Is it still okay to post on a blog called "Japanese things" when I don't live in Japan anymore?

Dear Japan,

I will miss you dearly. Though I'm choosing to leave now, I have no regrets about living on your island for a year. I love your people. I love your culture. I have learned so much here. I hope I will be forever changed for the better because of our time together. You are a beautiful place with rich culture and wonderful people.

Keep it real.

Jennifer

high school cheerleaders - Japan style

I found this little gem of a video that I have yet to share. It's the cheering squad from Moka Boys High School.

Watch it to the end because the last move is hands down the best. Enjoy.

today is my first day back in japan and i attempted to go for a run. i failed. but i did see a lizard with a black body and a neon blue tail.

Great things in Japan

Japan lets you rent music CDs. Today I rented 2 CDs for 330 yen (about $3.50). Now it is perfectly legal for me to upload the songs onto my computer and iPod. How and why is it legal? I don't know. But it is, and I like it. :-)

Also, today was my first time to use a music rental store. I chose Tsutaya because it's close to my work, and I've been there with friends before. I ran into two of my students on the way there, and they volunteered to help me get a membership card, even though their English is less than my Japanese. What amazing girls. They marched up to the counter with me and took charge - filling out all my forms and answering all of the clerks questions. It warmed my heart. While at Tsutaya, I saw 18 of my students. Wow. Renting CDs is popular.

4th grade, class 3

So I teach elementary ("sho gakko") every Friday. I don't really like it. It has so much potential to be awkward because, unlike at "chu gakko" (middle school, where I normally work), there are no English teachers on staff, so no one is available to translate for me. The language barrier limits communication not only between me and the elementary school teachers, but also the students. It has the potential to be quite stressful because I thrive in places of good communication.

But one class has really done a remarkable job making me enjoy teaching them.

At Moka Nishi Sho Gakko, there are over 1,000 students. I teach one 4th grade class each visit, and there are 6 4th grade classes. Today I taught grade 4 class 3 ("yon no san kumi" or ４の３) for the second time, and they really made my day. So I want to recognize them in my blog (as if that is some sort of special award...).

The week after my first lesson with ４の３, two students found me in the teachers office and presented me with a book made of thank you letters composed by the class. Each student had written me a full page letter thanking me for teaching them English. Is this for real? I wanted to cry tears of joy. How wonderful.

Today I taught them again, and then returned to their classroom to eat school lunch with them. When I entered the classroom they gave me a standing ovation and directed me to a chair at the front of the room. Then they all lined up in the back of the classroom and performed a song for me. They sang for me! What an amazing class. Then we ate lunch together and played "shiritori," a Japanese word game. It was great.

Thank you ４の３！

giant Asian hornet

Today a "suzumebachi" flew into the classroom where I was teaching.  All classrooms have a wall of screenless windows that are always open when it's warm. Today a visitor entered through said windows. The students quickly alerted us, and told us to turn off the lights because "Saito-sensei said so." We followed the orders, and the predator flew toward the window. However, it flew into the closed window. But brave little Ms. Tanaka used her quick wit to open and then close the windows in such a way as to get the monster on the outside. Bravo. We applauded.

What is this terrible creature you ask? A "giant Asian hornet." And Japanese people are terrified of them. So today I looked 'em up. THEY'RE TERRIFYING. Japanese people are right on about this!

Suzumebachi translates to "sparrow bee," because they can grow as big as sparrows! They're bodies avg. 2 inches long with a 3 inch wingspan and 1/4 inch stinger. The venom contains at least 8 toxic chemicals, and they can be lethal, even to those who aren't allergic to bees. Between 20 to 40 people die from suzumebachi stings in Japan each year. One of the chemicals in the venom actually releases a scent that attracts more giant Asian hornets! 怖い！

Dream about this tonight: 

Sports Festival!

Yesterday was Sports Festival at Moka Nishi Junior High School, my wonderful place of employment. This can best be compared to a Field Day at a school in the US. The kids perform a bunch of random "athletic" events, and parents and friends come to watch. It was a lot of fun. I got to run in a relay race with a 1st year homeroom class (think US 7th grade). I was really excited, and the kids were happy to have me because it was me or a 60 year teacher ... I guess I appear a little more fit...

Anyhow - things were off to a great start in the relay. Each 1st year homeroom had every student plus 2 teachers run in the relay. I was on white team, 11th runner. Things started off fantastically, great baton pass, and I was sprinting - running my little heart out. Students were shouting in amazement at how fast I was (no joke). At the end of my 40 meters, I put the baton in my left hand to pass it to the right hand of the next runner, a 1st year boy. As I hand him the baton...

he trips and falls on his face. 

No joke.

Everyone thinks I ran him over.

Great.

I love being a giant and getting blamed for accidents I don't cause simply because I'm bigger than everyone in Japan.

Sweet deal. 

Anyway, we lost the relay race.

No one was actually upset with me at all. In fact, throughout the day, people continued to compliment me for how fast I ran. Ms. Tanaka, the head English teacher and also the homeroom teacher for the class I ran with, told me not to worry and reassured me that her class was not good at PE, so even if the student had received the baton correctly, they still would have lost.

     In other Sports Festival news, all of the boys did this really

cool performance that involved various human pyramids to the beat of a giant drum. I enjoyed it. I couldn't imagine 

an entire male student body at a junior high school in the US performing such a task. 

Also, they had this event called "Rawhide" 

where students had to form a "horse" and "cowboy" and use a "lasso" to knock a can off a desk. It was interesting. Enjoy the pictures.

homesickness

Currently I'm homesick. Not the kind of homesick that is paralyzing or debilitating; not the kind of homesick that makes you resent your existence away from "home." This is the kind that fills you with love, hope and joy when you think about what you're going home to. This is the kind that makes you smile involuntarily when you think about the faces you will see and the bodies you'll embrace in long awaited hugs in 53 days. This is the good kind of homesickness. It's the kind that reminds you of how much you are loved and how much you love others. It reminds you of the joy you feel in the presence of friends and family who support you. It reminds you of the redeeming qualities of home you quickly forget when you hunger for an adventure. It reminds you that you can love and be loved, feel peace, and enjoy life no matter where you are living.

This is the kind of homesickness I'm happy I'm able to feel.

big dreams

It's official - I love school.

I've started thinking about grad school.

For a long time grad school was something that I would love to do, but it seemed just outside my reach. Today I started researching the top ranked grad schools for education. Yay! It's exciting just to begin looking up these things. I love education. What a big nerd, right?

But I don't care. I want to go to grad school. Perhaps I will take the GRE in Japan next fall... But currently, I will just take it one step at a time. Now is the time for getting a better idea of what and where I want to study.

too cool

Sometimes I think my life is too cool for me. I'm not sure I can keep up.

Today I went for a walk, gave directions to a beautiful Peruvian man who was lost, and ended up going to Muay Thai kickboxing with him and his 4 year old son. Then, after kickboxing, his son wanted ice cream, so we went to 7-11, and, as I was holding the little boy so he could see into the ice cream freezer, one of my Japanese co-workers walked into the 7-11. Here's me, in sweaty gym clothes with a gorgeous Peruvian man, holding a 4 year old child. Start the rumors now. Maybe I should've showed him my bruised knuckles as well, just to make sure the stories are juicy.

Aside from the terrible reputation I will have at my work now, how cool is it to go to an actual kickboxing gym in Japan? They said I can come back and practice with them whenever I want, despite the fact that they're training for actual matches, and I never actually want to hit anyone.

... and I really do have bruised knuckles.

Japanese culture

I'm learning to love Japanese culture.

Most recently the Hana-Yori-Dango tv series and it's two main actors, Matsumoto Jun and Oguri Shun.

And the Japanese comedian Hannya (はんにゃ). He does an act called "Zu-ku-dan Zun Bun Gun Game." I had no idea what this was, and one of my students tried to make me play it at tennis practice after school one day. I was incredibly confused, but also very entertained. Then I found this online and it became even more amusing. I hope you like it!

funny happenings

Once upon a time I got confused about which train ticket to use in order exit the station, and I had to ask the station attendant for help - only I couldn't speak Japanese. He turned out to be incredibly kind and handsome, and even though I couldn't explain myself or what I needed help with, his smile made me feel at ease. He couldn't explain what I needed to do in English, so he just smiled and let me go without paying. When I met my friends for coffee just outside the station, I told them about my wonderful encounter and joked about how this man should be my Japanese boyfriend. My friends and I let ourselves get slightly carried away, and the crazy ideas started flowing. Soon enough, I was being cheered on as I slipped a note with my email address under the glass at the ticket window of the train station like any 15 year old girl and her friends would do. That was three weeks ago.

That night, Prince Charming wrote me an email. We exchanged emails periodically, but nothing serious and no developments. He lives two hours away. I don't really remember what he looks like, and I probably couldn't pick him out in a crowd. I had no expectations for future developments, it was just a wonderful change of pace to have someone smile and comfort me despite my inability to speak the language of the country in which I live. Giving your email address to a stranger is completely UNjapanese and I can't imagine a Japanese person actually participating in such folly.

Today I received an email from Prince Charming saying that last night he met two of my friends at the train station and made a promise that he will see me again.

What?

My life is funny.

おもしろい、ね。

Some Japanese things I like.

Today I'd like to share somethings I currently enjoy about Japan.

First, hanami, parties under the cherry blossoms. It's really a magnificent experience.

Next, two Japanese dramas I have watched online with English subtitles: GTO and Gokusen. Both are about teachers who are fresh and naive in the teaching field but, because of this, are able to whole-heartedly trust and support their students, without the cynicism and pessimism that develop after years on the job.

Now I will openly admit that I fall for every gimmick the media has. I'm a sucker for it all. I'm Hollywood's prime target and, apparently, Tokyo's, too. Because I am aware of my weakness, I've pretty much ceased to watch TV... with the exception of these two dramas because somehow I have convinced myself I'm learning Japanese by watching them. That is my disclaimer. Please note that these shows are far-fetched and unrealistic. 

It doesn't stop them from giving me warm fuzzies at the end of each episode. :-)

Finally, from watching Gokusen, I fell in love with the character Sawada Shin. Yes, I realize he is a fictional J-Drama high school student character. Nonetheless, I like him. In real life his name is Matsumoto Jun, and he's three years older than me, so you don't need to worry about me robbing the cradle or anything. He is also in a J-Pop band called Arashi. After I watched all of the episodes of Gokusen season 1 and the special epilogue, I still wanted more of his precious little face, so I looked up Arashi. Here is one of their hit singles. It's charming and cheesy; delightfully tacky. It warms my heart, while simultaneously tickling my gag reflex and making me roll my eyes.

Please enjoy.

The flowers I saw before were plum blossoms. These are cherry blossoms.

 And I drank a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

I have a restaurant that knows my name and order. In Japan. :-)

A (national holi)day in the life

We didn't have school today. It rained all morning, but I was able to get out in the afternoon. I got on my bike and headed towards the park by the river. When I arrived at the river, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the path was freshly decorated pink paper lanterns. (illustration A)

This made me happy. The sight of two men sitting on a bench enjoying lunch in the park made me happier (so much so that when they whistled at me, it went almost completely unnoticed. The only thought it evoked was, "Hm, they must be Brazilian." Japanese men don't whistle at women, and Brazilians are the largest minority population in Moka.) As I rode my bike along the path, I tried to determine the spot from which my camera could best capture the scene. I finally chose a spot, stopping just after I passed two little old Japanese ladies chatting. While I snapped a few pictures, their conversation drew to a close, sending one little oba-san in my direction. Much to my delight, she not only acknowledged my existence, she greeted me and lingered a little, giving me an opportunity to strike up conversation, which I quickly seized in my best Japanese (read "complete butchering of the language"). I pointed to the lantern and said precisely "This, what?" She explained to me that the lanterns were hung for "hanami," the cherry blossom viewing party that would begin as soon as the flowers sprang forth from their buds. She estimated it would be in about 6 days. She told me that the lanterns all represented different business and organizations in the community, and that when the flowers began to bloom and the festival kicked off, there would be food stalls in the park, as well. She said all of this in Japanese. :-). Then she asked a few questions about me, where I'm from, what I do in Moka, if I'm married. When I answered no, she said my parents must have cried when I left. I admitted that my parents miss me a great deal, and she encouraged me to press on. Then she smiled, laughed, shook her head at my terrible Japanese, and continued on her walk. It was beautiful. I continued on my bike ride, which lead to crossing her path once more, and she smiled and said "Ja ne! Bye bye!"

Then I rode my bike to the shrine, hoping to find more pretty lanterns. I did not find lanterns, but I did find beautiful flowers. In my limited knowledge, I ascertain that they are cherry blossoms. However, this is my "hajimete" (first time) hanami experience. So maybe they're plum blossoms, who knows? Either way, the photos are quite nice. (exhibit B)

I must admit that until today, I really couldn't grasp what could be so wonderful about cherry blossoms that every town in Japan would have a "flower viewing festival" each year, where people put on their very expensive, traditional Japanese attire and walk along lantern-lit paths, surrounded by thousands of other people doing the exact same thing.  I mean really? They're just flowers.

But I must also admit that today, as I walked under one of the trees, on a carpet of fallen pedals, and the wind blew just right causing a few more pedals to fall around me, there was something magical about it. And, as I said before, for all I know, these were just plum blossoms, and the cherry blossoms will be even more majestic.

The shrine is a really peaceful place. Sometimes I feel like maybe it should feel oppressive or uninviting to visit a shrine, but there was not even a trace of this at the Moka shrine today. I could have stayed for hours admiring the flowers, enjoying the weather, and taking in the peacefulness, but I was a little apprehensive about the clouds rolling in. So I continued on.

I took a little path I saw near the entrance of the shrine, and, man, did I find some interesting things. First, there were the pretty things. (See images below)

Just after crossing the train tracks, I noticed a fenced in area with a few people walking  around, looking around, almost like they observing some sort of exhibit. Two of the people walked up to the fence, smiling from ear to ear, and said hello to me, in English. It was incredibly un-Japanese. It made me feel like I was the thing on display. It confused me, but I liked it. I always like friendly strangers.

I ended up taking a path that circled around this strange park, and was startled to turn a corner and see a donkey, an ostrich, and an entire rabbit farm. Just beyond these, I saw signs for a squirrel farm. Adding to the oddness, for the entirety of my park-circling, there was this music box-esque melody coming from speakers that I couldn't see. It was really strange. I felt like I was in a horror movie. I didn't stick around.

On my bike ride home, I decided to stop at Fukudaya, the upscale everything store that has the best selection of produce and a bakery. 

As I park my bike in front of the store, I hear someone call out my name. I look up to see about 6 of my 1st year students sitting in McDonalds directly across from me. Two more are running up to me, and they invite me inside.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a secret sense of victory when the surrounding Japanese people, who usually despise me for existing on their island or stare straight through me, were forced to acknowledge that their own kind desire to be in my presence, so much so that they will come running up to me to invite me inside.

The other side of the coin is that all but one of my girls were wearing their school warm ups, AND loads of makeup. Junior high school students aren't allowed to wear makeup, but here they are, wearing it with their school uniforms, loud and proud. Here are my girls:

I sat and chatted with them for a little, relying mostly on the one Peruvian girl, who typically speaks to me in Spanish, to translate. 

Then I continued on to Fukudaya, where I discovered that I did not really want to pay twice as much for the things I could buy across the street for half the price. So I bought only the things I couldn't get at the cheaper store.

As I walked over to the cheaper grocery store, I passed the tiny little Thai store, where the first stranger in Moka to ever talk to me works. I said hello to him, and we chatted for a few minutes. I told him, in my still terrible Japanese, that my parents are coming to Japan soon, and we talked about that for awhile. It was an awkward conversation. I was grasping for any Japanese words I knew, but he is a kind man, and he held up the conversation, until finally I felt like more of a burden than a conversationalist.

I went on to the cheap store, and fell pray to the onigiri, a very important part of Japanese life. These delicious treats are essentially rice balls stuffed with various fillings and wrapped in seaweed. And they're surprisingly delicious. The problem I sometimes run into is that I can't read the Japanese writing that tells me what will be inside. So today, I bought three, completely clueless as to what I might find inside. It was an adventure. Then I headed home to eat my three tasty treats. However, my eyes were bigger than my stomach, and I was full after one. The one I chose was filled with a sweet soy-flavored substance that was most likely a type of seaweed. Admittedly, when I caught my first glimpse of the filling, I was alarmed, but, as it turns out, it was scrumptious. Take a look. 

The remaining onigiri will be enjoyed at a later time. Yum!

And that, my friends, is a national holiday in the life of yours truly.

Cheers.

Spring!

An update:

Spring is breaking through, and warm weather brings hope. I want to play outside all the time. I enrolled in a dance class on Thursday nights. Two weekends ago Meghan and I found a Japanese church we like (read more about Meghan's thoughts on it here). My parents are coming in 11 days. There are only 3 school days left in the Japanese academic year. 

All of these things bring hope.

I can't wait to see my parents.

Spring means more daylight, more time outside and more fun activities. It also means cherry blossoms. These are all good things.

Out of habit, I turn my emotions off when things get hard. I'm so good at it that I don't even recognize I've done it. For the first 19 years of my life, I didn't even know I had this habit. It comes naturally, subconsciously. It's a such a smooth transition that I rarely know when or why I've done it. I don't even get a chance to identify the emotions I'm shutting off, and I can't ever recall when I shut them off. It's that quick and easy. Today, I realized I was numb. 

Last night, I began reading a book with characters that felt raw emotions. The emotions were extreme sadness, loneliness and depression, and I was drawn to them.I couldn't put the book down. Today, when I woke up, I finished the book. It was all I could do; it was all I could think about. I had to keep reading because I couldn't feel on my own, but I could read about the raw emotions of the characters and it was stirring something in me. I finished the book, and it sent me into a frenzy - literally. I wasn't ready to be done almost feeling these things. They were so close to the surface, but they had not yet surfaced. I could not yet consciously identify these feelings in me, but there were no more pages to read that would bridge the gap. So I did what the character in the book does. She runs. I went running. I ran until my body hurt. I ran to parts of Moka I've never seen. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't care. I just needed to run until I cracked, until I laughed or burst into tears or collapsed from frustration. I needed to feel something, anything, and I thought running to the point of exhaustion could make that happen. I ran up hills. I ran down hills. I sprinted. 

Nothing.

Just a sore body.

So here I am, aware that I am numb and unsure of how to feel once more, aware that the emotions I will feel will be difficult and painful - loneliness, isolation, longing, a sense of uselessness. They will hurt. But they will be real and they are a part of life. It will be better than this. Please, God, may I feel them soon.

I'm famous!

I made it into the slide show at the "farewell party" for the third year students. I win.