a bit of small town life

Today I got a flat tire in the middle of a 45 minute bike ride to work. I didn't have class first period so it wasn't a big problem to walk the rest of the way. Eventually, the vice principal called my cell phone to ask if I was OK when I didn't show up for the morning meeting at 8:15. I told him 'panku o shimashita' (I got a flat tire) and he assured me to take my time and that we'll take care of my tire when I arrive at school. As soon as I showed up he was on his way to figuring out how to repair my bike. An older man on a scooter came to look at the situation and recommended that I change both tires for a charge of 5,000 yen ($50). This is something that I've got to do eventually and have been putting off for some time but I saw no need to pay that amount for a task that I can easily do myself. My mind was able to filter out the bike mechanic's slurred colloquialisms enough to understand my options and I assured him that all I needed was a patch and that I could replace the tires later. The man was soon back on his scooter and I was teaching 7th graders about Christmas traditions in North America. The vice principal was again on his chair in the staff room, content that we resolved the problem and that I was once again with a working method of transportation.


This past week has been full of appreciation for my small town life. I can say from experience that it's during situations where I need help from others when I truly feel the generosity of my neighbors and coworkers. This appreciation has come to me at an interesting time when I'm about to, for the sixth time since I've moved here, leave my home in Shikoku for weeks on end. My mind feels clear and ready to take on more of the unknown in a new part of Asia, though it comforts me to know as well that I will soon return to my small town with the coworkers and students that I know so well and that, as long as I am here, there will be a hot tray of curry and rice waiting for me when lunchtime comes around.

taichi's visit/back to southeast asia

Sometimes the consideration that people show each other here can hit you and make you feel so lucky to live in a country where going out of your way to help someone is the norm. That happened to me today and I came home feeling really positive after my bike ride home. Though, when this happens, I wonder how well I'll adjust in the future to living somewhere where people aren't as nice as they are in rural Japan.

I spent most of the day reading about Malaysia and Indonesia as the other teachers asked me questions about why I chose to go there during the break. Later on at the grocery store I saw a student who witnessed me shopping for tonight's dinner. I seriously thought that she was going to faint when I tapped her on the shoulder to say hello.

This past weekend my friend Taichi, who lives in Pittsburgh but is spending a month in Osaka to visit his family, came to Naruto to hang out. We walked around the farms in my neighborhood, talked about music, ate good food, visited Shinto shrines by my apartment...it was a good time for an impromptu hangout like this.



So on Friday it's back to Southeast Asia for three weeks. Here's the flight schedule so far (and probably more to come)-

Osaka to Singapore
Singapore to Kota Kinabalu (Borneo)
Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Kuala Lumpur to Denpasar (Bali, Indonesia)
Denpasar to Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur to Singapore
Singapore to Osaka

It actually hit me that I'll be in Southeast Asia once again as I read about the coffee that people drink in Borneo. Nothing but condensed milk is used as a sweetener and if there is anything that will forever remind me of a particular three days sleeping in tree houses deep in the Laotian jungle, it is coffee with mixed with way too much condensed milk...

takashima island

Having four free periods in a row at school gave me an excuse to explore some of the foothills around Naruto Jr. High...a reminder that there's no loss of interesting things in my neighborhood.

a short yet practical wish list for the holidays

-I wish that there was some ordinance that prevented farmers from burning things every day so that I didn't have to breathe in smoke while biking home and while in my apartment.
-I also wish that people couldn't smoke cigarettes inside the Board of Education office. Walking in here is like a weird time warp to the 1970s (or what I would imagine office polices to be like back then). I absolutely hate being subjected to cigarette smoke in an unventilated room but not many other people here seem to mind (besides Jill, Theo, and myself).
-It would be logical if the kerosene heater at my high school was turned off when it's not cold out. Today's weather is beautiful but the windows remain shut and the heater is on at full blast. Once the decision has been made to turn it on for the winter it stays on and I happen to be the one that sits at the desk right beside it.
-It would be nice if people didn't stare at me every day while I eat lunch and then rush over to see what I didn't eat and then ask why I dislike deep-fried ham.
-I wish that it was easier to get up in the morning when not using indoor heat.
-I wish that the NHK guy could take a hint while trying to make me pay for having a TV that I don't watch.
-I wish that I could find my copy of 'Botchan' that I bought in Matsuyama.
-Finally, it would be nice if it actually felt like December.

alternative thanksgiving celebrations

Being abroad during holidays can feel a bit weird and isolating at times but not when you have another reason to celebrate. Caitlin's 25th birthday was a good excuse to remember that although my friends and family are missed I have reasons to be thankful here as well...

biking, teaching, and studying as the cold sets in...

Today at school I was invited to Ihara sensei's cooking class where the students were assigned to make a particular food so that I could taste it and give them feedback on what they made. I ended up having two bowls of udon, sweet potato gratin, a fried egg and rice dish with shrimp, boiled octopus, and ramen. I know, the demands of this job can be a bit overwhelming sometimes.




The cold weather is now back in Shikoku and day by day small changes in routines are made with the burgeoning season. It's strange, I feel very different now than I did last year at this time but I'm able to recall echoes of where my mind was back then. This was a hard month...the newness of Japan had worn off and I had to get used to living a very different life. I had some stereotypical culture shock responses to the adjustment during this period- prolonged anxiety, rejecting Japanese food, going to bed early (8:30 or 9:00pm), paranoia that people were talking about me in Japanese, etc. Thinking back on it, it was a really hard time to be here. I almost couldn't imagine life ever feeling 'normal' in this situation but little by little it happened and I can look back and say that this comfort level was earned through experience. I can't say that everything that I see in Naruto makes complete sense (sometimes it's very far from this case...) but I'm conditioned to it and that makes all the difference.

Anyway, I'm really enjoying spending nights in my apartment making sushi and studying kanji for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) in two weeks. I've been pretty content doing that or just drinking tea while listening to music as I'm bundled up on my small floor couch. If you didn't know/remember, there's almost always no central heating in Japanese homes so finding ways to warm up by alternative methods can prove to more effective than simply hibernating under a pile of covers. Taking a warm bath will keep you feeling good for a long time after it's over and washing dishes with hot water can provide a nice break from the cold as well. At the moment, though, it's really not too cold yet because I still can't see my breath in my apartment yet and my olive oil hasn't started to freeze.

Today is the start of a three day weekend and my only plans are to hang around Naruto and get some studying done. I'm really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow but I'm hoping to work on plans for my trip to Borneo that's coming up less than a month...

naruto kogyo koko culture festival

Yesterday was Naruto Technical High School's annual culture festival- an event otherwise known as an excuse for my students to dress up like women or cartoon characters. I played drums with a band again and it was of the highlights of the day from what I was told. My camera ran out of batteries half way through the day or else there'd be more pictures of the male teachers jumping at the opportunity to wear eyeliner and lip gloss. This makes sense to me only because I've spent so much time at this school but I guess at first observation habits like these can be pretty hard to explain. Nevertheless, it was the best (and, sadly, probably the last) culture festival that I've ever been to and I was happy to hear so many people describe my drumming as 'crazy'.






I was also fortunate enough to see an awesome show in Osaka a little over a week ago. The band Torche from Florida played the second date of their tour of Japan at a small place in Osaka where we (me, Caitlin, Dianne) were charged 5,000 yen (about $50) to see the show. Three years ago, I payed $5 (possibly $4) to see them in Pittsburgh. This price increase is not directly related to a higher demand to see the band, but is an example of just how things go in this country sometimes. But, without a doubt, I would gladly pay the same price in the future to see a show this good.

a strange new feeling called 'pride'

Last week I was alone in the staff room when I saw that Barack Obama was to become the 44th President of the United States. I was not alone here in experiencing the overwhelming emotions that came along with seeing a multiracial president (with the middle name Hussein!) personify the opportunities of such a unique country and it was a bit difficult not to be back home to see it firsthand. With people's ideas about the possibilities for the future (both in the U.S. and abroad) seemingly pivoting within a few hours on election day, I'd like to believe that America can become more like the concept of a country that truly recognizes the multiculturalism that it contains. This is the 'America' that I grew to know through six years of living, studying, and working in Pittsburgh with people of very different pasts, some of whom have directly influenced me to be doing what I am today. I could say a LOT about the other side of the American coin that's in the process of flipping after eight years of personally feeling so absolutely disengaged with those who had significant control of my country's perception. Having 'grown up' within these years, I feel that as Bush's seclusion and ignorance to the sensitivity of other ways of thinking, while filtering down to some parts of America that I am familiar with, had strengthened my reactionary feelings against what seemed to be a culture of illegitimate consumption and extreme replication of corporate goods. But, that's not America. That's part of it, but you simply cannot pigeon-hole such a diverse country. I only realized this after moving here and, for me, my current living experience also sheds light on the mobility of the American (such as myself) who has the potential to experience such vast diversity in his or her own country as well as abroad. I'm hopeful that Obama can serve as a beacon for the acceptance of cultural diversity that Americans, whether some know it or not, host within the Land of the Free.

I think that this email from an older Japanese friend sums up this revived hope of the American image quite well:

Theo and Brad,
Congratulation!!
Finally your dreams and dreams of many people of the world come true. The stance of Obama, New president of US appealed and attracted many people of the world. I understand that his stance grown by his international experiences, is to accept the diversity of races, cultures, religions and so on. Up until that moment of election, White, Christian and republican ideology of small government except big military dominated the world. Different category from them was considered to be wrong or inferior to them. That is why they confront harshly withe others rather than going together, accept others, and compromise.

From now as he said in his speech, it is time for him to work hard with a lot of cooperation to fill the gaps which have separated American people and the world. Military itself can not solve the problems. It rather brings hatred. People of Iraq and Afghanistan need help to build hospitals, schools, irrigation for farming.and so on. Sometimes new president needs to compromise to bring peace to there with so called enemies. There are no body who is totally evil. They have hatred against those who oppress and segregate and exploit to make money. As Obama is smart and has wisdom, he including many people can change enemy's to friends. There are places for Japan to cooperate with that area.

I should say God bless you, United people of wisdom.
Let's meet again sometime at Cosmos forum or lunch.

Toshi Okamoto

iya valley highlights

Here's some pictures from a camping trip to Iya on the first day of November. Iya Valley and Kazurabashi (vine bridge) are some of my favorite places in Japan...

ni ju roku sai (twenty six years old)

This past Sunday I celebrated another birthday in Japan. Twenty six, from what I can tell so far, is one year past when people start saying that you're getting old. Twenty six is nice, it's kinda like just another year w/o the 'milestone' status that twenty five holds for some reason. But, anyway, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who wrote me a letter, sent me a long email update, shipped me package full of brownies, and made me feel like so many people were thinking of me. If only you all knew how much it means to come home to a letter waiting in the mailbox all the way out here in rural Japan...well, put simply, it makes me feel so much closer to the other side of the world. And, even if not at that exact moment, sometimes I really need that feeling. (I still haven't had a chance to respond to any emails or letters but I will as soon as I get the chance!)

But things are good these days. Without all (or most of) the ups and downs of last years' autumn, time is going by as I find myself busy most evenings and without a free weekend for a quite some time. I can feel myslef taking on the list of things that I want to do before I not longer a resident here. As of now, most of them involve camping, hiking, or bike trips.

back in korea, october '08.

Every time I leave Japan I seem to gain a better understanding of the culture that I am living in. Going to Korea is interesting for me because for two nations that share some basic similarities, Korea and Japan are, in some ways, very, very different places.

On Friday afternoon I caught an early afternoon bus out of Naruto to Kansai Airport where I took the two hour flight into Seoul. Jon and I decided to meet at Yongsan Station, about an hour west of Incheon International Airport (where I flew in) and three hours North of Geumgang University, where he is studying Korean. We hit the streets right away and met up with some American friends who were waiting for us to arrive. I knew all of them from my trip to Korea last October and it was nice to feel welcomed right when I arrived. Jon lived in Seoul for a bit last winter so he knew what neighborhoods would be good to check out on the weekend. We ended up in Sinchon, or 'the Bloomfield of Seoul' as he calls it. Friday evening was a night full of convenience store mushroom wine, noraebang (Korean karaoke), makgeolli (Korean rice wine), late night gimbap (rice and vegetables rolled with nori seaweed), and finally giving into sleep at 6:30am.




On day number two we checked out the street life that makes Seoul such a cool city. The Namdaemun market district was amazing...there is no place in Japan where you can buy a kilogram bag of cashews for about $10 or find street vendors serving spicy food with attitudes to match. I kind of wish that Japanese cities had the bustle of a place like Seoul but urban areas here just hold a different kind of appeal. I think that for me at this particular time it was really good to see people display their emotions outwardly in public for a change, even though those emotions caused me to witness fistfights, arguing, and lots of spitting. Strangely, all of this was a relief from the isolation that I was feeling before I left home.





In the evening, we decided to head out early to a small town called Danyang where we planned on climbing Mt. Soebaeksan the next morning. We managed to see a bit of the Myeongdong shopping district before taking off on a three hour train ride south to the middle of the peninsula.




By far, my favorite part of my six days here was hiking Soebaeksan. It was around 15km (about 9 miles) round trip and the trail up the mountain was basically straight up without any switchbacks. We all had a good sleep that night.






Finally, we made it to Jon's new home at Geumgang University- a Buddhist school located at the foothills of Gyeoryong National Park. This is really out in the middle of nowhere. Before going to Jon's dorm, we didn't see any other westerners for days. There are a handful studying at the school, including Jeff- a 25 year old monk in training from Seattle who lives and works at a nearby temple.




(Below- the view from Jon's dorm room.)


After missing the last bus into town by seconds (literally), Jon and I took a taxi and then a train back to the city of Daejon where we slept for about one hour at a place called Hotel X and then at 6:00am I was on a three hour shuttle back to the airport. Getting back home is very routine at this point and I think that my patience while traveling has increased more than I had realized. This trip was an awesome six days of hanging out with one of my best friends while exploring a good amount of some really untouched parts of Korea. I was excited to come back to Japan mainly because I missed the food and I knew that I had only two days of work before the weekend. Landing back into Kansai once again made me realize how calm and orderly Japan is. In Korea, it's common to be pushed on the streets, have people jump ahead of you in line, see people sleeping at their jobs, etc. The big difference between last year's trip and this one is that I wasn't grossed out by this stuff this time. I find that I can more easily deal with cultural differences like this by (usually) just appreciating the uniqueness of it and taking things with a sense a humor. Actually, I would say that the latter is almost required for the life that I have been living for a little over a year.

So that's how I have come away from this recent experience. I'm really glad that I went to Korea again because I feel like I wasn't fully adjusted to living in Asia at the time that I went last year. Noticing how much better I deal with unknown (and often very strange) situations is a good measure of what I'm gaining with the more time I spend abroad. Day by day, you can see the relevance of things or places that once seemed overwhelming or uninteresting...whether that be a crowded street market or an empty Korean bus station at 5:30am.