Let It Be

Life in Tsu has returned to normal.  After our whirlwind travels around Japan during the Obon vacation, we spent a few days relaxing at home and have now adjusted to working full weeks again.  Last week was the hottest one yet!  It got to the point where I was getting dizzy and lightheaded for a few days, so I drastically increased my water intake and did anything I could to avoid going outside.  I really can't believe how hot it is here.  My students keep telling me that it won't cool down until the end of September.  I'm not sure that I can take another whole month of this kind of weather!  I want to spend time outside enjoying this beautiful scenery, but at this rate, I won't be able to for a month!  It's almost dangerous to spend more than 15-20 minutes outside at a time.

Despite the heat, I am still able to enjoy and appreciate this.

Last weekend turned out to be a really exciting weekend, despite that fact that we stayed right here in Tsu.  On Friday night after work, we went to a different British pub downtown and ended up meeting some Japanese businessmen and singing karaoke.  We realized that the pub was going to have a Beatles cover band the next night, so we made a return visit on Saturday to check it out.  They played 3 sets, but we only caught the last 2 because Peter had to teach until 8.  We were worried because the pub looked pretty dead when we first arrived, but once we decided to go inside, we saw that a small crowd had gathered.  It was a very chill crowd - perfect for a fun, intimate concert.

John, Paul, George, and Ringo...Japanese-style.

I was pleasantly surprised by how impressive the band sounded.  I mean, imagine 4 Japanese men singing British songs...and some of the greatest songs ever, at that!  It was really good, though, and we even chatted with one of them briefly.  I saw my private lesson student's husband and his brother at the concert, so it was fun to talk with them.  This Japanese concert was very...Japanese.  By that I mean that everyone simply sat in their chairs and listened politely.  In America, it would have been a much rowdier and open crowd.  Well, by the end of the last set, one woman stood up because she wanted to dance, and she asked the three of us to stand up, too!  We did, and pretty soon, the whole place was dancing and singing along.  One of the managers (I think) of the bar even grabbed my hand and started dancing with me a little bit!  It was a lot of fun.

We were told that we had to stick around after the concert for a flair show.  Turns out that the bartender there is ranked 4th in the world!  It was an awesome show.  Thanks to the help of our Japanese friends who told us when to raise our hands, Sarah and I got to have the drinks that he made during the show.

Before we entered the bar, a young guy walking by asked us if we were going to the Beatles show.  We said yes, and he ended up telling us that he works and performs there sometimes.  He talked to us throughout the night, and then after the concert, he put on a sequined jacket and got up on stage and did an incredible rendition of "Billie Jean" - including the dance moves.  Later in the night, he also performed a few tunes on his keyboard.  What?  It was one of the most random experiences I've ever had, but is was so great.  It was a night full of every kind of entertainment!

Michael Jackson is EVERYWHERE in Japan!

Things are going very well in Tsu.  We have settled into the day-to-day of working, buying groceries, relaxing, exploring, and getting to know our students more.  I will update you with more details about work and daily life soon.

So...summer in Minnesota is pretty much over, I hear.  How is back-to-school life treating you?

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Osaka and Nara

I hope you like the redesign of this blog!  I was frustrated with the look of my last one, but I'm pretty happy with this.  The photo at the top is one I took this past weekend in Nara.  Enjoy!

I am writing the post from the comforts of my air conditioned living room in the final few hours of a very successful Obon holiday weekend.  OBC has been closed since Thursday in honor of the annual holiday.  The Obon holiday is based in the Buddhist custom of honoring a family's deceased ancestors.  Depending on what part of Japan people are from and which calendar they observe, Japanese families spend three days in either mid-July or mid-August returning to their hometowns, worshiping at their home altars, and reuniting with family members.  Seeing as how we work for a Japanese business but are not Buddhist, this weekend turned into an excellent chance for the three of us teachers to travel around Japan a little and see more of this beautiful country.

We started our journey on a rainy Thursday morning with high hopes of seeing as much of Osaka as possible.  Osaka has been called the Tokyo of the south - it is a bustling, modern city with tons to do and even more to see.  It is also very famous for its authentic Japanese foods.  Well, we got to the train station in plenty of time, but we got confused by which trains to take, so we ended up missing our first train of the day by about a minute.  That's the beautiful thing about Japan though: if you miss a train, wait ten minutes.  There'll prbably be another one.  That kind of sums up our trip to Osaka, though - we made it, but it involved uncertain train hopping and probably a very indirect route.  That's half the fun, though, right?

Beer in vending machines?!

Our first task in Osaka: Purikura.  It's the Japanese photo booth, and it is an intense experience.  You put in some money, and then you have like 500 seconds or something to pick as many designs and take as many pictures as possible.  Then, once you do that, you run to this other booth and decorate the photos with writing, stamps, drawing...everything!  This is all happening while loud carnival music plays in the background and neon colors surround you on the screen and in the booth.  It was very exciting and kind of ridiculous!

Sarah proudly displaying our Purikura!

After that, we walked around and took in the sites and sounds of a big city.  It was so fun to be in a city again, navigating the subway system, winding through sidestreets, experiencing the buzz of a big town.  We stopped at a small restaurant for an authentic Osaka lunch of okonomiyaki, which is kind of a pancake with egg, meat, a special sauce that is similar to but sweeter than Worcestershire sauce, seaweed, and mayonaise.  It is absolutely delicious!  At most places, you cook the okonomiyaki yourself with a little burner right on the table.  That's what you do with shabu-shabu, too. 

Next, we went to Osaka Castle, which was once home to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a Japanese leader from the 16th century.  I really don't know much about Japanese history, but the inside of the castle is now a museum.  It is a beautiful building surrounded by beautiful grounds and a shrine and temple.  It was fun to walk around and see something very Japanese!

Soft serve ice cream...not so easy to find!

We moved to the Umeda Sky Building after that, which turned ou to be the best part of the day for me.  First, it took us way too long to get to the building because we took the long route, not knowing a more direct route existed that could've cut our walking time by almost 20 minutes.  Alas, we made it, and I was thinking that this site might be kind of a bust, because the windows were dirty (see: Sears Tower) and we didn't see anyone around.  Once we got closer, though, we realized that we stumbled upon one of the stops of the Michael Jackson Neverland Collection tour.  My travel companions were not nearly as excited about this as I was, but I happily handed over my 2,000 yen (about $20) and took a walk through 300 items from the Neverland Ranch, including the gate to Neverland, MTV moon men, the Smooth Criminal suit, the American Music Awards red sequined jacket, the famed white glove, a 1967 Rolls Royce limo that he took rides in with Elizabeth Taylor, and countless costumes and props for the would-be "This is It" world tour.  It was so cool, and definitely made the trip to Osaka that much better.

After a nerve-racking stop at a little podunk train station where our train all of a sudden just stopped, we managed to make it make to Tsu-shimmachi station unscathed.  We took off for Nara the next morning with a cloudless sky and high hopes for deer and Buddha sitings.

When we got off the train, the first thing we saw was Sentokun!  Sentokun is the official mascot of Nara, a place famous for its deer and the big Buddha.  So of course, when creating a mascot, why wouldn't you combine the two?  We got a picture with him right away, which was a good sign of what was to come.

We headed straight for Nara Park, which is where the deer and most of the temples and shrines are located.  It's a great city to get around because once you get to the park, almost all the sites are centrally located there.  We saw the tame wild deer, which are believed to be heavenly animals who protect the city.  They are so used to being fed by tourists that they come right up to people looking for food!  I bought some biscuits to feed them, and once you have some in your hand, three or four will come right up to you to try to get them.  I'm not going to lie...I got a little freaked out.  I ended up feeding them all of my biscuits super quickly because I was so scared!  Sarah has a series of pictures of me feeding them, but I look terrified in all of them.

Beware of deer!

After feeding and petting the deer, we walked up to Todaiji Temple, which is one of the most famous temples in Japan.  In it is the giant Buddha statue, and it is now a World Heritage Site.  Walking up to the temple was an experience in itself - it a was a busy street with crowds and crowds of people, souvenir and food vendors, and deer roaming randomly.  The temple itself was completely overwhelming.  First, it is still hard to believe that I actually live here and am lucky enough to see these places that so many never do.  Second, the Buddha itself is huge, and its grandeur is incredible.  Being in the presence of something that at one timewas so spiritually sacred for so many was an unparalleled experience.  I'm surprised by how overwhelmed I was, but it was a really, really cool experience.

Todaiji Temple

He is located at the entrance to offer protection.

After that, we walked around some more of the temples and shrines.  One of them was really sweet (I don't remember the name).  I just remember thinking when I was up there, looking out over the city, that this is exactly the zen feeling that so many people try to create, but it can't be replicated.  Here, that peace and tranquility is natural and makes perfect sense, and it is so unbelievable to experience.

People purify themselves before going into the temple.

For lunch, we had Mos Burger, a fast food chain in Japan, and then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping (I finally invested in some souvenirs and postcards!) and walking around.  Before hopping on the train, I stopped at a street vendor for my favorite - takoyaki.  It can't be beat!

Mos Burger!

Takoyaki!

I hope that these last few weeks of summer are finding you all well.  I am so excited to hear about how all of your moves are going (congratulations, friends who are beginning grad school!), how final summer plans are shaping up, and how schedules are being finalized for the upcoming academic year.  Keep me posted!

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Arigato Gozaimasu

Hello from Japan, friends!

It has been a busy couple of weeks here in Tsu; I have so much to tell you all!

The past year's teachers left last weekend, so this week was our first week living and working in Tsu without their help.  We all became fast friends, so it was hard to see them leave.  On Friday night, we went out to dinner with Aki and his family.  Aki is a friend to OBC teachers each year and helps us with things like taking classes, getting cell phones, and finding great places to go after work and on the weekend.  He took us to a really great restaurant for all kinds of delicious food and then proceeded to take us to a karaoke place.  It was my first time doing karaoke in Japan (where it originated), and it was very fun!  Aki's father impressed us by singing Japanese songs (he even serenaded me a little!) while we stuck to our ABBA, Spice Girls, and Billy Joel fallbacks.  It was a really great experience!

Check out this spread!

New teachers with Aki

Old and new teachers at karaoke

On Saturday, Mike, Nicole, Peter, and I went to a Haunted House in Daimon, which is a shopping area near OBC.  The Haunted House was actually in the other Orden (the "O" in "OBC") building in town.  Each year, people in the neighborhood put together a haunted house for the community to enjoy.  It was only 200 yen, and I was definitely scared!  Peter had to hold my hand through most of it!  That night, we went to another fireworks festival, this time in Tsu.  We went to the beach with Aki and his family and enjoyed a couple of hours (yes!) of fireworks.  For any of you who are visiting Japan this year, try to come at a time when there will be fireworks festivals.  The fireworks are so amazing here!

Food stand at the fireworks

Photos really don't do them justice

School has been keeping me busy, and each day is exciting.  I love each of my classes and am constantly amazed by how unique each individual class is because of the different personalities of the students.  I teach 3 elementary, 1 junior high, 2 senior high, and numerous adult classes.  Sometimes it is hard to believe that I am writing lesson plans and using the "teacher" version of textbooks!  I teach 19-21 50-minute classes per week, depending on whether or not I work on Saturday (which happens every other week).  I enjoy each age level and have already made friends with some of my students.  One of my students gave me fresh tomatoes this week, and another one made me homemade pumpkin soup!  Japanese hospitality is absolutely unbelievable.  I thought the Irish were the most generous people in the world, but the Japanese take generosity to a new level.  That is why this blog entry is titled "arigato gozaimasu" - "thank you very much."

Each week, I have a class with the president of OBC.  Each of the three Japanese staff members takes a class at OBC just to practice their English and get a chance to spend some time in the classroom.  Well sometimes my student is unable to come because he has other work to do, so then his father, Mr. Yokota, comes.  Mr. Yokota founded OBC and is a businessman in Tsu.  He is 91 years old and a WWII veteran.  He has an incredible life story.  He protested the war as a univerity student, so when he was drafted, he was sent into some of the most dangerous situations, but he survived the war without a single injury.  After each amazing story he told me, he reminded me that he is "the luckiest man" and he "is grateful."  I can't wait to get to know him better and hear more of his survival stories.  He is also a very religious man, and he goes to the same church I do each Sunday.  It's good to see a familiar and friendly face in mass.

This week, we finally got to move into our permanent apartments.  Sarah and I had been living in the guest apartment until the old teachers left, so now that they have, we live in a spacious 4-bedroom apartment.  I'll post pictures soon.  I have my own bedroom with an air conditioner, which is really great.  Add to that the fact that I have my official alien registration card, health insurance, a debit card, and a cell phone, and I am actually getting settled in Japan.  And I've been here for a month already!  Isn't that hard to believe?

I had a Guinness at a British pub in Japan!  I saved the bottle because the back is written in Japanese!

Let me know how your summers are wrapping up!  I love hearing from you!

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