey and I went to Ise Shrine. This is the most important Shinto shrine in Japan. You can learn more here about the shrine. It was a beautiful sunny day and we walked around and had a great time. Then we drove back to Yokkaichi and Mikey went home. Oh, that was after we met up with a biker gang at the convience store (Ill get some pictures of this).

Cultural Day

I have been attending the Japanese tea ceremony club every thursday at my school. The teacher invited me and the head teacher (who speaks english) to a big tea ceremony at a shrine in a town called Tado. This happened to be my teachers town, so on Saturday she picked me up, we went to her house and got grandma, and the three ladies headed to the shrine for tea ceremony. I was the only foreigner, of course, but it was a great experience to be at a tea party on cultural day. It was also the same day that girls age 3 and 7 and boys age 5 go to the shrine all dressed in kimono to celebrate their birthdays. I must tell you, there is nothing cuter than a child in a kimono.

We went back to my teachers house for lunch where i played with her 3 and 5 year olds, and she taught me how to make tako-yaki balls. These are octopus balls. Delicious!

To round out this awesome Japanese culture-filled weekend, I went for a hike up a mountain on Sunday with Vanessa, Etienne, and Olivia. Our guide was this Japanese guy that hikes the mountain every week. Well, he decided to take us on the hard route -- the route were everyone was wearing their REI gear while we had jeans on .... Needlesstosay, it was an amazing hike but very very difficult and much of the time was spent rock climbing on all fours and hanging on to chains that had been pounded into the rock so that we wouldnt fall off the edge. It is called Mt. Gozaisho and is the 2nd tallest mountain in the suzuka range .... But at the top we were greeted by our hosts hiker friends who made us ramen, food, we drank some sake, and hung out. Then, we began the trek down (which was still difficult but on a different trail). One of the best things I have done in Japan.

good thing i did it then, too, as its now 2 weeks later and the mountains have snow on them.

September and October

2007-11-01T11:10:00.000+09:00

(a post that I had saved as a draft and just published is now at Sept. 28th. so, if you keep up to date, please read that first :))

Sorry about the extreme lack of posting. From here on out, my blog will be a combination of what I have been up to in Japan, my thoughts on this country and my new lifestyle, as well as some comments on articles, current events, etc.

Ill have some pictures up this week!

September
I went to Tokyo for Yom Kippur with Mikey. It was more like we went to Tokyo to eat Western food with a side of Judaism. In short, the synagogue in Tokyo did not impress us and we were kicked out of our seats twice and not greeted too warmly. So, instead, we hung out and ate.

We stayed at Mikeys friend Danielles parents amazing apartment in the nicest area of town : Roppongi. Picture coming of the view of the Tokyo Tower from her balcony. We went to TGI Fridays, ate some burgers, toured the city, and had a great time. The last night we stayed at Mikeys friend Bens apartment in Yebisu and ate dinner at the Tsukijri fish market -- the best sushi of my life!

The next weekend some friends came over and I cooked them matzah ball soup. We put on all the Harry Potter party hats that my mom sent me for my birthday and celebrated with wine! It was awesome to have everyone come up from far away to see my apartment.

The next night, we had a roudy JET Pub Quiz at a local bar where my team, The Indoor Kids, kicked the sh$% out of team Cool Britannia. And, many embarrassing photos of me were later published on facebook to prove the rukus was had by all.

October
First weekend in October I went to Nagano with Angie and Kjersten. From the moment we got off the train we fell in love ... It smelled like beautiful mountain air, crisp, and there was just a delightful feeling in the air. We stayed three nights in Matsumoto where we saw Matsumoto castle, ate at a soba festival (they are famous for soba!), and walked around. The next day Angie and I went to Nagano city for the day and saw the famous temple there and went to the monkey park.

Oh, the monkey park. Monkeys live up in this moutain area that has hot springs. Tourists come to this area and monkeys just run around as if there arent a bazillion tourists there taking pictures with them. And they swim in the hot springs, its so cute! I think I have about 50 pictures of jsut monkeys.

Nagano is also famous for its wasabi, but sadly, we did not get a chance to go to the wasabi farm. It is also famous for skiing (winter olympics were held here in 98), so our prefecture is going on a skiing trip here in January!

Bunkasai (School Festival)
School festivals in Japan are interesting. They dont really have much of a point and they are right in the middle of the year for some reason. I got to eat food from students' stands, look at posters, check out what students were selling (like fair trade, comic books), and watch performances.

I have been attending the kimono class for a few weeks so they invited me to wear a kimono on the day of the school festival and go on stage with them at the end and do a dance. Everyone in the crowd was soooo shocked to see me on stage in my kimono!

I had seen a lot of the students practicing for dance performances, so I was excited to finally see them on stage. This big group of students did a hip/hop and breakdancing performance --- the guys were SO good at breakdancing, some of the best Ive seen! Then, two girls did a dance. Well, they call it a dance. I call it an inappropriate booty-shaking back-up dancers of a Nelly video. It was so ridiculous. And their outfits ---- pictures will only do this justice.

The school band did a Sound of Music medley, some teachers sang and played guitar, and at the end the five youngest male teachers (who each have a female student following) did a hilarious Billy Blanks/god knows what else funny skit. I laughed my socks off!

Random Dinners and Other
I have had dinner at two of my teachers houses now. Great fun! Great food! One of them is my adopted mom and she wants me to come over whenever I can. Her husband built their house and they live up on this mountain and she said on a sunny day you can see monkeys all over their property. The other teachers house I went too insisted that any time I come for dinner I must drink lots of alcohol and his wife will drive me home.

I joined a gym. It is about a 20 minute drive away. It is brand new and I love it!

I ran a marathon
With about 10 other JETs. I did a 5k in 31 minutes. Not so bad for not training and having a cold! It was really really fun and I am glad I did it! And, two of my teachers came to watch me!

The next post will be ---- Halloween and many pictures!!

51 days until the Philippines!

For Aliza

2007-10-17T10:48:00.000+09:00

As I find new ways to soothe my extreme boredom, I have taken up reading the online version of the best paper in the world ... Seattles' The Stranger.

The whole paper is amazing, brutally honest, and hilarious. Here is what I found worthy of posting today, for my good friend Aliza.

One of my favorite bands, Say Anything came to town last night. Here is the review.

I was one of the few people over the age of 22 who liked Say Anything’s debut release, …Is a Real Boy. I liked its brutally honest lyrics, I liked the fearless attempt to do something a little different (it’s a vaudevillian rock opera disguised as a fourth [fifth?] wave emo record), I’m a fan of crazy people, and singer Max Bemis is actually crazy. It shows in his lyrics. In “Wow, I Can Get Sexual, Too,” he unapologetically sings about using phone sex with (I assume) a groupie to satisfy himself. In “Admit It,” he, well, admits, “I worry about how this album will sell because I believe it will determine the amount of sex I will have in the future/I self-medicate with drugs and alcohol to help treat my extreme social-anxiety problem.” He picks fights, he calls bullshit, he talks shit about himself—it felt like he was mocking the very genre and lifestyle he was a part of, and I thought that was fucked up, but pretty great. Sadly, their new record, In Defense of the Genre, is a lot less confrontational and therefore boring to me. That’s the thing about the crazies—they’re totally unreliable. MEGAN SELING

1. True fans know that their debut release was Baseball. Great for long drives to Camp Ramah visitors day in the scourching heat of summer.
2. Max is crazy. If you read any of his blog posts on the Say Anything website from when he was in rehab/mental health facility, you would agree. Katie Tompkins and I also witnessed some crazi-ness that night we took Say Anything out in the U-district. And, maybe, some of you Shel Havet kids that went to high school with Max can agree.
3. I just laughed for 10 minutes on this last quote. So true.

Coldness and Cupcakes

2007-10-16T10:11:00.001+09:00

So, when I started the blog, I thought I would just talk about Japan and my experiences.

But, looks like I have more to say than that.

I am bored at work. Not only was last week exam week, this week is 'hand back your exam' week with half days and no classes. When I do have classes, I only have 7 a week, and I am still underutilized and bored. I only write lesson plans for one of these classes. Another blog will be posted sometime soon on the perils of Japanese education system, which has been swimming in my mind recently.

With all of this time I have been keeping up on every article on nytimes.com. Here is another interesting one that I read this morning. Its about in-your-browser video chats. Like Skype, but without downloading it.

Link to the Article -- TokBox

*It is starting to get cold here. Took out the down comforter.
*Had the best Indian food last night.
*Shoutout to Alicia for sending me cupcake mix and icing -- you are the most amazing friend ever!
*Looking into buying a heated rug ... ohhh doesnt that sound nice?!
*Have a reserved seat on a flight to the Philippines for Dec. 21 to Jan 7th!!

More soon.
Robilicious

Generation Q

2007-10-12T15:14:00.000+09:00

I have a lot of time at work. This week is exam week, so I haven't had one class all week. Ive been reading the news ad nausea, refreshing my gmail ad nausea, reading my Obama book, and catching up on sleep. The article I copied and pasted below is pretty short and worth reading.

Generation Q

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Published: October 10, 2007

I just spent the past week visiting several colleges — Auburn, the University of Mississippi, Lake Forest and Williams — and I can report that the more I am around this generation of college students, the more I am both baffled and impressed.

I am impressed because they are so much more optimistic and idealistic than they should be. I am baffled because they are so much less radical and politically engaged than they need to be.

One of the things I feared most after 9/11 — that my daughters would not be able to travel the world with the same carefree attitude my wife and I did at their age — has not come to pass.

Whether it was at Ole Miss or Williams or my alma mater, Brandeis, college students today are not only going abroad to study in record numbers, but they are also going abroad to build homes for the poor in El Salvador in record numbers or volunteering at AIDS clinics in record numbers. Not only has terrorism not deterred them from traveling, they are rolling up their sleeves and diving in deeper than ever.

The Iraq war may be a mess, but I noticed at Auburn and Ole Miss more than a few young men and women proudly wearing their R.O.T.C. uniforms. Many of those not going abroad have channeled their national service impulses into increasingly popular programs at home like “Teach for America,” which has become to this generation what the Peace Corps was to mine.

It’s for all these reasons that I’ve been calling them “Generation Q” — the Quiet Americans, in the best sense of that term, quietly pursuing their idealism, at home and abroad.

But Generation Q may be too quiet, too online, for its own good, and for the country’s own good. When I think of the huge budget deficit, Social Security deficit and ecological deficit that our generation is leaving this generation, if they are not spitting mad, well, then they’re just not paying attention. And we’ll just keep piling it on them.

There is a good chance that members of Generation Q will spend their entire adult lives digging out from the deficits that we — the “Greediest Generation,” epitomized by George W. Bush — are leaving them.

When I was visiting my daughter at her college, she asked me about a terrifying story that ran in this newspaper on Oct. 2, reporting that the Arctic ice cap was melting “to an extent unparalleled in a century or more” — and that the entire Arctic system appears to be “heading toward a new, more watery state” likely triggered by “human-caused global warming.”

“What happened to that Arctic story, Dad?” my daughter asked me. How could the news media just report one day that the Arctic ice was melting far faster than any models predicted “and then the story just disappeared?” Why weren’t any of the candidates talking about it? Didn’t they understand: this has become the big issue on campuses?

No, they don’t seem to understand. They seem to be too busy raising money or buying votes with subsidies for ethanol farmers in Iowa. The candidates could actually use a good kick in the pants on this point. But where is it going to come from?

Generation Q would be doing itself a favor, and America a favor, if it demanded from every candidate who comes on campus answers to three questions: What is your plan for mitigating climate change? What is your plan for reforming Social Security? What is your plan for dealing with the deficit — so we all won’t be working for China in 20 years?

America needs a jolt of the idealism, activism and outrage (it must be in there) of Generation Q. That’s what twentysomethings are for — to light a fire under the country. But they can’t e-mail it in, and an online petition or a mouse click for carbon neutrality won’t cut it. They have to get organized in a way that will force politicians to pay attention rather than just patronize them.

Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy didn’t change the world by asking people to join their Facebook crusades or to download their platforms. Activism can only be uploaded, the old-fashioned way — by young voters speaking truth to power, face to face, in big numbers, on campuses or the Washington Mall. Virtual politics is just that — virtual.

Maybe that’s why what impressed me most on my brief college swing was actually a statue — the life-size statue of James Meredith at the University of Mississippi. Meredith was the first African-American to be admitted to Ole Miss in 1962. The Meredith bronze is posed as if he is striding toward a tall limestone archway, re-enacting his fateful step onto the then-segregated campus — defying a violent, angry mob and protected by the National Guard.

Above the archway, carved into the stone, is the word “Courage.” That is what real activism looks like. There is no substitute.

"Thou Shalf Not Kill, Except in a Popular Video Game at Church"

2007-10-09T13:32:00.000+09:00

A NY Times article about how churches are using the Halo video games to recruit young people to the church.

Read the Article Here

Especially great is the last paragraph on the second page:

"In one letter to parents, Mr. Barbour wrote that God calls ministers to be “fishers of men.”

'Teens are our ‘fish,” he wrote. 'So we’ve become creative in baiting our hooks.'"

A bit ridiculous to me that churches are using the Halo games to recruit young boys, especially given the fact that you have to be 17 years of age to buy the game (I know they are going to get their hands on it no matter what, but it is weird that parents are willingly driving their 14 year olds to church to play a game that they arent supposed to be purchasing). And, more so, that they are openlying admitting that it is the only wait to "bait" young people to join the church discussions.

I wonder if the "bait" I took for joinging USY was the promise of finding a Jewish husband (which still hasnt happened), and the thrill of dressing like a skank for every Saturay night program.

part 2 of "i think i'm allergic to chalk"

2007-09-28T15:37:00.001+09:00

This is my 3 month rant about the Japanese education system.

I think i am allergic to chalk. And, seeing that all of the boards in this school are chalk boards, this might be a fun year. i just seem to have a sore throat and runny nose everytime i am in the classroom, but it goes away once i am in the teachers room.

Japanese classrooms are different from American ones -- they have no spirit! There is nothing on the walls of any of my classrooms, all are bare as a bone. And, unlike America, they dont have the Japanese flag waving ferociously at every corner. Maybe they are secure in their homogenous nationality?

Whoever said Japanese students are better behaved than others or that the Japanese school system is better has never been to Japan. My high schoolers are just like high schoolers all over the world -- they wont shut up when I am talking in front of class, and they definetly won't be quiet when their fellow students are presenting to the class. It is freaking annoying to be telling them to be quiet every five seconds.

Last week a woman from Tasmania came with a group of Tas students. She had lived in my little area for 7 years, and we were talking about Japanese students. Then, she mentioned she doesnt like the JET program while we are talking about the students inability to make simple sentences in English. Hey lady, its not the JET programmes fault that after 5 years of compulsary English classes the students can't put together a simple sentence or ask me a question without seeing it on the board. I am amazed at the lack of English here, especially since most of my students have been studying for three or four years. I can say more in my limited Japanese than they can say in English. They can't even properly ask me "Do you like ----?" without me telling them how to say it or writing it on the board. And asking them to say something they think of themselves -- out of the question!

This concern over students' English ability is not just coming from me. There are many other JETs that I have talked to about this. So, as my friend Sam says, the sooner we realize we arent here to teach English the better we will feel. I know my students are learning a little, but they are never going to get the full jist of it until they are assigned homework (GASP!) or actually making up their own sentences in and out of class.

I might make a lesson plan all about how each of my students would die in an American high school class .... group projects, tons of homework (GASP!), doing stuff during class that doesnt involve worksheets (like ... maybe ... writing in a freakin notebook??), quizzes and tests every week. Oh, yes, this is in addition to after school parts, after school curriculars, and having a social life. So stop sleeping in my class because you had baseball practice until 8 pm. So did I in high school.

i think i am allergic to chalk

2007-09-26T09:26:00.001+09:00

Which would make a cuter husband? Please send in your votes.

Sorry for the lack of posting. It has been a whirlwind, and this post is going to be long. I'll split it into weeks/sections for sanity's sake.

Car
I bought a car! Photo pending:

It is about the size of a go-kart and the (non-powered) steering wheel is on the other side, as well as i drive on the other side of the road. But, I love it, and am so excited to have it!

Birthday Weekend and Office Party

For being away from home, I sure had a great birthday. It seemed to extend a few weeks, too, which was brilliant. A group of us went to a water park/theme park called Nagashima Spa Land. This houses the tallest roller coaster in the world, which was the scariest drop I have ever done in my life. It also has the longest wooden roller coaster, which was brilliant, as I have a thing for wooden roller coasters since Belmont Park was my first one :)

tallest coaster in the world, Steel Dragon 2000!!

The water park was amazing, and the girls beat the boys on the mat race every time! I also got over my fear of the wedgie slide and finally just did it. Makes me sad to think they are tearing down Wild Rivers, though. I guess I'll have to try out the Magic Mtn water park next time I am home.

I also received a dozen roses from my father, which was a huge surprise. AND, a package from dan, sister, and mom complete with treasures from each land. Ahava lotions, a butterfly, and an enormous amount of REAL FOOD. Thank you so much! <3

imagine the surprise on the office staff's faces when i get a dozen roses in japan!!

The office welcome party, called an Enkai, is a staple in Japanese life. Mine was complete with a ten course meal of crazy Japanese dishes, lots of drinking, and some after-party karaoke. It was one of the greatest nights I have had in Japan!

weird food, man.

Kobe (Rosh Hashana), Soccer Tournament, and Kyoto:

Mikey and I met in Kobe on the night of my birthday. We had a great Thai dinner and explored a bit. Kobe is by far my favorite place in Japan so far. I haven't seen many places yet, but it is so great there. A mix of Western, Japanese, and everything in between. Cool western style architecture up on a big hill, which is the Europe-looking area, and lots of places to eat and drink at the bottom of the hill.

karaoke one night 2. muse.

me (enjoying?) the shin-kobe ropeway, in the gondola

We spent Rosh Hashana at an Orthodox, Sephardic service. Quite a new experience for both of us. The people we talked to each had an amazing story of why they were in Japan, who they had married, how they converted, etc. It was a crazy mix of people. Not to mention the Rabbi's family alone which consists of six children, aged 20 to 5, speaking English, Hebrew, French, and learning Japanese. I had one of the most intense conversations (about my life, about Creation -- she asked, about her own life) with their 11 year old daughter, who is the most mature girl I have ever met.

Jason came to meet us the next day. Another great day ensued, but our time in Kobe was too short. On Saturday morning I had to wake up ridiculously early and head to Awaji island for a two-day soccer tournament.

Soccer:

the group. cheers, ed.

Here is a video of our soccer clips put together by Dave, a fellow JET (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol5xm02vvw4) . The boys teams are in white, although you will see me in 2 shots playing for the boys team (I am wearing blue shorts and black socks). About half way through it switches to the girls team, who are wearing blue. You will see a video clip of me doing a sweeeeeeet soccer move. Thank god my 18 years of soccer helped us achieve SECOND PLACE!! :)

I have never been so sore in my life after playing two days of soccer. I thought about chopping my legs off, it was so bad. I couldnt bend over, put on my shoes, lift my legs to walk up steps, it was all so painful. (Dave Strich -- can I get a second on this?) But, it was worth it, as it was a great weekend getting to know the other Mie kids and we won all of our games except the championship!!!!!!

Kyoto

On Monday, a national holiday, I left Awaji and headed to Kyoto to meet Mikey and Jason, as well as some new JET friends I met at Rosh Hashana. We met a woman at services that has lived in Kyoto for 20 years and offered to be our tour guide for the afternoon. We saw 2 temples, ate amazing vegetarian monk food, and hobbled around. Oh, and saw a sweet bamboo forest.
I was playing with my camera settings and got some cool photos, all of which are on facebook.

zen.

nothing beats some macha ice cream

inundated with japanese culture

2007-09-05T15:59:00.000+09:00

Another crazy weekend of fun and the start of the school year!

This weekend was the best introduction to Japanese life --- homestay! I achieved more experiences this weekend than I think I will in a few months combined. Nicole and I were placed with the sweetest family in the whole world. Nicole had to translate most of the weekend, but it was still a great time. We went to their house on Saturday around noon and helped prepare lunch, rice with chicken and cooked egg. At this point our host father started drinking out of his big bottle of some kind of clear alcohol, which was funny. We spent the rest of the afternoon sipping tradition Japanese green tea, looking at maps, talking about America, picking fruit from the garden (photos to come), planting some fruit, and learning more about their lives.

cutting my own sashimi with the sushi master

I was warned by Chito, the guy that put it all together and a fellow JET, that we might be in for a treat. Sure enough, our host father had bought a huge fish from the market and was going to make sashimi for dinner! Apparently, he has been a sushi chef for over 30 years. I watched the process from start to finish and even got to cut my own sashimi, which is very rare for a foreigner :)

placing my sashimi gracefully on the plate

It was quite funny seeing my host father cut the fish with force and precision, then taking a second and doing a drunken sway, then going back to gutting the fish. It was the most enormous meal I have ever had consisting of tempura, sashimi, baked fish (poor fishy, I demolished you),

miso with mussels, and other delectables. Nicole told me that it seemed they served us all those weird “lets see if the foreigner will eat it” food, including natto (fermented beans. No taste, but a really icky-sticky texture).
host dad, pre-fish gutting, happy with knife

On Sunday we helped prepare onigiri (rice balls), looked at my host mothers art books and fell in love with a new Japanese artist, and prepared to head out to the bbq to meet the other JETs that did homestay. Although it started off a bit rainy, it was no problem lighting 10 bbqs and eating a huge amount of meat, veggies, yakisoba, onigiri, sushi, etc. The other JETs told us about their homestays – each one different and unique – including fireworks, swimming, playing with fighting beetles, and touring a chicken farm. Then, the real fun came in the form of two hollowed out bamboo shoots. In Japan, there is this thing they do where they connect the bamboo shoots into a slide formation with a basket at the bottom. They run water through the basket and put noodles in from the top. Then, you stand next to the shoot and catch the noodles with your chopsicks!! It was so exciting!

had to fight the children for my noodles!

Now, onto the school business. Today was the second day of school. I gave a speech in front of 1000 students, but apparently I did very well, although I was super nervous. I also gave both the VPs and the principal my gifts, which were a success. The scary woman VP is now very nice and talkative to me; the principal, a calligraphy expert, took the time today to draw me my very own calligraphy. It was a huge honor and I showed the staff room while I beamed at my first piece of art for my new apartment.
sam and his pet rat

At 1205, the school plays the school anthem over the intercom. Today, the students had their hair checked to make sure it wasn’t dyed. And, after class today, I had three girls come up to me asking if I had a boyfriend. When I said yes, and wrote Daniel’s name on the chalkboard, they erupted in giggles for about 10 minutes. But, I was happy to have them talk to me, as most Japanese students are extremely shy and will not say a word throughout class.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I was late the first day when I had to give my speech to all of the teachers. This was a combination of having to carry heavy trash that made me semi-crash my bike, forcing me to walk to the garbage area and rain that made my foot slip off the petal as I tried to stand up to get up the hill. Therefore, I arrived at the teachers room dripping with sweat, not yet changed into my work shirt, and freaked out that I had disrespected all my teachers. Turns out, it was okay. Whew.

me, james, and vanessa preparing to leave Odai, our new second home!

Yesterday I moved apartments. I can’t really take any credit for this myself but let me tell you a little story about Japanese efficiency:

At 2 p.m. we were to meet at my apartment. I had left a few minutes earlier with the office guy to pay the gas bill. I assumed only 4 teachers were coming to help, as that is what Yamazoe-sensei had told me previously. As I sat in my apartment, I see … 5 cars pull up. And out of those 5 cars jump 11 or 12 teachers ready to move my things. In ONE HOUR AND 15 MINUTES I had successfully moved out of my old apartment and into my new one, with the refrigerator, washing machine, table, chairs, and bed all functioning. I was so amazed, happy, astonished, and thankful that I wanted to cry.

I am now sitting happily in my new two-bedroom apartment. One room is 6 tatami mats, while the other is 4 and a half. There is a bigger kitchen, too, which is really nice. I feel like a new woman with this apartment and I couldn’t be happier. My only complaint is that I am so close to the train station that I hear the blaring sounds of the train gates going down … they woke me up a few times this morning. And, I get home internet in 5 days. And my birthday is in 6 days. Everything is going smoothly, maybe ill stay for two years?

Next up: Nagashima Spa Land Adventure and Water Park (if it doesn’t typhoon, and it better not!!) and rice harvesting on Sunday. Then Kobe, soccer tournament, and Kyoto with Mikey and Jason Kaminsky!

playground housing for sale

2007-08-31T10:52:00.000+09:00

one of the other jets posted this on our forum, thought you would get a kick out of it!

http://www.wordpress.tokyotimes.org/?p=1360

i also recieved a link to this article, in which my friend proclaimed, "dont get pregnant in your inaka (rural area), robyn!"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6970192.stm

in reality, it is very sad. i hope i dont have to get to a hospital anytime this year ....

chipmunks = love

2007-08-29T15:09:00.000+09:00

irish sam, captain scotty, me, banechan, kjersten, angie, and werewolf sam in Nagoya

a few things i have found interesting in the past few weeks, but especially in the past week as i am helping a teacher with a 3-4 student group learning english.

1. gray and grey are the same. apparently grey is how the brits do it, while the americans choose the gray. this is hard to explain to japanese students.

2. english language has commas, apostrophies, and other weird symbols. none of this in the japanese language! extra confusing for the kiddies.

3. l's are ALWAYS mistekn for r's. they just cant make the sounds with their mouths, its really weird.

me, kjersten, and molly cheering on the rowers in odai

4. apparently "you guys" has a bad conentation when it is translated into japanese. this was learned after the students encountered the phrase "What on earth are you guys doing in here?" which was doubly-puzzling as "you guys" and "what on earth" are not the most common things you hear.

5. in japan, everyong says "maybe" or "i think so" even if they really mean a definitive yes or no. i have started using these phrases, too, which makes me nervous that three weeks in i am already losing my native english speaking skills. (i have also taken up numerous japanese sounds to convey answers and feelings)

the rowers

i have decided to start seriously taking up my study of japanese. today i learned a few new kanji (complex chinese characters). my japanese is already coming along quite well, especially when i am drunk.

me with some yummie squid legs

this sunday night i went to an informal drinking/eating party with my two best teacher friends, another friend around age 50, and one teacher's 7 year old son, yuuki-chan. yuuki is now my adopted brother, and, he already told me that he loved me! (in english!) its really fun to get drunk and then tickle a 7 year old to death while eating great food. then, i had to navigate the trains by myself ... drunk ... talked to some hooligans on the train .... rode my bike home in the dark in the rice fields, while drunk ... it was a very fun night!

me, yuuki-chan, and atsuyo-sensei

i am about half way through a book titled three cups of tea. it is an awesome book and on the bestseller list, so should be easy to find in the front of barnes and nobles. the writing is fantastic and i recommend it to anyone.

saturday kjersten and i forced james to catch a glimpse of our childhood --- by watching The Chipmunk Adventure --- which kjersten miraculously had on her laptop. we sang the songs, cried, laughed, etc. then, kjersten and i basically realized that we are the same person and are going to be best friends from now on. so that was cool. ill put a picture of her on here, just so she feels special. :)

on sunday i went to odai, a mountainy village, to watch 5 of my friends row in a local competition. they didnt win, but we got to see some japanese body builders and enjoy the river. rowers: neil, dan, angie, chito, and sam, the coxswain.

the rowers being interviewed by local tv

the whirlwind begins ...

2007-08-21T09:15:00.001+09:00

this is the rice swaying in the wind ...
i haven't updated my blog for a few reasons, but mainly, too much stuff is going on that i only want to make sure i give you the juicy details!

first, and foremost though, CONGRATS ALANA AND SAM! they got married on Sunday. and, as the first of many momentous occasions that i will miss while being abroad, i had a cry session on Alana's home answering machine ...

group photo!

now, i will split this blog into parts so you can read those that you feel inclined.

1. school
i got really lucky, i love my high school. it is really modern and big, probably because i am in the countryside and kids come from all over. i love my teachers. my predecessor was a complete wanker, therefore just talking to the other teachers is like a miracle to them. but, the teachers have become my best friends and my family. they have done everything for me, and i cant thank them enough. classes are going to be so much fun since i have gained their trust.

this weekend i had the chance to meet one teachers husband and son, who is the cutest thing alive; and another teachers wife and daughter, who has a developmental disability and was very quiet, but still very cute. i went bowling with the latter set on Sunday after the fireworks show was cancelled due to mucho amounts of lightning.

2. home life
there are no other jets near me. but, you gotta be positive! my nights consist of making udon and miso soup, watching Japanese tv, or watching a tape that i have stolen from other jets in order to help keep my sanity. yesterday was a great night -- i watched Say Anything -- and fell in love with john cusack all over again. really makes you think twice about boys named Lloyd.

child holding hedgehog.

3. weekends!

my weekends are packed! every weekend i have been running around the prefecture visiting people and new sites, summer festivals, etc. apparently, it doesn't stop the whole year. i am already having to decide between multiple events every weekend. most depend on how far they are, since i am in the far north and the train rides can be tedious.

sam the werewolf, me, vanessa, angie at the international bar

two weekends ago was the welcome beach party down south. then, i went to my friend Angie's house with the 3 other girls out in the forest area. the next day we went swimming in a river, then to an onsen (hot springs/naked bath). it was awesome and there are pictures of me on facebook.

cutest child in the world, holding a flag that says NINJA on it!

this past weekend i had a 'business trip' Thursday and Friday. therefore, i went to the capital city of Tsu (shortest city name in Japan, only one character) on Wednesday night for an amazing karaoke session. pictures to come, check facebook. Thursday and Friday we had orientation, group dinners, and an amazingly drunken night on Thursday at the local international bar.

ninjas on bmx

Friday night i headed to a place called Iga, the birthplace of the ninja. Saturday was their local matsuri festival where i saw people dressed as ninjas doing bmx shows, little Japanese children dancing to hiphop, traditional japanese dance, petted a hedgehog, took a picture with a monkey, sweated so much it was disgusting, and hung out with friends.

aforementioned monkey.

4. random things
i took a walk through my labyrinth streets and rice fields last week. i was 'hello-ed' at by a family, so i went over to say hi. we spoke in simple English and Japanese. they gave me watermelon. i petted their dog. (and now have used the word 'petted' twice in one post). they invited me to come back any time! Japanese people really have a knack for hospitality.

i am buying a car. i figure, why not, it will help my convenience and sanity and i get to see the friends that i like the best who are quite inconvenient by train. (shoutout Vanessa, David, James, Jay, etc.) it is a K car, basically the size of a go-kart. i am going to test drive it this weekend, i think.

everyday i learn something new about japan. cultures, customs, the roles of teachers at schools, etc. all of it is very different from american, and a lot of it is a big bureacratic mess. ie: had to take a health exam here even though i did all of it back home. (except for the ekg where they put clamps on my ankles and wrists, and the chest xray where apparently it is okay that i didnt have any lead protection ... )

im also making the best friends in the world and having a whirlwind time. in september alone i am planning on going to: an amusement park/water park, nagoya, kobe, soccer tournament, tokyo, and other things yet to be decided.

in spring time i think i may join the habitat for humanity trip to india. in december i am going to see dan (hi baby!). but most importantly, there is a place for all of you here in japan to partake in my amazing adventure of being foreign! also, if you email my cell email, i can reply back to you via my cell. quite exciting stuff. so feel free to drop me a line at random times!

さよなら!

pictures of the first week

2007-08-09T09:29:00.000+09:00

Japan has a crazy variety of drinks here. Plus, there are vending machines on every corner, even in the weirdest corners. Here is a display of some alcoholic drinks at the local conbini.

We have chosen our weapons ....

TOKYO!!

Shibuya, largest crossing in the world. Scenes from Lost in Translation here.

Brett and Robyn, making our way through the streets of Harajuku.

Mikey and I share our first meal of Ramen together. Oishii desu! (delicious!)

Meiji Shrine, in Tokyo. Mikey, Nas, Brett (take a close look at mikey's face)

At the shrine you can pay for a wooden block to put a special prayer for someone and hang it.

I am uploading more pictures on my snapfish.com account. You can view these at http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=159296054/a=6781741/t_=6781741

If that link doesnt work, send me a message and i will email you an invite. there will also be loads of pictures on facebook once i have facebook internet access.

Love you all!

a re-cap of the first week

2007-08-08T09:47:00.001+09:00

as you all know, i have arrived safely in japan and straight to my little rice field called Inabe in the Mie Prefecture (like a county).

my buddy dave sent me some pictures from the plane, so i will post them here. while i have limited internet access (only at school, and no facebook!) the blogs may not be as skilled or picture-plenty as i would have hoped for. but, i get internet the first week of september, so that is good.

here is me with my new friends on the plane! i say new friends, but really, dave and i should already have been friends. he's jewish, from orange county, went to ucla, camp ramah, and we know about a million of the same people. plus, he's awesome. there is also nick, to the left, who went to monterey and is awesome. he studied abroad in japan last year so it was nice to hang out with him in tokyo where he guided us rather smoothly through the largest train station in the world, Shinjuku.

nick, dave, robyn = best friends forever

i have a small apartment in the middle of a few rice fields. it is 8 tatami mats big, with a galley kitchen and a seperate shower/toliet. it is a pretty neat thing to have your floor be made of tatami mats, although i am really scared of ruining them on accident!

everyone says that japanese people are very friendly and hospitable, but this is an understatement. everyone has been amazingly helpful to me. in japanese culture, everyone greets you whenever they see you. also, i had a cool experience this week. i went for a run through my little area and everyone i passed gave me a huge smile and greeted me. this may not seem cool, but think of this image: 1. white girl running 2. wearing wife beater 3. listening to ipod 4. what is white girl in a wife beater listening to ipod doing running in a japanese rice field? it seems the thought did not even occur to them. very cool in my opinion.

in september, i am moving apartments. this is for a few reasons. the apartment is one that teachers share, and the man in it now is moving away. it is a bit bigger, two rooms of 6 tatami mats and a bigger kitchen. but, the real reason that i want to move there is the price -- it is only 16,000 yen a month! it is also closer to school, which will be nice when the freezing wind and rain start to come. therefore, i must wait until i move to get internet at home. if you could please send emails instead of facebooking me, it would be much more appreciated. email address is robynlondon at gmail dot com.

i dont get a cell phone until after august 21st, when my alien registration card comes in. therefore, its been a bit hard and lonely here. but, thank god i have gmail chat during the day and james, my new best friend, to keep me company.

this past weekend i took a train to the biggest city near me, Yokkaichi. James, as mentioned above, met me there for the weekend. He lives about 3 hours away from me in a place called Iga, birthplace of the ninja! we mucked around, saw a festival, got caught in a torrential downpour, checked out a christmas-themed love hotel, and apparently, ate animal intestines. they were actually really really good. too bad james had to google it and then inform me they were intestines, instead of letting me live a peaceful life of ignorance.

this weekend i am heading to Shima for a beach party welcome. i am quite excited to finally spend some more time with other jets and explore more of japan. the week after we have a 2 day orientation in Tsu, and then its the weekend. i think one of my teachers is going to take me to a fireworks show with his daughter, so that is pretty awesome. everyone has been so awesome here! the last girl that worked at this school sucked, so they are really excited that i am happy to be in japan and learn all about japanese culture, etc. i have been invited to most of their houses, so i will have a lot of culture to write about later.

well, need to write some emails and then make the bike ride home. hope everyone is well!

the first post from the inaka

2007-08-06T16:34:00.000+09:00

just a quick post here, as its the end of the work day. inaka means rural here in japan, which is where i have landed for the next year. pictures soon to come of the plentiful rice fields ...

thanks for reading!