Bananas....UNITE!

Bananas...UNITE!










Peel bananas, peel peel bananas
(other side now -)
Peel bananas, peel peel bananas












Eat bananas, eat eat bananas
Eat bananas, eat eat bananas













GO BANANAS, go go bananas!
GO BANANAS, go go bananas!

I think my Japanese painting teacher is part Italian.
It seems that every time I go over to the studio for class, she invariably brings me several treats. Actually, she's not even technically my teacher, her painter son is. She does the Japanese calligraphy classes.
I'm actually a pretty unremarkable painter, but I still like going because it's good to be making some kind of art again in a classroom situation, and taking this class in this setting is "so Japanese". It's called suibokuga (basically ink painting), and I know you've seen examples of it. Very ethereal ink washes of very "Japanese" scenes and objects. When I'm brave enough to show off one of my paintings, I'll put it up.
As for the food here - I know the white stuff is onigiri (rice balls), and the other has something to do with potato. I'll let you know after lunch :)


Here's an example I found on the web of a painting and some of the supplies used in suiboku-ga. In the next class my teacher is going to show me how to make a name stamp (inkan) so I'll be able to 'sign' my paintings.
(sorry to steal the image here without proper acknowledgment of the source, but there are some not so family-friendly images that pop up there - so I thought I should skip it)

Go, Japan!

So I walked into the staff room last week and saw the volleyball coach crouching on a Japanese flag on top of the table....?
Turns out he was writing (in Japanese with a brush) some words of encouragement to a former Isahaya High School student who is going to be in this year's Olympics! Many other people signed the flag, and the school had a big ceremony to present this alumnus with the flag and this "senbatsuru" (1000 cranes) made by the students. Some of you may know that the making of 1,000 paper origami cranes is a kind of good luck charm. Unfortunately, I had a business trip and couldn't go to the ceremony (and so I'm fuzzy on the details of all of this). I even heard about this athlete at my Japanese brush painting class, since this guy was from that little neighborhood, and while I was having class, many of the neighbors were having an enkai (dinner party) in his honor.
The link here takes you to our school's webpage, and if you click on the upper left photo, it will give you a pdf to open so you can read all about the event. Well, that is, if you can read Japanese - but there are a few photos, too :)

Lunch is served...

Here's what the bento boxes and plates look like when they're delivered...notice the labels on the forks and chopsticks - teacher's names.
I'm also happy that we can have live plants in here. I remember we couldn't have any in our Florida classrooms (why?). Yet I remember here, in a Japanese elementary school, the principal beamed when he showed off the fresh flower arrangements displayed about the school. He said he was happy to have these flowers because they 'calmed the students'...
Hmmm...there's an idea :)

not your regular burger and fries...

Just thought I'd show you what you can get for lunch around here. This is yakisoba. (yaki=fried soba=noodles) Interestingly enough, even though soba is in the name, the noodles used to make this dish are more like ramen noodles - made from wheat flour. Other things in the dish include cabbage, bean sprouts, and different kinds of 'meat' - in this case kamaboko (steamed fish paste - much better tasting than it sounds!) and tako (octopus).
I often make & bring my lunch, but sometimes I order something from one of the local restaurants that deliver here. Something that really impresses me is that most of the restaurants deliver their dishes on real plates & even provide forks when necessary. People eat, wash their plates, and put them in a special cabinet and someone from the restaurant comes round to collect them. Very eco-friendly. I'll see if I can get a stealthy shot of one of the people engaged in a delivery and pick up later...


Got it :)
Here's one of the ladies - she brings the plates wrapped in a big cloth so they're easy to carry. Most people who bring their bento (lunch box) wrap it up in a cloth, too. I think it's called furoshiki. This is the side of the teacher's room - notice the sinks for easy access to wash your hands or brush your teeth. :) Sorry, Cara, still haven't been stealthy enough to catch one of them brushing their teeth yet!
You can also see the blue trash bins there - they're for recycling cans, bottles, unburnable trash, and the foam lunch boxes from the only restaurant that doesn't deliver their meals in bento boxes or plates.

Class Match - Day 2

10:17am
87F/29C & counting...
As you know, my kids at school here are always CRAzY busy with classes, extra classes, tons of homework, coming to school on Saturdays and during their 'vacations'...BUT yesterday and today they've been able to let loose a little at the "Class Match" sports competitions. I took these photos from the top of the gym as I looked down on the school grounds at the volleyball and soccer matches.

Each class has teams for volleyball, soccer, badminton, basketball, & dodgeball. As I sit up here in the air conditioned haven of the teacher's room, I can hear their continuous cheers of encouragement, and intermittent frenetic coaxing to help their team get that extra push they need at that moment. Have I mentioned that I adore my students here? Days like today it's so refreshing to see the pure joy and determination in what they're doing.

Yesterday I stayed outside most of the day playing with the kids as they practiced for their volleyball games (I kept trying to get on a team, but wasn't successful). However, one of my classes was short a basketball player, and so - how much do I love my kids? Apparently A LOT...cause even though the game was only 10 minutes long, I swear I almost DIED. Why do people play that game on purpose for FUN? It's sadIStic, is what it is - all that running around back and forth, stopping, running, stopping, jumping...lunacy it is, yo! Somebody get me a yoga class...
Well, I should quit procrastinating and get out there and start sweating with the students -

and a Happy 8th of July to you -

I was a little out of commission this 4th of July weekend (stomach bug), so maybe it's good I wasn't in the States with all that good smelling bbq around...
Last Sunday evening I did, however, manage to get up to the 4th of July party sponsored by the base up in Sasebo. It still was a little strange walking into a place with so many Americans all around, but it was nice to be surrounded by familiar sights, sounds, and smells. I ran into some nice people, but mainly kept to myself, enjoying my REAL cheeseburger (can't remember the last time I had one), and the slightly less than cheesy cover bands. Actually the bands were alright, I'm just not such a raving fan of the original bands. But live music is live music. :) I stuck around for the beginning of the fireworks, and saw the last of the show as I rode my little bike back to the train station.
And I think I've been here too long, now - that Lou Greenwood song they did to start the fireworks show was almost tolerable :) At least the words sounded different to me this time.
***
(and there was a moment during a particularly brilliant set of fireworks that I swear I could hear Mom oooing and ahhhing...)

Today is Tanabata
(Star Festival).
According to legend, the king of the heavens separated his daughter, The Princess Weaver Star, from her husband, The Cow Herder Star, because their intense love kept them from their duties. Now they can only meet once a year - on the eve of July 7 - by crossing the Milky Way. If it rains, the star-crossed lovers will have to put off their reunion for another year. To celebrate this romantic story, people write poems and special wishes on colorful strips of paper called tanzaku and hang them from the limbs of bamboo trees. *

The word for star is hoshi 星　（ほし)
and the word for wish is hoshii欲しい　（ほしい）


Hey - it's like Christmas in July :)

*(that was shamelessly excerpted from Japanese Celebrations, one of my books here)

kabi must die

I'm normally not a vicious or vindictive person,
but in this situation, I have no other choice.

黴は最悪。消えてしまえ！
(Kabi wa saiaku. Kieteshimae!)
Mold is EVIL. It must die!

OK, I know I always complained about freezing in my apartment
in winter. However, one really great thing about winter is -
NO bugs, and, (okay - two great things) - no mould/mildew.
Right, so I can take the rain in tsuyu (monsoon season)...
it's annoying, but I know it is necessary to make the rice grow, etc.
What, however, is the justification for
MOLD and BUGS, such evil entities?
Since my apartment is the end unit on the first floor
(remember - below my tatami mats are thin wooden boards, 3 feet of air, and wet soil), I'm under heavy attack. At least the mukade (centipedes?) haven't decided my house was party central. If that happens, it might really get ugly. For now, however, I'll just keep emptying my dehumidifier every 5 minutes and keep wiping down my floors everyday to prevent the kabi from turning my tatami mats into AstroTurf. I'm also keeping a baseball bat close at hand for any gokiburi (roaches) daring enough to cross the threshold. So watch out - I'm armed and dangerous, yo.

竜頭泉 りゅうとうせん

(or for those of you having trouble reading that - "Ryutousen" (ryou-toe-sen).  

I can see why I had trouble remembering the right order of the name, because "ryu" means dragon, and I knew "sento" had something to do with bath/water/springs.  And, when I looked up "sentou" the first definition said "head"...

Well, I've got it now - 

"ryutou" = dragon head, "sen" = springs.  

And now your Japanese lesson is out of the way :)

Here's a picture of one of the "taki" (waterfall) and "sen" near the restaurant.  The surrounding area was gorgeous - good for hiking and camping I hear.  

After living here - with mountains so close, I can't imagine living without them now... 

So here's the rest of the story (and the dragon!).

Last Friday a really nice man took us to dinner in the mountains about a 45 minute drive north of here.  Glad I didn't have to take my bike - I wouldn't have made it (the Captain would have had no problem, though, I'm sure!) :)

As I said in the previous post, this screen was in the restaurant, and it's basically a map of a series of waterfalls in the area.  If you click on the picture, you can see the Japanese numbers beginning at the tail and ending at the head.  I think the restaurant was up by one of the claws.  

It's funny, sometimes, being the gaijin - I'm either really an outsider, who will never be accepted into the group, or sometimes - like last Friday, I feel like an honored guest.  The restaurant was empty except for our party of three, and so I felt like we were simply guests in this lady's house.  It was the first time I've had carp (sashimi), we had another cooked fish, and then eel (unagi).  Of course there was a selection of side dishes, as well.  No one even commented on how well I used chopsticks, though...I wonder if my superior skills are slipping -

 

Our friend Kota came over from Hiroshima a couple weeks back, 

and you just can't get together without a little

purikura action!  Has this caught on in the US yet?

Dragon falls

I just had the most delightful dinner tonight with the most generous people.  More details later...I'm just really tired from the week, and think I might also have a long day tomorrow!

This pic is of a section of a screen (at the restaurant) that depicts a series of nearby waterfalls that begin in Omura and go all the way up to Sonogi, where we were.   A map of these falls apparently looks like a dragon!  

Talk about ask and you shall receive...

the good captain came through with the pics I wanted to see...thanks!  

(and might I say, captain, you and your wife do great work ;) !)

"...and I now pronounce you husband and wife ...again"

I've been found out.  

One of the guys on the Guardian apparently found my blog and told the captain about the other post I did about the change of command and renewal of vows ceremonies.  

Fortunately, I guess I didn't give away any State secrets, and the good captain even sent me a few more photos of the big day.  I can see why Skii wanted a second wedding ceremony.  This one was on top of a mountain (albeit in-between raindrops), and, well, you can't just rent those nice white outfits and swords, now, can you?

Out of the mouths of babes...

Right, so I know some of you think all I do is play around here...and...well, that's probably fairly accurate.  BUT, in my defense, English as a second language (when you are surrounded by Japanese speakers) is intimidating enough, so I don't have any regrets about "just playing around" here.   All those years teaching at a, ah - challenging school didn't teach me nothing - I guess I just make this job look easy :)

The board on the right there has photos from our ichinensei "boot" camp that they do at the beginning of the school year (April).  It's really all about discipline, but as you can see in the photos, it's not all about marching and singing the school song.  

And, these are way overdue, but I thought some of these quotes were really cute (and evidence of what an awesome English teacher I must be...)

So - presenting some selected 

New Year's resolutions 

from last year's students (unedited):

• I will continue to live energetically.
• I will get the wisdom of English!
• This year I will keep my room cleaned.
• I will help with housework more than last year.
• I will be legend.
• This year I will make friends of normal classes.  (she is in an advanced science track here)
• This year I will become open straightforward and not at all pretentious! 
• I will get girlfriendS
• This year I will not be a crazy boy.
• This year I will remember a thousand English words.
• This year I resolve to be SUPPLE!  (since my students seem very 'innocent' this alarmed me - but I think she meant "obedient")
• I want to make my parents happy!!
• I will get up early!
• I will make a girlfriend.
• I will become a real hero with a love for justice. (This boy loves Kamen Rider)
• This year I will spend smile everyday.
• This year I resolve to have a pleasant every day.
• This year I resolve to not sleep in any classes!
• This year I will practice kyudo MORE HEAD.  (Kyudo is Japanese archery.  What he really means is that he will concentrate more and make intelligent, thoughtful moves.)
• This year I will be a **princess**
• This year, I will try to talk with more foreign people.
• This year I will sleep as many as possible. (maybe he already started!)
• This year I will go to the next grade and sail across the Pacific Ocean.
• This year I resolve to keep smile ALWAYS.
• This year I will enjoy English more than ever!
• This year I resolve to believe in myself and everyone.

(gomen, ne!  I'm sulking.  After the drama I had to go through getting my back bike tire fixed, I come out today after school to find my FRONT tire completely flat.  THEN, as I was taking off the tire - quick release - what happens?  The bolt holding it on drops and rolls right into the hole in the bottom of a rusty pole...down into the murky-whatever-is-under-the-pole place...agh!   So - you'll have to wait until tomorrow for more cute pictures and/or photographic evidence that I DO actually do serious work here sometimes  )

ps - Dad, just let me know when you're connected to the wwworld again.  Your mouse misses you I'm sure :)  Your daughter does.  Ganbatte, kudasai!  

"Come to FRANCE...Exciting, Relaxing, Romantic...FRANCE!"

The kids had to make a commercial enticing people to visit a particular country.  The funny thing was, since we didn't have access to any reference material, when the students didn't know something about the country, they were allowed to make it up!  

We advertised a package that included a ski trip ("exciting"), followed by a trip to the Med ("relaxing"), and the tour finished with a romantic night on the town in Paris.  The romantic gesture (seen below with me and the boy) really cracked everyone up, since this boy is apparently quite a character in the class.  Of course all the other girls in the group were too shy to play this part, so that's why I was stuck with making this funny pose you see in yesterday's post.  In case you're wondering what's on the girls' faces, it's candy.  One of the things we made up about France is that it's sweet - literally.  For instance, the Eiffel Tower (made up by me and another tall student) is made of candy, so after your romantic dinner there, you can just take a piece of the tower for dessert.  So for that part of the skit, we were wearing candy, and well, apparently that was too good an idea to limit to skit time...

Late that night the female chaperones were chatting away in their room, so I went to the guys' room to finish making little USA souvenirs for my kids.  It was all nice and quiet till the boys came in and crashed the party :)  I mean - ahem - till the boys came in for some extra English tutoring - yeah - that's what it was.  

Photos for these posts are credited to my 'Trinbagonian' brotha, Allen, a JET from Nagasaki (and also just barely visible at the very bottom of this photo!)  Thanks, Allen!

English Camp

Yea!  English Camp!

Last week I did a camp with a bunch of students from a local high school.  Though we were only together for two days, it seems we ALTs made a lasting impression on the kids.  They all seemed to have a really good time with us and each other, all the while, speaking English!  They were surprisingly good, too!  We did some original skits (my group really hammed it up - more on that in the next post) and played games that encouraged communication.  Fun fun.  

yes, folks, size DOES matter

After chasing the fireflies in the 'backcountry' on my bike a couple of weeks ago, I found my back tire soft.  Pumped it up - fabulous again. It was a tease.  After a whole day at school, the tire was so flat, that when tried to just walk it home, the tire was literally rolling off the wheel.  Dame, yo ("bad"). Went to two gas stations and the guys were reeally helpful, but my little French valves were like nothing this little town (or any around here) has ever seen.   I finally found new tubes in Fukuoka last week, but in the mean time, I needed wheels.  I'd been wanting a folding bike because they're much easier to take on the train & bus, so this was a good excuse to get one.  I did a bit of research and settled on this little Panasonic (yes!  in fact it DOES come with a radio :)  ), and traded multiple gears and shocks for a light load.  It's definitely not for long stretches uphill, but it's not bad.  And I just love the fact it practically fits in my pocket when I'm done!  

I'm turning into one of them

You know I used to think that the way the Japanese ladies all hide under fancy "sun-brellas" was a little much.  So they want pure white skin and no wrinkles - good for them.   

I, on the other hand,  love the sun.  

HOWEVER, now I realize they're brilliant - walking around with an umbrella when the sun is shining is like walking around with a portable air conditioner.  

And every little bit helps here in the summer, ne.

Where are we?

I'll give you a hint: we're somewhere in Kagoshima. 

Cigs

Yatta!  I got my camera back.  It was a stowaway in the Pixmobile and apparently enjoying a vacation in Fukuoka.  Must run to Japanese lesson now and then to class.  But here's another classic 'public service announcement' from my corner of the world...

"The cigarette butts are

always more noticeable 

when I'm walking my dog."

yeah.  hate that.

tying the knot

Couldn't resist the play on words.  

No, no, I'm not getting married or anything; 

I still haven't even been able to get a date recently...

but I'm accepting applications from interested & 

willing parties, if you know any!

Just thought I'd share this interesting clip from my Kyoto temple visit.  

Our guide, a monk at this temple, shows us how he ties his belt.  

Looks like a giant Turk's Head knot, doesn't it, Dad?

"Camp Birthday"

Camp Birthday

CLICK on the photo above to go to the photo album.  You can look at it in slideshow format, or scroll over the pics to see the captions.  You can also see where we were on the map!

Yeah, yeah, I know these are so late that it's almost time for my next birthday, but here are some photos from the 'camping' trip that we did the night before my birthday.  No tents involved, but it was a lovely cabin in the woods, and the guys did a great job on the yakiniku (grilled meat) bbq.  I've got to say this birthday was really hard, but fortunately some of my mates here made sure I wasn't all alone :)

Someday I will actually post those other photos I've promised.  Here's one of a shidarezakura (looks like a weeping willow) in the palace gardens in Kyoto.  It just kind of looked like how I feel right now...kind of droopy and needing to be propped up!  The medicine I'm on seems to be helping, but I still should probably avoid operating heavy machinery for a few days. 

I will say one fabulous thing about being in inaka (countryside) Japan is that I never have to wait for a doctor.  Since my school is within walking distance of many "hospitals" (that's what they seem to call doctor's offices), I'm always able to just walk over to one unannounced, and after filling in paperwork (always fun - since I can barely read kanji), I usually go right in.  Unbelievable.  But I'll take it for now :)

So, stating the obvious, here, sometimes things get lost in the translation.  Case in point: my being sick in Japan and my colleagues' reactions.  (I've had really strange sicknesses here, and the latest has been hanging around for the better part of a month now...yes, I finally went to the doctor...not to worry - got meds...I just won't be operating heavy machinery while I'm on these drugs) Anyway, today one of the English teachers asked me (knowing that I just started the medicine yesterday afternoon), "Are you better?"  Hmmm...let's see - well, LOOK at me - do I LOOK all better?  I'm frequently asked - within a really quick turn around time, if I've gotten better.  I mean I'm trying to get better as quickly as I can (seriously - I've been walking around feeling like I've just run a mile drunk), but not there yet.  Then I realized - they're not trying to be rude - it's just that the Japanese expression of concern,  as it's directly translated into English,  seems a little impatient.  When I asked my trusted Japanese friend about my theory - that when people ask "Are you better?"  they really mean "Are you feeling any better? (not 100% yet, but is there any improvement?)"  She said, smiling "So so  so" - meaning yeah yeah yeah!  Whew.  I need a nap.  

Every time I feel sick, depressed, lonely, 

I force myself to get out for a little walk about, 

and inevitably I find some smiling child's face.  

Nice how that works out :)

ich, ni, san!

Right.  So my life isn't all black party dresses and men in uniform (none of them were even smart enough to get my phone number - sigh.).  ANYWAY, I was flipping through the images on my phone and found this one.  I just wanted to show that, for one night a year, it seems, my colleagues shake loose a little.  This is a shot from our end of the school year enkai (dinner party) back in March.  Apparently it is a tradition to toss the transferring teachers up in the air after they've been feasting for 2 hours.  Don't worry - there was a mound of pillows underneath.  I just thought this little tradition - following the group rendition of the school song and several individual cheers for the folks that were moving on - was...kind of...charming.  

And for the record - as I may have mentioned before - I really think the secret to such harmonious work relations may well have to do with enkai...We have several parties (at about $50 a pop) - several times a year.  We have them for the opening and closing of school years, the end and then again in the beginning of the calendar year, before the seniors take their entrance exams, after/before major school-wide and prefecture-wide sports events.  Many of these are basically in triplicate, since there are different parties for the whole staff, the grade level teachers (I'm with the teachers who teach first years), and then each of the subject areas, too.  Oh, wait - we had one at a fantastic tofu restaurant for all the women on staff, too (I can only imagine where the men's party was!). Whew.  It's expensive, and kind of annoying because it's 'all you can drink' - but that only means beer and sake (neither of which appeal to me).  It's also difficult because - well, it's a party, and who wants to try to speak English?  Well, the beer DOES make some folks much more apt to have a go at English, and I know I need to practice my Japanese, but it's sometimes a little exhausting. 

BUT, at the end of the day, I'm usually happy to attend.  What other school events provide fish so fresh it's still twitching?

In the Navy...

So - here's a question - go teach at school, or have photo ops with naval officers in dress whites.  Hmmm...such a dilemma.  

Wait minute, is there really any question about what needs to be done when such a situation presents itself?  

My presence at school was not absolutely necessary the end of last week, so I took nenkyu and  went to a change of command ceremony at the Navy base up in Sasebo.  My friend was becoming the captain on the USS Guardian, and though I don't know him and his wife very well yet, Skii (wife) persuaded me to come to the change of command and their wedding (renewal of vows) anyway.   The promise of all those men in uniform...hmmm...you can imagine it was so difficult to convince me to go.  Unfortunately, in the drama of everything, my camera got misplaced, and so this is the only photo I have from my trip.  

However, maybe losing my camera was intended - instead of focusing on the photo documentary of the trip, I've been focusing on everything I felt... Since I've been Japan so long, it was strange to be on "American soil" on the base.  However, being there at the ceremony also reminded me of all the fond memories I have of visiting bases, attending air shows, etc. with my family.   At the ceremony the Guardian looked so festive, and the speeches about/by the captains really made made me (sorry for the cliche) swell with pride.   It takes true leaders to give all the credit back to the people that they are leading.  Since I was also privileged enough to spend a brief time with both of the captains and their famies, I saw firsthand what impressive leaders they were off the ship as well.   I found it endearing to witness how much they loved their families - and how much their families loved them.  The ceremony really made me proud to be an American.  I'm so thankful that we have men like that defending our nation.  

Well, I wish I could say I've been enjoying Kyoto all this time, but truth be told, I've just been caught up in the beginning of the new school year, and I just don't want to look at a computer at home!  Sorry!  

Just wanted to put up this quick post so that you're not worried - and to show you that, as usual, Sam's been up to no good.

Here's a shot of the river "walk" in Kyoto and some of the lovely cherry blossoms.  That's the bike I rented to get around (SO much fun - but I was exhausted after riding for 3 days!), and I used this river walk as the main North/South boulevard, so as to avoid the traffic.  Though it was physically taxing, riding my bike was great since I was able to skirt the in-town madness, and just go along the cherry blossom filled edges of town.  

off to Kyoto

Hey - 

Just got Sam strapped in and I'm off to Kyoto on the night bus.  Sorry - must run!

tx

Happy Wedding Day!

One of my former eikaiwa (English conversation) students, Mihoko, got married last weekend. Though I was honored to be invited, I've heard (and seen) that Japanese weddings are extremely formal, stiff (read UNfun) affairs. Beautiful, but really formal. I was nervous about what to wear, how to act, since I feel like I never really know what is expected of me around here. Fortunately, I can usually play the "gaijin" (foreigner) card and beg forgiveness on account of ignorance. I was also lucky to be able to join some of my other Japanese girlfriends for both the wedding ceremony and the ensuing party, and therefore didn't feel so lost :) In this first photo, Mihoko's wearing a traditional white kimono, and the family is standing in front of the special gold screen to receive guests into the reception.

Here's what was waiting for us at the table! Actually, this fish, "tai" is probably my favorite kind of sashimi. I think it might also be considered "lucky" (I guess for those who eat it - not the fish itself!) I could be making that up though -

Next is the appetizer course - it was delicious, but don't ask me what the things were. I think the pink thing was "sakura mochi", though - made from sakura blossoms and leaves (but I could be making that up, too!)

Ahhh... the wedding cake. If it looks a little unprofessional, it was! It was just a frosted cake and the guests got to decorate it! What an idea! They had bowls of goodies set out beside the cake, and at the beginning of the reception, guests got to add their own touches.

Finally, here's Mihoko in her second wedding dress (she went through several costume changes throughout the whole affair!) and me & "the girls."

Ai Uta by Greeeen

GReeeeN - Ai Uta
by Jmusic60

Here's another J-pop group for you. I heard this song all the time last year, but just figured out who did it. It's kinda "poppy" but fun.
If anyone knows the real meaning behind the video, please share :)

Here is the chorus and last verse translation I found online:

Only standing by my side spending days laughing and crying,
That has become the meaning of my life
I dedicate this love song for you

I can't express how much I am thankful for you
Cries, laughs, sadness, and happiness are all shared as we continue to live
No matter how many nights have passed
I would like to sing my love with you

*** and the romaji ***

tada naite waratte sugosu hibi ni
tonari ni tatte ireru kotode
boku ga ikiru imi ni natte
kimi ni sasagu kono ai no uta

tada arigatou ja tsutae kirenai
naki warai to kanashimi yorokobi wo tomoni waka chi ai ikite ikou
ikutsumono yoru wo koete
boku wa kimi to ai wo utaou


***If you want to check out the rest of the lyrics, or if you want to see other Japanese music videos, check out http://www.jpopasia.com/

Mayday! what the heck is a Bump of Chicken?

A couple of posts ago I featured "Mayday" by Bump of Chicken. While trying to nail down an explanation for the unusual band name, I came across two:
1 - The term for "goosebumps" is "torihada" - but instead of "goose" they use "tori=chicken." Maybe the band's music is so amazing, listeners get "torihada"...
OR (and this one is from my resident "Bump of Chicken" student expert in ichikumi)
2 - In Japan the chicken is seen as a weak creature***. However, when the chicken is "bumped" or attacked, it "counter-attacks" (hangeki suru is what my student used). My student said that Bump of Chicken's message was about "fighting back" when you're knocked down - don't just take it. Stand up for yourself.

So - Bump of Chicken mystery solved.

***I got HOWLS of laughter as I explained the whole "You're a chicken" insult to my students. Of course I hammed it up with a proper "brock brock brock" (I have NO idea how to type chicken clucking) and doing a little chicken dance...

And, for those of you in a karaoke mood - here's "a" translation of the chorus and romaji lyrics to a song that'll put you in a good mood:

Mayday (excerpt)

Are you holding your breath
down to the bottom of your heart?
You are sinking (drowning/hiding?)
So I won't stop diving till I find you
The closer I get to you
The more harder it gets
When I have to take another breath
I'll take it with you

Iki wa motsu darou ka
Fukai kokoro no soko made
Kimi ga shizumeta kimi wo
Mitsukeru made moguru tsumori sa
Kurushisa to hireishite
Bokura wa chikazukeru
Futatabi kokyuu wo suru toki wa
Kimi to isshou ni

adjusting the volume II

So. The relative peace and quiet can be great. And I am, 'at the end of the day', thankful for this unique opportunity. But try to imagine living in a place where EVERYthing you hear on the radio, TV, at work, on the street, in the mall, at the grocery store, at the post office - try to imagine all of it makes no sense - it's just sounds...that eventually turn into a kind of white noise. It's isolating. At the same time, however, I try to use it for focusing on my own things, and think of my lack of understanding as a sort of immunity to some of the very things I was trying to get away from in the States. The concept of "Communication" seemed so 2-dimensional before, and now it seems to be expanding exponentially. Feeling (for the most part) "locked out" of a language allows me to evaluate existing methods and develop others as I deal with the day to day job of living.

That being said, my meager attempts at 'learning the language' are always met with such support and enthusiasm here. People may seem shy, but as I think I've mentioned before, they probably don't feel like they have anything to say to me until I mumble something in a language they understand. As I was at Huis Ten Bosch (the Dutch village north of here) the other day, I overhead these shopkeepers' frantic, nervous whispers as they tried to figure out what to say to me - and suddenly they timidly blurted out "Delicious!" I looked at the cheese to which they were pointing, and said, "Hai, chizu ga oishiiso, yo" Which actually might really mean "the map indeed looks delicious", but regardless - they were excited to try to talk to me (in Japanese). We chatted for a bit about why I was in Japan and where I lived, and then I walked away grinning at how funny - and at times misleading - our perceptions about other people can be.

I keep trying to get a point here - about why I've been posting all the music stuff here lately. Some of you probably like some of the stuff, and others, well, thanks for your patience. In the US, I was used to having music around me all the time - Dad was always playing something at home (I miss that - hint hint ;) ) or I could always turn on the house stereo or car radio (here I don't even HAVE a radio). So, now that I'm finally finding popular Japanese music that I can tolerate, I feel like another layer of communication unfolds...
So - I hope this stuff is, at the very least, educational :)

Right. So enough of the melodrama - here's a your "RSD" (random shot of the day) - it's in a washroom at Huis Ten Bosch. This divider is made up of a series of cardboard tubes - they looked like the ones you'd find on the inside of a roll of paper or carpet. Since I read somewhere that HTB was really concerned about the environment, I wouldn't be surprised if these really were recycled materials from the site! This washroom also had randomly-placed round mirrors scattered about the walls. Since the whole room was an oval shape, I figured the mirrors were supposed to look like bubbles...until I glanced in the mirror above the sink and saw that the "randomly-placed" mirrors actually worked like a 3 way mirror! Wow - I need a vacation...I'm now impressed with toilet facilities!

adjusting the volume

One of the reasons I came to Japan was to get away from the NOISE...the general gossip, the ugliness and insensitivity in people's tones, the general harshness I often heard (not necessarily directed towards me) at my previous school, the intrusive sex/drugs/violence in the music, the constant barrage of ads incessantly trying to seduce me to buy this or that.
I just wanted a break.
I wanted quiet...
...so maybe I could...
THINK.
I've had a lot to deal with this past year and a half with losing Mom, and feeling like I've lost home.
And here I have the peace and quiet to sort this all out. Maybe I can also find this in the States again, but for now, even though life is often very difficult on account of the language and cultural barriers, for now, it's had a kind of calming effect.

I sometimes scream and wail
(mostly on the inside - but doesn't that just echo even louder?
don't those reverberations from the inside out only serve to shatter me more severely?)
AND YET
the SILENCE - the mind-numbing-defeaning SILENCE of this place stands in stolid defiance, completely unaffected by me.

It mocks me.

Or...
maybe
it is just patiently waiting

Kobukuro

This is the band featured in the previous post, and their name is a portmanteau of the two members' family names, Kentarō Kobuchi and Shunsuke Kuroda. In recent lessons, I've been talking with the students about their musical tastes and "Osusume" (recommendations) and "Tsubomi" is one of them. I don't know why I didn't think of this idea before - listening to the students' favorite music not only broadens my Japanese musical horizons (which doesn't take much!) and gives me a better idea of where they're coming from and what they like. It also gives me more "chat material" and it helps me decide what kind of English music to use in lessons.
Well, I found an English translation for the "Tsubomi" lyrics, and have posted them below. Just for the record, Kuroda is over 6'4" and NO, I've never seen a Japanese guy that tall before :)

"Tsubomi"

Even if tears spilled from a sweat covered smile, no one could tell.
Thats why I don't know you're crying.

Its still burning, lighting up my heart
I recieved from you the tender light, proof of unconditional love

While being enveloped by the gentle spot under the sun,
I whisper into your back
Even if a day like this comes again
Surely, surely, surely, you would be able to understand

Vanishing and blooming, this year too the flower bud is waiting for me
the petal dancing in the wind that my palm can't grasp
stops on the shoulder lightly
skillfully riding it and showing a smile, I remember you by myself

In the valley of buildings, sometimes buried dreams bud too
isn't that what makes flowers bloom?
You can't choose where your dreams will blossom

The silhouettes we dropped on this town, they're all looking for the light
even as time overlaps and flows over itself
surely, surely, surely the day we grow out of this will come

On the breezeless track, the beautiful sky of May feels blue and lonely
the motionless scattered clouds will always be floating
there is no place I can return to anymore
this is the way I am, in the whispering wind it dances to the ground with a flash, my tears

On the verge of dropping, once more the re-opening petals, like you,
gave time and again silent encouragement to these hands

Vanishing and blooming, this year too the flower bud is waiting for me
even now I still can't catch the dreams you painted
stopping right beside me
Opening gracefully just like a smile, I keep looking for the flower bud, in the sky

2007 #1

Well, I didn't really know what this song was about - but I really enjoyed watching all the shadow puppets in the video...makes me want to go tent camping. It's called "Tsubomi" ("bud") by Kobukuro, and it was the number one song in Japan last year. Here are the lyrics (up to the chorus) in romaji - so now you can sing along! :) (For any of you that KNOW Japanese - I just found these on the internet - forgive any mistakes!)

***
Namida koboshitemo, ase ni mamireta egao no naka ja.

Daremo kizuite wa kurenai
dakara anata no namida wo boku wa shiranai.

Tayasu koto naku, boku no kokoro ni, toosareteita
yasashii akari wa anata ga kureta riyuna ki ai no akashi.

Yawarakana hi damari ga tsutsumu senaka ni potsuri hanashikakenagara.

Itsuka konna hi ga kuru koto mo
kitto kitto kitto wakatteta hazu na noni.

Kiesouni, sakisou na, tsubomi ga kotoshi mo boku wo matteru.
tenohira ja, tsukamenai kaze ni tooru hanabira.
tachitomaru ni kata ni hirari
jouzu ni nosete waratte miseta anta wo omoide su hitori.

***

Chibi Maruko Chan

In case any of you are still under the assumption that Japanese children are ALL so well behaved....meet Maruko chan. Actually, I'm thankful that I don't know ANY children like this here :) . I only looked this up because when I gave a Hershey's kiss to one of the kids today, she said "Nagasawakun"! (???) It turns out this is the name of one of Maruko chan's classmates, who has a head shaped like a Hershey's kiss. I don't think that Nagasawakun is in this clip, but I put this up because the English dubbing of the first part - about preparing for earthquakes - is pretty funny (but seriously - don't feel at all obliged to watch the entire clip!).

aBRIDGEd

Sorry for the absence - once again having computer challenges...argh....
Anyway - funny pic of the monkey boys who went camping with us on the eve of my birthday. I'm in my super-sly "Sardines" coat of camouflage...(I guess I'll have to explain that - )

Nana...(nani?)

Some of my mates here came over on the night of my birthday to make sure I didn't eat dinner alone...it was quite lovely at Nana(nani? I can't remember the name of the restaurant...7 something...).

Exile & Koda - "Won't Be Long"

EXILE & Koda Kumi - WON'T BE LONG
Uploaded by dcbape

...it seems the the US influence here extends beyond the proliferation of McDonald's restaurants...but I can tell you the peeps around here don't look any thing like this. Might want to cover the kids' eyes - Koda seems to be allergic to clothes.
The reason I looked this up is because kids at the International Day danced this song for us last week. But because I, once again, didn't quite understand what we were supposed to be doing, I started dancing with the kids (which they liked), but it was really hard to keep up. I glanced at my friend who wasn't dancing and she said, "I think maybe we only have to watch, yo" ANYWAY...the kids were really cute.
So - douzo. K-sensei, I thought maybe the Ely peeps could use this as a diversion from FCAT...
For the record, Bump of Chicken's still got my vote.

Hina Matsuri

Happy Hina Matsuri!
Hina = dolls representing courtiers
Ningyou = dolls
Matsuri = festival
On the 3rd day of March, Japanese families celebrate their pride in their daughters by displaying dolls of the Emperor and Empress in a prominent place in the home. Some doll sets also include all of the Imperial court attendants, musicians, and possessions. The dolls are not to be played with. I think this is akin to the Christian tradition of setting up a Nativity scene at Christmas. The "hinaningyou" are usually gifts from the grandparents or inherited from the girl's mother, and are quite delicate and expensive! They are unwrapped in a ceremony, admired for a few weeks and then put back in their boxes. According to one superstition, if the dolls aren't returned to their boxes soon after the 3rd, the daughters will not get married. (How is it I'm still not married? I didn't even HAVE dolls to put away late... I think I just played with trucks!)

By the way, I'm officially moving my birthday to 3/3...maybe that will be an easier date to remember - "tres-tres" (wink, wink CHRIS), it gives people an extra day to prepare (more winking, DAD), and I like the idea of my birthday coinciding with a national holiday that celebrates daughters. Don't worry, boys, there's one for you in May - but you get fish and samurai helmets instead of dolls.

Bump of Chicken

Here's an experiment - well, it's two-fold, actually. One, I'm embedding a music video file in this post, let me know if it worked, ok? Secondly, I'm trying to study this foreign language through it's popular music. The problem I'd faced was I had NO idea where to start - remember - all the stuff in the music stores is IN said foreign language. Then I discovered the miracle of youtube.com and jpopasia.com, so now I can find at least ONE thing I like, and then use that as a point of departure to find other things I like. Then, of course, there are the kids. This week we're listening to songs they like and translating them into English. I'd actually started that task on my own with a new CD I got called "The Elephant Kashimashi" - then I thought, "Hmmm, why don't the KIDS do this?"

Here's one they chose. It's called "メーデー" ("mayday") by Bump of Chicken. I don't know what it's about yet, but the sound of it puts me in a good mood :)

one year later

Yes, you saw these cool cats last year, too. They are the "ouendan" team at school and they performed for our grad ceremony on Saturday (yes, already doing graduation). They are a big part of the reason I've decided to stay one more year - I really want to see my kids (that were 1st years my 1st year) graduate. I got really choked up this year at the ceremony and I didn't even know the graduates that well, nor did I really understand most of what was going on. But I think I'm really going to lose it next year when all these guys I know graduate (and I'll have improved my Japanese and be able to understand a bit more!). I've been having trouble uploading pics, but I do promise some funny ones from stuff that happened this weekend (not necessarily FOR my birthday, but ON my birthday, anyway!)

moms

So I turned 36 yesterday. I think I'll try to take my friend's advice and from now on just think of my birthday as a "celebration of the day the world was blessed with my arrival" because when I think of being 36, unmarried (heck, I don't even remember the last time I had a proper DATE), and without kids, I get so depressed I can't get up off the floor (which, at the moment, IS very comfortable, since I just bought a "hot carpet" - but nonetheless - ).
And, I miss Mom.
She always made the day special for me, and now I'm really feeling the loss again.
BUT I seem to have some 'new moms' who've stepped up to the plate and I really appreciate it. Though the language and culture barrier is ever-challenging, some of the ladies I've met here have provided a nice maternal-like presence on occasion. And Cathy, Cara ("mom-in-training"!), and Aunt Barbara, your care packages are life savers. Really. Thank you. txo

Formalwear

I'll be out with it already. Most of the time I can be pretty genki, and I've almost gotten used to the fact that I'm simply not EVER going to fit in here.
BUT
SOMETIMES
I feel like it's a conspiracy against me.

Case in point: today. Graduation. I'm told to wear "formal wear" for the ceremony, but, no, 'of course you don't need to wear a kimono'... I come in this morning, and, of course they're wearing kimonos. Everyone not in a kimono has a black velvet suit and pearls (well, the guys aren't wearing pearls). OH, that's "formal wear" Well, shikatta ganai, yo - all I have is an ill-fitting brown suit thingy that I must have washed when it should have been dry cleaned (suits? what are suits?) My plan is to distract them all with my curly hair and I even put on a little makeup. We'll see how it goes.

I know in a few hours this uneasiness will be forgotten (because I'll be freezing said curly hair off in the unheated gym) - no really - in a few hours all the graduates (senpai) and their kohai (the undergrads) will all be having their little celebrations in their club groups around the school. It's very cute to see how happy they all are, and it's evident that they are all really close friends.

And, once again, I'm sitting alone in a suddenly empty staff room - let me go see where everyone's gotten to -