Dancingu wo shimashou!

So, ok. They're known for having beautiful women in gorgeous kimonos dancing around here in Japan, but I should warn you they also sometimes have other random creatures, such as tarako (which I believe is a character having something to do with fish eggs - like caviar) sharing the stage, too. One thing I've learned here is simply smiling and waving. Even after a year I still usually don't REally know what's going on, but I strive to maintain an attitude where I can just take a deep, contamplative breath and think..."hmmm...yes..well, THIS is interesting, now isn't?"






I am apparently a Japanese dancing fiend. Actually, they'll use any excuse to dress up the foreigner and make her dance around. One of my friends from school roped me into dancing with the inakajin (country folks) in her town for the "Keiro no hi" (Respect for the Aged Day) party they were having. After about 1.2 practices, I donned my yukatta and set foot on stage and did my best not to drop the sticks or boink someone over the head with them (I have NO idea what they symbolize - or are supposed to MATCH for that matter!).
Miraculously, I did quite well...but I'm definitely not quitting the day job. After the "beautiful" ladies danced, we held up paper "onigiri" (rice balls) while the "tarako" fish egg people danced a silly dance. You can see all of us at the end of the dance holding up a sign that basically says "Happy Old People's Day". The organizers even gave each of us a box of cookies to thank us for our efforts. I gave mine to the boys here - they're always hungry.

The other photo here is of me with my students as we prepared to dance in the parade for the Nonnoko Festival here in Isahaya. Kyoto sensei roped me into doing this one. Lovely lavander "happi" coats, obi, and kakkoii matching bandanas. Somehow the look really works for Japanese people, but despite my best efforts to make my hair play nicely, it just kept escaping. The kids told me the headband thingy was "a good match" for me however...that's just another one of those phrases that kinda gets lost in the translation. I once again had almost no practice, but the kids had fun teaching me the dance as we went along. (and yes, those are little white ceramic plates - think along the lines of Japanese castanets)

Kujukushima Matsuri (99 Islands Summer Festival)

Sorry for the absence, but I just got my heart started again after hearing about Dad's surgery last week. If everyone's telling me everything, then it sounds like he'll be OK, but we'll just say it brought up scary memories of what we went through this time last year...so this blog was the least of my worries the past week. Thanks for the prayers, everyone :)

So - even though I had to miss the fireworks on the 4th of July, I must say all the summer festivals and their "hanabi" shows have been worthwhile. Here's a bit of the show at the Saikai Pearl Sea Resort's 99 Island Festival. I am continually delighted to see all the young ladies dressed up in yukatta, since I thought that many girls that age would think such traditional dress was outdated. Apparently not! Whenever I see them at the festivals, they remind me of bright little flowers.

Here's a photo I took from an overlook of some of the 99 Islands...as you can see, Sam's appetite is never satisfied, and the Japansese tourists were even game for a little improv. And here's photographic evidence that I got to the bridge on my bike. After I took a nap underneath the cherry trees at the park by the bridge, I went down to the water to get a better look. The water here is aMAZing. The Saikai Bridge area is famous for its whirlpools caused by the extreme tidal currents.
Mesmerizing.

Sam's Summer Holiday

I think that my わに ("wani" - alligator) friend Sam here was sulking for several months because I've moved him to a place that is REALLY cold for a REALLY long time. He came out of hiding, though, when I mentioned the trip up to Sasebo for なつやすみ ("natsuyasumi" - summer holiday). We were away only 2 days ("summer vacation" being a bit of an oxymoron here at Kanko!), but you can see Sam had a blast.

As you can see, he made fast friends with the locals! (yes, that IS the famous Totoro!)

I took my bike on the train to Sasebo and rode around (photos to follow), then went to Huis Ten Bosch eki (station) and rode my bike from there to the Saikai Bridge shown here. Afterwards, Sam told me, "Onaka ga suita!" (I'm hungry!) So I treated him to one of the world-famous (?) Sasebo burgers.

English Camp

Mmmm...what's cookin'? I need to go visit the States soon, as I'm beginning to forget what is "foreign" to this foreigner. Here's my breakfast at the Siebold University English Intensive that I did last month. Note I had to cook my own "bacon" and eggs, but it was fun. I also had miso, tofu, cabbage (and shrimp?), salted fish, tsukemono (pickled veggies - they're really big on that here), rice (of course), various kinds of nori (seaweed). The intensive was for university students to practice their English communication skills. They not only interacted with several foreigners like me, but they also went to the Nagasaki Peace Park and did interviews with visitors to discuss various aspects of peace.

It wasn't all serious, though. This other photo shows us in one of the rooms the second night playing "Bippity Bop" - a game that I think one of the guys was making up as we went along. I think in this photo the Trinibagonian had to become a tree and the people on either side had to be monkeys. Ah, no, wait - that looks more like "airplane" - where the Trini was the pilot and the folks on either side were wings. Internationalism at its best, yo.

Fukuoka Tower

The last time I was in Fukuoka (just before I went to Korea), I finally got to the top of the Fukuoka Tower. Took myself out for a little cocktail up there and this was the view at sunset. Afterwards I went down and borrowed a random kid for the photo op. Her family got quite a charge out of it! (ps - can you find the big ferris wheel in the sunset photo?)

Dog Daze

You should have seen HOW EXCITED this little guy was when I ate my Sasebo Burger in front of him. Rude, I know, not to offer him any - not even a little nibble - when he was shaking with anticipation. I'm so mean. He was at the festival in Sasebo and I had to sit right behind him on the dock during the concert. As for the Sasebo Burger, it was born in this city thanks to the American base here, and is famous for being - well, I'm not really sure, actually. They just seem to be like the good hamburgers you get in places like TGIF, but burger joints aren't really common in this country. You can get a "hanbaga suteki" - but it sits closer to meatloaf than McDonald's. Anyway - this guy really cracks me up every time I see him. Hope you enjoy :)

Samurai class!

Whew! And everyone thought that Japanese students were perfectly docile and never gave the teacher trouble.
Well, I've been so busy lately (and still don't have an internet connection at home - MAN I wish I could read my mail!), I'm going to have to play catch up here. One Sunday some of my Japanese friends took me to a samurai village (recreation of one, anyway) in Saga prefecture. I included this photo to break the stereotype that Japanese students are always perfect. Actually, my Kanko students are :) but I've heard stories that not all teachers are so lucky.

Hello, P/Busan!

No, I didn't visit a place famous for Peanut Butter, but it seems that the city hasn't decided whether or not it's Pusan or Busan. I saw/heard both. Well, here I am at the top of the moutain in Geumgang Park. I rode the cable car up and walked around, then hiked back down. I think being out of the big city like this was the part I liked best about the city.
Anyway - still no internet at home, which means I'm at school on a Saturday...which means I need to get outta here.
Good luck to all you teachers out there with a brand spankin' new school year! See you when I negotiate a deal to get my internet back!

I'm back!

Just wanted to let you know I'm back "home" - that's weird. As foreign as Japan and Japanese is, I was still glad to get back to the foreign that I 'knew'. So I've done Korea. It was interesting, and I am glad I went - if nothing else it was a personal accomplishment to get there and around and back! But I don't think I'll be rushing back. I've got tons of photos from my little trips piled up, but my internet's not working at home, and I've got to finish planning for a conference I'm doing next week in Nagasaki for the new ALTs. So - yep, back, and I'll write again next week!

Natsu Yasumi

Hey! I'm catching a train to Sasebo in a little bit, trying to catch one of the "natsu matsuri" (summer festivals). I'm also taking my bike to ride up there and some of the way back to Isahaya. Then I'm off to an island music festival near Fukuoka, and since I'll be close, I might also catch the ferry over to Pusan, Korea. So - not sure when I'll be back online - but I'm off to enjoy a little bit of my "natsu yasumi" (summer break)! Mata! tx

Kakigouri and the question of the moment, 'Do semi sleep?'

It's HOT. But at least it's not raining. One night we all met at the local Joyfull (think Japanese Denny's), and I ordered this essential summer treat, kakigouri. It's basically a pile of snow with syrup and cream (sweetened condensed milk?). Reminded me of the snowballs in New Orleans. The one in the photo is actually some kind of matcha flavor with azuki beans. Yum. AND it was actually as big as it was in the super-sized menu there.
I have to wrap it up here, since a semi (cicada - one of the giant ones) followed me inside and seemed to promptly fall asleep on the dried flowers I have in the entry way. Seriously, I tried to gently move him to encourage him to sleep outside, but he wouldn't budge. Now that my computer light is the only light on in the house, I hear him rustling around behind me, and before he dive bombs the screen I'm going to sign off :) Oyasuminasai おやすみなさい
(ps - if anyone's seen or heard from my dad, tell him to send up a signal flare please :) )

Next stop, Goto-machi

Well, my godson, Berns, celebrated a big birthday this week (your gifts will hopefully get there before Christmas, B), and so here's another picture for my little man who loves things that GO. These are two of the 5 trolleys that run in downtown Nagasaki. This spot is just outside of the main train station and AMU plaza, where the movie theater is. Make sure to click on the photo to get a better look at the street cars and signage. B, if you come over, I'll give you 100 yen and you and Gilli can ride the trams with me all day long. Mom can go to the onsen and get a massage :)

Moshi Moshi...

Just wanted to show you a photo of my new keitai/cell phone...it's the HOTTEST thing out there at the moment...
OK, bad joke - I had an ear infection and went to the doctor last week. After swabbing some stuff around in my ear, the doctor had me spend some quality time with this apparatus, to dry out my ear. Interesting. I've noticed that Japanese is much easier to understand after my time at the ear sauna.

Everyone needs a little magic...

OK, I'll admit it, I am a little hooked on Harry Potter these days. English things in general are a bit scarce in these parts, so I watched some of the earlier HP movies when I first got here (thanks to our library - "toshokan" 図書館) and then got a hold of book 4. I wasn't immediately impressed with the level of writing - but then, of course reminded myself it was, technically, written for a younger audience (and I'm for anything that gets young people fired up about reading!). But now - oh, dear, now I'm done for. I have to read all the books now, but at least I don't have to wait in any long lines at midnight for Book 7 here in Japan :) I'm not going to give a book or movie review here, but let me just say that I've thoroughly enjoyed exploring the world JK Rowling has created.
Here's a photo of me and one of my eikaiwa students posing with Harry and friends at the theater. (Harry's wand was a little broken, so I had to help in with it there-) We caught the show in Nagasaki because Wednesday is Ladies' Night and tickets are only 1000 yen (woohoo!)

You know, it's funny. I had a teacher once who was reading several books at one time. I didn't quite understand how she kept them straight. Now, however, this life affords me more reading time (or I just seize it when I can), and I just realized at school I'm reading Life of Pi, at home I'm reading a book about an Indian woman in South Africa, and on the trains I'm reading a book about Japanese culture. Funny the things we suddenly realize we're able to do -

sayonara party time

Ironically, this sayonara ("goodbye") party was the first time I'd been to Amber's apartment (whose layout was almost EXACTLY like mine - I kept feeling like I was in a parallel universe). This is the time of year that new people are coming in and the ones who've finished their contracts are leaving for travel or home. Sad and exciting at the same time I guess. We had a good time at the party, some of the guys had a fun playing their instruments, and for a while it sounded more like an Irish party than a Japanese one. I spent most of my time talking with the two ladies to my left in the photo - and hopefully one of them will be able to give me Japanese lessons. I'm really excited because on Sunday I'm going to Ureshino (with AWESOME hot springs) with them and the lady who took me to the volcano museum.
Well, I know the group pic is a little odd, but that's what happens when you've got a room full of hot party people and I give my camera to people who are chotto yopparai - the other photo is one I took of the guys who took the photo...madness is starting to break out here in the inaka, ne -

ps - I think I've mentioned this before, but I still can't get over it - no one can drink and drive. It's actually kind of a relief for the rest of us. If you have ANY alcohol, you can't drive, and I don't think you're supposed to ride a bike either. So it was really cute at the end of the night, because the slightly yopparai peeps kept asking if I was alright to ride home - funny, since I only drank apple juice and water...
Maybe this is why it's so common to sleep on the futons here - people are always having parties and then everyone just crashes on the floor :)

yukatta, ringo ame, and usagi-chan

As I was walking around during the Kawamatsuri in my jaunty little jimbei (like "Jim-Bay", though unrelated to Michael Bay), I kept running into my students. Actually, they kept spotting me and calling me to jump into the photo ops. Here are some of the volleyball girls donning their yukatta. The little red things on sticks are like candy apples ("ringo ame"), and for the record, despite usagi-chan's popularity, it seems like I'm usually the only one who does bunny ears in the photos. (うさぎ "usagi" = rabbit. So, yes, the typhoon that we just had was "Typhoon Rabbit"???)

Style Spotlight

Here is a photo of one of the guys at the party.
He was still in his work clothes.
Can you guess what his profession is?
(A) house painter
(B) 'house' music and hip-hop dj
(C) house boy
(D) house construction worker

Post your guesses in the comment section! (and I'll post the answer there in a few days!)
100-yen Shoppe Gift Certificate awarded to the most creative write-in response!

Boxing Party

Here's another photo from the after party I went to with Jared and Colin last week. Apparently Colin is involved with this boxing gym, and they had a party for members after the Kawamatsuri. I think it's really cute how sometimes I'm really welcomed into some places, and I'm immediately given some random gift. This time it was a huge selection of fire crackers/sparklers (they're propped up against the fridge in the back on the left there). It felt really good to be so welcomed into a group :) And thank goodness they weren't drunk enough to put my boxing moves to the test...

きんぎょすくい Kingyo-sukui

Have you ever been to a fair and seen people walking around with a bag of lively little goldfish? I'm not sure how you catch them in the States, but in Japan they have an interesting system. At the kawamatsuri they had several "kingyo-sukui" booths where children armed with thin paper ladles tried to scoop up the fish to put them in a bowl. One must work quickly, because the game ends when your paper ladle breaks. In this photo you see the (now broken) ladle in the girl's right hand, and her bowl in the left as she gives the man her fish to bag.




I stayed for a while watching these tiny little girls in candy bright yukatta, hair all pinned up (I know it's cliche, but they really DO look like dolls!) darting here and there, squealing with excitement, coaching each other on how to best net the next slippery fish.

Kawamatsuri

Fifty years ago the river in Isahaya flooded, causing great damage and over 600 casualties. Each year on July 25 Isahayans (?) celebrate the "Kawamatsuri" or "River Festival" to remember those who perished. If you look at the photo with the "50" on it, you see a representation of the original "meganebashi" (literally, "Spectacles Bridge" because when the bridge reflects in the water it looks like a pair of glasses) which is now actually located in the park near Kanko, and not across the river anymore. I know the river hardly looks capable of flooding now, but trust me - in rainy season I've seen it almost cover those stone walkways on the side banks there. This festival includes lighting candles all along the river, and ends with a big fireworks show. Here's a photo of some of the food vendors' stalls along the river. Japanese "fair fare" is becoming too familiar to me; I forget it's really different from that in the US. I'll take better pictures of them at the next matsuri. I just liked seeing the moon above, the stalls and the girls in their festive yukatta.








I even crashed an after party at a boxing gym on the way home (more on that story to follow).
I think Jared has a better photo, but here's one to give you an idea...it's a terrible photo, yet looks a little like it felt...I really think almost everyone in Japan smokes! And, not to worry, the strongest stuff I drank was Aquarius! You can't even drink and ride a bike here, and besides, it was a school night!

(ps - don't forget to click on the photos to enlarge! It works with all the ones from my camera. Sorry - the ones from the cell phone are as big as they get - )