I know it's been awhile since I've posted, but things have been a little hectic these past few weeks... but I guess I say that every time. Sorry.
Annnnyway, in exactly 2 weeks from today I will be getting ready to head to the airport and go home to Vashon for the holidays. I'm seriously so excited I can barely contain myself. When people here ask me what my plans are for New Year's, I get a really goofy grin on my face and say "I'm goin' home!" However, I'm sure I'm romanitcizing this waaaay too much. Knowing how much I wanted to leave the States in the first place, I have a feeling the reverse culture shock will be a bit harsher than I'm used to. Suddenly being able to understand ALL the conversations and small talk going on around me might be a bit overwhelming if not downright annoying at times. I've become really accostumed to being in my own private little world, which can be very peaceful and nice at times, but also has the drawback of allowing me WAAAAAY too much thinking time -- hence, all my seemingly wild and crazy plans.
On the other hand, apart from the angst of reverse culture shock, I know there will be a lot of things about America that I'll appreciate, when I took them for granted before. I'm sure through my previous rants that these things are already apparent: central heating/AC, insulation, clothes that actually fit me, SHOES that actually fit me (losing weight won't make my feet smaller...), whole grain bread, a wide variety of rice, cheddar cheese, cheaper veggies and fruits, washers that DON'T ruin your clothes, dryers (!!) etc. With the prospect of raiding the malls during the "End of the Year Sales" (not sure why we don't just have Boxing Day like in Canada), I've been preparing by looking at Gap.com, AnneTaylorLoft.com or Victoriassecret.com to see what's "in" at the moment. After such sessions, I have a strange consumeristic high, even though I try to resist such feelings. It's been way too long since I've been shopping for myself and honestly, some of my clothes are becoming a little, how should I say, raggedy.... Even though I feel guilty about contributing to the consumeristic atmosphere that surrounds the holidays, I think I can allow myself to go buck wild this year, especially considering how much I HAVEN'T bought in the last year and a half, AND how much money I've saved (I won't write the amount here, but let me just say that it's a very comfy amount, hehe!).
NOTE: To anyone who still needs to get Adam a Christmas present -- namely parents -- he desperately needs a classy, good warm winter coat! I might even buy him one myself if I see a good deal....
Other things I'm looking forward to when back are: seeing my parents and family again of course! I do want to mention here that the first couple days will be really weird for Adam and me. I've heard that the jet-lag going back in time is much more stressful on the body than it is going forward in time. Just to give you some perspective as to what we'll be feeling: We'll be leaving Japan at approximately 1:30pm on Thursday and, after flying to Korea, waiting a few hours before flying to Seattle, will be arriving at Seatac at around 11:15am the same day.... theoretically BEFORE we left Japan. At 11:15am in Seattle it's 4:15am the next day in Japan. Basically, you'll be seeing what Adam and I look like after an all-nighter in Osaka (minus the hangover but jet-lag might be similar!), soooo please be gentle! It's not like we can just go to bed at noon when we get in either. If we do that, then our schedules will be permanently messed up. The next day, mom wants us to decorate the Christmas tree, then we go to my dad's and Eileen's house for dinner, and THEN over to Sean's (if we're still alive).... Mom -- don't be surprised if it looks like a couple drunks decorated the tree! Dad and Eileen -- wine might not be a great idea, and please don't expect too much intelligent conversation out of us! Sean -- if you're lucky enough to see us alive after all this.... well, don't be surprised if we just pass out on your couch!
Ok, that will be all for today I suppose. It's not like I have anything more important to do, because I don't. I just really have to pee, and I need to go to the combini (circle K) to get some lunch... my belly is grumblin'! So I'm signing off for now and hopefully will get in another post before I leave.
OH OH WAIT!! I can't believe I almost forgot to mention this and thank God I remembered it on the way back from the bathroom (too much info?)!! One other thing that I'm very much looking forward to is our trip to Vancouver! Aaron will be coming all the way from Chicago to visit me on January 3rd!!!!!! Then the next day Adam is flying in from Texas and we'll be heading to Vancouver (BC.... not Washington) along with my mom and Kirk (brother)! It's going to be so much fun and guaranteed to be interesting. I wish Aaron could stay longer than 6 days, but I guess the price goes up a lot after that. Oh well.... we shall meet up again at some time! Ok, now I'm really going, for real.... I'm gone.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
Internet issues and Halloween Happiness!
Quite a bit has been on my mind since I last posted. I received a few comments about how negative I seemed and how miserable I sounded. Well, I'm really not miserable at all, so please don't worry. The thing that is going on with me right now is that the novelty of living in Japan has loooong worn off and I'm just dealing with things that cease to make any sense to me. I get frustrated because often when I see there's such an obvious solution to a problem (I'm thinking the morning train squeeze here), no one else seems to notice it and, therefore, causes what I see as easily preventable and unnecessary discomfort. Call me crazy, but literally prying my way onto the train while there's room to the sides (yet NO ONE will move out of the way to make room) seems a little ridiculous. Those are the times where I wish I could speak enough Japanese to stand up for myself or tell someone what an idiot they are.... Oooor tell them when the old ladies cut in line, "Please don't cut in line in front of me just because I'm a foreigner and you have one foot in the grave. I've been standing here for 10 minutes, my feet hurt and Im tired." Instead all Im able to say is "Oi! Dame (no)!" and point behind me. I know they're old and we should be thoughtful and whatever, BUT the old ladies here are vicious! Honestly, Im not lying. They'll cut in front of you in line or shove you aside assuming you'll just let them do it cuz they're old.... well, screw that. If they're bent over 90 degrees and look like they might be in a lot of pain, I'll let it slide, but when they are disrespectful, then I usually feel no obligation to be respectful back... am I really mean or does that make sense??
I guess what I'm trying (not so eloquently) to say is that this is my outlet to rant my frustrations and rave about the good times. Ive found that since writing can be so therapeutic, Ive switched from writing in a diary (Ecuador and Germany) to a blog instead. I'm not always bitchy and awful, I swear! There are a lot of good things about Japan, but there are also things that irritate me. By writing about the bad things, I can release the stress and relax a lot easier. So, Im sorry if I seem so negative.... buuuuuuut, there's one more big one that happened last week. (It seems like the harder I try to be positive and see the brighter side of things, something will happen that sends me right back to square one...)
On Wednesday, our school had its Foundation Day, which means the kids don't have to come but the teachers do -- that is, unless we want to use our vacation time. Well, I thought it'd be silly to take 1 day of precious vacation on a Wednesday when Adam was still working. I'd have nothing to do and it'd be boring. Most other teachers take vacation so I knew there were only going to be a couple others besides me there. So, I thought, "hey I can get all my back-logged emails written; that article for our Newsletter done....etc." Well, as it turns out, they forgot to inform me that the power was going to be out in the morning, so when I turned up at 8:30 and the lights were all off and my computer wouldn't work, I was more than a little upset. Had I known that the morning would be a waste of time, I would have taken half a day off (since I have an extra one) and slept in! Anyway, so after having my request to go home and work rejected, I slept until noon, at which time the power came back on.... I was all excited until I figured out that the server was down and I couldnt get on the internet which I needed for everything I had on my list to do... At this point Im sure it was obvious to the other 5 teachers, including my supervisor and vice-principal that I was really upset and not wanting to be there wasting my time. Well, as my mom told me to do once, I put on my big girl panties and dealt with it! At the end of the day when I was the only one left and hadn't accoplished anything I'd wanted to do, my vice-principal came over and apologized for not having told me about the power outage etc. He also said, "kyou wa, chotto mottainai, desu ne?" which means, "Today was a bit of a waste, wasn't it?" So, I replied, "Hai, chotto, ne?", "Yes a little." I figured this was blunt enough for Japanese standards and Im sure he got the point -- at least I hope so. I wasn't gonna sugar coat and hide my displeasure because I was honestly pissed off to the extreme. One of my biggest pet peeves is wasting valuable time. Had I been in America, I would have been more blunt and expressed my feelings a lot more. However, that wouldn't have gone well here I dont think...
Anyway, I had to wait til Friday to get the internet back and I was sooooooooo happy to have it back, it gave me a little high! This is, of course, not such a good thing -- to be so dependant on something like internet, but whatever... I think it's equivalent to a smoker being deprived for a couple days and then finally given a new, fresh pack. Or maybe it's not so bad. I wouldn't really know. I don't smoke.
Soooo the weather's been kinda weird lately, eh? Last Monday it was 77F here!!! Whaaaat?? I'd expect the warm weather in November if we were in, say, Australia, South Africa or New Zealand -- southern hemisphere. But to have this warm of weather in the middle of November in Japan??? It's slightly unnerving. It's not like I'm looking forward to being cold... at all, but the fact that it's so unnatural really bothers me. After talking to my parents back home in Seattle, they told me that they were having severe rain and flooding. I didn't really know how bad they meant until I looked online. There was a picture of a house floating down the swollen Cowlitz River! A 2-storey house.... floating down the river!! How crazy is that?! And this doesn't happen that often back home, just to let y'all know. Is this all part of Global Warming, or is it just a weird year? If things are changing this quickly and noticeably, then we really have a lot to worry about. Am I being an alarmist, or does anyone else notice this too?
OK well enough of all that negative and depressing stuff ;)
The weekend before last, so the 4th, was the big Halloween Party. It was a huge success, mostly because of a couple friends who must have told everyone they possibly knew in all areas in the Kansai region. We had over 100 people, made about $600 and were still able to donate $200 to our local Habitat for Humanity group! Since I had to be responsible, I didn't allow myself more than a beer or 2 and watched as people became more and more intoxicated. I must admit... I kinda rather be among the intoxicated than be the only sober one there! Oh well! It was still a good time and there are some really good pics. Take a look at my shutterfly site for the rest.
Me and "Where's Waldo" Will.
Me and Prince Launey.
The cutest transvestite EVER!! Hardly anyone recognized him. They asked me, "Where's Adam tonight?", to which I replied, "Didn't you see that cute girl by the door?!"
Hehehehehehe! What a knock-out! The fish-nets really tie it all together... and the hat says "Milkshake" on it... for those of you who know the song. We thought it was quite appropriate!
God's Gift to Women Curtis and Chick Magnet Vinh!
This last weekend was Adam's 25th birthday, so we celebrated out in the country at Launey's big house on the river. It was loads of fun and there was lots of yummy BBQ. I also made pumpkin mashed potatoes on the spur of the moment. It was Japanese pumpkin, potatoes, butter, garlic and green onion. Verrrrry yummy and Im thinking about making it for Christmas. It's funny, though, how Adam and I inevitably seem to take the roles as parents at a lot of these events and even to our friends sometimes. People keep jokingly calling Adam "Dad". (Aaron, you were the first, but it's happening even more now!!) Maybe it's because we're an excellent cooking team and cook breakfast for everyone when they're hungover...? Who knows, but it's really funny since that's the last thing we intend to be.
OK well I'm out. It's 4:07pm and I should have left 7 minutes ago... Adam's making Galupsi tonight!! (Russian cabbage rolls.... delish!)
I guess what I'm trying (not so eloquently) to say is that this is my outlet to rant my frustrations and rave about the good times. Ive found that since writing can be so therapeutic, Ive switched from writing in a diary (Ecuador and Germany) to a blog instead. I'm not always bitchy and awful, I swear! There are a lot of good things about Japan, but there are also things that irritate me. By writing about the bad things, I can release the stress and relax a lot easier. So, Im sorry if I seem so negative.... buuuuuuut, there's one more big one that happened last week. (It seems like the harder I try to be positive and see the brighter side of things, something will happen that sends me right back to square one...)
On Wednesday, our school had its Foundation Day, which means the kids don't have to come but the teachers do -- that is, unless we want to use our vacation time. Well, I thought it'd be silly to take 1 day of precious vacation on a Wednesday when Adam was still working. I'd have nothing to do and it'd be boring. Most other teachers take vacation so I knew there were only going to be a couple others besides me there. So, I thought, "hey I can get all my back-logged emails written; that article for our Newsletter done....etc." Well, as it turns out, they forgot to inform me that the power was going to be out in the morning, so when I turned up at 8:30 and the lights were all off and my computer wouldn't work, I was more than a little upset. Had I known that the morning would be a waste of time, I would have taken half a day off (since I have an extra one) and slept in! Anyway, so after having my request to go home and work rejected, I slept until noon, at which time the power came back on.... I was all excited until I figured out that the server was down and I couldnt get on the internet which I needed for everything I had on my list to do... At this point Im sure it was obvious to the other 5 teachers, including my supervisor and vice-principal that I was really upset and not wanting to be there wasting my time. Well, as my mom told me to do once, I put on my big girl panties and dealt with it! At the end of the day when I was the only one left and hadn't accoplished anything I'd wanted to do, my vice-principal came over and apologized for not having told me about the power outage etc. He also said, "kyou wa, chotto mottainai, desu ne?" which means, "Today was a bit of a waste, wasn't it?" So, I replied, "Hai, chotto, ne?", "Yes a little." I figured this was blunt enough for Japanese standards and Im sure he got the point -- at least I hope so. I wasn't gonna sugar coat and hide my displeasure because I was honestly pissed off to the extreme. One of my biggest pet peeves is wasting valuable time. Had I been in America, I would have been more blunt and expressed my feelings a lot more. However, that wouldn't have gone well here I dont think...
Anyway, I had to wait til Friday to get the internet back and I was sooooooooo happy to have it back, it gave me a little high! This is, of course, not such a good thing -- to be so dependant on something like internet, but whatever... I think it's equivalent to a smoker being deprived for a couple days and then finally given a new, fresh pack. Or maybe it's not so bad. I wouldn't really know. I don't smoke.
Soooo the weather's been kinda weird lately, eh? Last Monday it was 77F here!!! Whaaaat?? I'd expect the warm weather in November if we were in, say, Australia, South Africa or New Zealand -- southern hemisphere. But to have this warm of weather in the middle of November in Japan??? It's slightly unnerving. It's not like I'm looking forward to being cold... at all, but the fact that it's so unnatural really bothers me. After talking to my parents back home in Seattle, they told me that they were having severe rain and flooding. I didn't really know how bad they meant until I looked online. There was a picture of a house floating down the swollen Cowlitz River! A 2-storey house.... floating down the river!! How crazy is that?! And this doesn't happen that often back home, just to let y'all know. Is this all part of Global Warming, or is it just a weird year? If things are changing this quickly and noticeably, then we really have a lot to worry about. Am I being an alarmist, or does anyone else notice this too?
OK well enough of all that negative and depressing stuff ;)
The weekend before last, so the 4th, was the big Halloween Party. It was a huge success, mostly because of a couple friends who must have told everyone they possibly knew in all areas in the Kansai region. We had over 100 people, made about $600 and were still able to donate $200 to our local Habitat for Humanity group! Since I had to be responsible, I didn't allow myself more than a beer or 2 and watched as people became more and more intoxicated. I must admit... I kinda rather be among the intoxicated than be the only sober one there! Oh well! It was still a good time and there are some really good pics. Take a look at my shutterfly site for the rest.
Me and "Where's Waldo" Will.
Me and Prince Launey.
The cutest transvestite EVER!! Hardly anyone recognized him. They asked me, "Where's Adam tonight?", to which I replied, "Didn't you see that cute girl by the door?!"
Hehehehehehe! What a knock-out! The fish-nets really tie it all together... and the hat says "Milkshake" on it... for those of you who know the song. We thought it was quite appropriate! 
God's Gift to Women Curtis and Chick Magnet Vinh! This last weekend was Adam's 25th birthday, so we celebrated out in the country at Launey's big house on the river. It was loads of fun and there was lots of yummy BBQ. I also made pumpkin mashed potatoes on the spur of the moment. It was Japanese pumpkin, potatoes, butter, garlic and green onion. Verrrrry yummy and Im thinking about making it for Christmas. It's funny, though, how Adam and I inevitably seem to take the roles as parents at a lot of these events and even to our friends sometimes. People keep jokingly calling Adam "Dad". (Aaron, you were the first, but it's happening even more now!!) Maybe it's because we're an excellent cooking team and cook breakfast for everyone when they're hungover...? Who knows, but it's really funny since that's the last thing we intend to be.
OK well I'm out. It's 4:07pm and I should have left 7 minutes ago... Adam's making Galupsi tonight!! (Russian cabbage rolls.... delish!)
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Where's my personal bubble?
Every morning at 7:45am, I see my train pull up and observe the many body parts and faces smashed against the windows on the door. I give a heavy sigh knowing that I'll have to shove and pry my way into the negative space provided for the 2 minute ride to the next station where everyone and their cousin will transfer to the trains heading to Osaka. The location we live in is nice enough -- clean, quiet, convenient. However, there are some drawbacks to living in a sleeper town: Rush hour is hell on Earth! Now, I've never really had a problem with being in small spaces, but even the most claustrophobia resistant people can get a bit on edge here after awhile.
You might think, "It's only a 2 minute ride, how bad can it be?" Well, those 2 minutes are the longest 2 minutes of my day. This morning I had to lever myself into the train by pushing on the walls beside the doors, and get this, I was the first person in line at my stop! There were still 5 people behind me! The funny part about the morning squeeze, is the fact that the people at the opposite doors -- a mere 5 feet away, I must add -- seem to have an enormous amount of space. How is it that they have so much room when the rest of us have our noses smashed against the windows and are struggling to breathe?? Why don't they just move a little and even out the space? These are the questions that run through my head every morning. After I fail at answering these, other questions pop into my head: Why does someone always insist on farting in these tight, enclosed spaces? Why don't people brush their teeth in the morning but insist on talking across my shoulder to their friend behind me? The mixture of last night's alcohol seeping through pores, stale cigarettes and morning breath is sometimes just a bit overwhelming. And now, since the weather has cooled down to a pleasant temperature, the train conductors have turned off the AC. Sounds reasonable enough except for the fact that they circulated fresh air around. Now every time I'm forced into the mass of commuting humanity, butt to crotch and shoulder to chin, with the fogged up windows and stale, uncirculated air, my heart starts to beat a little harder, my breathe becomes shallower and my only thoughts are "Why can't this damn train go any faster! Open the doors! Get me outta here! Move people, move!! Brush your f'n teeth!!!!!!!" (or a variation thereof...)
This has also happened to a friend of mine, so I know I'm not alone in developing claustrophobia. I really have this feeling that Japanese don't have a sense of personal space. They don't seem to have those forbidden bubbles of space that other people should avoid entering. You can't really have a bubble on the train, I know that and I accept it. However, I would normally assume that I should have one at work, right? Well, I'm wrong about that too, as I've come to find out.
My desk at work is maybe 3.5 feet long and 2 feet wide. It's crammed with English Teaching Resource books, my plant and a couple other important accessories like hand lotion, hand soap, tea/coffee/miso soup cup etc. Add my beloved lap top to this and I'm left with about 1 square foot of work space... That's really not bad and I don't mind that. Most other teachers seem to be far less organized and are lucky to be left with 1 square inch of work space, so I should be very grateful. My problem is not with my desk so much as with the bubble of personal space I assumed I would have around my chair and desk area. Well, unless I'm currently occupying that space, it's fair game for everyone else. The teacher next to me seems to be a pretty popular guy and always has other teachers coming by to chat and students needing help on homework. This always seems to happen around lunch time. I sit in the corner of the room with the kichenette, so not only do I have chatty teachers squeezing into the 2 feet of space between my chair and the window behind me to talk to Mr. Popular, but I also have people in the 5 square foot area to my right, getting in and out of the fridge, microwaving some odd Japanese concoction, or just standing around chatting. The result: me scooted all the way into my desk with my elbows firmly pressed to my sides to avoid people knocking food out of my hands, dreaming about how nice it would be to have a space as big as a cubicle!
Another odd occurence happened yesterday as I was reading BBC News. One of the PE teachers who must have smoked since the age of 5 due to the sound of his voice, and who dyes his hair a strange orange color (hiding the gray maybe??) came over to my desk area. He mumbled something unintelligible, and then, to my complete surprise, stuck his face 2 inches from my computer screen -- no exaggeration. He shook his head and mumbled "Ahhhh zen zen wakarahen!" (Ahhhh I never understand!) I was taken aback and wasn't really sure what to say. I mean ok, so he couldn't understand the English.... How do you respond to that? Too bad? Congrats? Now you know what I feel like? I kinda just laughed and shrugged my shoulders thinking, "Ok weirdo, can you please remove your face from my computer screen and step out of my bubble so I can go back to reading the news?" I think he was just trying to be friendly, but... I don't know. It struck me as slightly invasive. Oh well.
Speaking of more odd occurences, I've recently had people roll down their windows as I'm walking home from work and say something to me in English. It's happened twice now and is kinda weirding me out. The first time, one guy shouted "Nice to meet you!!" and waved frantically. The second time, another guy drove past and shouted, "Harro!!!" while flashing me a thumbs-up sign. Too startled to react both times, I just stared at them feeling like a Sims character with a "?!" floating above my head. Honestly, now, what the hell is all that about? What kind of a reaction do they expect from me? I don't know them! Ugh... strange, strange, strange. I wish I could react quick enough and have time to flash them the bird.
Apart from all that, the weather has been unusually pleasant lately! Getting up to about 75F during the day and cooling off to the 50s at night (I think), it's really been a nice change. I actually am surprised it's still so warm. I would have expected it to be a lot cooler, but hey, I'm not complaining about this! Also with the autumn weather come the wonderful smelling bushes that I mentioned in my last blog I believe. I finally found out what they're called: Kinmokusei. In English it's just the latin term for the species, Osmanthus Frangrans, because I think they're only native to Asia. Although, it might also be called "mock orange" or "sweet olive", not sure. Whatever they are, they're wonderful! Rice harvesting season is also underway, so people seem pretty excited. On the news you hear them talking about the new and fresh, delicious tasting rice that will be out soon. Ummm... delicious white rice? Am I missing something? I wasn't aware it had much of a taste... Anyway, as I was passing by a store I saw something I'd never seen before. Someone was growing 3 rice plants in a flower pot! Not 1, not 5, but 3 rice plants... in a flower pot. Maybe they ran out of flowers? Maybe they couldn't afford a rice field? Your guess is as good as mine.
Also, on a completely random note, I've decided that I really prefer using a squatter toilet when going number 2 (I told you I'd have a lot of time to think...). I've noticed that it feels much more natural and you hardly ever have to push! Adam also informed me that Western toilets force you to put a lot of strain on your colon and other areas in that region which can cause problems later in life. Makes sense to me. The only time I DON'T prefer them is when my balance is not at it's finest -- after drinking for example or in the middle of the night. So, it'd be nice to eventually have one of each in our future house. Supposedly, squatting is also the most natural way to give birth....
Ok well that's enough babbling for today. Now I just have 4 more hours until I'm able to leave. This time will be consumed with lunch, some reading, a nap, some more reading, and checking my email and Myspace. Yay...?
You might think, "It's only a 2 minute ride, how bad can it be?" Well, those 2 minutes are the longest 2 minutes of my day. This morning I had to lever myself into the train by pushing on the walls beside the doors, and get this, I was the first person in line at my stop! There were still 5 people behind me! The funny part about the morning squeeze, is the fact that the people at the opposite doors -- a mere 5 feet away, I must add -- seem to have an enormous amount of space. How is it that they have so much room when the rest of us have our noses smashed against the windows and are struggling to breathe?? Why don't they just move a little and even out the space? These are the questions that run through my head every morning. After I fail at answering these, other questions pop into my head: Why does someone always insist on farting in these tight, enclosed spaces? Why don't people brush their teeth in the morning but insist on talking across my shoulder to their friend behind me? The mixture of last night's alcohol seeping through pores, stale cigarettes and morning breath is sometimes just a bit overwhelming. And now, since the weather has cooled down to a pleasant temperature, the train conductors have turned off the AC. Sounds reasonable enough except for the fact that they circulated fresh air around. Now every time I'm forced into the mass of commuting humanity, butt to crotch and shoulder to chin, with the fogged up windows and stale, uncirculated air, my heart starts to beat a little harder, my breathe becomes shallower and my only thoughts are "Why can't this damn train go any faster! Open the doors! Get me outta here! Move people, move!! Brush your f'n teeth!!!!!!!" (or a variation thereof...)
This has also happened to a friend of mine, so I know I'm not alone in developing claustrophobia. I really have this feeling that Japanese don't have a sense of personal space. They don't seem to have those forbidden bubbles of space that other people should avoid entering. You can't really have a bubble on the train, I know that and I accept it. However, I would normally assume that I should have one at work, right? Well, I'm wrong about that too, as I've come to find out.
My desk at work is maybe 3.5 feet long and 2 feet wide. It's crammed with English Teaching Resource books, my plant and a couple other important accessories like hand lotion, hand soap, tea/coffee/miso soup cup etc. Add my beloved lap top to this and I'm left with about 1 square foot of work space... That's really not bad and I don't mind that. Most other teachers seem to be far less organized and are lucky to be left with 1 square inch of work space, so I should be very grateful. My problem is not with my desk so much as with the bubble of personal space I assumed I would have around my chair and desk area. Well, unless I'm currently occupying that space, it's fair game for everyone else. The teacher next to me seems to be a pretty popular guy and always has other teachers coming by to chat and students needing help on homework. This always seems to happen around lunch time. I sit in the corner of the room with the kichenette, so not only do I have chatty teachers squeezing into the 2 feet of space between my chair and the window behind me to talk to Mr. Popular, but I also have people in the 5 square foot area to my right, getting in and out of the fridge, microwaving some odd Japanese concoction, or just standing around chatting. The result: me scooted all the way into my desk with my elbows firmly pressed to my sides to avoid people knocking food out of my hands, dreaming about how nice it would be to have a space as big as a cubicle!
Another odd occurence happened yesterday as I was reading BBC News. One of the PE teachers who must have smoked since the age of 5 due to the sound of his voice, and who dyes his hair a strange orange color (hiding the gray maybe??) came over to my desk area. He mumbled something unintelligible, and then, to my complete surprise, stuck his face 2 inches from my computer screen -- no exaggeration. He shook his head and mumbled "Ahhhh zen zen wakarahen!" (Ahhhh I never understand!) I was taken aback and wasn't really sure what to say. I mean ok, so he couldn't understand the English.... How do you respond to that? Too bad? Congrats? Now you know what I feel like? I kinda just laughed and shrugged my shoulders thinking, "Ok weirdo, can you please remove your face from my computer screen and step out of my bubble so I can go back to reading the news?" I think he was just trying to be friendly, but... I don't know. It struck me as slightly invasive. Oh well.
Speaking of more odd occurences, I've recently had people roll down their windows as I'm walking home from work and say something to me in English. It's happened twice now and is kinda weirding me out. The first time, one guy shouted "Nice to meet you!!" and waved frantically. The second time, another guy drove past and shouted, "Harro!!!" while flashing me a thumbs-up sign. Too startled to react both times, I just stared at them feeling like a Sims character with a "?!" floating above my head. Honestly, now, what the hell is all that about? What kind of a reaction do they expect from me? I don't know them! Ugh... strange, strange, strange. I wish I could react quick enough and have time to flash them the bird.
Apart from all that, the weather has been unusually pleasant lately! Getting up to about 75F during the day and cooling off to the 50s at night (I think), it's really been a nice change. I actually am surprised it's still so warm. I would have expected it to be a lot cooler, but hey, I'm not complaining about this! Also with the autumn weather come the wonderful smelling bushes that I mentioned in my last blog I believe. I finally found out what they're called: Kinmokusei. In English it's just the latin term for the species, Osmanthus Frangrans, because I think they're only native to Asia. Although, it might also be called "mock orange" or "sweet olive", not sure. Whatever they are, they're wonderful! Rice harvesting season is also underway, so people seem pretty excited. On the news you hear them talking about the new and fresh, delicious tasting rice that will be out soon. Ummm... delicious white rice? Am I missing something? I wasn't aware it had much of a taste... Anyway, as I was passing by a store I saw something I'd never seen before. Someone was growing 3 rice plants in a flower pot! Not 1, not 5, but 3 rice plants... in a flower pot. Maybe they ran out of flowers? Maybe they couldn't afford a rice field? Your guess is as good as mine.
Also, on a completely random note, I've decided that I really prefer using a squatter toilet when going number 2 (I told you I'd have a lot of time to think...). I've noticed that it feels much more natural and you hardly ever have to push! Adam also informed me that Western toilets force you to put a lot of strain on your colon and other areas in that region which can cause problems later in life. Makes sense to me. The only time I DON'T prefer them is when my balance is not at it's finest -- after drinking for example or in the middle of the night. So, it'd be nice to eventually have one of each in our future house. Supposedly, squatting is also the most natural way to give birth....
Ok well that's enough babbling for today. Now I just have 4 more hours until I'm able to leave. This time will be consumed with lunch, some reading, a nap, some more reading, and checking my email and Myspace. Yay...?
Friday, October 06, 2006
A Post Long Overdue!
I know I'm way overdue for a post but I just haven't been much in the mood for writing lately. I've been pretty busy these last 3 weeks with classes and all, which is great! However, I am now back to doing nothing for another 4 weeks. I'll have a couple more classes at my second school and then will have to make a Listening Test -- which takes a total of maybe a couple hours at most to put together. After that, I have time to sit around and think... sigh.
AJET has also been taking up a good deal of time and we're currently planning our annual Halloween Dance Party. We're hoping to draw a LOT of people this year by advertising early (I hope) and offering free drinks for reserving tickets early. We also have a 5,000 yen ($45) prize for our Overall Best Costume Award. The other, lesser, categories are Scariest, Sexiest, Funniest, Most Offensive (Adam and I would have gotten this last year) and Crappiest (for those who really just threw something together at the last minute!). We're also donating 20,000 yen (a bit less than $200) to our local Habitat for Humanity and will be selling food and snacks there to benefit them as well. We're trying to organize some games like Limbo and biting-an-apple-off-a-string-with-no-hands. Hopefully it'll all work out. As far as costumes go, I'll be wearing a traditional Mongolian overcoat called a "del", along with a crazy looking hat. It should be nice, but nothing offensive or startling like last year. Adam still hasn't decided on his costume but will probably want something offensive or funny. If anyone has any ideas, PLEASE let us know!
So, there's a spider that's taken residence outside my window at work and usually in my past I've either feared or just been grossed out by spiders. However, this spider is kinda cool (provided it stays where it is...!). I think it's the type of spider called locally "Welcome spiders" because they like to build webs near doors and windows, therefore "welcoming" you home (not poisonous). They can get about 4-5 inches from leg tip to leg tip at their largest and are quite brilliantly colored. Their body is a sort of striped yellowish-green and their legs are striped black and yellow. The one I've been watching outside my window, (let's call him Ted for the sake of this narrative) was busy re-making his impressive web. As he moved his way about delicately attaching his silk with his back leg to the appropriate part on the web, I was struck with a sense of extreme awe. How in the word could we have ever so carelessly destroyed something so masterful and beautiful. Honestly, a spider's web is a gorgeous work of art. It takes them so long to create one and I'm sure costs them so much energy, that for us to come along and destroy it with a stick (or whatever else), seems pretty barbaric. Some of their webs can get to be about 3 feet in diameter!! Ted is an amazing creature indeed!
Anyway, that's enough nature talk for now. I've been a little down lately. A few classes this last week have really upset me and made me really wonder if I can make it through another year here. Most of my classes are lovely and, especially with my candy-filled Halloween lesson, are a lot of fun! However, a couple classes are filled with students who, for some unknown reason, seem to think I'm not a human being, but instead some kind of a strange clown from a different planet. I was in the middle of acting out some vocabulary (making them guess the meaning in Japanese -- thereby avoiding the whole translation bit) and some students just started laughing. I know I didn't have boogers on my face or chalk on my butt, so I ignored it at first. But then it became so distracting I had to ask what was going on. The JTE (jpse teacher with me) said they thought it was funny that I was so "genki" (energetic). Ah... well I'm sorry for not being a boring drone! Most classes seem to like the fact that I'm positive and energetic in my classes. I know it's a pretty big change from the usual monotone lectures they normally get. It wasn't so much the laughing part that bothered me so much as the general air of disrespect. They refused to do anything I asked them to, refused to raise their hands and answer simple questions or repeat something I needed them to practice. I was so inscensed at one point I almost said "F@$# it! I'm outta here" and left the room. I didn't, but I sure wanted to. Other classes were dead-silent and seemed like complete zombies. I don't think there's anything more humiliating than having your students not respect you and, therefore, make you feel like a fool when your principal and vice-principal are watching. Every once in awhile you hear about a teacher going nuts, snapping and stabbing a student. It seems extreme, I know, but honestly... I'm not surprised! I would have loved to take a couple of the chalkboard erasers (which are always filled with chalkdust) and poof them on the kids' faces, purely for my own enjoyment.
Anyway, I've started being harsher with the "unruley" students. I don't like to be mean and I don't like having to get mad, but there's nothing else I can do. Adam doesn't think I'm acting harsh enough and that they'll continue to walk all over me.... Maybe he's right. Winning them over as the nice guy worked at the beginning, but maybe they're starting to think they can take advantage of me. I'm technically not a real teacher, so they don't tend to think of me as one. However, I'm just trying to do my job to the best of my ability and they make it impossibly frustrating at times. It's also to do with the age, I'm sure. They're 15-16 years old but act like they're in 8th grade. The maturity level here is quite a bit lower than in the states. I'd always vowed NEVER to be a middle school teacher and was very happy a year ago to learn I'd be teaching high school. Well, I might as well be teaching 7th or 8th grade. Grrrrrr!
Whatever, this is definitely my last year here. They could but wouldn't fire me for any but the most serious reasons. I discussed this with Adam and he said that up until now I've been very tolerant (in actions, not my rants) of the culture and have been trying my hardest to fit in. Well, it's kicking me in the butt. I'll never fit in here and no matter how hard I try they'll still view me, not as a person but as a strange, foreign being. It's time I literally say "F&%$ it!" and stop being let down all the time. I'm going to be the person I am and not care about trying to fit in anymore. This will probably cause people to think I'm rude (because I state my opinion and can actually say the word "no"), and abrasive. Whatever. I'm tired of caring. This isn't to say that they're ALL like this, because they're not. Most of the people I work with are very nice and helpful. However, they still see me as an outsider.
The day before yesterday there was a lecture here at school about the "foreigner issue" in Japan. Since they have opened Sumo Wrestling to foreigners, the only champions have been Mongolian or this one Bulgarian guy. This has raised a lot of issues because they think of Sumo as a Japanese sport -- ergo, foreigners shouldn't be allowed to be the champions. One of my teachers came back from this lecture and asked me about foreigners in our sports like baseball. He wondered if we had any regulations or limitations on how many foreigners could be on a team. I said, no we don't (which is true). He wondered what we thought about foreigners setting records, like Ichiro, for example. I said that it didn't matter that he was foreign. If he's playing for the Mariners and doing well, then that makes the team and us look good. The fact that a huge number of our players are from other countries, like Puerto Rico, Japan etc. didn't matter. He seemed to think this was strange. Then he asked me if I ever felt discriminated against being a foreigner here in Japan. Unsure of how much opinion to give him, I asked if he wanted the truth. He said yes, so I, in the most benign way possible said, "yes quite often acutally". We get turned away from restaurants and bars. We are stared at and thought to be very stupid. We just recently made a reservation at a Japanese style hotel in southern Nara and they actually required that a certain percentage of the people in our group be able to speak Japanese. Things like this would be considered prejudiced and racist in America.
Anyway, I tried to tell him what I experienced in a very nice way. Hope it turned out like that. He's nice so I didn't want to bitch or complain, just explain. He was surprised to hear about all I had to say and mentioned to me that since many people didn't grow up seeing a lot of foreigners, they don't know how to act or behave around them. I thought this was silly, since all we want is for them to treat us as human beings, NOT as strange creatures. I basically told him that we would like to be treated the same way they would like to be treated (read: Golden Rule). Not sure how successful I was in getting my point across. Expressing a complicated opinion is difficult in simple English.
On another note: All the women in my family got together a couple weekends ago for our annual MAD Runamuck (Mothers And Daughters = MAD). I was pretty sad not to have been able to attend. However, completely on accident I called my mom one of those nights and was able to talk to all 8 of them! It was so nice to be able to talk to everyone again after so long. I can't wait to see them all at Christmas!! 76 days and counting! They said that I was there in spirit... no idea what this meant but knew it had to be something really goofy. When I saw the pics, I finally understood! Kinda cute, kinda weird! Haha! Here are some pics from the craziness that is my family! Enjoy!
The lake house they stayed at.
View of the lake. Beautiful!
Group pic. I'm the balloon there in the back. We have to wear crazy hats for dinner time. Not sure why... just to make it that much crazier I guess!
The Cousins -- Mandi, "me" before I started drinking, Kim, Heidi, Heather.
Heather, "me", Grammy. I think I'd had a few at this point!
Ooops! Maybe a few too many...
Mandi and Julia -- the newest member to the MADness!
Mid-day cheer! Heather, Aunt Diana, Heidi.
I think my mommy really wants to be a grammy! *eek!* Mom, you're going to be an awesome grandma!
Paddleboating.... or something like it! Aunt Connie and Mom.
Time for bed! Classic, Mom, classic. :) Goodnight!
AJET has also been taking up a good deal of time and we're currently planning our annual Halloween Dance Party. We're hoping to draw a LOT of people this year by advertising early (I hope) and offering free drinks for reserving tickets early. We also have a 5,000 yen ($45) prize for our Overall Best Costume Award. The other, lesser, categories are Scariest, Sexiest, Funniest, Most Offensive (Adam and I would have gotten this last year) and Crappiest (for those who really just threw something together at the last minute!). We're also donating 20,000 yen (a bit less than $200) to our local Habitat for Humanity and will be selling food and snacks there to benefit them as well. We're trying to organize some games like Limbo and biting-an-apple-off-a-string-with-no-hands. Hopefully it'll all work out. As far as costumes go, I'll be wearing a traditional Mongolian overcoat called a "del", along with a crazy looking hat. It should be nice, but nothing offensive or startling like last year. Adam still hasn't decided on his costume but will probably want something offensive or funny. If anyone has any ideas, PLEASE let us know!
So, there's a spider that's taken residence outside my window at work and usually in my past I've either feared or just been grossed out by spiders. However, this spider is kinda cool (provided it stays where it is...!). I think it's the type of spider called locally "Welcome spiders" because they like to build webs near doors and windows, therefore "welcoming" you home (not poisonous). They can get about 4-5 inches from leg tip to leg tip at their largest and are quite brilliantly colored. Their body is a sort of striped yellowish-green and their legs are striped black and yellow. The one I've been watching outside my window, (let's call him Ted for the sake of this narrative) was busy re-making his impressive web. As he moved his way about delicately attaching his silk with his back leg to the appropriate part on the web, I was struck with a sense of extreme awe. How in the word could we have ever so carelessly destroyed something so masterful and beautiful. Honestly, a spider's web is a gorgeous work of art. It takes them so long to create one and I'm sure costs them so much energy, that for us to come along and destroy it with a stick (or whatever else), seems pretty barbaric. Some of their webs can get to be about 3 feet in diameter!! Ted is an amazing creature indeed!
Anyway, that's enough nature talk for now. I've been a little down lately. A few classes this last week have really upset me and made me really wonder if I can make it through another year here. Most of my classes are lovely and, especially with my candy-filled Halloween lesson, are a lot of fun! However, a couple classes are filled with students who, for some unknown reason, seem to think I'm not a human being, but instead some kind of a strange clown from a different planet. I was in the middle of acting out some vocabulary (making them guess the meaning in Japanese -- thereby avoiding the whole translation bit) and some students just started laughing. I know I didn't have boogers on my face or chalk on my butt, so I ignored it at first. But then it became so distracting I had to ask what was going on. The JTE (jpse teacher with me) said they thought it was funny that I was so "genki" (energetic). Ah... well I'm sorry for not being a boring drone! Most classes seem to like the fact that I'm positive and energetic in my classes. I know it's a pretty big change from the usual monotone lectures they normally get. It wasn't so much the laughing part that bothered me so much as the general air of disrespect. They refused to do anything I asked them to, refused to raise their hands and answer simple questions or repeat something I needed them to practice. I was so inscensed at one point I almost said "F@$# it! I'm outta here" and left the room. I didn't, but I sure wanted to. Other classes were dead-silent and seemed like complete zombies. I don't think there's anything more humiliating than having your students not respect you and, therefore, make you feel like a fool when your principal and vice-principal are watching. Every once in awhile you hear about a teacher going nuts, snapping and stabbing a student. It seems extreme, I know, but honestly... I'm not surprised! I would have loved to take a couple of the chalkboard erasers (which are always filled with chalkdust) and poof them on the kids' faces, purely for my own enjoyment.
Anyway, I've started being harsher with the "unruley" students. I don't like to be mean and I don't like having to get mad, but there's nothing else I can do. Adam doesn't think I'm acting harsh enough and that they'll continue to walk all over me.... Maybe he's right. Winning them over as the nice guy worked at the beginning, but maybe they're starting to think they can take advantage of me. I'm technically not a real teacher, so they don't tend to think of me as one. However, I'm just trying to do my job to the best of my ability and they make it impossibly frustrating at times. It's also to do with the age, I'm sure. They're 15-16 years old but act like they're in 8th grade. The maturity level here is quite a bit lower than in the states. I'd always vowed NEVER to be a middle school teacher and was very happy a year ago to learn I'd be teaching high school. Well, I might as well be teaching 7th or 8th grade. Grrrrrr!
Whatever, this is definitely my last year here. They could but wouldn't fire me for any but the most serious reasons. I discussed this with Adam and he said that up until now I've been very tolerant (in actions, not my rants) of the culture and have been trying my hardest to fit in. Well, it's kicking me in the butt. I'll never fit in here and no matter how hard I try they'll still view me, not as a person but as a strange, foreign being. It's time I literally say "F&%$ it!" and stop being let down all the time. I'm going to be the person I am and not care about trying to fit in anymore. This will probably cause people to think I'm rude (because I state my opinion and can actually say the word "no"), and abrasive. Whatever. I'm tired of caring. This isn't to say that they're ALL like this, because they're not. Most of the people I work with are very nice and helpful. However, they still see me as an outsider.
The day before yesterday there was a lecture here at school about the "foreigner issue" in Japan. Since they have opened Sumo Wrestling to foreigners, the only champions have been Mongolian or this one Bulgarian guy. This has raised a lot of issues because they think of Sumo as a Japanese sport -- ergo, foreigners shouldn't be allowed to be the champions. One of my teachers came back from this lecture and asked me about foreigners in our sports like baseball. He wondered if we had any regulations or limitations on how many foreigners could be on a team. I said, no we don't (which is true). He wondered what we thought about foreigners setting records, like Ichiro, for example. I said that it didn't matter that he was foreign. If he's playing for the Mariners and doing well, then that makes the team and us look good. The fact that a huge number of our players are from other countries, like Puerto Rico, Japan etc. didn't matter. He seemed to think this was strange. Then he asked me if I ever felt discriminated against being a foreigner here in Japan. Unsure of how much opinion to give him, I asked if he wanted the truth. He said yes, so I, in the most benign way possible said, "yes quite often acutally". We get turned away from restaurants and bars. We are stared at and thought to be very stupid. We just recently made a reservation at a Japanese style hotel in southern Nara and they actually required that a certain percentage of the people in our group be able to speak Japanese. Things like this would be considered prejudiced and racist in America.
Anyway, I tried to tell him what I experienced in a very nice way. Hope it turned out like that. He's nice so I didn't want to bitch or complain, just explain. He was surprised to hear about all I had to say and mentioned to me that since many people didn't grow up seeing a lot of foreigners, they don't know how to act or behave around them. I thought this was silly, since all we want is for them to treat us as human beings, NOT as strange creatures. I basically told him that we would like to be treated the same way they would like to be treated (read: Golden Rule). Not sure how successful I was in getting my point across. Expressing a complicated opinion is difficult in simple English.
On another note: All the women in my family got together a couple weekends ago for our annual MAD Runamuck (Mothers And Daughters = MAD). I was pretty sad not to have been able to attend. However, completely on accident I called my mom one of those nights and was able to talk to all 8 of them! It was so nice to be able to talk to everyone again after so long. I can't wait to see them all at Christmas!! 76 days and counting! They said that I was there in spirit... no idea what this meant but knew it had to be something really goofy. When I saw the pics, I finally understood! Kinda cute, kinda weird! Haha! Here are some pics from the craziness that is my family! Enjoy!
The lake house they stayed at.
View of the lake. Beautiful!
Group pic. I'm the balloon there in the back. We have to wear crazy hats for dinner time. Not sure why... just to make it that much crazier I guess!
The Cousins -- Mandi, "me" before I started drinking, Kim, Heidi, Heather.
Heather, "me", Grammy. I think I'd had a few at this point!
Ooops! Maybe a few too many... 
Mandi and Julia -- the newest member to the MADness!
Mid-day cheer! Heather, Aunt Diana, Heidi.
I think my mommy really wants to be a grammy! *eek!* Mom, you're going to be an awesome grandma!
Paddleboating.... or something like it! Aunt Connie and Mom.
Time for bed! Classic, Mom, classic. :) Goodnight!
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Article by Tom Friedman
Yet another reason why I'd rather live somewhere OTHER than America...
Dumb as We Wanna Be
I asked Dr. José Goldemberg, secretary for the environment for São Paulo State and a pioneer of Brazil’s ethanol industry, the obvious question: Is the fact that the U.S. has imposed a 54-cents-a-gallon tariff to prevent Americans from importing sugar ethanol from Brazil “just stupid or really stupid.”
Thanks to pressure from Midwest farmers and agribusinesses, who want to protect the U.S. corn ethanol industry from competition from Brazilian sugar ethanol, we have imposed a stiff tariff to keep it out. We do this even though Brazilian sugar ethanol provides eight times the energy of the fossil fuel used to make it, while American corn ethanol provides only 1.3 times the energy of the fossil fuel used to make it. We do this even though sugar ethanol reduces greenhouses gases more than corn ethanol. And we do this even though sugar cane ethanol can easily be grown in poor tropical countries in Africa or the Caribbean, and could actually help alleviate their poverty.
Yes, you read all this right. We tax imported sugar ethanol, which could finance our poor friends, but we don’t tax imported crude oil, which definitely finances our rich enemies. We’d rather power anti-Americans with our energy purchases than promote antipoverty.
“It’s really stupid,” answered Dr. Goldemberg.
If I seem upset about this, I am. Development and environmental experts have long searched for environmentally sustainable ways to alleviate rural poverty — especially for people who live in places like Brazil, where there is a constant temptation to log the Amazon. Sure, ecotourism and rain forest soap are nice, but they never really scale. As a result, rural people in Brazil are always tempted go back to logging or farming sensitive areas.
Ethanol from sugar cane could be a scalable, sustainable alternative — if we are smart and get rid of silly tariffs, and if Brazil is smart and starts thinking right now about how to expand its sugar cane biofuel industry without harming the environment.
The good news is that sugar cane doesn’t require irrigation and can’t grow in much of the Amazon, because it is too wet. So if the Brazilian sugar industry does realize its plan to grow from 15 million to 25 million acres over the next few years, it need not threaten the Amazon.
However, sugar cane farms are located mostly in south-central Brazil, around São Paulo, and along the northeast coast, on land that was carved out of drier areas of the Atlantic rain forest, which has more different species of plants and animals per acre than the Amazon. Less than 7 percent of the total Atlantic rain forest remains — thanks to sugar, coffee, orange plantations and cattle grazing.
I flew in a helicopter over the region near São Paulo, and what I saw was not pretty: mansions being carved from forested hillsides near the city, rivers that have silted because of logging right down to the banks, and wide swaths of forest that have been cleared and will never return.
“It makes you weep,” said Gustavo Fonseca, my traveling companion, a Brazilian and the executive vice president of Conservation International. “What I see here is a totally human dominated system in which most of the biodiversity is gone.”
As demand for sugar ethanol rises — and that is a good thing for Brazil and the developing world, said Fonseca, “we have to make sure that the expansion is done in a planned way.”
Over the past five years, the Amazon has lost 7,700 square miles a year, most of it for cattle grazing, soybean farming and palm oil. A similar expansion for sugar ethanol could destroy the cerrado, the Brazilian savannah, another incredibly species-rich area, and the best place in Brazil to grow more sugar.
A proposal is floating around the Brazilian government for a major expansion of the sugar industry, far beyond even the industry’s plans. No wonder environmental activists are holding a conference in Germany this fall about the impact of biofuels. I could see some groups one day calling for an ethanol boycott — à la genetically modified foods — if they feel biofuels are raping the environment.
We have the tools to resolve these conflicts. We can map the lands that need protection for their biodiversity or the environmental benefits they provide rural communities. But sugar farmers, governments and environmentalists need to sit down early — like now — to identify those lands and commit the money needed to protect them. Otherwise, we will have a fight over every acre, and sugar ethanol will never realize its potential. That would be really, really stupid.
Dumb as We Wanna Be
I asked Dr. José Goldemberg, secretary for the environment for São Paulo State and a pioneer of Brazil’s ethanol industry, the obvious question: Is the fact that the U.S. has imposed a 54-cents-a-gallon tariff to prevent Americans from importing sugar ethanol from Brazil “just stupid or really stupid.”
Thanks to pressure from Midwest farmers and agribusinesses, who want to protect the U.S. corn ethanol industry from competition from Brazilian sugar ethanol, we have imposed a stiff tariff to keep it out. We do this even though Brazilian sugar ethanol provides eight times the energy of the fossil fuel used to make it, while American corn ethanol provides only 1.3 times the energy of the fossil fuel used to make it. We do this even though sugar ethanol reduces greenhouses gases more than corn ethanol. And we do this even though sugar cane ethanol can easily be grown in poor tropical countries in Africa or the Caribbean, and could actually help alleviate their poverty.
Yes, you read all this right. We tax imported sugar ethanol, which could finance our poor friends, but we don’t tax imported crude oil, which definitely finances our rich enemies. We’d rather power anti-Americans with our energy purchases than promote antipoverty.
“It’s really stupid,” answered Dr. Goldemberg.
If I seem upset about this, I am. Development and environmental experts have long searched for environmentally sustainable ways to alleviate rural poverty — especially for people who live in places like Brazil, where there is a constant temptation to log the Amazon. Sure, ecotourism and rain forest soap are nice, but they never really scale. As a result, rural people in Brazil are always tempted go back to logging or farming sensitive areas.
Ethanol from sugar cane could be a scalable, sustainable alternative — if we are smart and get rid of silly tariffs, and if Brazil is smart and starts thinking right now about how to expand its sugar cane biofuel industry without harming the environment.
The good news is that sugar cane doesn’t require irrigation and can’t grow in much of the Amazon, because it is too wet. So if the Brazilian sugar industry does realize its plan to grow from 15 million to 25 million acres over the next few years, it need not threaten the Amazon.
However, sugar cane farms are located mostly in south-central Brazil, around São Paulo, and along the northeast coast, on land that was carved out of drier areas of the Atlantic rain forest, which has more different species of plants and animals per acre than the Amazon. Less than 7 percent of the total Atlantic rain forest remains — thanks to sugar, coffee, orange plantations and cattle grazing.
I flew in a helicopter over the region near São Paulo, and what I saw was not pretty: mansions being carved from forested hillsides near the city, rivers that have silted because of logging right down to the banks, and wide swaths of forest that have been cleared and will never return.
“It makes you weep,” said Gustavo Fonseca, my traveling companion, a Brazilian and the executive vice president of Conservation International. “What I see here is a totally human dominated system in which most of the biodiversity is gone.”
As demand for sugar ethanol rises — and that is a good thing for Brazil and the developing world, said Fonseca, “we have to make sure that the expansion is done in a planned way.”
Over the past five years, the Amazon has lost 7,700 square miles a year, most of it for cattle grazing, soybean farming and palm oil. A similar expansion for sugar ethanol could destroy the cerrado, the Brazilian savannah, another incredibly species-rich area, and the best place in Brazil to grow more sugar.
A proposal is floating around the Brazilian government for a major expansion of the sugar industry, far beyond even the industry’s plans. No wonder environmental activists are holding a conference in Germany this fall about the impact of biofuels. I could see some groups one day calling for an ethanol boycott — à la genetically modified foods — if they feel biofuels are raping the environment.
We have the tools to resolve these conflicts. We can map the lands that need protection for their biodiversity or the environmental benefits they provide rural communities. But sugar farmers, governments and environmentalists need to sit down early — like now — to identify those lands and commit the money needed to protect them. Otherwise, we will have a fight over every acre, and sugar ethanol will never realize its potential. That would be really, really stupid.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Dancing in the Rain and School Festivals
OK Im getting pressure to upate again and I've been wanting to but I also wanted photos to accompany the blog.... my sources have fallen through!! I've forgotten my camera a couple times and then the time I remembered it, it died after taking 3 pics....grrrr! Oh well. When I get the pics, I'll update this entry!
So, first on my list of updates and news since I posted last is the Basara Matsuri. Its a festival that takes place in August in Nara. Teams will get together, sponsored by companies I think, and create a group dance with wacky costumes etc. Nothing has to be traditional -- its all about creativity. Anyway, there's always been a JET group and I decided to join it this year thinking that I'd get to keep the cool costumes that we usually get for free(a summer kimono, AKA a yukata). However, I found out that our sponsor changed this year and instead of a pretty summer kimono that I could cherish and take home as a cool souvenir, we were presented with black spandex shorts, a tight black tank top, a white apron to put over it, and red armbands and a red bandana..... The result: we looked like a team of crazy ramen cooks! Not exactly what I had in mind when I signed up.
Anyway, on the day I went to participate with everyone, we were to dance on stage and then dance a few times up a verrrrrrry long street. So, we practiced in the hot sun, sweating buckets, but having a good time in general. Then while we were dancing on the stage, I noticed that there were some very dark, looming and ominous clouds coming nearer and nearer.... We made it down to the train station and under cover before the heavens opened and pissed all over everything. The cooler temperature was great though and I actually twirled in the rain a little just to cool off. (Of course, all the Japanese around were staring, open-nouthed and pointing as I did this.... who knows? Maybe they're made of sugar and melt in the rain? ORRR maybe they're made of salt from all the fish and soy sauce they consume... That would make more sense!) Aaaaanyhow, after the downpour we made our way to the starting point to dance the street, thinking that since it downpoured once, we were safe....
Ha. Yeah right! Right as we started our dancing up the street it started to downpour again. And when I say downpour I dont mean Seattle-type downpour. I mean, its raining so hard you feel like you're in the shower with all your clothes on. I could barely keep my eyes open! The tiny street we were dancing in was turned into a raging river within minutes. We were dancing in 4-5 inches of water by the end. However, since there was nothing we could do about it and we couldnt just be pussies and stop dancing, we danced with more energy and enthusiasm than all the previous times! We has sooooo much fun and we laughing so hard, its one of the best experiences Ive had here so far. The rain honestly felt great and it was such a wonderful feeling of abandon! People on the side were cheering us on and all the other teams in front of and behind us were cheering for us and visa versa. What an incredible feeling of unity!
Afterwards we went back to where we had changed only to realize that none of us had towels or changes of clothes. We were stuck to just air dry.... To help this process along, we had to wring out our clothes. I ended up wringing everything out 3 times. There were puddles of water everywhere. Im waiting for the pictures. They should be pretty humorous, although Im not sure if they'll really show how wet we were. It was as if we had jumped into a lake with all our clothes on. By the end of the dance we looked at our hands and all our fingers looked like prunes!
I had to leave early, but as it turned out we won a "Special Award" and the team had to dance one more time on stage! I guess there are only 5 "Special Awards" given away each year by 5 famous people who come to Nara to watch the festival. It was such a surprise because, honestly, our dance wasnt THAT great and our costumes were goofy at best. They had to call our team name out like 3 times before they all heard it and were ushered to the stage by people in the audience. I heard it was really funny!
OK, now for the next event. AJET (the organization Im in) put on a Welcome Party Beer Garden to kick off the new JET year. Fortunately it didn't rain and we were able to have it on the roof top of the hotel. It was a nice night -- not nearly as full of debauchery like past beer gardens, but everyone still had a great time. Im still waiting for pictures from that as well and will post them when I get them!
Last weekend we went to the Yoshino River and had a BBQ. It was sooo much fun and the weather was gorgeous. The sun was warm but it wasn't very humid! Yaay! The river was pretty high though and the rapids were really strong! We went swimming anyway though and it was really nice. Adam got a little beat up by the rapids trying to cross the river back to where all our stuff was. No injuries but a couple cuts and bruises... He kinda got tossed over the rocks a bit! I was a little worried and ready to jump in and rescue him (lifeguard instincts are still there!) but he was fine. Whew! We made fajitas and potato salad which were a huge hit since mexican ingredients are near impossible to come by!
Group pic. We're eating BBQ'd sweet potatoes. Left to right: Kendra (NZ), Josy (UK), me, April (USA), Vinh (USA)
The boys: Chetan (S. Africa), Launey (Canada), Kabir (California). Despite what it appears, Chetan and Kabir are actually around 6' each... Launey is 6'9"!!! I come up to his shoulder...possibly a little farther, but not much!
The BBQ scene which of course Adam has a part in! Those are the fajita makings he's guarding...
And here's me in Launey's shoes.... I have my clunky Chaco sandals on and I can still fit inside his shoes with room to spare! I think they're a size 16, or maybe 18.... and yes, he played basketball in college.
Now this week is the school festival week called "bunkasai". All schools have them at the beginning of the fall trimester and they include music and drama performances one day, and food stalls, games and karaoke the second. So, today is the second day and I took a risk and bought some "thai" soup for lunch.... I don't trust the food here very much, especially since I KNOW there's no soap at all in the bathrooms. (Yeah... eww!) The student karaoke just ended, thank GOD!!! The problem with the students here is that contrary to American teens who know they don't have talent and don't perform unless they do, is that every student here thinks they could be the next Japanese Brittney Spears or Justin Timberlake! Honestly, the girls on stage 5 minutes ago sounded like chipmunks on crack! Not so cool. I wanted to bang my head against the wall.
On another note, Im becoming much more confident in my language ability. Ive been having people come up to me left and right asking for directions to something. The first one, I knew exactly what they were talking about and helped them. The second was asking for the ballet studio but I didnt know the word for that, unfortunately, even though I did know where it was! Oh well. I loved helping them out, though, cuz they asked me in JAPANESE!! They didnt even hesitate when they saw I was a foreigner! ANNND they understood my Japanese too!! WOOOHOO!
On the other hand however, I got English raped again yesterday afternoon. To be "English raped" means to have random people come up to you and A) Start speaking to you or asking you something in English, B) Ask you if you're from America, or C) generally just find any excuse to practice their English with you. Now, I realize it takes a lot of guts to come up and speak in a foreign language to a foreigner, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy being harassed by strangers JUST because Im foreign. What also pisses me off is the fact that they all assume Im American and speak English. I know Germans, French, Irish, English, Aussies, Kiwis, Scotts, Canadians, Mexicans, Brazilians who live here and many more! WE'RE NOT ALL FROM AMERICA!!! I hate having to confirm stereotypes so I've started pretending that I'm German and don't speak English very well. A lady asked me yesterday if I was a native English speaker (which was better than asking if I was American, but still...), and I looked at her confused and said in Japanese, "No, Im from Germany. My English is really bad." Then, get this, she continued to speak English to me!! I kept speaking to her in my broken Japanese and she finally got the point. Grrrrr... There are quite a few times in my life where I've resented being American. This was one of those times. In fact, if I could just denounce my citizenship and have no citizenship to any country at all -- maybe just be a World Citizen, I'd be happy. I hate being stereotyped as one thing or another just based on what nationality I am. People are also giving me shit about wanting to denounce my American citizenship. Yes it would make things ultimately harder and, therefore, I probably won't. BUT, when my great-great grandfather left Germany, he did so because he didnt agree with the politics at the time and didn't like the Kaiser (in a nutshell anyway). So, why, I ask, if I'm feeling the same way now, do I get shit for wanting to disown my country? Am I unpatriotic? Maybe to an extent. I love it because its the place where I grew up and all my family is there. I do believe that there are good, considerate and intelligent Americans of course. But they're not the ones running the country and making all the important decisions. Im tired of the fuckwad leaders of this world screwing things up for the rest of us just because they're greedy, selfish, short-sighted and arrogant. And Im tired of the public believing everything and allowing themselves to be brainwashed. We're ready to move to a country where the President actually won a Nobel Peace Prize for PREVENTING a war instead of causing one. Talk about a good role model. That President would be Oscar Arias Sanchez of Costa Rica. He was the president from '86-'90 and then reelected this year. That's someone Im willing to support. Not the buttmunch in the Oval Office right now, that's for sure. Sorry America. I'm out! You let me down!
Anyway, sorry about the rant. Im done. This would be a much cooler post if I had pics to accompany it, but such is not the case at the moment! More to come later!
So, first on my list of updates and news since I posted last is the Basara Matsuri. Its a festival that takes place in August in Nara. Teams will get together, sponsored by companies I think, and create a group dance with wacky costumes etc. Nothing has to be traditional -- its all about creativity. Anyway, there's always been a JET group and I decided to join it this year thinking that I'd get to keep the cool costumes that we usually get for free(a summer kimono, AKA a yukata). However, I found out that our sponsor changed this year and instead of a pretty summer kimono that I could cherish and take home as a cool souvenir, we were presented with black spandex shorts, a tight black tank top, a white apron to put over it, and red armbands and a red bandana..... The result: we looked like a team of crazy ramen cooks! Not exactly what I had in mind when I signed up.
Anyway, on the day I went to participate with everyone, we were to dance on stage and then dance a few times up a verrrrrrry long street. So, we practiced in the hot sun, sweating buckets, but having a good time in general. Then while we were dancing on the stage, I noticed that there were some very dark, looming and ominous clouds coming nearer and nearer.... We made it down to the train station and under cover before the heavens opened and pissed all over everything. The cooler temperature was great though and I actually twirled in the rain a little just to cool off. (Of course, all the Japanese around were staring, open-nouthed and pointing as I did this.... who knows? Maybe they're made of sugar and melt in the rain? ORRR maybe they're made of salt from all the fish and soy sauce they consume... That would make more sense!) Aaaaanyhow, after the downpour we made our way to the starting point to dance the street, thinking that since it downpoured once, we were safe....
Ha. Yeah right! Right as we started our dancing up the street it started to downpour again. And when I say downpour I dont mean Seattle-type downpour. I mean, its raining so hard you feel like you're in the shower with all your clothes on. I could barely keep my eyes open! The tiny street we were dancing in was turned into a raging river within minutes. We were dancing in 4-5 inches of water by the end. However, since there was nothing we could do about it and we couldnt just be pussies and stop dancing, we danced with more energy and enthusiasm than all the previous times! We has sooooo much fun and we laughing so hard, its one of the best experiences Ive had here so far. The rain honestly felt great and it was such a wonderful feeling of abandon! People on the side were cheering us on and all the other teams in front of and behind us were cheering for us and visa versa. What an incredible feeling of unity!
Afterwards we went back to where we had changed only to realize that none of us had towels or changes of clothes. We were stuck to just air dry.... To help this process along, we had to wring out our clothes. I ended up wringing everything out 3 times. There were puddles of water everywhere. Im waiting for the pictures. They should be pretty humorous, although Im not sure if they'll really show how wet we were. It was as if we had jumped into a lake with all our clothes on. By the end of the dance we looked at our hands and all our fingers looked like prunes!
I had to leave early, but as it turned out we won a "Special Award" and the team had to dance one more time on stage! I guess there are only 5 "Special Awards" given away each year by 5 famous people who come to Nara to watch the festival. It was such a surprise because, honestly, our dance wasnt THAT great and our costumes were goofy at best. They had to call our team name out like 3 times before they all heard it and were ushered to the stage by people in the audience. I heard it was really funny!
OK, now for the next event. AJET (the organization Im in) put on a Welcome Party Beer Garden to kick off the new JET year. Fortunately it didn't rain and we were able to have it on the roof top of the hotel. It was a nice night -- not nearly as full of debauchery like past beer gardens, but everyone still had a great time. Im still waiting for pictures from that as well and will post them when I get them!
Last weekend we went to the Yoshino River and had a BBQ. It was sooo much fun and the weather was gorgeous. The sun was warm but it wasn't very humid! Yaay! The river was pretty high though and the rapids were really strong! We went swimming anyway though and it was really nice. Adam got a little beat up by the rapids trying to cross the river back to where all our stuff was. No injuries but a couple cuts and bruises... He kinda got tossed over the rocks a bit! I was a little worried and ready to jump in and rescue him (lifeguard instincts are still there!) but he was fine. Whew! We made fajitas and potato salad which were a huge hit since mexican ingredients are near impossible to come by!
Group pic. We're eating BBQ'd sweet potatoes. Left to right: Kendra (NZ), Josy (UK), me, April (USA), Vinh (USA)
The boys: Chetan (S. Africa), Launey (Canada), Kabir (California). Despite what it appears, Chetan and Kabir are actually around 6' each... Launey is 6'9"!!! I come up to his shoulder...possibly a little farther, but not much!
The BBQ scene which of course Adam has a part in! Those are the fajita makings he's guarding...
And here's me in Launey's shoes.... I have my clunky Chaco sandals on and I can still fit inside his shoes with room to spare! I think they're a size 16, or maybe 18.... and yes, he played basketball in college.Now this week is the school festival week called "bunkasai". All schools have them at the beginning of the fall trimester and they include music and drama performances one day, and food stalls, games and karaoke the second. So, today is the second day and I took a risk and bought some "thai" soup for lunch.... I don't trust the food here very much, especially since I KNOW there's no soap at all in the bathrooms. (Yeah... eww!) The student karaoke just ended, thank GOD!!! The problem with the students here is that contrary to American teens who know they don't have talent and don't perform unless they do, is that every student here thinks they could be the next Japanese Brittney Spears or Justin Timberlake! Honestly, the girls on stage 5 minutes ago sounded like chipmunks on crack! Not so cool. I wanted to bang my head against the wall.
On another note, Im becoming much more confident in my language ability. Ive been having people come up to me left and right asking for directions to something. The first one, I knew exactly what they were talking about and helped them. The second was asking for the ballet studio but I didnt know the word for that, unfortunately, even though I did know where it was! Oh well. I loved helping them out, though, cuz they asked me in JAPANESE!! They didnt even hesitate when they saw I was a foreigner! ANNND they understood my Japanese too!! WOOOHOO!
On the other hand however, I got English raped again yesterday afternoon. To be "English raped" means to have random people come up to you and A) Start speaking to you or asking you something in English, B) Ask you if you're from America, or C) generally just find any excuse to practice their English with you. Now, I realize it takes a lot of guts to come up and speak in a foreign language to a foreigner, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy being harassed by strangers JUST because Im foreign. What also pisses me off is the fact that they all assume Im American and speak English. I know Germans, French, Irish, English, Aussies, Kiwis, Scotts, Canadians, Mexicans, Brazilians who live here and many more! WE'RE NOT ALL FROM AMERICA!!! I hate having to confirm stereotypes so I've started pretending that I'm German and don't speak English very well. A lady asked me yesterday if I was a native English speaker (which was better than asking if I was American, but still...), and I looked at her confused and said in Japanese, "No, Im from Germany. My English is really bad." Then, get this, she continued to speak English to me!! I kept speaking to her in my broken Japanese and she finally got the point. Grrrrr... There are quite a few times in my life where I've resented being American. This was one of those times. In fact, if I could just denounce my citizenship and have no citizenship to any country at all -- maybe just be a World Citizen, I'd be happy. I hate being stereotyped as one thing or another just based on what nationality I am. People are also giving me shit about wanting to denounce my American citizenship. Yes it would make things ultimately harder and, therefore, I probably won't. BUT, when my great-great grandfather left Germany, he did so because he didnt agree with the politics at the time and didn't like the Kaiser (in a nutshell anyway). So, why, I ask, if I'm feeling the same way now, do I get shit for wanting to disown my country? Am I unpatriotic? Maybe to an extent. I love it because its the place where I grew up and all my family is there. I do believe that there are good, considerate and intelligent Americans of course. But they're not the ones running the country and making all the important decisions. Im tired of the fuckwad leaders of this world screwing things up for the rest of us just because they're greedy, selfish, short-sighted and arrogant. And Im tired of the public believing everything and allowing themselves to be brainwashed. We're ready to move to a country where the President actually won a Nobel Peace Prize for PREVENTING a war instead of causing one. Talk about a good role model. That President would be Oscar Arias Sanchez of Costa Rica. He was the president from '86-'90 and then reelected this year. That's someone Im willing to support. Not the buttmunch in the Oval Office right now, that's for sure. Sorry America. I'm out! You let me down!
Anyway, sorry about the rant. Im done. This would be a much cooler post if I had pics to accompany it, but such is not the case at the moment! More to come later!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Masters of the Obvious
Ok... so currently I am sitting at my desk in the teachers room. It's hotter than the devil's left nut, I'm sticky, but amazingly enough I'm not as bitter or bitchy as usual -- yay for me! Not sure why, but I'm not really complaining. (Trust me, despite the content of this blog, I'm not angry.... just confused.)
However, I must point out something that has slightly baffled me and is now just plain annoying. Japanese are the absolute Masters of the Obvious! Especially when it comes to the weather. Every friggin 5 minutes (no joke!) SOMEBODY will mumble or sigh "atsui, atsui neeee" ("it's hot, it's hot isn't it?"). In fact, I've heard it twice now since I've started writing. The lady sitting 2 chairs down from me, "atsui desu yo neeee, honma ni!" ("god its sooo hot in here, really!"). Well no fuckin shit. Sorry for the language but give me a friggin break here. I KNOW IT'S HOT! EVERYONE KNOWS IT'S HOT! GET THE FUCK OVER IT! Or, here's a bright idea. TURN ON THE AC!
Sorry this seems to be such a reoccurring topic but it just really astounds me that they have the nerve to whine every 5 seconds but dont do ANYTHING about it!
And today there seem to be an abundance of very large wasps that keep flying into the office since all the windows are open. Now, these aren't your ordinary honey bees. These are really JURASSIC sized wasps that could probably kill a baby if stung. They measure about an inch and a half to 2 inches long... that's a big friggin bee! Anyway, I dont really care if they fly in, since they just bump around and eventually make their way back out again. I'm not bugging them so they leave me alone. However, all the teachers in here are freaking out and trying to kill them with this spray stuff, pissing them off in the meantime and making them dangerous. I think the spray clogs their little bee lungs and suffocates them or something nasty and cruel like that. Well since the windows are right by my desk, I've been shooed away from my desk about 3 times so far so they could kill a bee. I'm not such a fan of killing things, like I've said before, even though they could be dangerous. (People can be dangerous too you know, but we don't go around killing just anybody when they get in our way... unless of course they restrict our oil, then by all means, it's justified, right?) Anyway, the thing that bothered me the most was the fact that the bees were dying a very slow and painful death by the looks of it. So what did the teachers do? Did they put it out of its misery and quickly squash them? No. They didn't. They thought it would be a much better idea to TAPE THEM TO THE DESK WHERE THEY FELL. Ummmm... wha? Tape them to the desk? Why in the world would you do that? Why not just scoop them up and put them outside, OR end their misery by smacking them with a shoe or something... Hello!! So I politely shooed one of the teachers aside, took off my shoe, smacked the 2 of them, and then put them outside. They all seemed very shocked that I (especially as a female) would do such a thing. All the women teachers were trying to get me away from them and saying "kowai, kowai!" (scary, scary!). Ugh.........get some balls people, you've been living with them all your life. Jeeeez.
Now, here's the kicker. How could this WHOLE situation have been avoided??? That's right, by SHUTTING THE WINDOWS AND TURNING ON THE AC!!!!!!
Anyway, they all did the same thing in the winter only it was slightly more baffling. They whined about it being cold of course every 5 seconds like they do now, but instead of doing what is reasonable, like shutting the windows and trying to keep the school as warm as possible, I walk into school and ALL THE WINDOWS ARE OPEN! What, I ask, is the purpose of that? To irritate the foreigner? Sure seems like it. I've actually gone by and shut all the windows in the hallway when no one was looking, only to go back a half hour later and see them all open again! IT WAS SNOWING OUTSIDE! Is keeping the windows shut too much to ask? They do have heaters in the teachers room and the classrooms (not the hallways where the windows were open), which is nice, even though they're kerosene heaters and you have to keep the window cracked to avoid asphyxiation.... At least it's warm-ish.
Ugh, ok I'm tired of trying to see the rationality behind anything the Japanese do. I mean, they have fans in here, but they're bolted to the ceiling and rotating around so that every 5 seconds I get a gentle breeze of warm sticky air. Now, my grade school science memories are coming back a little... doesn't heat rise? Wouldn't all the HOT air be at the ceiling? Why would they want to blow the HOT air down? Wouldn't you want fans that are much lower to blow the COOLER (yet still sticky) air around? Am I crazy? Aren't these people SUPPOSED to be like really intelligent and high tech and all that? ........................? I seem to walk around this country with a permanent question mark floating above my head (think Sims style).
I can't wait to come home in December...
On another note, since I have soooo much time alone with my random string of thoughts that putter around in my head, I've been wondering what kind of an elderly person I'm going to be? Will I be one of those really sweet grandmas that spoils her grandkids to death? Or will I be one of those really bitter and grumpy ones? Here's what kind of an old lady I'm looking forward to being. Hopefully, by the time I'm old, weed will have been legalized (or hey, I might even need it medically). Either way, it should definitely be in the picture. I can imagine sitting on a park bench with a good friend (I'm picturing Aaron here), puffing away on our pipes talking about all sorts of nonsense things, bitching about whatever (cuz let's face it, we both thrive on bitching, hehe), and making really raunchy comments to people passing us by just because we're old, and we can! It definitely wouldn't work while we were young. No one would put up with that. However, as an elderly person, you can socially get away with so much more! I don't think enough old people take advantage of that. Well, except here where the old ladies will shove you aside and cut in front of you in line.... That's just rude. I wouldn't be rude. I'd just be blunt and dirty minded, hehehe! It'll be great!
Anyway, that was my random mind-wandering for the day. Now it's back to fanning myself, reading and whatever else I can find to pass the time... sigh...
However, I must point out something that has slightly baffled me and is now just plain annoying. Japanese are the absolute Masters of the Obvious! Especially when it comes to the weather. Every friggin 5 minutes (no joke!) SOMEBODY will mumble or sigh "atsui, atsui neeee" ("it's hot, it's hot isn't it?"). In fact, I've heard it twice now since I've started writing. The lady sitting 2 chairs down from me, "atsui desu yo neeee, honma ni!" ("god its sooo hot in here, really!"). Well no fuckin shit. Sorry for the language but give me a friggin break here. I KNOW IT'S HOT! EVERYONE KNOWS IT'S HOT! GET THE FUCK OVER IT! Or, here's a bright idea. TURN ON THE AC!
Sorry this seems to be such a reoccurring topic but it just really astounds me that they have the nerve to whine every 5 seconds but dont do ANYTHING about it!
And today there seem to be an abundance of very large wasps that keep flying into the office since all the windows are open. Now, these aren't your ordinary honey bees. These are really JURASSIC sized wasps that could probably kill a baby if stung. They measure about an inch and a half to 2 inches long... that's a big friggin bee! Anyway, I dont really care if they fly in, since they just bump around and eventually make their way back out again. I'm not bugging them so they leave me alone. However, all the teachers in here are freaking out and trying to kill them with this spray stuff, pissing them off in the meantime and making them dangerous. I think the spray clogs their little bee lungs and suffocates them or something nasty and cruel like that. Well since the windows are right by my desk, I've been shooed away from my desk about 3 times so far so they could kill a bee. I'm not such a fan of killing things, like I've said before, even though they could be dangerous. (People can be dangerous too you know, but we don't go around killing just anybody when they get in our way... unless of course they restrict our oil, then by all means, it's justified, right?) Anyway, the thing that bothered me the most was the fact that the bees were dying a very slow and painful death by the looks of it. So what did the teachers do? Did they put it out of its misery and quickly squash them? No. They didn't. They thought it would be a much better idea to TAPE THEM TO THE DESK WHERE THEY FELL. Ummmm... wha? Tape them to the desk? Why in the world would you do that? Why not just scoop them up and put them outside, OR end their misery by smacking them with a shoe or something... Hello!! So I politely shooed one of the teachers aside, took off my shoe, smacked the 2 of them, and then put them outside. They all seemed very shocked that I (especially as a female) would do such a thing. All the women teachers were trying to get me away from them and saying "kowai, kowai!" (scary, scary!). Ugh.........get some balls people, you've been living with them all your life. Jeeeez.
Now, here's the kicker. How could this WHOLE situation have been avoided??? That's right, by SHUTTING THE WINDOWS AND TURNING ON THE AC!!!!!!
Anyway, they all did the same thing in the winter only it was slightly more baffling. They whined about it being cold of course every 5 seconds like they do now, but instead of doing what is reasonable, like shutting the windows and trying to keep the school as warm as possible, I walk into school and ALL THE WINDOWS ARE OPEN! What, I ask, is the purpose of that? To irritate the foreigner? Sure seems like it. I've actually gone by and shut all the windows in the hallway when no one was looking, only to go back a half hour later and see them all open again! IT WAS SNOWING OUTSIDE! Is keeping the windows shut too much to ask? They do have heaters in the teachers room and the classrooms (not the hallways where the windows were open), which is nice, even though they're kerosene heaters and you have to keep the window cracked to avoid asphyxiation.... At least it's warm-ish.
Ugh, ok I'm tired of trying to see the rationality behind anything the Japanese do. I mean, they have fans in here, but they're bolted to the ceiling and rotating around so that every 5 seconds I get a gentle breeze of warm sticky air. Now, my grade school science memories are coming back a little... doesn't heat rise? Wouldn't all the HOT air be at the ceiling? Why would they want to blow the HOT air down? Wouldn't you want fans that are much lower to blow the COOLER (yet still sticky) air around? Am I crazy? Aren't these people SUPPOSED to be like really intelligent and high tech and all that? ........................? I seem to walk around this country with a permanent question mark floating above my head (think Sims style).
I can't wait to come home in December...
On another note, since I have soooo much time alone with my random string of thoughts that putter around in my head, I've been wondering what kind of an elderly person I'm going to be? Will I be one of those really sweet grandmas that spoils her grandkids to death? Or will I be one of those really bitter and grumpy ones? Here's what kind of an old lady I'm looking forward to being. Hopefully, by the time I'm old, weed will have been legalized (or hey, I might even need it medically). Either way, it should definitely be in the picture. I can imagine sitting on a park bench with a good friend (I'm picturing Aaron here), puffing away on our pipes talking about all sorts of nonsense things, bitching about whatever (cuz let's face it, we both thrive on bitching, hehe), and making really raunchy comments to people passing us by just because we're old, and we can! It definitely wouldn't work while we were young. No one would put up with that. However, as an elderly person, you can socially get away with so much more! I don't think enough old people take advantage of that. Well, except here where the old ladies will shove you aside and cut in front of you in line.... That's just rude. I wouldn't be rude. I'd just be blunt and dirty minded, hehehe! It'll be great!
Anyway, that was my random mind-wandering for the day. Now it's back to fanning myself, reading and whatever else I can find to pass the time... sigh...
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
La Cucaracha!
La cucaracha!
La cucaracha!
Ya no puede caminar.
Porque le falta,
Porque no tiene
Marijuana de fumar!
Speaking of roaches, guess what I found scuttling across my kitchen floor this morning as I was eating my cereal....!!!! Yeah... a cockroach (good guess!). I mildy freaked out as I ran to the genkan (entryway) to grab my flip-flop and dispose of the loathsome creature. He was only very small but EWWWWWWW!!!! Ive never EVER had problems with cockroaches before and the only time in my life that Ive actually seen them aplenty was in Ecuador. The second time I found one was around springtime this year under my plant on my desk at work! That was worse since it was 1. on my desk, and 2. a lot bigger! Back at home we've always had problems with spiders -- those big brown ones that crawl up through the sink and bathtub.... and are super speedy.... blech *shudder*. We've had a couple spiders so far and I'd considered us extremely lucky since we live on the ground floor, but I guess luck can't go on forever! Adam was nice enough to agree to get some roach traps and set them around the apartment, just in case the little guy brought some friends with him.
(NOTE: Usually I dislike killing things and I've been known to just put spiders and such back outside etc. In fact, I left a welcome-spider (can get up to 3-4 inches from tip to tip, are greenish with black stripes) in its 2 foot diameter web outside our door because it wasn't harming me. It was actually catching all the bugs that would otherwise flutter into our apartment. However, my benevolence only goes so far I have to admit. I don't have any qualms about killing mosquitos since they seem to believe I'm a 5 course gourmet dinner. If I didn't kill them, I'd be one large, itchy, red bump... not so pleasant. (Actually I think the reason they like me so much is because I have type A blood. I'm working on this theory...) Also, cockroaches are just.... well, gross. I hate to say that, but they are and are also in absolutely NO danger of going extinct. If they've been around since the time of the dinosaurs, then I'm not too worried. Anyway, the point of this blabbering is that I feel guilty about killing anything, I do, but when they harm me or invade my space.... see ya!)
So, now that I have "La Cucaracha" stuck in my head, I'm curious as to whether or not the Japanese have a song about the "gokiburi" (roach) in their language. I'll have to ask. If they do, though, I doubt its about a cockroach not being able to walk 'cause he lacks his marijuana. Actually Adam and I were talking about it this morning and were wondering where the song came from. He mentioned that it was a play on words and referred to the "roach" of a joint. (For those of you who don't know, a roach is the last little bit of a joint that's so short you sometimes have to hold it with tweezers to smoke since it's so hot. Why do they even bother, you ask? 'Cause no respectable stoner would waste any weed if they could help it!) Anyway, my theory was that the song must have been written near the border where they speak both Spanish and English and most likely smoke a lot of weed. I think I'll do some research on that today since I have nothing better to do!
Let's see, what else is going on? We got back from Tokyo a little while ago from welcoming in the newbies and even though it was a lot of work, it was loads of fun too. The first day we all had to go to the airport and welcome them. We stood at different stations from the departure gate all the way to the busses. (They'd get lost otherwise.) There were over 1,000 people coming so it took all day for flights to arrive. We got to the airport at around noon and I left on the last bus at around 10pm... That's a long time to stand around. Adam and I were stuck on the last couple stations outside in the parking lot, which normally would be awful since its so bloody hot, BUT the gods smiled on us that day and made it lovely and cool! It was probably only about 25C/75F at the hottest. However, we had dressed for the hottest day of the year so after the sun set and the wind started to blow, we were freezing... oh well! It was a nice change. The next day we met all of the people in our prefecture and then at night went out to a 300 yen bar where everything was only 300 yen (go figure!). By the way, 300 yen is around $2.50 -- so not a bad deal. The day after that, we gave our presentation on Family JETs which we had been stressing about but turned out a lot better than we thought. The first group had a lot of people with kids so we were able to give them loads of information. But the second group was full of couples without kids, so there wasnt a whole lot of info to give them... and they asked a lot of visa questions which we couldnt answer.... We tried to point them in the right direction so I think it went alright.
Anyway, the new people seem really cool so far and I think we'll have some really good friends this year. I'm really excited to get to know them better. The second group of newbies will be coming tomorrow so we'll meet them for dinner.
Other than that, I've been teaching a few conversation classes to prepare some students for traveling to Singapore at the end of the month. The 3rd years' English is good, but the 1st years', well yeah, they kinda suck. But whatever. I told them that if they couldnt get their point across to use lots and lots of body language.
I've also been reading, and just finished, a book called "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn. A very interesting read that I recommend to all and a very good follow-up to "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight" that I mentioned before. It's basically a philosophical debate about Older and Newer Cultures and why we cant go on living the way we do now. It also explores the origins of the Creation myth and the real story behind Cain and Abel. Very fascinating! However, since I havent read the bible and don't know a WHOLE lot about the details of the stories I've started to read "Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned" by Kenneth C. Davis. The title is pretty self-explanatory and Adam's dad, Bob, said it was really good, so I thought it'd be a good thing to read. I'll let you all know later what I think (when have I not?).
Ok, well that's about it for now. No, the Mongolia pictures still aren't up on Shutterfly yet because Shutterfly won't let me upload them. Am currently in an email conversation with their Customer Service rep about it... Will let you all know when they're up... Sorry about that!
And now for some trivia you can use to sound smart at parties... The word "cockroach" in 4 other languages!!!
Spanish: "la cucaracha"
German: "der Kakerlak"
Japanese: "gokiburi"
French: female "la blatte", male "le carfard"
(Those weird French. Who the hell would have a different word for the female and male cockroach?!?! What I'd like to know is how you tell the difference...! I mean, come on!)
La cucaracha!
Ya no puede caminar.
Porque le falta,
Porque no tiene
Marijuana de fumar!
Speaking of roaches, guess what I found scuttling across my kitchen floor this morning as I was eating my cereal....!!!! Yeah... a cockroach (good guess!). I mildy freaked out as I ran to the genkan (entryway) to grab my flip-flop and dispose of the loathsome creature. He was only very small but EWWWWWWW!!!! Ive never EVER had problems with cockroaches before and the only time in my life that Ive actually seen them aplenty was in Ecuador. The second time I found one was around springtime this year under my plant on my desk at work! That was worse since it was 1. on my desk, and 2. a lot bigger! Back at home we've always had problems with spiders -- those big brown ones that crawl up through the sink and bathtub.... and are super speedy.... blech *shudder*. We've had a couple spiders so far and I'd considered us extremely lucky since we live on the ground floor, but I guess luck can't go on forever! Adam was nice enough to agree to get some roach traps and set them around the apartment, just in case the little guy brought some friends with him.
(NOTE: Usually I dislike killing things and I've been known to just put spiders and such back outside etc. In fact, I left a welcome-spider (can get up to 3-4 inches from tip to tip, are greenish with black stripes) in its 2 foot diameter web outside our door because it wasn't harming me. It was actually catching all the bugs that would otherwise flutter into our apartment. However, my benevolence only goes so far I have to admit. I don't have any qualms about killing mosquitos since they seem to believe I'm a 5 course gourmet dinner. If I didn't kill them, I'd be one large, itchy, red bump... not so pleasant. (Actually I think the reason they like me so much is because I have type A blood. I'm working on this theory...) Also, cockroaches are just.... well, gross. I hate to say that, but they are and are also in absolutely NO danger of going extinct. If they've been around since the time of the dinosaurs, then I'm not too worried. Anyway, the point of this blabbering is that I feel guilty about killing anything, I do, but when they harm me or invade my space.... see ya!)
So, now that I have "La Cucaracha" stuck in my head, I'm curious as to whether or not the Japanese have a song about the "gokiburi" (roach) in their language. I'll have to ask. If they do, though, I doubt its about a cockroach not being able to walk 'cause he lacks his marijuana. Actually Adam and I were talking about it this morning and were wondering where the song came from. He mentioned that it was a play on words and referred to the "roach" of a joint. (For those of you who don't know, a roach is the last little bit of a joint that's so short you sometimes have to hold it with tweezers to smoke since it's so hot. Why do they even bother, you ask? 'Cause no respectable stoner would waste any weed if they could help it!) Anyway, my theory was that the song must have been written near the border where they speak both Spanish and English and most likely smoke a lot of weed. I think I'll do some research on that today since I have nothing better to do!
Let's see, what else is going on? We got back from Tokyo a little while ago from welcoming in the newbies and even though it was a lot of work, it was loads of fun too. The first day we all had to go to the airport and welcome them. We stood at different stations from the departure gate all the way to the busses. (They'd get lost otherwise.) There were over 1,000 people coming so it took all day for flights to arrive. We got to the airport at around noon and I left on the last bus at around 10pm... That's a long time to stand around. Adam and I were stuck on the last couple stations outside in the parking lot, which normally would be awful since its so bloody hot, BUT the gods smiled on us that day and made it lovely and cool! It was probably only about 25C/75F at the hottest. However, we had dressed for the hottest day of the year so after the sun set and the wind started to blow, we were freezing... oh well! It was a nice change. The next day we met all of the people in our prefecture and then at night went out to a 300 yen bar where everything was only 300 yen (go figure!). By the way, 300 yen is around $2.50 -- so not a bad deal. The day after that, we gave our presentation on Family JETs which we had been stressing about but turned out a lot better than we thought. The first group had a lot of people with kids so we were able to give them loads of information. But the second group was full of couples without kids, so there wasnt a whole lot of info to give them... and they asked a lot of visa questions which we couldnt answer.... We tried to point them in the right direction so I think it went alright.
Anyway, the new people seem really cool so far and I think we'll have some really good friends this year. I'm really excited to get to know them better. The second group of newbies will be coming tomorrow so we'll meet them for dinner.
Other than that, I've been teaching a few conversation classes to prepare some students for traveling to Singapore at the end of the month. The 3rd years' English is good, but the 1st years', well yeah, they kinda suck. But whatever. I told them that if they couldnt get their point across to use lots and lots of body language.
I've also been reading, and just finished, a book called "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn. A very interesting read that I recommend to all and a very good follow-up to "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight" that I mentioned before. It's basically a philosophical debate about Older and Newer Cultures and why we cant go on living the way we do now. It also explores the origins of the Creation myth and the real story behind Cain and Abel. Very fascinating! However, since I havent read the bible and don't know a WHOLE lot about the details of the stories I've started to read "Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned" by Kenneth C. Davis. The title is pretty self-explanatory and Adam's dad, Bob, said it was really good, so I thought it'd be a good thing to read. I'll let you all know later what I think (when have I not?).
Ok, well that's about it for now. No, the Mongolia pictures still aren't up on Shutterfly yet because Shutterfly won't let me upload them. Am currently in an email conversation with their Customer Service rep about it... Will let you all know when they're up... Sorry about that!
And now for some trivia you can use to sound smart at parties... The word "cockroach" in 4 other languages!!!
Spanish: "la cucaracha"
German: "der Kakerlak"
Japanese: "gokiburi"
French: female "la blatte", male "le carfard"
(Those weird French. Who the hell would have a different word for the female and male cockroach?!?! What I'd like to know is how you tell the difference...! I mean, come on!)
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Mongolia!
Sorry this has taken so long to get up! Things have been pretty crazy since we've gotten back from Mongolia and this week its been so hot and humid, it's really hard to function. I'm actually afraid of shorting out my computer with all the sweat dripping from my fingers! (ok its not THAT bad, but pretty close!) It's only 8:45 in the morning and already its (supposedly) 84F/29C but feels like 94F/34C with about 75%-80% humidity.... kill me now please! Oh and here's the best part. My school is too cheap to turn on the A/C so what do they do? They just open all the windows and have fans blowing the hot sticky air around.... Then they all just sit here and complain about how f'n hot it is!!!!! ARRRGHHHH! Turn ON the A/C and stop whining! Every other school and institution has A/C and uses it -- at least in the teachers room! And yesterday they finally turned it on at 12:30, but they only turned it cool enough to keep us from sweating like pigs, but not enough to dry up the stickiness that coats the skin..... ugh.... fuckers....
Ok enough of that. Im sure you all want to hear about Mongolia so here it goes!
After a 1.5 hour flight to Seoul, South Korea and a 5 hour layover there, and then a 3 hour flight to Ulaan Baatar, we arrived at around midnightish. We learned right off that America is one of the only countries that DOENSN'T need a visa to enter Mongolia! Yay! Finally the Americans get a break! We also learned that flights in the summer only fly at night there due to the high chance of dust storms during the day. Apparently, at 30,000 feet there can still be a substantial amount of dust in the sky and when sucked into the engines, turns to glass... yeah, not a great idea. So, flights come in at around 11:30 - mindnight and leave around 1:30am.
Adam's parents weren't to arrive for another day so we had a whole day to spend with Alex and Chesney (Adam's older brother and his girlfriend). We took a little tour around town, and then went to the black market for some souvenir shopping. The black market was basically just an outdoor bazaar with anything and everything you could ever need, minus food. They had clothing of all kinds, modern and traditional. They had a HUGE section on ger materials. (A "ger" is the real word for a "yurt" -- the traditional tent like house the Mongolian herders live in.) It was so crowded in there, though that we all held hands to avoid losing each other. We also learned quickly that Mongolians dont like big crowds either and to get people moving along, they stick their fist in the back of the person in front of them and start pushing! So, the whole time I had someone's fist in my back... not so pleasant. I asked one of our guides later if that was normal or just cuz we were foreigners and he said, "oh, thats normal. I hate it when they do that!" Anyway, I bought a traditional Mongolian outfit called a "del". Its a long turquoise coat with little colorful flowers on it. Very cool! And it only cost me about $20! Not bad. Adam got a wide-brimmed Mongolian hat that resembles a cowboy hat and a mongolian patterned jacket. Also very cheap.
The next day, after the parents got there we bummed around town some more, bought more souvernirs, saw some temples, went to a traditional dance and music concert. That was really amazing. The dances and clothes are beautiful and the music is incredible. They use many different kinds of instruments like the "morin khuur" or the horse head fiddle. Its looks like a guitar but with only 2 strings and you have a bow like a violin. Its beautiful!
--Ok, I admit, I didnt take this picture. I didnt manage to get a good pic of the fiddle close-up so I got this off google.... sorry!--
--The family at an old Buddhist temple in UB--
Anyway, there were also some contortionists there that were fascinating! Ive never seen people twist and move their bodies like that before! They looked almost alien, like the girl from the exorcist... though not evil.
Then the next day we went to the Naadam Festival and unbeknownst to us until we go there, it turned out to be the 800th anniversary of Chinggis Khan! (Genghis Khan is a mispronunciation and a mispelling -- not sure from where.) As a result, this year's Naadam was especially big and exciting! Prince Andrew, and many dignitaries were there for the opening ceremonies and on our way to the stadium we saw one diplomatic convoy after another! All with their countries' flags on the lead car. It was pretty cool! Once in the stadium, we didnt have any seats so we stood at the very top row against the outer ledge. Fortunately, the stadium was really small and I think we actually had the best vantage point. The opening ceremony was a couple hours long but very showy and eventful! Singing, dancing, performances, and a reenactment of Chinggis Khan. Everything was so coloful too! No drabness at all in their clothes. Also, Mongolia is the land of goofy, Dr. Seuss-like hats! The royalty wore them mostly and we had loads of fun trying them on in the souvenir shops.
--The traditional flag of Mongolia. Yes it's the white pom pom looking thing.--
--The Mongolian version of a mobile home!--
After the ceremony, the games began: wrestling, archery, horse racing and ankle bones (similar to paper football where you flick a piece of wood at a pile of ankle bones to try and knock them over... keep in mind this is a serious national sport).
The wrestling was interesting for the 1st five minutes. The only rules are no punching or kicking although we saw plenty of wedgies and nut-grabbing! Once the knees or elbows of your opponent have touched the ground you're out! The archery was interesting too. They would shoot the arrows not at a circular target you would imagine but at a flat board on the ground. What struck us as odd was that their coaches or friends would stand on either side of the target AS THE PERSON WAS SHOOTING! They would then instruct them if it was too far to the left or right, etc. Crazy...
The next morning we went out of town for about an hour to where the horse races were taking place. When we got there, there were gers set up all over the place for restaurants, and then we saw about a dozen pool tables set up. Men were playing pool with their horses beside them! Funny what kinds of western things they've picked up. In Mongolia it's pool tables and copious amounts of sweets. In Japan it's egg salad and corn soup... something to ponder....
Anyway, there was no race to be seen so we asked what the deal was. "Oh the racers got here at 6am to register and then walk the 28km (about 15 miles or so) to the starting line." It was now 9:30am or so and they were already racing their way 28km back to the finish line where we were! Note: The jockeys for this particular race were about 4-6 years old. In this country they learn to ride when they learn to walk!
So we go to the finish line and wait. Finally, out on the horizon, coming over a sloping hill we see some black dots! As the first five come in everyone is screaming and shouting, I turn around to see how many people are watching and am face to face with a horse! The pool players must have just jumped on their horses and come to the finish line where everyone else was! It was a line of horses directly behind us. Kinda unnerving. Anyway, a bit later we see a kid coming in and about 100 yards from the finish line he jumps off his horse as the horse collapses and falls. Vets run over and start kicking the horse in the chest to try and get its heart beating again, but to no avail. The horse was dead. The kid was crying and the parents came over to console him -- it was most likely his favorite horse. This happened a few times over the course of the race. We saw about 5 dead horses. We even later saw some horses come in without riders! Toward the end some kids just got off and walked their horses back to save the horse's life. Supposedly this race was longer than the usual 25km. The horses train for about a month beforehand and are practically starved during that time as well to keep their weight down. I guess its a fine line... That part was really sad.
--This is a girl I saw at the horse race. She was wearing a "del" from the western area of Mongolia near Khazakhstan.--
After that we had some traditional mongolian bbq (which, by the way usually does NOT include veggies). They would heat these big black rocks until they were red hot and then dump them into a metal container with all the raw mutton,leave it there and the stones would cook the meat. It was delicious! (There were some veggies and I mostly ate those.) What was really amazing and hard to describe or even express in pictures was the sheer feeling of vastness and open space. When you get out into the country, there's absolutely NOTHING but rolling hills and grassland. It's so peaceful and astounding at the same time, especially after living in Japan for a year, where every last inch of usable land has something on it. Also, the smell of the grassland there is very different. It's very fresh and herby -- the "grass" isn't really grass. I think there's a lot of chamomile, and I saw loads of Edelweis actually (the famous flower that grows in the Alps). Anyway, I dont think I could ever get tired of the smell out there.
The next day we went and saw a Russian monument on a hill, and the Golden Buddha next to it. Not sure what we did after that. We were pretty pooped that day. But on that Friday (?) we all met at a European Cafe where we were to meet our tour guides and take an old russian jeep out into the country where we would stay at a ger camp. (by the way, at the moment Im eating a strange japanese sweet someone just gave me... a crepe thing with mochi inside... a sweet rice paste... its very odd.) Anyway, I must say the 7 hour trip into the countryside was pretty uneventful but sooooo bumpy we felt like we'd been in a martini shaker for 7 hours! It ended up giving me a headache and temporary nausea. The "paved" roads were built at the beginning of the Soviet reign and are now so potholed that most people, including us, took the dirt roads beside the highway cuz they were smoother! We saw plenty of marmot, cranes, sheep, goats, horses, herds of camels and many a ger. Some gers were getting high-tech. It wasnt uncommon to see a ger with a satelite dish and a solar panel or a wind generator beside it! Plenty of sun and plenty of wind in that country!
--Our ger camp--
The ger camp we stayed in was just beautiful! Rustic and practical. Each couple got its own ger even though there were 4 beds in each. We had a single candle for the night and the bathrooms (surprisingly with flush toilets and showers) were about 100yd away. The dinner was held in a central main ger and was also very delicious. They had been told that I was "vegetarian" and so prepared a separate meal for me (most of the time just removing the meat), which really surprised me! The fact that they recognized the concept of vegetarianism was astounding to me since the Japanese still seem to think that fish, chicken and ham are not meat... *scowl*
--Inside our ger--
That night at around 10:30pm we went to some nearby sand dunes to watch the sunset. So we took off our shoes, rolled up our pants and clambered on up to the top. We took pictures, watched the beautiful sunset and passed around a bottle of vodka in the mongolian way: in a circle, oldest to youngest. Dip your finger in, flick the vodka into the wind and then down the cup! At that moment I thought, "Wow, I'm the farthest from anything I've ever been."
--Adam and I on the sand dunes--
--Sitting on the edge of the sand dune looking at our gorgeous van and shoes. Not sure what our guide is doing there....just noticed that actually... hmmm--
The next day we drove to Kharkhorin which used to be the capital of Mongolia if Im not mistaken and also is the location of Erdene Zuu monastery -- the oldest monastery in Mongolia. I was a little templed and monasteried out when we got there so I just hung back and kept to myself. There are some gorgeous pics that Adam took in the Shutterfly account, though, if you want to look.
Later that day, as we were driving back to the camp, the guides went off the road and started driving toward some random ger. We were going to visit a herding family, but I dont think they knew we were even coming! However, Mongolians are so friendly and hospitable that they welcomed us right in and sat us down. They then poured a bowl full of "airag" for us to drink and pass around the group 3 times. Well airag is fermented horse milk, but it didnt taste as bad as I thought! It was slightly carbonated because of the yeast and had a very yeasty warm milk flavor. Sounds disgusting I know. Adam had a hard time keeping it down. What's even worse/funnier is that you had to blow on it beforehand to blow all the yellow chunks and black specks away (bugs possibly.. who knows?). Hehehehehehehe! They also passed around a bowl of cheese that they make and dry in the sun on the roof. It was so hard, that if you bit down you might break a filling! So you had to suck on it... Theeeen, they passed around "shim" which is vodka distilled from cow's milk. I thought it was gross but Adam seemed to like it... In the summer they eat only "white" foods -- so milk, yogurt, cheese, airag etc. with a little tea for their vitamins and minerals. In the winter they eat the "red" foods -- mutton mostly. How they don't get scurvy I have no idea. Supposedly mare's milk is really nutritious, though and they go days with nothing to eat, just drinking airag... interesting.
On the way back from that Chesney and I saw some camels and made a comment about how cool it'd be to ride one. Well, Agge, our 22 year old (and very cute) tour guide said "You want to ride camels? ok!". Again they just drove out to the ger farm and asked gramps if we could ride his camels. "Sure! No problem!" Well.... have you ever stood next to a camel? They're HUGE!! You have to mount them sitting down. I think their heads may reach about 10 feet (?). Anyway, we all had turns riding these grumpy double humped camels around the farm. The kids lead the camels and one was really keen on getting them to run, but luckily he didnt! The last thing I wanted was to be on a runaway camel in the middle of nowhere Mongolia! I think I'd shit my pants! Anyway, that was a lot of fun and actually they're REALLY comfortable! With the double humps you get an arm rest AND a back rest, haha!
--Gramps and his camels!--
--Chesney and I--
--Adam and Alex--
--The parents. Bob tryin' to be a cowboy... not sure if that works with camels... but hey, whatever!--
The next day was the day to return to UB and Adam and I had to take off that night/early morning. Chesney was super nice and made us some real chocolate chip cookies for the trip home! Thanks a million Ches, they were great! And thank you both for helping us with everything there and showing us a wonderful time. It was great to see Adam's family again and I really had an awesome time. Mongolia was a fantastic experience and quite possibly one of the coolest vacations Ive ever had. I would love to go back sometime!
Ok enough of that. Im sure you all want to hear about Mongolia so here it goes!
After a 1.5 hour flight to Seoul, South Korea and a 5 hour layover there, and then a 3 hour flight to Ulaan Baatar, we arrived at around midnightish. We learned right off that America is one of the only countries that DOENSN'T need a visa to enter Mongolia! Yay! Finally the Americans get a break! We also learned that flights in the summer only fly at night there due to the high chance of dust storms during the day. Apparently, at 30,000 feet there can still be a substantial amount of dust in the sky and when sucked into the engines, turns to glass... yeah, not a great idea. So, flights come in at around 11:30 - mindnight and leave around 1:30am.
Adam's parents weren't to arrive for another day so we had a whole day to spend with Alex and Chesney (Adam's older brother and his girlfriend). We took a little tour around town, and then went to the black market for some souvenir shopping. The black market was basically just an outdoor bazaar with anything and everything you could ever need, minus food. They had clothing of all kinds, modern and traditional. They had a HUGE section on ger materials. (A "ger" is the real word for a "yurt" -- the traditional tent like house the Mongolian herders live in.) It was so crowded in there, though that we all held hands to avoid losing each other. We also learned quickly that Mongolians dont like big crowds either and to get people moving along, they stick their fist in the back of the person in front of them and start pushing! So, the whole time I had someone's fist in my back... not so pleasant. I asked one of our guides later if that was normal or just cuz we were foreigners and he said, "oh, thats normal. I hate it when they do that!" Anyway, I bought a traditional Mongolian outfit called a "del". Its a long turquoise coat with little colorful flowers on it. Very cool! And it only cost me about $20! Not bad. Adam got a wide-brimmed Mongolian hat that resembles a cowboy hat and a mongolian patterned jacket. Also very cheap.
The next day, after the parents got there we bummed around town some more, bought more souvernirs, saw some temples, went to a traditional dance and music concert. That was really amazing. The dances and clothes are beautiful and the music is incredible. They use many different kinds of instruments like the "morin khuur" or the horse head fiddle. Its looks like a guitar but with only 2 strings and you have a bow like a violin. Its beautiful!
--Ok, I admit, I didnt take this picture. I didnt manage to get a good pic of the fiddle close-up so I got this off google.... sorry!--
--The family at an old Buddhist temple in UB--Anyway, there were also some contortionists there that were fascinating! Ive never seen people twist and move their bodies like that before! They looked almost alien, like the girl from the exorcist... though not evil.
Then the next day we went to the Naadam Festival and unbeknownst to us until we go there, it turned out to be the 800th anniversary of Chinggis Khan! (Genghis Khan is a mispronunciation and a mispelling -- not sure from where.) As a result, this year's Naadam was especially big and exciting! Prince Andrew, and many dignitaries were there for the opening ceremonies and on our way to the stadium we saw one diplomatic convoy after another! All with their countries' flags on the lead car. It was pretty cool! Once in the stadium, we didnt have any seats so we stood at the very top row against the outer ledge. Fortunately, the stadium was really small and I think we actually had the best vantage point. The opening ceremony was a couple hours long but very showy and eventful! Singing, dancing, performances, and a reenactment of Chinggis Khan. Everything was so coloful too! No drabness at all in their clothes. Also, Mongolia is the land of goofy, Dr. Seuss-like hats! The royalty wore them mostly and we had loads of fun trying them on in the souvenir shops.
--The traditional flag of Mongolia. Yes it's the white pom pom looking thing.--
--The Mongolian version of a mobile home!--After the ceremony, the games began: wrestling, archery, horse racing and ankle bones (similar to paper football where you flick a piece of wood at a pile of ankle bones to try and knock them over... keep in mind this is a serious national sport).
The wrestling was interesting for the 1st five minutes. The only rules are no punching or kicking although we saw plenty of wedgies and nut-grabbing! Once the knees or elbows of your opponent have touched the ground you're out! The archery was interesting too. They would shoot the arrows not at a circular target you would imagine but at a flat board on the ground. What struck us as odd was that their coaches or friends would stand on either side of the target AS THE PERSON WAS SHOOTING! They would then instruct them if it was too far to the left or right, etc. Crazy...
The next morning we went out of town for about an hour to where the horse races were taking place. When we got there, there were gers set up all over the place for restaurants, and then we saw about a dozen pool tables set up. Men were playing pool with their horses beside them! Funny what kinds of western things they've picked up. In Mongolia it's pool tables and copious amounts of sweets. In Japan it's egg salad and corn soup... something to ponder....
Anyway, there was no race to be seen so we asked what the deal was. "Oh the racers got here at 6am to register and then walk the 28km (about 15 miles or so) to the starting line." It was now 9:30am or so and they were already racing their way 28km back to the finish line where we were! Note: The jockeys for this particular race were about 4-6 years old. In this country they learn to ride when they learn to walk!
So we go to the finish line and wait. Finally, out on the horizon, coming over a sloping hill we see some black dots! As the first five come in everyone is screaming and shouting, I turn around to see how many people are watching and am face to face with a horse! The pool players must have just jumped on their horses and come to the finish line where everyone else was! It was a line of horses directly behind us. Kinda unnerving. Anyway, a bit later we see a kid coming in and about 100 yards from the finish line he jumps off his horse as the horse collapses and falls. Vets run over and start kicking the horse in the chest to try and get its heart beating again, but to no avail. The horse was dead. The kid was crying and the parents came over to console him -- it was most likely his favorite horse. This happened a few times over the course of the race. We saw about 5 dead horses. We even later saw some horses come in without riders! Toward the end some kids just got off and walked their horses back to save the horse's life. Supposedly this race was longer than the usual 25km. The horses train for about a month beforehand and are practically starved during that time as well to keep their weight down. I guess its a fine line... That part was really sad.
--This is a girl I saw at the horse race. She was wearing a "del" from the western area of Mongolia near Khazakhstan.--After that we had some traditional mongolian bbq (which, by the way usually does NOT include veggies). They would heat these big black rocks until they were red hot and then dump them into a metal container with all the raw mutton,leave it there and the stones would cook the meat. It was delicious! (There were some veggies and I mostly ate those.) What was really amazing and hard to describe or even express in pictures was the sheer feeling of vastness and open space. When you get out into the country, there's absolutely NOTHING but rolling hills and grassland. It's so peaceful and astounding at the same time, especially after living in Japan for a year, where every last inch of usable land has something on it. Also, the smell of the grassland there is very different. It's very fresh and herby -- the "grass" isn't really grass. I think there's a lot of chamomile, and I saw loads of Edelweis actually (the famous flower that grows in the Alps). Anyway, I dont think I could ever get tired of the smell out there.
The next day we went and saw a Russian monument on a hill, and the Golden Buddha next to it. Not sure what we did after that. We were pretty pooped that day. But on that Friday (?) we all met at a European Cafe where we were to meet our tour guides and take an old russian jeep out into the country where we would stay at a ger camp. (by the way, at the moment Im eating a strange japanese sweet someone just gave me... a crepe thing with mochi inside... a sweet rice paste... its very odd.) Anyway, I must say the 7 hour trip into the countryside was pretty uneventful but sooooo bumpy we felt like we'd been in a martini shaker for 7 hours! It ended up giving me a headache and temporary nausea. The "paved" roads were built at the beginning of the Soviet reign and are now so potholed that most people, including us, took the dirt roads beside the highway cuz they were smoother! We saw plenty of marmot, cranes, sheep, goats, horses, herds of camels and many a ger. Some gers were getting high-tech. It wasnt uncommon to see a ger with a satelite dish and a solar panel or a wind generator beside it! Plenty of sun and plenty of wind in that country!
--Our ger camp--The ger camp we stayed in was just beautiful! Rustic and practical. Each couple got its own ger even though there were 4 beds in each. We had a single candle for the night and the bathrooms (surprisingly with flush toilets and showers) were about 100yd away. The dinner was held in a central main ger and was also very delicious. They had been told that I was "vegetarian" and so prepared a separate meal for me (most of the time just removing the meat), which really surprised me! The fact that they recognized the concept of vegetarianism was astounding to me since the Japanese still seem to think that fish, chicken and ham are not meat... *scowl*
--Inside our ger--That night at around 10:30pm we went to some nearby sand dunes to watch the sunset. So we took off our shoes, rolled up our pants and clambered on up to the top. We took pictures, watched the beautiful sunset and passed around a bottle of vodka in the mongolian way: in a circle, oldest to youngest. Dip your finger in, flick the vodka into the wind and then down the cup! At that moment I thought, "Wow, I'm the farthest from anything I've ever been."
--Adam and I on the sand dunes--
--Sitting on the edge of the sand dune looking at our gorgeous van and shoes. Not sure what our guide is doing there....just noticed that actually... hmmm--The next day we drove to Kharkhorin which used to be the capital of Mongolia if Im not mistaken and also is the location of Erdene Zuu monastery -- the oldest monastery in Mongolia. I was a little templed and monasteried out when we got there so I just hung back and kept to myself. There are some gorgeous pics that Adam took in the Shutterfly account, though, if you want to look.
Later that day, as we were driving back to the camp, the guides went off the road and started driving toward some random ger. We were going to visit a herding family, but I dont think they knew we were even coming! However, Mongolians are so friendly and hospitable that they welcomed us right in and sat us down. They then poured a bowl full of "airag" for us to drink and pass around the group 3 times. Well airag is fermented horse milk, but it didnt taste as bad as I thought! It was slightly carbonated because of the yeast and had a very yeasty warm milk flavor. Sounds disgusting I know. Adam had a hard time keeping it down. What's even worse/funnier is that you had to blow on it beforehand to blow all the yellow chunks and black specks away (bugs possibly.. who knows?). Hehehehehehehe! They also passed around a bowl of cheese that they make and dry in the sun on the roof. It was so hard, that if you bit down you might break a filling! So you had to suck on it... Theeeen, they passed around "shim" which is vodka distilled from cow's milk. I thought it was gross but Adam seemed to like it... In the summer they eat only "white" foods -- so milk, yogurt, cheese, airag etc. with a little tea for their vitamins and minerals. In the winter they eat the "red" foods -- mutton mostly. How they don't get scurvy I have no idea. Supposedly mare's milk is really nutritious, though and they go days with nothing to eat, just drinking airag... interesting.
On the way back from that Chesney and I saw some camels and made a comment about how cool it'd be to ride one. Well, Agge, our 22 year old (and very cute) tour guide said "You want to ride camels? ok!". Again they just drove out to the ger farm and asked gramps if we could ride his camels. "Sure! No problem!" Well.... have you ever stood next to a camel? They're HUGE!! You have to mount them sitting down. I think their heads may reach about 10 feet (?). Anyway, we all had turns riding these grumpy double humped camels around the farm. The kids lead the camels and one was really keen on getting them to run, but luckily he didnt! The last thing I wanted was to be on a runaway camel in the middle of nowhere Mongolia! I think I'd shit my pants! Anyway, that was a lot of fun and actually they're REALLY comfortable! With the double humps you get an arm rest AND a back rest, haha!
--Gramps and his camels!--
--Chesney and I--
--Adam and Alex--
--The parents. Bob tryin' to be a cowboy... not sure if that works with camels... but hey, whatever!--The next day was the day to return to UB and Adam and I had to take off that night/early morning. Chesney was super nice and made us some real chocolate chip cookies for the trip home! Thanks a million Ches, they were great! And thank you both for helping us with everything there and showing us a wonderful time. It was great to see Adam's family again and I really had an awesome time. Mongolia was a fantastic experience and quite possibly one of the coolest vacations Ive ever had. I would love to go back sometime!
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Temporary Amusement!
Until I get my news and pics about Mongolia up and running, have fun with Saru-chan! I thought he was adorable!
Move the cursor around to see him move. If you see red arrows, you can click them and he'll swing to that spot. If you click the green he'll let go and might fall off the tree! You can also click the green on one of his other limbs and he'll switch.... Very cute... Definitely kept me amused for awhile at work!
Enjoy!
Move the cursor around to see him move. If you see red arrows, you can click them and he'll swing to that spot. If you click the green he'll let go and might fall off the tree! You can also click the green on one of his other limbs and he'll switch.... Very cute... Definitely kept me amused for awhile at work!
Enjoy!
| adopt your own virtual pet! |
Monday, July 03, 2006
Creamy Collons Anyone?
So this last weekend was quite eventful! On Friday night we decided to go into Osaka and see our friend Zack and his girlfriend Miyuki. It was a nice night full of nomihodai (all you can drink) and interesting conversation. However..... once we ended up at the last bar the nomihodai had caught up with me and I just wanted to go to bed (yes, I know... Im lame...). So what did I decide to do? Lay down on the couch in the bar and take a nap. Well, during that little snooze I knocked over my purse, spilling the contents all over the floor. I thought I had picked it all up, but when I got home later that night/early morning I realized I didn't have my keitai (cell phone)!!
Now, I feel very shameful for admitting that Im so reliant on this stupid piece of technology, but it has ALL my contact information in it... by losing your cell phone, you commit social suicide! Anyway, I was freaking out a bit, but figured that my friend would be nice enough to call the bar the next evening to see if they found anything. Turns out a friend of Zack's had seen it, figured it belonged to one of us and took it home. Then the next day, he called and reported it, so I ended up getting it back!!! Hooray!! Thank god im in Japan! I dont know if I would have gotten it back, had I been back in the States... or even Europe. In this respect I like the fact that people are so honest here. You could lose your wallet and still have a good chance at getting it back!
The next night we were getting together with Helen (another friend... Zack's ex) and a few other friends: Aaron, Tsukasa (his boyfriend), Vinh and Laura. We got some dinner and then went for karaoke and it was an overall blast! Helen, Aaron, and Tsukasa all came back to crash at our place where we played the game "Never have I ever..." and learned all sorts of interesting things about each other, hehehe....
Here are some pics from that night.
Aaron and I just being goofy.
Laura, Adam (just being himself...), and Vinh
The boys.... hehehe (Tsukasa, Vinh, Aaron)
Helen, me, Adam
And the best picture of the night! An excellent example of how funny Engrish can be!
Creamy Collons Anyone???
Now, I feel very shameful for admitting that Im so reliant on this stupid piece of technology, but it has ALL my contact information in it... by losing your cell phone, you commit social suicide! Anyway, I was freaking out a bit, but figured that my friend would be nice enough to call the bar the next evening to see if they found anything. Turns out a friend of Zack's had seen it, figured it belonged to one of us and took it home. Then the next day, he called and reported it, so I ended up getting it back!!! Hooray!! Thank god im in Japan! I dont know if I would have gotten it back, had I been back in the States... or even Europe. In this respect I like the fact that people are so honest here. You could lose your wallet and still have a good chance at getting it back!
The next night we were getting together with Helen (another friend... Zack's ex) and a few other friends: Aaron, Tsukasa (his boyfriend), Vinh and Laura. We got some dinner and then went for karaoke and it was an overall blast! Helen, Aaron, and Tsukasa all came back to crash at our place where we played the game "Never have I ever..." and learned all sorts of interesting things about each other, hehehe....
Here are some pics from that night.
Aaron and I just being goofy.
Laura, Adam (just being himself...), and Vinh
The boys.... hehehe (Tsukasa, Vinh, Aaron)
Helen, me, Adam
And the best picture of the night! An excellent example of how funny Engrish can be!
Creamy Collons Anyone???
Friday, June 23, 2006
Golden Turds and Funky Costumes!
Yeah it's been a little while... sorry! Im not nearly as bad as Sam and Aaron, though. But hey, they're getting ready to leave the country -- packing up your whole life from the past 2 years and saying goodbye to everyone doesnt leave much time left for updating blogs I guess! Oh well!
So, this last weekend we went to Tokyo to hang out before we had to go to meetings on Monday and Tuesday for our duties as TOAs (Tokyo Orientation Assistants). The weather was crap the whole time, but that didnt keep us from having a fabulous time! The first day we go there, we were pretty tired from the 3-4 hour bullet train (shinkansen) ride, but we wanted to have an interesting night, so we headed an hour and a half south past Yokohama to Yokosuka where there's a huge Navy Base. Why in the world did we want to go to a military base??? Well, for one, it was a guaranteed interesting time. Number two.... well Angie was craving some non-Japanese eye candy and a little touch of home (however twisted that sounds!). Sure enough, there was PLENTY of yummy eye-candy... I just wasnt gonna touch any of it... them being sailors and all, you never know where theyve been! We ended up talking to a couple guys who then agreed to show us around and show us a good time. We would have had to catch an early train (10:45pm) back to Tokyo but since the guy offered his living room to us we said, what the hell! So yeah, we stayed all night! We had some interesting conversations and experiences to say the least and ended up catching the 1st train back to Tokyo in the morning at 5am.
We were planning on sleeping a bit since we hadnt gotten any, but since we'd booked a super cheap hostel where the rooms were separated by cubicle walls and you could hear the person at the other end of the building breathing, no sleep was possible! So we got up and decided to spend the day sightseeing! First thing I did was call home and congratulate my little brother on graduating!!! Yaayy Kirk! We took some pics of the building with the so called "Golden Flame" on top... more commonly called the "unnko biru" which means "shit building" for obvious reasons... Although Im not sure if its biru for building or biiru for beer. Either one would make sense and would be funny since the building is owned by the Asahi beer company (I think...!).
Here are a couple other pics... the rain really wasn't bothering me that day!
After that, we decided to visit the Sensoji Temple which is supposed to be really cool. However, the main gate which is the main attraction was completely covered in a white tarp and under renovation... darn!
But there were other cool things to see. This lantern was incredibly huge!
Here's a pagoda in the temple area. Too bad Adam's face is so dark. Although, it does give him a goofy yet mysterious look....
As we were walking away, we heard screaming and shouting coming from a tent near the temple so we decided to check it out. We were surprised and delighted to find out that it was a kids sumo tournament!! It was fun to watch even though some of the kids were really scrawny!
This was one guy who wasn't quite sumo sized but had a little meat on him...
Unfortunately, this was his opponent... there's no weight categories I guess. Tough luck for him!
The lil' guy tried his best but was no match for the sheer "whale-ness" of his opponent....
We also wanted to check out the Harajuku Bridge where young (japanese) people dress up in all sorts of strange costumes and just chill all day. There weren't very many there that day, though, since it was raining. But here are a couple (very tame) examples.
Hopefully, when we go back to Tokyo we'll be able to get away for a little while and see some other, more wild, costumes!
Later on, we met up with our friends Kotaro, Yuji and Quinn. Kotaro was a good friend from college and Yuji was also there (although I was in Germany that year). Quinn is a good friend from back home. He grew up on Vashon too.
This is Kotaro and his friend Ivonne. She wasnt there that night... this is an older pic. I didnt get a pic of any of us that night... oops!
Here are some pics of Shibuya in Tokyo.... lots of people and sensory overload in every sense of the word!!
And here's a Kebab vendor... I like the red cowboy hat. Gives him a distinct "only in Japan" look!
Latest news: I've decided to switch phone companies and, therefore, my phone as well. Ill be getting an ECO phone which is NOT made out of plastic in the conventional sense (ie out of oil) but instead plastic rendered from plant fiber -- more specifically, corn! Pretty cool, huh? AND 1% of my bills will be donated I guess to certain conservation activities! Im pretty excited about it! The only unfortunate thing is that it comes in only one color and design: pink with silver leaves... I think its very cute but Adam thinks it might send people the wrong message or just plainly insult his manhood if he got one... Even though he'd like to get a phone made out of corn too, he does have his limits. In this case, I dont blame him!
Here's the link. Check it out!
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/701i/n701ieco/index.html
So, this last weekend we went to Tokyo to hang out before we had to go to meetings on Monday and Tuesday for our duties as TOAs (Tokyo Orientation Assistants). The weather was crap the whole time, but that didnt keep us from having a fabulous time! The first day we go there, we were pretty tired from the 3-4 hour bullet train (shinkansen) ride, but we wanted to have an interesting night, so we headed an hour and a half south past Yokohama to Yokosuka where there's a huge Navy Base. Why in the world did we want to go to a military base??? Well, for one, it was a guaranteed interesting time. Number two.... well Angie was craving some non-Japanese eye candy and a little touch of home (however twisted that sounds!). Sure enough, there was PLENTY of yummy eye-candy... I just wasnt gonna touch any of it... them being sailors and all, you never know where theyve been! We ended up talking to a couple guys who then agreed to show us around and show us a good time. We would have had to catch an early train (10:45pm) back to Tokyo but since the guy offered his living room to us we said, what the hell! So yeah, we stayed all night! We had some interesting conversations and experiences to say the least and ended up catching the 1st train back to Tokyo in the morning at 5am.
We were planning on sleeping a bit since we hadnt gotten any, but since we'd booked a super cheap hostel where the rooms were separated by cubicle walls and you could hear the person at the other end of the building breathing, no sleep was possible! So we got up and decided to spend the day sightseeing! First thing I did was call home and congratulate my little brother on graduating!!! Yaayy Kirk! We took some pics of the building with the so called "Golden Flame" on top... more commonly called the "unnko biru" which means "shit building" for obvious reasons... Although Im not sure if its biru for building or biiru for beer. Either one would make sense and would be funny since the building is owned by the Asahi beer company (I think...!).
Here are a couple other pics... the rain really wasn't bothering me that day!
After that, we decided to visit the Sensoji Temple which is supposed to be really cool. However, the main gate which is the main attraction was completely covered in a white tarp and under renovation... darn!
But there were other cool things to see. This lantern was incredibly huge!
Here's a pagoda in the temple area. Too bad Adam's face is so dark. Although, it does give him a goofy yet mysterious look....
As we were walking away, we heard screaming and shouting coming from a tent near the temple so we decided to check it out. We were surprised and delighted to find out that it was a kids sumo tournament!! It was fun to watch even though some of the kids were really scrawny!
This was one guy who wasn't quite sumo sized but had a little meat on him...
Unfortunately, this was his opponent... there's no weight categories I guess. Tough luck for him!
The lil' guy tried his best but was no match for the sheer "whale-ness" of his opponent....
We also wanted to check out the Harajuku Bridge where young (japanese) people dress up in all sorts of strange costumes and just chill all day. There weren't very many there that day, though, since it was raining. But here are a couple (very tame) examples.
Hopefully, when we go back to Tokyo we'll be able to get away for a little while and see some other, more wild, costumes!
Later on, we met up with our friends Kotaro, Yuji and Quinn. Kotaro was a good friend from college and Yuji was also there (although I was in Germany that year). Quinn is a good friend from back home. He grew up on Vashon too.
This is Kotaro and his friend Ivonne. She wasnt there that night... this is an older pic. I didnt get a pic of any of us that night... oops!
Here are some pics of Shibuya in Tokyo.... lots of people and sensory overload in every sense of the word!!
And here's a Kebab vendor... I like the red cowboy hat. Gives him a distinct "only in Japan" look!
Latest news: I've decided to switch phone companies and, therefore, my phone as well. Ill be getting an ECO phone which is NOT made out of plastic in the conventional sense (ie out of oil) but instead plastic rendered from plant fiber -- more specifically, corn! Pretty cool, huh? AND 1% of my bills will be donated I guess to certain conservation activities! Im pretty excited about it! The only unfortunate thing is that it comes in only one color and design: pink with silver leaves... I think its very cute but Adam thinks it might send people the wrong message or just plainly insult his manhood if he got one... Even though he'd like to get a phone made out of corn too, he does have his limits. In this case, I dont blame him!
Here's the link. Check it out!
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/foma/701i/n701ieco/index.html
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