one year down and america has never looked so good

Yesterday I taught my last class at Naruto Technical High School for the summer term. This is a big milestone because it means that I've completed one year of teaching here. Well, maybe saying that I 'survived' the year would be a more fitting term at some points in the experience. Teaching English at a technical high school in rural Japan is something that maybe only others that have done it could truly understand. I clearly remember the feelings of complete isolation and frustration when I started to teach lessons there, not realizing the complexity of the relationships between students, teachers, and myself. I remember that blogging in November about the lack of discipline and attention to my attempts at education was the only way that I could really vent about the situation. (Zannen, ne?) My frustrations, however, didn't only lie within that school but with this entire country and my severe lack of understanding of how things worked here. The days were also getting short and cold while I was missing all of my friends as well as living in a country where I could understand the language. Also, the true realization of the differences between living in Japan and visiting Japan were sinking in. I think that this was a tough thing for me to internalize because I had certain impressions of this country after spending some time here as a visitor (i.e. everything was super clean, everyone was fashionable, pocari sweat was the best drink the world, etc.). Needless to say, I had never seen the 'Tokushima' side of Japan- unrefrigerated egg vending machines, roadside honor system produce, the silence and stillness of an evening in Naruto...

But, anyway, I feel like my progress and the comfort that I presently have at Naruto Tech has been a something that I've really earned as I made my way through the mistakes and misunderstandings bound to the first year of teaching abroad. I have about 30 different classes there now and for each one I know their English ability and motivation level so there's no more guessing weather my lesson will be a hit or just ignored. Now that I realize my role as an ALT at the school I'm able to relax and just be thankful that I have more of a clue about what is going on around me. And I have to say that I've never met a nicer bunch of kids that will always go out of their way to yell 'hello' out of window as I'm walking back from buying lunch at the local grocery store...or tell me at school that they saw me on the train over the weekend. As standard as it may sound, on my worst days here I really do think about how much I like all of my students and how it's so worth it to be here based on my relationships with them (and my co-teachers as well).

Aside from the 'normalities' of work, my real focus right now is set on good ol' America. I'm counting down the days to my visit (three weeks left) while planning, emailing, and dreaming about the country that I was so anxious to leave one year ago. I don't think it will matter what I do while I am home but I did tell my mom that I want tacos for dinner one night and that I'd like to be with her as she runs errands around downtown Greensburg. I want to see that the people and things that I knew on the other side of earth still exist, because in between the mountains and rice fields of Tokushima, life in southwestern Pennsylvania is sometimes hard to imagine.

summertime in shikoku

So, it does not feel like June 26th at ALL right now. I've been busy and my trip back home is rapidly approaching...

Summer is a good time of the year for being here because there's a LOT of things going on. I've been having having a packed schedule which has been good for keeping me out of my usually hot and humid apartment. Here's an example of last week's activities:

6/16- Bike ride from Natuto through Aizumi, Itano, and some other small towns.
6/17- Getting udon with a Japanese friend and then discovering an awesome new park (and campground) by the airport.
6/18- 20k bike ride with Sarah and then night swimming at the beach.
6/19- Homemade sashimi dinner with Miori sensei and her husband.
6/20- Tempura and sushi dinner with Hiroko, Taka, and Rikuto.
6/21- Candlelight Japanese/Malaysian song concert with Miori sensei.
6/22- Clothes swap and then guitar recital in Kitajima.

As June's rapidly ending I'm not complaining because I kind of feel like I need to get out of Japan once again. And this time I won't need to buy a guidebook for where I'm going.

plum picking and ume-shu making

It's that time of the year in Japan to pick unripe plums and make homemade ume-shu- a sweet Japanese liquor that results from steeping sho-chu (alcohol), rock sugar, and ume (plums). On Saturday a group of us headed out to western Tokushima to gather some plums for our own homemade ume-shu.


Shimada sensei, Sarah's coworker, was really excited to have us at her mother's farm. She gave us important advice like not to eat the unripe plums because they can cause some unpleasant stomach problems...and unfortunately for most of us this advice was shared a bit too late.


Sarah displayed the common 'Tokushima farmer look' style very well.


And I think that Yuko had done this before...


This part of Tokushima is beautiful and very green now that the rainy season is here and most of the rice has already been planted. Rice fields are also an important host to a lot of wildlife in the area. Evenings are filled with the sounds of frogs, soon to be replaced with cicadas once the summer heat arrives.


The plums were first soaked in water for about 3 hours and then the stems taken out using a toothpick. The jar that I am using is 4 liters and for 1 kg of plums (about 45 of them). I added 1.8 liters of sho-chu and 600 grams of rock sugar to the jar and then closed the lid tightly. From what I know it's best to refrigerate the jar while the mixture steeps but my fridge is not nearly large enough so I just put it in a cupboard under my sink. I'm not sure how cool it will stay once the summer arrives, though.


So in about three months I'll be enjoying a nice glass of ume-shu on the rocks that will hopefully assuage the late summer heat in Shikoku.

a year of blogging

So the blog has reached the year mark. A lot has happened in that time and it's nice to be able to see pictures and re-read my impressions of when I first moved here. All I can say is that I'm very glad that the long adjustment is out of the way.

Last weekend I went to an earth day festival in Kamiyama. I got to drink overpriced hemp beer and eat some awesome food. Lots of barefoot people were hanging out and I was into it. Definitely an event that I'll be going to next year as well.