voyage:JAPAN

White Morning

2011-02-14T14:01:00.003+09:00

I woke up to a white, fluffy morning today. It hasn't stopped either. Plus, when I looked in the mirror, my hair matched the weather: fluffy. >.> I think I'm going to have to swear off Japanese shampoo.

Resolutions

2011-02-13T10:44:00.003+09:00

So, I've made a few adjustments to my goals this year. I've set aside some of my hobbies (like Warcraft) to devote time to my art. When I look at my time in college, at all of the hours spent in the art room, I was very happy there. Immersing myself in the details of a painting always calmed me down, no matter what the deadline was. It was a constant flow of creativity. The themes suggested by the teachers weren't always the most entertaining, but I always enjoyed what I learned when I pushed myself to paint something I wasn't interested in.

Now, I feel the lack of that creative drive, and I miss it... a lot. I've found that I have many ideas for art, but don't feel talented enough to convey them. That's very frustrating for me and there's only one way to remedy it: Practice.

A Mosaic of Doors by UGArdener

2010-05-19T21:04:00.005+09:00

A Mosaic of Doors by UGArdener

Vocabulary
(note: "yomi" means "reading." Usually there are two main ways to read kanji.)

Door 戸口
戸: door, counter for houses
Kun-yomi: to と
On-yomi: ko コ

口: mouth
Kun-yomi: kuchi くち
On-yomi: kou コウ, ku ク

Welcome (1)いらっしゃい, (2) ようこそ
(1) irasshai: polite welcome
(2) yōkoso: welcome!, Nice to see you!

Rustic 田舎風
田: field, rice paddy, rice field
(previously studied)
舎: cottage, inn, hut, house, mansion
Kun-yomi: yadoru やどる
On-yomi: sha シャ, seki セキ
風: wind, air, style, manner
Kun-yomi: kaze かぜ, kaza~ かざ〜, ~kaze 〜かぜ
On-yomi: fuu フウ, fu フ

Garden (courtyard, yard) 庭
Kun-yomi: niwa にわ
On-yomi: tei テイ

Taya's Wish by Ernie Fischhofer

2010-05-18T22:38:00.003+09:00

Taya's Wish by Ernie Fischhofer

Vocabulary

field 田
Kun-yomi: ta た
On - yomi: den デン

Girl 女の子
on'nanoko
女: woman, female
Kun-yomi: onna おんな, me め
On-yomi: jo ジョ, nyo ニョ, nyou ニョウ
子: child
Kun-yomi: ko こ, ne ね
On-yomi: shi シ, su ス, tsu ツ

Horse 馬
Kun-yomi: uma うま, ma ま
On-yomi: ba バ

Red 赤
Kun-yomi: aka あか
On-yomi: seki セキ, shaku シャク

White 白, 白い
Kun-yomi: shiro しろ, shiroi しろい
On-yomi: haku ハク, byaku ビャク

Yellow 黄
Kun-yomi: ki き
On-yomi: kou コウ, ou オウ
　

First Snow of the Year

2009-11-17T08:20:00.003+09:00

Fall in Japan is incredible. There is so much color and the weather is mostly always perfect with just the right amount of sunshine and breeze. But now it's finally settling down into winter. We got our first snow this morning. It was a cross between snow and rain and the snow didn't stick to the ground. I finally get to wear my hats and my red scarf. :) The winters here are an endurance test of boredom. It is incredibly beautiful, but it is so isolated here that finding things to do becomes an imagination challenge. Plus waking up in a non-insulated apartment makes it hard to get to work on time.

Twitter and other news

2009-11-07T13:20:00.003+09:00

So I've dropped off the grid, which is my usual pattern. But now I'm back for a little while. This year is going much quicker than the last year. Mostly because I'm happier and I actually know what I'm doing. I feel much more confident with people and with the language. I feel like I've grown up quite a bit. Today I turn 26 and I'm on the down slope to 30. That's such a weird thought. I haven't decided if it's a good thought of not, but most people say your 30s are the best years. Lets hope that's true. Cheers.

I've decided to participate in the NaNoWriMo. Who knows if I can actually find the time to write a book or if I'm even imaginative enough.

I have also joined Twitter and I actually update that quite frequently. Much more than here or Facebook. So follow me so I can keep up with what you're up to. :) Twitter

Don't ask me why

2009-04-23T18:13:00.001+09:00

Hibernation shall end.

2009-04-04T13:35:00.002+09:00

Winter is finally losing its grip and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Pictures to come later :). For now, here is a mix of music to celebrate the transition of sleep into dancing, from gray to green.

It's been a whole month and a whole lot has happened.

2009-01-19T10:13:00.004+09:00

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to go with this post. I'm seriously kicking myself too. I've seen some amazing things this month.

First off, I was afraid I was going to spend this Christmas vacation alone, but I was rescued. I was invited to spend Christmas day with an American guy and his family in the city of Hiroshima. It was initially supposed to be a two day stay, but it turned into a week. It was an amazing week and the biggest Christmas of my life. Two days of opening presents. Two days! And it was simply because there were too many presents to open in just one day. Granted, most of the presents were for the kids, but even I got presents from people I had only just met. A crystal vase full of chocolate, real maple syrup, and felt PJs. I was so comfortable in this family's house. Heated floors. Fresh coffee with homemade whip cream, comfortable futons, and water pressure. Even the 3 little kids weren't bad and I enjoyed spoiling them.

I also had a chance to go into Hiroshima city by myself and explore. I now know my way around the city and I love it. It's got a very nice feel to it. It's a big city, but it doesn't really feel like it. It's got all the wonderful little shops in the nooks and cranies but it doesn't feel crowded like most Japanese cities.

We also visited Iwakuni Military Base a couple of times. First, for church and the second time to eat Taco Bell. I finally got Taco Bell! I met a few marines from here and they were all good guys. The SDA chaplain on base is an amazing guy. Easy to talk to with a very welcoming family.

Over New Years, I met a previous AVS teacher who taught at the Junior High here at San-iku. Lisa was an immediate friend. She now works for ADRA in Tokyo, but we keep in contact. Lisa and I went to Seijo to spend New Years with a fellow teacher and her family. They are a traditional family. We ate all of the traditional new years food and watched the sun rise on the first day of the year. We drove to the top of a mountain and the sun came up over the ocean as the storm clouds rolled in. We drove down into a small beach side town called Osakishimojima and had some coffee and I got to walk through the serf. The orange groves were full with oranges and it smelled wonderful.

So vacation ended and it's back to school with a new very busy schedule. I have new students. The 2C class just spent 5 months in New Zealand and they have come back very excited to speak English. I think they are quickly becoming my favorite class. They are very open with questions and don't seem shy at all around me.

The one down side to all this is that I got sick over Christmas and I haven't been able to break it. Teaching with no voice can be interesting and funny, but is mostly just frustrating and leaves my throat more sore than it was. I've never been sick this long before. I think I just need rest.

What boredom leads to.

2008-12-16T22:03:00.005+09:00

Beginning Photograph:

Final Result:

Some sort of nebula and star hatchery I guess. (Click on the picture to see it full view. The smaller picture doesn't show detail.)

Time: 5 hours
Music: Movie Soundtracks
Food: Grape Juice & Pringles
Program: Photoshop

Once and for all, proven...

2008-12-13T21:50:00.002+09:00

I got the giggles when I saw this, proving, once and for all, that I am a total geek. I can't wait to see this.

Star Trek

I'm not an evil teacher!

2008-12-09T21:49:00.002+09:00

I got to hang a little boy upside down by his ankles and shake him today. I've always wanted to do that! XD

(he asked me to!)

It is a very small world.

2008-12-03T22:13:00.002+09:00

Masaki and I went to our usual restaurant for dinner tonight. A minute after we sat down, a young Japanese lady came by and introduced herself. This was a bit weird since most Japanese tend to keep to themselves. We recognized her as one of the waitresses of the restaurant we were at. She was off duty, but she saw us enough that she said it was time to say hello. She was very nice, but here's the thing. She went to college at UNO. As in the Univerisity of Nebraska at Omaha. what?!!

Everything Breaks At Once

2008-12-02T08:07:00.002+09:00

I have a great apple computer that I've owned for a few years. Never really had any problems with it. It hasn't broken now, but everything around it has. A memory stick went bad, the power adaptor went bad, and the battery is absolute crap. So I'm without a computer until these are fixed. Why did they all have to break at the same time? Got me. Good news is, a new memory stick is cheap, the apple store will exchange my power adaptor for free, and there's a hotfix on the web for my battery. Le sigh.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T08:00:00.001+09:00

Happy Thanksgiving to those in America. Tell me what you had! (so I can dream a little)

.

2008-11-27T08:22:00.000+09:00

I'm sitting here eating an apple the size of my face. Good times.

I need to be happy...

2008-11-25T16:23:00.003+09:00

Yesterday was a such a bummer with saying goodbye to everyone and seeying the Atomic Bomb museum, I made a list of things that make me happy.

sweaters
the smell of hooka
fresh tomatoes
grilled cheese sandwiches
chilly breezes
erasers
concerts
"Bongo Bongo"
duct tape
dipping hand in melted wax
baking pies and cookies
the smell of fresh herbs
really good red wine
really good chocolate
baguettes
fresh cucumbers
maple trees
big dogs
corgies
hot tea
comics you can read over and over
Halloween
olive oil
sandalwood
a cat purring
ice cream
leaves crunching underfoot
the smell of rotting leaves
the way flour feels on your hands
cocoa butter melting on skin
slow kisses
the ticking sound an engine makes as it cools
the sound of a train in the distance (everybody knows it's true)
baritone voices
sushi
2B pencils
a new sketchbook
watercolors
mens ties
steam coming off a pot of broth
kitatsu
when you are really sick and have to barf, the relief you feel when you finally do
Batman, the Turtles, and X-men
movie night
peaches
fresh pineapple (not canned)
Japanese oranges
nerd solidarity done right
Brian Adams
Sting
Iron Chef
sawdust
painting
a man's shoulders/collarbone
mom's drawings
Brooke's hair
the color red that contains life
WoW
the sight of rocky cliffs with snow and meadows covered in green grass and sunflowers
boots
heavy rain
heavy metal
curling up in blankets next to a fire (with someone next to to cuddle with)
handwriting
a horse's smell and their noses and they way they hug you
being on a horse at a full-out run
touch
the smell of car oil and gas
tattoos
God's grace
silence

Snow!

2008-11-19T09:26:00.003+09:00

We got our first snow last night. It was actually a big flurry. It has mostly melted off this morning, but at least we had one white night. The temperature dropped so fast. It is now twice as hard to get up in the morning since getting out from under the covers is like skinny dipping in a frozen pond. Looks like it's time to get high on kerosene.

Just Me

2008-11-12T09:43:00.002+09:00

Finally got tired of long hair.

A writer? Me?

2008-11-06T12:09:00.003+09:00

I'm going to try NaNoWrMo. I'll be starting on my birthday. Maybe it'll give me good luck or something. I've never tried my hand at novel writing, so we'll see how this goes. It'll give me something else to do in my free time other than WoW. Of course, having almost no free time might be a problem.

Gake no eu no Ponyo

2008-11-01T20:18:00.006+09:00

'Gake no eu no Ponyo' is the latest animated movie to be made by Studio Ghibli. If you haven't heard about Studio Ghibli you've probably heard of some of their movies: 'Howl's Moving Castle', 'Princess Mononoke', and 'Spirited Away', to name a few. Anything Studio Ghibli is huge here in Japan. For example, I just came from the HS brass band concert. If you've ever been in a full room of happy Japanese people, you know it's an exciting event. They became even more excited when the band began to play the theme song for 'Ponyo'. Everyone in the room, including the band, was swaying back and forth and singing. Even old people knew the words!

Here's the trailer and theme song for 'Gake no eu no Ponyo':

Gake no ue no Ponyo Theme Song – Romaji Lyrics

Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo sakana no ko
Aoi umi kara yatte kita
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo fukurannda
Manmaru onaka no onna no ko
Peta-peta pyon-pyon
Asitte iina kakechao
Migi-migi-bun-bun
Otetewa iina tunaijao

Anoko to haneru to kokoro mo odoruyo
Paku-paku chu-gyu, paku-paku chu-gyu
Anoko ga daisuki

Makkakka no Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo sakana no ko
Aoi umi kara yatte kita
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo fukurannda
Manmaru onaka no onna no ko

In English:

Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo, it’s a fish kid
It came from the blue ocean
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo,
She is a round bellied girl
Peta-peta pyon-pyon
How nice to have feet! I’ll try to run!
Migi-migi-bun-bun
How nice to have hands! I’ll try to hold hands with!

When I jump with her, my heart dances along
Paku-paku chu-gyu, paku-paku chu-gyu
I love her so much!

Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo, it’s a fish kid in red
It came from the blue ocean
Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo,
She is a round bellied girl

Another Restful Sabbath

2008-10-30T22:52:00.008+09:00

A friend joined us at San-iku (the HS I teach at) and spent the Sabbath with us. We met him on a trip to Hiroshima city. He is also a teacher and we all get along very well. It was one of the last opportunities of the season to take a hike, so we took our chance. My boss showed us a lovely (but strenuous) trail to a beautiful waterfall. The airport here owns tons of land and they keep it maintained as a national park.

The teacher from Hiroshima, Brad, on the left and my fellow teacher here at San-iku, Masaki, on the right. My boss, Danny, is in the back being shy.

I took many close-up pictures like this of the many changing leaves. There are so many different colors! -- How many times can I say many...

Instead of closing everyone out of the airports, Japan invites families to enjoy the parks and watch the planes take off. We were right next to the airstrip here.

A beautiful ending to a wonderful day.

There are many more pictures here.

Hiroshima Peace Park

2008-10-26T12:36:00.005+09:00

I finally got the go see the Peace Park and the Atomic Dome. It was a perfect day. I went with Masaki, the other volunteer here. It was a great day. We originally went to Hiroshima to go to a teacher's convention, but we decided to skip out halfway through.

There were tons of school children at the park. They were having some kind of concert there. They were all making paper cranes. The myth is that if you make a thousand paper cranes, it saves someones life. These cranes are everywhere in the park. The neat thing was that a blue heron kept landing on top of the Atomic dome. I tried getting pictures, but they didn't turn out.

The Buttsuji Temple Trail

2008-10-16T16:17:00.008+09:00

I took a lot of photos on this hike this Sabbath. It's the first hike I've taken since I got here, although I live in the country. There are few trails since the forest if more like a jungle. I can't post most of them here, but the best ones are at my flickr account. Or you can just click the 'Photos' link above.

The trail led to this beautiful little waterfall. The weather was perfect. In the summer it is too humid, in the spring there is too much water, and the winter is well, winter. I couldn't see the bottom of this pool. I wanted to go for a dunk.

I followed the trail along the river and I haven't enjoyed nature like that in a long time. Everything was still and had the feeling that some mythical creature would step out from behind a leaf. I felt the tension leave my shoulders. It was a tension I didn't realize I had until I found I was perfectly at peace just to sit and listen to the water. It is seldom that I can sit and do absolutely nothing and not be restless. This was better than a good night's sleep.

You wash your hands before entering a temple. I almost wish our churches would adopt this mentality. We drag our personal dirt and grime to church and forget to leave it at the door. It is true that we come to God to be cleansed, but often lately church turns into a mud-slinging fest. If we leave our dirt at the door and try to see each other as the purified children of God we are, our stay at church would be a truely peaceful form of worship.

This is the courtyard of Buttsuji (pronounced 'Boot-soo-ji') Temple. It was absolutely quiet and all of us there felt it wasn't the time to talk. No one said a word. The only sound was the river nearby. I experienced a true Sabbath in a Buddhist Temple.

Like I said above, you can find more pictures by clicking the 'Photos' link in the menu above.

Udon Dinner

2008-10-12T10:13:00.003+09:00

This is what I had for dinner last night. It is a typical Japanese dish called Udon. There are two main types of noodles here: Udon and Soba. Udon are the fat noodles seen here. Soba are skinny. Anyway, this is almost easier to make than rammen. At least for me. You just put in a soup base, bring it to a boil, add the noodles and let simmer for a minute, then add what you want. I usually add in an egg and green onions. I then have tempura on the side. Tempura is the fried looking thing on the side of the bowl. I usually choose sweet potato tempura, but there are many kinds. This gets me very full. I can't eat more than a bowl of it.

Elementary Open House

2008-10-11T22:24:00.004+09:00

Tomorrow, Sunday, is the Elementary School's Open House. This is where the kids do a few skits in English for their parents. Yes, parents. I know on some level I'm excited to meet them, but I'm also kinda nervous. Ok, more like my down comforter just became the most inviting place to hide under. But, I think things will be ok. I'm just thinking too much. /sigh

My Apartment in Japan

2008-10-08T11:13:00.009+09:00

I'd like to show you where I spend most of my time other than at the High School. My apartment is small: tv room, bedroom, kitchen, toilet, and bathroom. There were many things I had to get used to living here. Since there isn't a lot of space, everything is very compact. Also, the floors in the living room and bedroom are tatami mats, a kind of bamboo straw woven together. (Click the pictures to make them bigger.)

This is the room where I sleep. Usually I sleep on a futon which I roll out on the floor and then store in the closet everything morning. But if I feel lazy, I sleep on this couch. This also shows how I dry my laundry. Hardly anyone owns a drier. It is a very common sight to see tons of laundry hanging outside people windows, even if they live in a sky-scraper.

This is the tv room. Its about the same size as my bedroom. The table in the middle is a kotatsu: a table with a heater built on the bottom. You put a blanket just under the first layer of the table, turn the heather on, sit under it, and you are kept warm.

This is the kitchen. It has a dish cabinet on the right. Stove, sink, fridge in front. Rice cooker, washing maching, and shoe cabinet on the left. Directly behind is the bathroom and toilet. Seriously, I'm buying a rice cooker when I get back to the US. Oh, and that microwave-looking thing on top of the fridge is my oven. Yeah. Compact.

This thing/tub is called an o-furo. Basically you use the whole room as a shower. You sit on a little stool in the middle of the floor and shower. Then you fill this tub full of water. It was made so many people, one after another, could take a bath. That's why you take a shower first before getting in the tub. It's deep. The top comes to about my ear when I sit down. The toilet is in a different room.

Lastly, this is the view outside of my windows from the tv room. I'm on the second floor. Those houses are faculty houses and it's looking towards Waki, one of the small towns around. As you can see, I live in the mountains, in the middle of a forest. These forests will turn red in the fall.

Apparently I'm a Hard Teacher

2008-10-03T08:18:00.003+09:00

In my senior writing class we have been learning how to write a comparison/contrast essay. Now, I know these kids are busy with exams and all the stress of trying to graduate, but I have taken that into account and they still freak out about the smallest things. Their version of panicing is getting a wide-eyed blank look then just ignoring you after that. These kids are sharp, but they are also teenagers. We have a final draft due in a week. Within that time I want them to write a rough draft. You'd think I had told them how to build a rocket in russian by the looks on their faces. It's not like they have never done anything like this before! I even gave them paper to take notes on, so they wouldn't have any excuses. I put everything we have done in one neat list and also when exactly everything is due. They keep telling me it's confusing. I can keep a good conversation going with them in English, so I know they understand me. I have put everything on the board. Does it really have to take 40 minutes to explain that they're in a writing class and this is what we do?! So apparently I'm a hard teacher since I give them homework. *sigh

The Tuesday Trials

2008-09-30T19:13:00.004+09:00

My Tuesdays are the day where my skills are put to the test. Here's the schedule:

•Worship 7:30am-8:00am

•Freshman Conversation 8:10-9:00

•Elementary 1&2 10:20-10:00

•Elementary 3&4 10:40-11:00

•Elementary 5&6 11:05-11:45

•Senior Writing 1:10pm-2:00pm

•Freshman Conversation 3:10-4:00

•Reading 7:30-8:20

Surprisingly, the Elementary classes take the most preparation time. Since they come one right after the other, I need to have everything exactly ready the day before. Also, grades 1-4 only get 20 minutes per class. After memory verse and a game, that leaves only about 10 minutes to teach an English lesson. Everything has to be planned down to the letter. The best thing about the little ones is that the Japanese unvoiced "no touching" rule doesn't apply to them. Really, it is one of the best parts of my morning to be swarmed by a bunch of little kids all wanting my attention.
Most of my HS classes I can just improv. I have a goal and it doesn't really matter how I get there as long as I get there and the students do well. Out of all of my students, the seniors are the hardest to get through to. They've got a major supieror attitude and senioritis. They're not bad kids though.
My most enjoyable class to teach is the Freshmans. They can just barely speak enough English, but they are really open to starting a relationship. Most Japanese are quiet and shy. Not my freshman. Hyper is not something you have experienced until you see a hyper Japanese boy erupt in a classroom. (Then fall asleep in the next 5 minutes.)

So I look at the picture above and remember what I felt then. I felt like I was home, on top of another mountain.

I once said I would never be a teacher...

2008-09-29T12:14:00.008+09:00

but like Carl Sandburg said," Life is like an onion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep." I never thought I would be in this position, a position of both joy and loneliness. I never realized how the comfort of being in one's own culture can dampen the knowledge that life brings. Being in Japan, I have seen so many new layers of human nature, that I can no longer say I am knowledgable. I am totally ignorant! God threw down the gauntlet and I chose to pick it up. But unlike an enemey, He has given me the tools to win. Instead of trepidation, I feel patience and peace. I knew there would be growing paints going into this. I also knew that I have a inherent fear of showing myself, but God has given me the strength to be transparent. And my students and peers see it. My boss told me that he has never seen any other volunteer adjust to the Japanese culture so fluidly. I don't mean to share this as a bost, but as as proof that God is in this.

2008-09-28T13:36:00.001+09:00