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.