Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Brackets!
Just a quick post to let people know I haven't died. Remember that play I mentioned before? Well, the performance is this Saturday, and I am currently going totally batshit crazy trying to memorize lines, help build the set, find all the props for the Japanese cast, and manufacture three tombstones and a tree stump out of cardboard, papier-mâché, and three miles of tape. Kilometers, whatever; they use metric here. Nnnrgh. Sooo tired...
Friday, November 21, 2008
Let me sum up...
So I realize that I haven't updated with any real news since, like, August. >.>; To remedy that, while keeping things brief to spare my own sanity, I bring you "Three Months in Thirty Minutes!" Perfect for ADHD sufferers and those on-the-go types! Wanna hear it? Here it go!
August
The Epic Fuji Adventure happened this month, as I'm sure you remember (see previous 9000 posts for details). However, in addition, there was also:
Summer Sonic (a.k.a. Music Meltdown, a.k.a. Why must all outdoor music festivals be held during the hottest month of the year?) -- A musical extravaganza featuring over 80 bands on six stages in Osaka. On day 1, I saw The Wombats, Vampire Weekend, The Hoosiers, Bedouin Soundclash, Radwimps, Devo (who ROCKED in their famous yellow jumpsuits and red flowerpot hats, I might add), and Fatboy Slim. Day 2 featured The Subways, Zebrahead, Panic at the Disco (*details to follow), the pillows, some of The Verve, and some Sex Pistols.
If I had to choose, I would probably say that the best show of the weekend was a toss-up between Devo and Fatboy Slim. FS was really fun and good to dance to, but he really didn't seem to be doing very much aside from walking around on stage holding a banana (I have no idea >.>). Devo, on the other hand, was totally into it, with choreography and costume changes, AND they flung hundreds of multi-colored bouncy balls into the audience during their encore (it looked awesome with the lighting, too). Tough call.
*With the Panic show, I got there early so I was really close to the stage (about the fourth row of people). Then, this group of J-girls cut in front of me, which ticked me off a bit. So, I kinda did an end-run around them and got back in front (what? they cut first!). The boys came out and did their show (and seemed baffled that all of their English stage banter wasn't working -- go figure), and it was good. I was so close, I could see when Ryan and Brendon were looking, well, I won't say at me, but in my general direction. I'm not saying it to be egotistical, just that in a show in Japan, a foreigner in a big, crazy hat, who actually knows the words to all the songs and is screaming them really loudly kinda stands out. >.>; Anyway, so they finish their set and they're walking off the stage and I'm trying to yell and cheer without getting jostled by the crowd that's already leaving, when the people all kind of surge forward. I look up just in time to see one of Spencer's drumsticks tumbling toward me. As I reached up to grab it, though, a tall guy in front of me knocked it a bit off kilter, so that it bounced off my head and into the row of people behind me. ;_; Who just so happened to be the same group of J-girls that I got back in front of earlier. Oh, karma -- why must you smite me? **shakes fist** But oh well, at least I can say I got knocked in the head by Spencer's drumstick once...
After Summer Sonic, the next weekend I went to Tokyo for:
The Summer Comic Market (a.k.a. Otaku Mecca, a.k.a. Natsu Comi, a.k.a. Comiketto, a.k.a. Comike -- given the Japanese propensity for shortening names, I wouldn't be surprised if next year it's just called "kuh") -- This convention? In-SANE! It's held in the Tokyo Big Sight (huuuge convention center), but even so, there were so many people inside, you could hardly walk. Plus, all of the packed humanity raised the indoor temperature to about 200 degrees; you know it's pretty bad when a person has to go outside, in the middle of the day, in August, to cool down. I can't say this was the best experience I've ever had in Japan, but it's definitely something that should be experienced. For good and for ill (there's a looooot of crazy stuff out there that people can think up). And that's all I'm going to say about that. :P
September
Honestly, I was too broke from August to really do anything in September. Went to my first baseball game (go Chunichi Dragons!) and the beach a couple times, and that was about it. Most of my time was spent getting my students ready for the annual speech contest, anyway. I did audition for a play that one of the other JETs is directing (performance in December), and I got the role of Mountain Goddess (heh-heh), so I went to (and am continuing to go to) some rehearsals for that.
October
Takayama day trip -- Went to Takayama for the matsuri (festival), since it's supposed to be one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan. It was all nice and scenic and Edo-era-ish, since the town escaped the bombing in WWII. Yay, surviving history!
I also went on a trip to Naruto with the math teachers from my base school. Naruto, aside from being an orange-clad ninja, is also the name of a city on the island of Shikoku that is famous for its uzushio (whirlpools). We took a tour by boat to see them up close, which worried me a bit at first, until I saw them; the biggest one I saw was about the size of a small truck, maybe. I guess I just thought they would be bigger -- mention whirlpools, and I think Charybdis. Still, good times.
Also, can't forget the annual Halloween Party. I went as Lachrymosa, the emo muse. Nobody got it. **sigh** Then again, nobody knew who Neil Gaiman was when I went as Death last year, so maybe I'm expecting too much from them. I don't know how many times I heard, "Oh, Neil Diamond! I know him!" **headdesk** But anyway, the party was fun.
Whiiiich brings us to November, which we are still currently in. Hence, I am now UP TO DATE! Give or take a week or three. >.>
Whew. I'm tired of typing now. I hope you enjoyed this somewhat super-concentrated post, but let me know if there's any part that needs more details.
Sooo, until next time, here's your random J-pic:
またね！
August
The Epic Fuji Adventure happened this month, as I'm sure you remember (see previous 9000 posts for details). However, in addition, there was also:
Summer Sonic (a.k.a. Music Meltdown, a.k.a. Why must all outdoor music festivals be held during the hottest month of the year?) -- A musical extravaganza featuring over 80 bands on six stages in Osaka. On day 1, I saw The Wombats, Vampire Weekend, The Hoosiers, Bedouin Soundclash, Radwimps, Devo (who ROCKED in their famous yellow jumpsuits and red flowerpot hats, I might add), and Fatboy Slim. Day 2 featured The Subways, Zebrahead, Panic at the Disco (*details to follow), the pillows, some of The Verve, and some Sex Pistols.
If I had to choose, I would probably say that the best show of the weekend was a toss-up between Devo and Fatboy Slim. FS was really fun and good to dance to, but he really didn't seem to be doing very much aside from walking around on stage holding a banana (I have no idea >.>). Devo, on the other hand, was totally into it, with choreography and costume changes, AND they flung hundreds of multi-colored bouncy balls into the audience during their encore (it looked awesome with the lighting, too). Tough call.
*With the Panic show, I got there early so I was really close to the stage (about the fourth row of people). Then, this group of J-girls cut in front of me, which ticked me off a bit. So, I kinda did an end-run around them and got back in front (what? they cut first!). The boys came out and did their show (and seemed baffled that all of their English stage banter wasn't working -- go figure), and it was good. I was so close, I could see when Ryan and Brendon were looking, well, I won't say at me, but in my general direction. I'm not saying it to be egotistical, just that in a show in Japan, a foreigner in a big, crazy hat, who actually knows the words to all the songs and is screaming them really loudly kinda stands out. >.>; Anyway, so they finish their set and they're walking off the stage and I'm trying to yell and cheer without getting jostled by the crowd that's already leaving, when the people all kind of surge forward. I look up just in time to see one of Spencer's drumsticks tumbling toward me. As I reached up to grab it, though, a tall guy in front of me knocked it a bit off kilter, so that it bounced off my head and into the row of people behind me. ;_; Who just so happened to be the same group of J-girls that I got back in front of earlier. Oh, karma -- why must you smite me? **shakes fist** But oh well, at least I can say I got knocked in the head by Spencer's drumstick once...
After Summer Sonic, the next weekend I went to Tokyo for:
The Summer Comic Market (a.k.a. Otaku Mecca, a.k.a. Natsu Comi, a.k.a. Comiketto, a.k.a. Comike -- given the Japanese propensity for shortening names, I wouldn't be surprised if next year it's just called "kuh") -- This convention? In-SANE! It's held in the Tokyo Big Sight (huuuge convention center), but even so, there were so many people inside, you could hardly walk. Plus, all of the packed humanity raised the indoor temperature to about 200 degrees; you know it's pretty bad when a person has to go outside, in the middle of the day, in August, to cool down. I can't say this was the best experience I've ever had in Japan, but it's definitely something that should be experienced. For good and for ill (there's a looooot of crazy stuff out there that people can think up). And that's all I'm going to say about that. :P
September
Honestly, I was too broke from August to really do anything in September. Went to my first baseball game (go Chunichi Dragons!) and the beach a couple times, and that was about it. Most of my time was spent getting my students ready for the annual speech contest, anyway. I did audition for a play that one of the other JETs is directing (performance in December), and I got the role of Mountain Goddess (heh-heh), so I went to (and am continuing to go to) some rehearsals for that.
October
Takayama day trip -- Went to Takayama for the matsuri (festival), since it's supposed to be one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan. It was all nice and scenic and Edo-era-ish, since the town escaped the bombing in WWII. Yay, surviving history!
I also went on a trip to Naruto with the math teachers from my base school. Naruto, aside from being an orange-clad ninja, is also the name of a city on the island of Shikoku that is famous for its uzushio (whirlpools). We took a tour by boat to see them up close, which worried me a bit at first, until I saw them; the biggest one I saw was about the size of a small truck, maybe. I guess I just thought they would be bigger -- mention whirlpools, and I think Charybdis. Still, good times.
Also, can't forget the annual Halloween Party. I went as Lachrymosa, the emo muse. Nobody got it. **sigh** Then again, nobody knew who Neil Gaiman was when I went as Death last year, so maybe I'm expecting too much from them. I don't know how many times I heard, "Oh, Neil Diamond! I know him!" **headdesk** But anyway, the party was fun.
Whiiiich brings us to November, which we are still currently in. Hence, I am now UP TO DATE! Give or take a week or three. >.>
Whew. I'm tired of typing now. I hope you enjoyed this somewhat super-concentrated post, but let me know if there's any part that needs more details.
Sooo, until next time, here's your random J-pic:
またね！
Monday, November 10, 2008
*shrugs*
Did you know that there is a specific type of bezoar that is caused by consuming unripe persimmons? It's called a diospyrobezoar. According to Drs. Kishan, Kadli, Ponnappa, Korath, and Jagadeesan:
The most common form of phytobezoar comprising about 3/4 of the cases is due to ingestion of ‘persimmons‘. Persimmon (botanical name - diospyros kaki linn hence the name ‘diospyrobezoar‘) is a fruit grown mainly in Japan and mainland Asia[...]Ingestion of unripe persimmons, especially when the stomach contains little or no food matter to interfere with the contact and aggregation of the seeds and fragments of skin, predisposes to development of this type of bezoar.
I'm sure you wanted to know that...
So I'm back, after a long and irresponsible absence, and the first thing out of my mouth (so to speak -- ewww) is randomness about gastrointestinal blockages. Don't ask me, folks, I don't understand my headspace, either. Actually, I know how I came to be reading about bezoars this evening -- received a few persimmons as a gift the other day and wasn't sure how to tell when they were ripe, so went online to look them up -- I just don't know why I'm doing it. I can't say that it's the most efficient use of time, either, given the cluttered state of my apartment and the books I have yet to read and the studying I have yet to do, but apparently it's what my grazing brain finds appealing at the moment.
On a slightly related note, one of the teachers at my city school told me that if Isaac Newton had been Japanese, it would have been a persimmon that fell on his head instead of an apple. I agree with her, although I don't think he still would have been Isaac Newton, strictly speaking; not many Brits in Japan back then, y'know?
Anyway, I'm gonna shut up now before I start talking about the Harapanahalli bezoar, which is also pretty fascinating, yet totally unrelated to persimmons. またね!
Here's your random J-pic:
The most common form of phytobezoar comprising about 3/4 of the cases is due to ingestion of ‘persimmons‘. Persimmon (botanical name - diospyros kaki linn hence the name ‘diospyrobezoar‘) is a fruit grown mainly in Japan and mainland Asia[...]Ingestion of unripe persimmons, especially when the stomach contains little or no food matter to interfere with the contact and aggregation of the seeds and fragments of skin, predisposes to development of this type of bezoar.
I'm sure you wanted to know that...
So I'm back, after a long and irresponsible absence, and the first thing out of my mouth (so to speak -- ewww) is randomness about gastrointestinal blockages. Don't ask me, folks, I don't understand my headspace, either. Actually, I know how I came to be reading about bezoars this evening -- received a few persimmons as a gift the other day and wasn't sure how to tell when they were ripe, so went online to look them up -- I just don't know why I'm doing it. I can't say that it's the most efficient use of time, either, given the cluttered state of my apartment and the books I have yet to read and the studying I have yet to do, but apparently it's what my grazing brain finds appealing at the moment.
On a slightly related note, one of the teachers at my city school told me that if Isaac Newton had been Japanese, it would have been a persimmon that fell on his head instead of an apple. I agree with her, although I don't think he still would have been Isaac Newton, strictly speaking; not many Brits in Japan back then, y'know?
Anyway, I'm gonna shut up now before I start talking about the Harapanahalli bezoar, which is also pretty fascinating, yet totally unrelated to persimmons. またね!
Here's your random J-pic:
Saturday, October 4, 2008
"Bullhorn" is appropriately named...
So despite the fact that the American election is getting most of the media spotlight, it's also election time here in Japan. The last prime minister recently resigned, forcing the appointment of a new one (Taro Aso, whose love for manga and anime makes me overlook his chronic hoof-in-mouth disease and nationalistic attitude to a certain extent >.>). Because of this, several other government positions also need new people, and so it's campaign time here. In America, this would mean a flurry of ads and personal appearances and whatnot by the candidates; here, it means it's time for political announcements of a different sort. The Japanese campaign tactic of choice is decidedly much lower-tech -- they drive around the city in cars modified with huge speakers and shout their names and platforms to all the residents in drive-by fashion. All day. Loudly. Starting at 8:30 this morning. Did I mention today is Saturday? >.< Ugh.
Anyway, just checking in. More info to come later. I promise I'll make a post with actual substance here soon. Until then, here's your random j-pic:
Anyway, just checking in. More info to come later. I promise I'll make a post with actual substance here soon. Until then, here's your random j-pic:
Monday, September 22, 2008
Chotto matte okudasai...
Hello, all! **waves**
Just so's you know, I have not disappeared off the face of the planet. However, I do seem to have lost the motivation to write lately; I think the Fuji post burned through most of my blog mojo for this year. But fear not! I shall be back soon (say this weekend or so?) with more tales from Japan to astound and amaze you with! Yes, I totally ended that sentence with a preposition -- can you tell it's speech contest crunch week? I can. :P Anyway, more news will be on the way soon!
And now, I'm off to collapse on my futon for a few blessed Engrish-free hours. Hopefully, when I wake up, the language will make sense to me again.
Until next time, here's your random J-pic:
That fish head was even more disturbing in person. >.>;
Just so's you know, I have not disappeared off the face of the planet. However, I do seem to have lost the motivation to write lately; I think the Fuji post burned through most of my blog mojo for this year. But fear not! I shall be back soon (say this weekend or so?) with more tales from Japan to astound and amaze you with! Yes, I totally ended that sentence with a preposition -- can you tell it's speech contest crunch week? I can. :P Anyway, more news will be on the way soon!
And now, I'm off to collapse on my futon for a few blessed Engrish-free hours. Hopefully, when I wake up, the language will make sense to me again.
Until next time, here's your random J-pic:
That fish head was even more disturbing in person. >.>;
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Fuji Trilogy
Dear Penelope,
Thank you for the lovely shawl, but I'm feeling much better now, thanks. Hopefully your next craft project will be a little less morbid.
Much love,
Laertes
Some rejected titles for today's post include:
Return of the Fuji
Mt. Fuji: At World's End
Fuji Revolutions
Mt. Fuji'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer
The Aeneid
So, to pick up where we left off, the trek down the mountain was starting to get to me. I wasn't wearing a watch, but it seemed like we were going for hours, and still no 5th station in sight. My legs kept moving, but I don't know how they did; I was beyond exhausted. Also, by this point the weather was truly getting treacherous -- the rain still poured down, only now with the added excitement of close-range thunder and lightening! Have I mentioned how barren the landscape was? How utterly devoid it was of anything taller than a small shrub? Have I mentioned just how much taller and lightning-rod-like that made me feel, walking in the middle of it? Next to K-san, I should add, who was using a metal walking stick (he borrowed one of his grandmother's -- don't ask >.>) to help steady himself down the trail? I pointed out the folly of this to him several times, as the flashes got closer and closer, but each time he waved me off and told me not to worry. I had just finished one such conversation with him and was turning my head back toward the trail when, off to my right, I watched a lightning bolt hit the slope about 200 yards away from us; so close that I could see the ground light up with a white-orange flash. I made a sound not unlike a shriek (thankfully, it was completely drowned out by the deafening crack of thunder) and curled up in a crouching fetal position. K-san didn't say anything -- he just turned, looked at me, looked at his walking stick, and proceeded to straight-arm chuck the stick over his head. Both of us watched silently as it flew in a graceful, tumbling arc across the sky, before landing with a thud some yards away. And then we both hauled ass outta there.
From what I know of outdoor survival skills (which admittedly isn't much), I know we should have stopped and found a low-lying area (yeah, lots of those on a mountain >.>) and sat on our packs and tried to not make complete circuits with our bodies until the storm passed, but keep in mind that a) it was pouring; b) it was soon to be getting dark; c) we were exhausted, hungry, and soaked; and d) the last bus off of the mountain was leaving in about 30 minutes. Also not forgetting that e) we still didn't know where the 5th station was. So, yeah, we didn't stop. After a bit though, the trail made a turn to the right, and there, finally, in the distance, shining like a beacon of hope, was...a little white sign (yeah, I was hoping for the station, too >.<). Informing us that in order to get to the 5th station, we should follow the rope next to the trail. Without actually saying how far away the station was. But at that point, who the heck cared? It was a sign of civilization at last!
Thus encouraged, we continued down the trail, Theseus-like, straying not from the gossamer thread left for us by some gracious modern-day Ariadne. **is shot** Yeah, so anyway, as we kept walking, we started to see more promising indicators of life (i.e. more footprints, tire tracks, etc.), until finally, we rounded a bend and lo and behold, there was a station! A beautiful ratty little beaten-down mom & pop station! **cue golden beams of light and the Hallelujah Chorus** And we still had five minutes to spare to make the bus! The relief I felt was almost palpable! Well, it was until K-san asked the lady inside where the bus was, and she told him that it was down the trail further...at the 5th station. Turns out this was the 5.5th station. I think I died a little inside when I heard that. >.< But, the lady helpfully added, maybe we could make it if we ran...
While I appreciated the woman's suggestion, there was no running left in me. There was no energy left, period -- I think the only reason I was still upright and moving at all was from residual adrenaline and force of habit. So K-san sprinted off down the trail to try and catch the bus (did I mention that I think he's part cyborg?), and hopefully convince the driver to wait for me. I did my best to shuffle quickly, but my legs were shaking, my knees were screaming, and my shoes were still chock full of rocks from the slide down. Somehow, though, I made it to the real 5th station, and saw that the bus was indeed waiting for me (thank you, K-san!!!). It was a little embarrassing, climbing on in my soaked and disheveled state, especially since I was holding everybody up, but I was too exhausted to care. As I went to sit down, though, the driver made a general announcement over the loudspeaker to please remove rain gear before sitting on the seats. Uh, yeah, totally talking to K-san and me. >.>; So we did, but doing so caused a mini tidal-wave to go surging toward the front of the bus. Not that the driver could complain, though; we were just following his instructions.
About 40 minutes later, we made it to Gotemba station. I was still soaked, as well as carrying about five pounds of Mt. Fuji in my shoes, so we found the nearest convenience store and I changed in the bathroom. Then, we went to McDonald's and had our first hot meal in two days. Then we went to the station to take the train home. But when we got to the ticket area, something seemed a little odd -- all of the departing/arriving train signs were blank. Perplexed, we asked the station people what was up. Apparently, the rainstorm we had just slogged through had wreaked a bit of havoc on the train lines in the area -- so regretfully, no trains until further notice. I am not making this up.
At this point, I kind of wanted to cry a little bit. But instead, I went and got some coffee and some chocolate, and while that didn't make everything better, it still kinda helped. As we waited there to see if things would start running again, we weighed our options: We could try to find a hotel in the area (expensive), we could find an internet cafe or karaoke room to sleep in (uncomfortable), we could try to take the bus to the shinkansen station on the other side of town and get to Toyohashi that way (also expensive), or we could wait and hope that the tracks would clear in time and that we could make it back to Aichi before last train. We went with the last one. And for the first time that day, Fuji-san decided to stop smiting us. We had waited about an hour and a half, total, but finally the trains started up again, and we managed to get our asses back to Okazaki. At, like, 12:30 a.m. And then I had to ride my bike home from the station. **facepalm** And then I passed out for about a day.
Woke up to find that all of the muscles in my body were mad as hell at my treatment of them, and were therefore trying to kill me. Took to making little groaning-granny noises any time I had to climb stairs in the next three days. Got most of the knots worked out by the next weekend. Still give dirty looks to the commemorative Mt. Fuji walking stick now propped up in the corner of my bedroom. >.>
So there you have it. Told you it was a long story. And what's the moral of this story, boys and girls? Don't leave things in the fridge.[/Bebop] Or mess with Poseidon's kids, but that's another story...
Now, some photos:
This is me looking thrilled about reaching the top
Remember -- VOLCANO!
Another view of the crater
The highest point in Japan (3776m)!
Me, on the highest point in Japan! Again, ecstatic.
(Sadly, I don't have any pictures of the epic phail that occurred after this. You'll just have to use your imagination.)
Right. This post has been brought to you by the ouroboros, the letter ω, and the number ∞.
**sigh** Push the button, Frank...
Thank you for the lovely shawl, but I'm feeling much better now, thanks. Hopefully your next craft project will be a little less morbid.
Much love,
Laertes
Some rejected titles for today's post include:
Return of the Fuji
Mt. Fuji: At World's End
Fuji Revolutions
Mt. Fuji'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer
The Aeneid
So, to pick up where we left off, the trek down the mountain was starting to get to me. I wasn't wearing a watch, but it seemed like we were going for hours, and still no 5th station in sight. My legs kept moving, but I don't know how they did; I was beyond exhausted. Also, by this point the weather was truly getting treacherous -- the rain still poured down, only now with the added excitement of close-range thunder and lightening! Have I mentioned how barren the landscape was? How utterly devoid it was of anything taller than a small shrub? Have I mentioned just how much taller and lightning-rod-like that made me feel, walking in the middle of it? Next to K-san, I should add, who was using a metal walking stick (he borrowed one of his grandmother's -- don't ask >.>) to help steady himself down the trail? I pointed out the folly of this to him several times, as the flashes got closer and closer, but each time he waved me off and told me not to worry. I had just finished one such conversation with him and was turning my head back toward the trail when, off to my right, I watched a lightning bolt hit the slope about 200 yards away from us; so close that I could see the ground light up with a white-orange flash. I made a sound not unlike a shriek (thankfully, it was completely drowned out by the deafening crack of thunder) and curled up in a crouching fetal position. K-san didn't say anything -- he just turned, looked at me, looked at his walking stick, and proceeded to straight-arm chuck the stick over his head. Both of us watched silently as it flew in a graceful, tumbling arc across the sky, before landing with a thud some yards away. And then we both hauled ass outta there.
From what I know of outdoor survival skills (which admittedly isn't much), I know we should have stopped and found a low-lying area (yeah, lots of those on a mountain >.>) and sat on our packs and tried to not make complete circuits with our bodies until the storm passed, but keep in mind that a) it was pouring; b) it was soon to be getting dark; c) we were exhausted, hungry, and soaked; and d) the last bus off of the mountain was leaving in about 30 minutes. Also not forgetting that e) we still didn't know where the 5th station was. So, yeah, we didn't stop. After a bit though, the trail made a turn to the right, and there, finally, in the distance, shining like a beacon of hope, was...a little white sign (yeah, I was hoping for the station, too >.<). Informing us that in order to get to the 5th station, we should follow the rope next to the trail. Without actually saying how far away the station was. But at that point, who the heck cared? It was a sign of civilization at last!
Thus encouraged, we continued down the trail, Theseus-like, straying not from the gossamer thread left for us by some gracious modern-day Ariadne. **is shot** Yeah, so anyway, as we kept walking, we started to see more promising indicators of life (i.e. more footprints, tire tracks, etc.), until finally, we rounded a bend and lo and behold, there was a station! A beautiful ratty little beaten-down mom & pop station! **cue golden beams of light and the Hallelujah Chorus** And we still had five minutes to spare to make the bus! The relief I felt was almost palpable! Well, it was until K-san asked the lady inside where the bus was, and she told him that it was down the trail further...at the 5th station. Turns out this was the 5.5th station. I think I died a little inside when I heard that. >.< But, the lady helpfully added, maybe we could make it if we ran...
While I appreciated the woman's suggestion, there was no running left in me. There was no energy left, period -- I think the only reason I was still upright and moving at all was from residual adrenaline and force of habit. So K-san sprinted off down the trail to try and catch the bus (did I mention that I think he's part cyborg?), and hopefully convince the driver to wait for me. I did my best to shuffle quickly, but my legs were shaking, my knees were screaming, and my shoes were still chock full of rocks from the slide down. Somehow, though, I made it to the real 5th station, and saw that the bus was indeed waiting for me (thank you, K-san!!!). It was a little embarrassing, climbing on in my soaked and disheveled state, especially since I was holding everybody up, but I was too exhausted to care. As I went to sit down, though, the driver made a general announcement over the loudspeaker to please remove rain gear before sitting on the seats. Uh, yeah, totally talking to K-san and me. >.>; So we did, but doing so caused a mini tidal-wave to go surging toward the front of the bus. Not that the driver could complain, though; we were just following his instructions.
About 40 minutes later, we made it to Gotemba station. I was still soaked, as well as carrying about five pounds of Mt. Fuji in my shoes, so we found the nearest convenience store and I changed in the bathroom. Then, we went to McDonald's and had our first hot meal in two days. Then we went to the station to take the train home. But when we got to the ticket area, something seemed a little odd -- all of the departing/arriving train signs were blank. Perplexed, we asked the station people what was up. Apparently, the rainstorm we had just slogged through had wreaked a bit of havoc on the train lines in the area -- so regretfully, no trains until further notice. I am not making this up.
At this point, I kind of wanted to cry a little bit. But instead, I went and got some coffee and some chocolate, and while that didn't make everything better, it still kinda helped. As we waited there to see if things would start running again, we weighed our options: We could try to find a hotel in the area (expensive), we could find an internet cafe or karaoke room to sleep in (uncomfortable), we could try to take the bus to the shinkansen station on the other side of town and get to Toyohashi that way (also expensive), or we could wait and hope that the tracks would clear in time and that we could make it back to Aichi before last train. We went with the last one. And for the first time that day, Fuji-san decided to stop smiting us. We had waited about an hour and a half, total, but finally the trains started up again, and we managed to get our asses back to Okazaki. At, like, 12:30 a.m. And then I had to ride my bike home from the station. **facepalm** And then I passed out for about a day.
Woke up to find that all of the muscles in my body were mad as hell at my treatment of them, and were therefore trying to kill me. Took to making little groaning-granny noises any time I had to climb stairs in the next three days. Got most of the knots worked out by the next weekend. Still give dirty looks to the commemorative Mt. Fuji walking stick now propped up in the corner of my bedroom. >.>
So there you have it. Told you it was a long story. And what's the moral of this story, boys and girls? Don't leave things in the fridge.[/Bebop] Or mess with Poseidon's kids, but that's another story...
Now, some photos:
This is me looking thrilled about reaching the top
Remember -- VOLCANO!
Another view of the crater
The highest point in Japan (3776m)!
Me, on the highest point in Japan! Again, ecstatic. (Sadly, I don't have any pictures of the epic phail that occurred after this. You'll just have to use your imagination.)
Right. This post has been brought to you by the ouroboros, the letter ω, and the number ∞.
**sigh** Push the button, Frank...
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The Fuji Odyssey, Part II
or, How to Succeed in This Mess Without Really Dying
When we last left our heroes, they were huddled together in the dubious shelter of a mountain hut -- cold, tired, hungry, bereft of funds, aching of limb, squishy of sneaker...
Okay, so maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but-- well, no, that's actually a pretty accurate description. >.>; We had found a place to sleep that was out of the elements, but mountain huts are far from what one would call opulent. The layout was simple: one room where people took their shoes and equipment off, one room where you could eat (the kitchen was closed when we got there, though; luckily, we had food of our own), and one large room for everyone to sleep in. Think bunk beds. Think bunk beds, but more as stacked wooden platforms that ran along the entire length of the walls, with no individual partitions between people. Not exactly private, but I had it better than some -- I was on the end, so I had a wall on one side, and people I knew on the other. Coulda been worse. And when it started pouring outside around 10:00, the hut really didn't seem so bad at all.
The original plan was to wake up at about 1:30 a.m., so that we could start hiking by 2:00 and make it to the summit in time for sunrise at 4:30. Around 1:00, though, it started to downpour again, and at 2:00 it still showed no signs of stopping. Hiking up a steep and rocky mountain in the dark was going to be bad enough, but hiking up a steep and rocky mountain in the dark during a deluge was something that no one wanted to attempt. So we slept in until 5. Missed the much-vaunted sunrise, but I don't know how much we would've seen of it anyway, what with the cloud cover and all. Luckily, the rain had stopped by the time we woke up; unfortunately, our stuff didn't dry at all overnight, though. I luxuriated in the sensation of dry socks for about five minutes before I had to put my wet shoes on again, and we were off.
Once again, I did okay for the first 30 minutes, but after that, everything just became a blur of rocks and shuffling feet and lack of oxygen. No altitude sickness, which they warn you about; the problem was just that I had to keep stopping every few feet to catch my breath. I was going sooooo sloooow. Children were passing me. Old guys smoking cigarettes were passing me. Grandmothers with stooped backs and white hair were passing me. I thought I was in pretty good shape, what with riding my bike every day for a year, but no. I had to stop at every station. Every time the switchback switched back, I had to stop. I told J & S to go on ahead -- they were trying to be nice and wait for me, but they're both experienced backpackers (who are disgustingly fit, I might add) and they weren't going to have any fun if they had to babysit me the entire time, so I told them I'd meet them at the top. Poor K-san, though, trudged along with me, and wound up carrying my pack. Again. >.<
At long last, after who knows how many hours (actually, I think it was about four), we finally reached the last tori gate, and scrabbled our way to the top. By that point, I think I was happier that I had reached a relatively flat surface than I was about making the summit. So I collapsed on a bench in the gift shop/restaurant hut while K-san took a look around. J & S saw my sprawled, tattered carcass on their way to the post office and bounded over to say hi and make sure I was still alive. Which I was, strictly speaking. Not terribly responsive, but alive. Yay.
It bears mentioning that there are more things on top of Mt. Fuji than one might think -- to wit, a shrine, a gift shop, a weather station, a restaurant, various tori gates and signs, several lavatories, and a post office (mail service twice daily). Oh, and also a HUGE FREAKING CRATER. Because Fuji-san is also a VOLCANO. Yeah, that's definitely the kind of place I'd want to set up shop. >.>; Granted, it hasn't erupted in a few centuries, but that doesn't mean it won't; it's dormant, not dead. Not trying to sound paranoid or anything, just sayin'...
Meanwhile, back on the mountain, J and S had to start their trek back down since J was leaving Japan the next day and they had to get her stuff from Gamagori. So K-san and I wandered around for another hour or so, eventually climbing our way to the highest point in Japan (3776m). And there was much rejoicing. Okay, not so much; really, I just looked around and snapped a few photos, because I was beyond exhausted. And I still had a mountain to climb down. Luckily, K-san had heard that the Gotemba trail was easier on the descent (**foreshadowing like whoa**), so around 11:00 we started back down. Our bus wasn't leaving the 5th station until 4 p.m., and all of the guide books said that the descent should only take about three hours -- plenty of time, right? >.>
The way down was a little easier at first, if only by virtue of gravity. Then the challenge became making sure you could stop yourself before you went ass-over-teakettle. Because the Gotemba descending trail, while less steep than its counterparts, is comprised almost entirely of scree. Round, slippery scree that is comparable in size and action to ball bearings under a person's feet. This is especially enjoyable for people who have had surgery on both knees, and who are currently paranoid about not requiring additional orthopedic medical attention while in a foreign country that is such a big fan of stairs. >.> So no, I wasn't able to go very fast. Luckily, though, the trail started to flatten out around the eighth station, and we started making better time. Until we got to station 7.4 anyway, when it started to rain yet again. I am not making this up.
So at station 7.4, we donned all of our rain gear. At which point, the rain promptly stopped. But we weren't falling for it this time (heh-heh -- in your FACE, Fuji-san)! Uh, yeah. Anyway, we stopped for a minute at the 7th station, and we saw some other climbers there who were taping over their hiking boots with, like, duct tape. We thought it a bit strange, but figured that maybe all the climbing had worn through the soles of their shoes or something. In any event, we left them to their taping and continued on our way. Shortly thereafter, though, the reason for all the taping became clear: the Gotemba trail, after the 7th station, turns into what is called a "sand slide." This is a complete and utter misnomer. A more accurate name would be the "shin-deep igneous gravel 45-degree Slope of Death." At every step, you sunk in past your ankle. There was no point in stopping to get the rocks out of your shoes, since they would only fill up again. Actually, it was kind of better to not empty them -- at least then they would reach a rock-saturation level of sorts. Walking down the trail was pretty much impossible, too; you had to adopt this weird skating sort of gait. Once you got going, though, it wasn't so bad. Of course, Fuji-san couldn't have that, so the clouds moved in and it started to rain again. **sigh**
I wish I could express how alien everything looked just then: visibility down to a few yards, due to the darkening clouds and mist and rain; and nothing but the grey gravel slope visible within that. No trees, no birds. No sense of place or time or movement, just the endless slide down, down, down, past pain, past exhaustion, past thought. K-san commented to me about how it looked like something out of a manga, but to me it seemed more like an ancient Greek trial or curse; a bleak, never-ending trail for the one foolish enough to take Fuji-san lightly...
And so ends Part II in this substantially-longer-than-originally-intended story. Next time -- The End! No, really!
And now, your well-deserved pictures:
Outside the 9th station (ascent)
Looking up from the 9th station
Jizo on the mountainside
When we last left our heroes, they were huddled together in the dubious shelter of a mountain hut -- cold, tired, hungry, bereft of funds, aching of limb, squishy of sneaker...
Okay, so maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but-- well, no, that's actually a pretty accurate description. >.>; We had found a place to sleep that was out of the elements, but mountain huts are far from what one would call opulent. The layout was simple: one room where people took their shoes and equipment off, one room where you could eat (the kitchen was closed when we got there, though; luckily, we had food of our own), and one large room for everyone to sleep in. Think bunk beds. Think bunk beds, but more as stacked wooden platforms that ran along the entire length of the walls, with no individual partitions between people. Not exactly private, but I had it better than some -- I was on the end, so I had a wall on one side, and people I knew on the other. Coulda been worse. And when it started pouring outside around 10:00, the hut really didn't seem so bad at all.
The original plan was to wake up at about 1:30 a.m., so that we could start hiking by 2:00 and make it to the summit in time for sunrise at 4:30. Around 1:00, though, it started to downpour again, and at 2:00 it still showed no signs of stopping. Hiking up a steep and rocky mountain in the dark was going to be bad enough, but hiking up a steep and rocky mountain in the dark during a deluge was something that no one wanted to attempt. So we slept in until 5. Missed the much-vaunted sunrise, but I don't know how much we would've seen of it anyway, what with the cloud cover and all. Luckily, the rain had stopped by the time we woke up; unfortunately, our stuff didn't dry at all overnight, though. I luxuriated in the sensation of dry socks for about five minutes before I had to put my wet shoes on again, and we were off.
Once again, I did okay for the first 30 minutes, but after that, everything just became a blur of rocks and shuffling feet and lack of oxygen. No altitude sickness, which they warn you about; the problem was just that I had to keep stopping every few feet to catch my breath. I was going sooooo sloooow. Children were passing me. Old guys smoking cigarettes were passing me. Grandmothers with stooped backs and white hair were passing me. I thought I was in pretty good shape, what with riding my bike every day for a year, but no. I had to stop at every station. Every time the switchback switched back, I had to stop. I told J & S to go on ahead -- they were trying to be nice and wait for me, but they're both experienced backpackers (who are disgustingly fit, I might add) and they weren't going to have any fun if they had to babysit me the entire time, so I told them I'd meet them at the top. Poor K-san, though, trudged along with me, and wound up carrying my pack. Again. >.<
At long last, after who knows how many hours (actually, I think it was about four), we finally reached the last tori gate, and scrabbled our way to the top. By that point, I think I was happier that I had reached a relatively flat surface than I was about making the summit. So I collapsed on a bench in the gift shop/restaurant hut while K-san took a look around. J & S saw my sprawled, tattered carcass on their way to the post office and bounded over to say hi and make sure I was still alive. Which I was, strictly speaking. Not terribly responsive, but alive. Yay.
It bears mentioning that there are more things on top of Mt. Fuji than one might think -- to wit, a shrine, a gift shop, a weather station, a restaurant, various tori gates and signs, several lavatories, and a post office (mail service twice daily). Oh, and also a HUGE FREAKING CRATER. Because Fuji-san is also a VOLCANO. Yeah, that's definitely the kind of place I'd want to set up shop. >.>; Granted, it hasn't erupted in a few centuries, but that doesn't mean it won't; it's dormant, not dead. Not trying to sound paranoid or anything, just sayin'...
Meanwhile, back on the mountain, J and S had to start their trek back down since J was leaving Japan the next day and they had to get her stuff from Gamagori. So K-san and I wandered around for another hour or so, eventually climbing our way to the highest point in Japan (3776m). And there was much rejoicing. Okay, not so much; really, I just looked around and snapped a few photos, because I was beyond exhausted. And I still had a mountain to climb down. Luckily, K-san had heard that the Gotemba trail was easier on the descent (**foreshadowing like whoa**), so around 11:00 we started back down. Our bus wasn't leaving the 5th station until 4 p.m., and all of the guide books said that the descent should only take about three hours -- plenty of time, right? >.>
The way down was a little easier at first, if only by virtue of gravity. Then the challenge became making sure you could stop yourself before you went ass-over-teakettle. Because the Gotemba descending trail, while less steep than its counterparts, is comprised almost entirely of scree. Round, slippery scree that is comparable in size and action to ball bearings under a person's feet. This is especially enjoyable for people who have had surgery on both knees, and who are currently paranoid about not requiring additional orthopedic medical attention while in a foreign country that is such a big fan of stairs. >.> So no, I wasn't able to go very fast. Luckily, though, the trail started to flatten out around the eighth station, and we started making better time. Until we got to station 7.4 anyway, when it started to rain yet again. I am not making this up.
So at station 7.4, we donned all of our rain gear. At which point, the rain promptly stopped. But we weren't falling for it this time (heh-heh -- in your FACE, Fuji-san)! Uh, yeah. Anyway, we stopped for a minute at the 7th station, and we saw some other climbers there who were taping over their hiking boots with, like, duct tape. We thought it a bit strange, but figured that maybe all the climbing had worn through the soles of their shoes or something. In any event, we left them to their taping and continued on our way. Shortly thereafter, though, the reason for all the taping became clear: the Gotemba trail, after the 7th station, turns into what is called a "sand slide." This is a complete and utter misnomer. A more accurate name would be the "shin-deep igneous gravel 45-degree Slope of Death." At every step, you sunk in past your ankle. There was no point in stopping to get the rocks out of your shoes, since they would only fill up again. Actually, it was kind of better to not empty them -- at least then they would reach a rock-saturation level of sorts. Walking down the trail was pretty much impossible, too; you had to adopt this weird skating sort of gait. Once you got going, though, it wasn't so bad. Of course, Fuji-san couldn't have that, so the clouds moved in and it started to rain again. **sigh**
I wish I could express how alien everything looked just then: visibility down to a few yards, due to the darkening clouds and mist and rain; and nothing but the grey gravel slope visible within that. No trees, no birds. No sense of place or time or movement, just the endless slide down, down, down, past pain, past exhaustion, past thought. K-san commented to me about how it looked like something out of a manga, but to me it seemed more like an ancient Greek trial or curse; a bleak, never-ending trail for the one foolish enough to take Fuji-san lightly...
And so ends Part II in this substantially-longer-than-originally-intended story. Next time -- The End! No, really!
And now, your well-deserved pictures:
Outside the 9th station (ascent)
Looking up from the 9th station
Jizo on the mountainside
Friday, August 15, 2008
And now a word from our sponsor...
Hey there! Just a quick note to let everybody know that I haven't forgotten about the other half of the story, I just haven't been home very much in the past couple of weeks. First Osaka, now Tokyo -- lots of fun, but not much quality time for posting. On the bright side, though, I've got a backlog of exciting things to talk about! As soon as I get the time to write about them, anyway... ^_^; I will do my best to fill you in as soon as I get home! Gomen ne!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Who knew Fuji-san was Greek?
hubris (hyōō'brĭs) -noun
Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance
Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story...
I know I haven't posted in a little while, but this should more than make up for it. This post looks to be big. Huge. Of epic proportions, even. So pack a lunch and pull up a chair; this could take a while.
Right. So, one of the things that I absolutely had to do while I was in Japan was to climb Mt. Fuji. Granted, I'm not much of a mountain-climber -- most of my mountaineering experience involves driving around Colorado -- but something about Fuji-san called to me. Maybe it was the symbolism. Maybe it was the symmetry. Maybe it was the cool walking stick that I heard you could buy at the bottom and then have branded with station stamps on the way up. Whatever the reason, I had to do it. After all, thousands and thousands of people climb Mt. Fuji every year -- as I told my friend K-san, how hard could it be? So after much poring over travel books and looking at websites and fretting over dates and figuring out who wanted to come, I finally made the trip to the hallowed heights of Fuji on Monday. And realized that hubris is alive and well and living in Japan...
Things started out well (don't they always?) -- I met K-san in Toyohashi at 11:00, and we were at Shin-Fuji station by 2:30. There, we met two more friends, J and S, who were also making the trip with us, and we all took the bus to the Fujinomiya trail 5th station, arriving there at 4:30.
At this point, it's necessary to give a little background info about how people usually climb Mt. Fuji. First of all, there are four main trails up the mountain: the Kawaguchiko-Yoshida (most popular and closest to the Tokyo area), the Gotemba (longest distance from the 5th station to the summit), the Subashiri (most...similar sounding to...Subaru?), and the Fujinomiya (closest to Aichi prefecture and closest 5th station to the top (and, unbeknownst to me at the time, the steepest trail up the mountain **foreshadowing**)). Also, most climbers start at the 5th stations of all of the trails; I don't know why exactly -- maybe stations 1 through 4 really suck. In any event, most people start climbing in the evening from the 5th station, stop somewhere around the 8th station to rest for a bit, and then start climbing again around 2:00 a.m. to reach the summit in time for the sunrise at around 4:30. Then they climb back down the mountain and usually make it home in time for lunch.
This sounded like a good plan to us. So we situated our packs and ourselves and started up the slope at about 5:00. As we passed the station shop, I saw they had those much-coveted walking sticks for sale, but at 1000¥ each, it was more than I wanted to spend (I was trying to save money for my trip to Osaka this weekend). So, I continued on, stickless. Due to my energy and excitement, I was making pretty good time...for the first 50 meters or so. After that, my lungs seemed to operate in the same manner they usually do, but to no apparent effect; I had to keep stopping every five minutes just to catch my breath. By the time we reached the 6th station, I was already lagging behind, and so K-san was kind enough to buy me a walking stick there. After resting for a couple minutes, we set off again.
The weather started to get really weird the further we went up. It had been overcast when we started that day, but we seemed to break through some of the cloud cover as we ascended. After that, though, we could see tendrils of mist racing up the mountain, and once they reached us, the rain wasn't far behind. Luckily, I had brought a rain suit with me, but I only had time and energy enough to put on the jacket (over my backpack). This turned out to be a good thing, since my backpack was not exactly waterproof. In exchange, though, my shorts and shoes (Converse all-stars, baby!) got soaked. So by the time we reached the 7th station, I was squelching and practically panting at every step. But at least by then the rain had stopped. At that point, K-san volunteered to carry my pack (along with his own), so that I might have a better chance of not dying before we reached the top. And it did help a lot, but I still wasn't able to go all that much faster, and I felt like a total ass for making him carry twice the weight.
It was almost 8:00 and completely dark (except for the occasional flashes of lightning >.>;) by the time we reached station 7.5, and once there, we had to decide whether or not we would be staying the night at that station's "mountain hut." The name describes what it is pretty accurately; climbers can stop there to take a break (potty, photo, or otherwise), buy exorbitantly priced supplies, or, as in our case, find a place to sleep for the night. For the low, low price of only 5000¥. Each. >.< When I started this little sojourn, I had figured we would likely hike through the night and stop somewhere along the trail to rest. However, I hadn't planned on overnight rain. So, we shelled out the cash and crashed for the night...
And thus ends Day 1 of the "Super-Awesome Scale Mt. Fuji Adventure." Stay tuned for the stunning conclusion, when the Sungod blots out the day of their return. Believe it!
And because you've been such good sports, some photos:
The view from the 6th station.
Aaand from the 7th.
Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance
Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story...
I know I haven't posted in a little while, but this should more than make up for it. This post looks to be big. Huge. Of epic proportions, even. So pack a lunch and pull up a chair; this could take a while.
Right. So, one of the things that I absolutely had to do while I was in Japan was to climb Mt. Fuji. Granted, I'm not much of a mountain-climber -- most of my mountaineering experience involves driving around Colorado -- but something about Fuji-san called to me. Maybe it was the symbolism. Maybe it was the symmetry. Maybe it was the cool walking stick that I heard you could buy at the bottom and then have branded with station stamps on the way up. Whatever the reason, I had to do it. After all, thousands and thousands of people climb Mt. Fuji every year -- as I told my friend K-san, how hard could it be? So after much poring over travel books and looking at websites and fretting over dates and figuring out who wanted to come, I finally made the trip to the hallowed heights of Fuji on Monday. And realized that hubris is alive and well and living in Japan...
Things started out well (don't they always?) -- I met K-san in Toyohashi at 11:00, and we were at Shin-Fuji station by 2:30. There, we met two more friends, J and S, who were also making the trip with us, and we all took the bus to the Fujinomiya trail 5th station, arriving there at 4:30.
At this point, it's necessary to give a little background info about how people usually climb Mt. Fuji. First of all, there are four main trails up the mountain: the Kawaguchiko-Yoshida (most popular and closest to the Tokyo area), the Gotemba (longest distance from the 5th station to the summit), the Subashiri (most...similar sounding to...Subaru?), and the Fujinomiya (closest to Aichi prefecture and closest 5th station to the top (and, unbeknownst to me at the time, the steepest trail up the mountain **foreshadowing**)). Also, most climbers start at the 5th stations of all of the trails; I don't know why exactly -- maybe stations 1 through 4 really suck. In any event, most people start climbing in the evening from the 5th station, stop somewhere around the 8th station to rest for a bit, and then start climbing again around 2:00 a.m. to reach the summit in time for the sunrise at around 4:30. Then they climb back down the mountain and usually make it home in time for lunch.
This sounded like a good plan to us. So we situated our packs and ourselves and started up the slope at about 5:00. As we passed the station shop, I saw they had those much-coveted walking sticks for sale, but at 1000¥ each, it was more than I wanted to spend (I was trying to save money for my trip to Osaka this weekend). So, I continued on, stickless. Due to my energy and excitement, I was making pretty good time...for the first 50 meters or so. After that, my lungs seemed to operate in the same manner they usually do, but to no apparent effect; I had to keep stopping every five minutes just to catch my breath. By the time we reached the 6th station, I was already lagging behind, and so K-san was kind enough to buy me a walking stick there. After resting for a couple minutes, we set off again.
The weather started to get really weird the further we went up. It had been overcast when we started that day, but we seemed to break through some of the cloud cover as we ascended. After that, though, we could see tendrils of mist racing up the mountain, and once they reached us, the rain wasn't far behind. Luckily, I had brought a rain suit with me, but I only had time and energy enough to put on the jacket (over my backpack). This turned out to be a good thing, since my backpack was not exactly waterproof. In exchange, though, my shorts and shoes (Converse all-stars, baby!) got soaked. So by the time we reached the 7th station, I was squelching and practically panting at every step. But at least by then the rain had stopped. At that point, K-san volunteered to carry my pack (along with his own), so that I might have a better chance of not dying before we reached the top. And it did help a lot, but I still wasn't able to go all that much faster, and I felt like a total ass for making him carry twice the weight.
It was almost 8:00 and completely dark (except for the occasional flashes of lightning >.>;) by the time we reached station 7.5, and once there, we had to decide whether or not we would be staying the night at that station's "mountain hut." The name describes what it is pretty accurately; climbers can stop there to take a break (potty, photo, or otherwise), buy exorbitantly priced supplies, or, as in our case, find a place to sleep for the night. For the low, low price of only 5000¥. Each. >.< When I started this little sojourn, I had figured we would likely hike through the night and stop somewhere along the trail to rest. However, I hadn't planned on overnight rain. So, we shelled out the cash and crashed for the night...
And thus ends Day 1 of the "Super-Awesome Scale Mt. Fuji Adventure." Stay tuned for the stunning conclusion, when the Sungod blots out the day of their return. Believe it!
And because you've been such good sports, some photos:
The view from the 6th station.
Aaand from the 7th.
Monday, July 14, 2008
It's a bittersweet symphony
So the sayonara party for all of the departing JETs was this past Saturday. It was at a nice restaurant in a huge hotel in downtown Nagoya, with great views of the city and with a great tabihoudai and nomihoudai (all you can eat/drink) buffet. Everyone looked very nice too, all dressed up in either evening clothes or yukata; I was also sporting a custom-made yukata, courtesy of my friend, the ever-awesome, multi-talented Hana-chan. Afterwards, a big group of us went to karaoke and we sang and laughed until we were hoarse (at least I was >.>;) and the morning sun was well and truly up...
And I can't believe that so many of these awesome people are leaving. So, without naming names, here's to CanDv, OkaJo, Msn, Shf, TDn, Hb, S-chan, KiwiJ, Mrks, JdH, and Z -- you guys helped a noob to feel welcome, and made Japan into an even more unforgettable experience than it already was. I wish you all the best.
Aaand I seriously need to stop now, or I'm going to get all weepy. So I'm going to think happy thoughts and post your j-pics...
Good times. :)
And I can't believe that so many of these awesome people are leaving. So, without naming names, here's to CanDv, OkaJo, Msn, Shf, TDn, Hb, S-chan, KiwiJ, Mrks, JdH, and Z -- you guys helped a noob to feel welcome, and made Japan into an even more unforgettable experience than it already was. I wish you all the best.
Aaand I seriously need to stop now, or I'm going to get all weepy. So I'm going to think happy thoughts and post your j-pics...
Good times. :)
Thursday, July 3, 2008
& The Meandering Chicken
All of my schools are finally finished with exams, and for that I am truly grateful. A sentiment I'm sure I share with most of the students, but for a far different reason: Exams are the most godawful boring time for an AET ever. The kids are doing nothing but tests, so you don't have any classes to go to; and the English exams have translation questions on them that you wouldn't know how to correct (considering how most AETs aren't proficient in kanji, myself included), so that means you can't even help out with correcting the tests. So you sit at your desk aaaallll day...
Which isn't to say that I do strictly nothing -- sure, I work on new lesson plans, study Japanese, update the English bulletin board -- but these aren't activities that are designed to last for seven hours. It's too bad I'm not a novelist -- I coulda cranked out War and Peace by now. >.>
There have been a couple bright spots this week, though. I went to lunch with all of the English teachers from my base school on Monday, so that was nice. Slightly painful and awkward to sit at a table full of people who know English, but don't really talk to you, but meh; it's better than being stuck at a desk. And the food was good. Too bad I don't know what half of it was. >.< That happens to me with startling frequency here, usually when I'm eating with the teachers or at an enkai or something -- food gets put in front of me, and if it doesn't look like sea urchin or natto (two things I know I don't like), I eat it. Hence my experiences with shika sashimi (raw deer -- are you even supposed to eat that?) and shrimp head tempura (which sounds unappealing, but was actually really good -- kind of like...shrimp pork rinds? If that makes any sense...). But anyway, getting back to the lunch I was originally talking about, the good thing was that my old supervisor A-sensei was there, and we got to talk for a bit. I've only been able to see her a couple times since she retired, so it was good to catch up. And while we were talking, we made plans to meet up the next afternoon, which brings me to Bright Spot number two...
...which would be our trip to the Chagall exhibit at the city museum. This was an exceptionally Bright Spot, because 1) I was able to leave work early since there was nothing for me to do, and 2) there was no admission charge since it was, like, city foundation day or something. Heh-heh, I don't even know what it was exactly, but it got us out of paying! ^_^ That also meant that the museum was exceptionally crowded, but I like the idea of crowded museums; the only thing that might be better would be a crowded library, maybe. Anyway, it's a small city museum, so the Chagall works that they could get were mostly B-sides and rarities, but those are cool in their own way, too. I know some of Chagall's more famous paintings, but I've never really studied him in particular, which made playing Guess-the-Symbolism with A-sensei a lot of fun (once I gave her a brief synopsis of the Hebrew Bible) -- wings and horses and goats, oh my! And, of course, the Wandering Jew, with his trusty sidekick, Meandering Chicken. Overall, it was a really good exhibit, and a really nice afternoon. ^_^
Wow. Apparently, I'm pretty chatty this evening; you probably stopped reading ages ago! >.>; Anyway, that's all for now. Here's your random J-pic:
Mata ne!
Which isn't to say that I do strictly nothing -- sure, I work on new lesson plans, study Japanese, update the English bulletin board -- but these aren't activities that are designed to last for seven hours. It's too bad I'm not a novelist -- I coulda cranked out War and Peace by now. >.>
There have been a couple bright spots this week, though. I went to lunch with all of the English teachers from my base school on Monday, so that was nice. Slightly painful and awkward to sit at a table full of people who know English, but don't really talk to you, but meh; it's better than being stuck at a desk. And the food was good. Too bad I don't know what half of it was. >.< That happens to me with startling frequency here, usually when I'm eating with the teachers or at an enkai or something -- food gets put in front of me, and if it doesn't look like sea urchin or natto (two things I know I don't like), I eat it. Hence my experiences with shika sashimi (raw deer -- are you even supposed to eat that?) and shrimp head tempura (which sounds unappealing, but was actually really good -- kind of like...shrimp pork rinds? If that makes any sense...). But anyway, getting back to the lunch I was originally talking about, the good thing was that my old supervisor A-sensei was there, and we got to talk for a bit. I've only been able to see her a couple times since she retired, so it was good to catch up. And while we were talking, we made plans to meet up the next afternoon, which brings me to Bright Spot number two...
...which would be our trip to the Chagall exhibit at the city museum. This was an exceptionally Bright Spot, because 1) I was able to leave work early since there was nothing for me to do, and 2) there was no admission charge since it was, like, city foundation day or something. Heh-heh, I don't even know what it was exactly, but it got us out of paying! ^_^ That also meant that the museum was exceptionally crowded, but I like the idea of crowded museums; the only thing that might be better would be a crowded library, maybe. Anyway, it's a small city museum, so the Chagall works that they could get were mostly B-sides and rarities, but those are cool in their own way, too. I know some of Chagall's more famous paintings, but I've never really studied him in particular, which made playing Guess-the-Symbolism with A-sensei a lot of fun (once I gave her a brief synopsis of the Hebrew Bible) -- wings and horses and goats, oh my! And, of course, the Wandering Jew, with his trusty sidekick, Meandering Chicken. Overall, it was a really good exhibit, and a really nice afternoon. ^_^
Wow. Apparently, I'm pretty chatty this evening; you probably stopped reading ages ago! >.>; Anyway, that's all for now. Here's your random J-pic:
Mata ne!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
My brain, it is broken
Greetings, all! And I'm only, what, ten days late? It's better than my usual, but still a dismal failure given my "post every day" claim earlier. >.< To be honest, though, a post a day sounds good in theory, but it really isn't very interesting to read. I mean, something blog-worthy doesn't necessarily happen to me every day; sometimes my life is downright dull. Albeit dull in another country, which perhaps to some people would automatically render it not quite as dull as, say, folding laundry in Topeka, Kansas, but whatever...
For example, what did I do today? I rode my bike to a couple different stores looking for black fabric that I need for a costume for Comiket in August, but didn't find anything that would work (frouella 0, fail 2). Then I got rained upon, so I went home (frouella 0, fail 9000). Since I've been home, I've been researching internet articles about neuroscience and language (thank goodness I still have access to JSTOR) because of a passing reference in this article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google
The article is very interesting in and of itself, but the author at one point mentions how the brains of people who learn languages like Chinese, Japanese, etc. function differently than the brains of people who learn alphabet-based languages, and I wanted to see if I could find some source material about it, since there's no reference given in the article itself. So far, no luck (frouella 0, fail 9001), but I have managed to read myself into a brain stupor, where the words I'm reading just kinda bounce back off with no penetration whatsoever. So, I figured I'd write my blog post to act as a mental sorbet of sorts. :P Ohh, the irony. On so many levels. Especially if you read the article in The Atlantic. >.> That actually may be the subject of a future blog post, but not tonight; my brain is officially jell-o.
Anyway, here's your J-pic:
Mmmm, okonomiyake!
For example, what did I do today? I rode my bike to a couple different stores looking for black fabric that I need for a costume for Comiket in August, but didn't find anything that would work (frouella 0, fail 2). Then I got rained upon, so I went home (frouella 0, fail 9000). Since I've been home, I've been researching internet articles about neuroscience and language (thank goodness I still have access to JSTOR) because of a passing reference in this article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google
The article is very interesting in and of itself, but the author at one point mentions how the brains of people who learn languages like Chinese, Japanese, etc. function differently than the brains of people who learn alphabet-based languages, and I wanted to see if I could find some source material about it, since there's no reference given in the article itself. So far, no luck (frouella 0, fail 9001), but I have managed to read myself into a brain stupor, where the words I'm reading just kinda bounce back off with no penetration whatsoever. So, I figured I'd write my blog post to act as a mental sorbet of sorts. :P Ohh, the irony. On so many levels. Especially if you read the article in The Atlantic. >.> That actually may be the subject of a future blog post, but not tonight; my brain is officially jell-o.
Anyway, here's your J-pic:
Mmmm, okonomiyake!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Ugh.
So, I just spent like six hours typing up three lesson plans -- how was your Friday night? >.<
Meh. It's my own fault, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much; I knew they were due today, but I still waited until the last minute, because that's just what I do! **headdesk** As some sort of consolation though, it's pouring outside, so I probably wouldn't have wanted to go anywhere anyway. At times like these, I miss my car. Uh, at least until I have to buy gas, 'cause then, not so much...
I actually had things of import to talk about, but now I can't remember what I was going to say. So. I'm obviously not alert enough to be posting anything, so I'm off to bed. Hopefully, with a little sleep, my frightening brush with memory loss will be nothing but a bad memory.
Eek. Here's your pic:
Mata ne!
Meh. It's my own fault, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much; I knew they were due today, but I still waited until the last minute, because that's just what I do! **headdesk** As some sort of consolation though, it's pouring outside, so I probably wouldn't have wanted to go anywhere anyway. At times like these, I miss my car. Uh, at least until I have to buy gas, 'cause then, not so much...
I actually had things of import to talk about, but now I can't remember what I was going to say. So. I'm obviously not alert enough to be posting anything, so I'm off to bed. Hopefully, with a little sleep, my frightening brush with memory loss will be nothing but a bad memory.
Eek. Here's your pic:
Mata ne!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
A little "goma o suru" never hurt anyone
I was at my base school today, team-teaching an English lesson as I am wont to do, when one of my students came up with quite possibly the sweetest thing ever. We were working on riddles today, so most of the class was spent with me telling riddles to the class in English, and the students trying to figure out what the heck I was talking about. At the end, though, the students were supposed to think of their own riddles (in English or in Japanese, because we're not trying to kill the poor dears >.>;). So one boy came up with one, and wrote it on the board for everyone to figure out. I can't write all the kanji that he did, but here's a rough translation:
Y...-sensei, M...-sensei, Karen-sensei
Which one is the prettiest?
The answer? Karen-sensei! At first, I thought he was just trying to score points by blatant flattery, but he explained that in Japanese, karen (かれん) means "pretty" or "lovely." So, a nice, bilingual play on words! Yeah, he was probably going for a little flattery, too, but I'm willing to overlook that. ;) And I'm also going to overlook the fact that I checked out some other meanings of karen online, and found out that it can also mean "oppression" or "pitiful," depending on which kanji you use. >.> I'm going to assume his intentions were good. **smirks**
So overall, a good day. A good day, but a long day, so now I'm off to bed. As promised, though, here are your two random J-pics:
A garden at Ginkakuji, and...
"Bike Parking" -- yeah, this one was taken by a real photographer. Honestly, it's one of my favorite pictures ever. Just, the clouds, and the lighting...**is speechless**
Mata ne!
Y...-sensei, M...-sensei, Karen-sensei
Which one is the prettiest?
The answer? Karen-sensei! At first, I thought he was just trying to score points by blatant flattery, but he explained that in Japanese, karen (かれん) means "pretty" or "lovely." So, a nice, bilingual play on words! Yeah, he was probably going for a little flattery, too, but I'm willing to overlook that. ;) And I'm also going to overlook the fact that I checked out some other meanings of karen online, and found out that it can also mean "oppression" or "pitiful," depending on which kanji you use. >.> I'm going to assume his intentions were good. **smirks**
So overall, a good day. A good day, but a long day, so now I'm off to bed. As promised, though, here are your two random J-pics:
A garden at Ginkakuji, and...
"Bike Parking" -- yeah, this one was taken by a real photographer. Honestly, it's one of my favorite pictures ever. Just, the clouds, and the lighting...**is speechless**
Mata ne!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Twee and sympathy
Eek. Well, I've officially broken my streak now. And I was doing so well, too. **sigh** But I think as long as I view it as a momentary lapse, everything should be fine, ne?
Right. So as I was saying in my last post, I went to a concert on Monday night (which is probably why I'm still so tired and consequently forgetting to blog). I think the theme for the evening was "quirk," since that's what all the acts seemed to have in common...
First up was Xiu Xiu, a band from...California, I think? They were, uh, interesting. If you're into random sounds moreso than music. >.> Meh, I listened to it with an open mind and all, but just, not really my thing. The vocalist guy had this overly-breathy voice with an overly-pronounced vibrato, and he sang over the din in an overly-dramatic way. With his eyes closed. And with spastic eyebrow action. They sounded like a band that pretentious people would cite as an influence, because no one would really want to listen to them for fun.
Next up was Tenniscoats, whom I think are from Japan. They were experimental, too (one of the guys on stage was playing a modified electric fan 0.o), but they weren't as cacophonous; they were kinda precious, actually. But still different. I probably wouldn't go to a show just to see them, but I wouldn't leave if they were playing, y'know?
After that was Tokumaru Shugo, and he was awesome. I'm such a shallow person -- I have to confess that the only reason I went to this show was because I saw a picture of him dressed up as a scientist, and it totally pushed all my geek buttons the right way (and it doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes >.>). But after listening to him, I can honestly say that he's really talented. His instrumentations are also unusual (e.g. accordion, bird whistle, random household stuff), but it works really well together. He's kinda like musical sorbet in a way -- refreshing and sweet and different.
The last act was Deerhoof, whom I wasn't familiar with, but one of my friends who was at the show was a big fan. They were quirky and different too, but in a more rockin' way. Also, you could actually dance to their songs, which I consider to be a plus.
So overall, I guess the score would be:
Good 2
Okay 1
Meh 1
Not a bad way to spend an evening, and it's always a good idea to push one's musical boundaries, no?
Anyway, that's all for now. Unfortunately, I'm not typing this from my computer at home, so no J-pic, but next time I'll post two. Promise! ^_^;
Until then, mata ne!
Right. So as I was saying in my last post, I went to a concert on Monday night (which is probably why I'm still so tired and consequently forgetting to blog). I think the theme for the evening was "quirk," since that's what all the acts seemed to have in common...
First up was Xiu Xiu, a band from...California, I think? They were, uh, interesting. If you're into random sounds moreso than music. >.> Meh, I listened to it with an open mind and all, but just, not really my thing. The vocalist guy had this overly-breathy voice with an overly-pronounced vibrato, and he sang over the din in an overly-dramatic way. With his eyes closed. And with spastic eyebrow action. They sounded like a band that pretentious people would cite as an influence, because no one would really want to listen to them for fun.
Next up was Tenniscoats, whom I think are from Japan. They were experimental, too (one of the guys on stage was playing a modified electric fan 0.o), but they weren't as cacophonous; they were kinda precious, actually. But still different. I probably wouldn't go to a show just to see them, but I wouldn't leave if they were playing, y'know?
After that was Tokumaru Shugo, and he was awesome. I'm such a shallow person -- I have to confess that the only reason I went to this show was because I saw a picture of him dressed up as a scientist, and it totally pushed all my geek buttons the right way (and it doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes >.>). But after listening to him, I can honestly say that he's really talented. His instrumentations are also unusual (e.g. accordion, bird whistle, random household stuff), but it works really well together. He's kinda like musical sorbet in a way -- refreshing and sweet and different.
The last act was Deerhoof, whom I wasn't familiar with, but one of my friends who was at the show was a big fan. They were quirky and different too, but in a more rockin' way. Also, you could actually dance to their songs, which I consider to be a plus.
So overall, I guess the score would be:
Good 2
Okay 1
Meh 1
Not a bad way to spend an evening, and it's always a good idea to push one's musical boundaries, no?
Anyway, that's all for now. Unfortunately, I'm not typing this from my computer at home, so no J-pic, but next time I'll post two. Promise! ^_^;
Until then, mata ne!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
I (don't) feel the Earth move under my feet
Did you hear about the earthquake near Sendai yesterday? 'Cause I didn't. >.>; Well, technically, I heard about it early this morning, but I mean I was here, not all that far from the epicenter, and I slept through it. Actually, I don't know if anybody around here felt anything, but it seems like it would've been severe enough to reach us. I'm not saying I want an earthquake to happen, but it's just that I don't even know what one feels like to know what to expect; how am I supposed to know when to dive under my desk? Yes, that's what the experts recommend -- when you feel a tremor, you're supposed to turn off your gas line and stove, cover your head, and get under a table. And since I only has a kotatsu table (with about 8 inches of clearance underneath it), that means my safety rests in the dubious shelter of my circa 1982 white formica computer desk. Heh-heh. Yeah, that's reassuring...
Not much happened today. Hung out at home, and then my friend took me back to the eye doctor that we went to last weekend so I could pick up the contacts I ordered, and then we got some Chinese food. Uh, yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Then again, it's difficult to do much with only 100¥ (about $1) until tomorrow. >.< It's not that I don't have money in my account, it's just that stupid, stupid UFJ (my bank) closed all of their ATMs this weekend, moreso than they usually close them. Yes, in Japan, ATMs close. Weekdays, they're open from, like, 8 to 6; weekends, they close even earlier. It's so convenient. >.> In this case though, UFJ merged with another bank a little while ago, and so they've been trying to merge the account info and computer stuff, and it's been a right mess, let me tell you; a few weeks ago, the whole UFJ computer system seized up because one of the info programs had a weird kanji in it. No lie. Which meant that no one could access their account until they fixed it. I guess a person could withdraw enough money for the whole week to make sure they didn't get caught with no cash if/when the system crashes, but I'm still not comfortable carrying around that much cash. Too much time spent in Detroit, I guess.
Anyway, it's supposed to be up and working tomorrow morning, so enough about that. **crosses fingers** It's time to start getting ready for bed, so that's all until tomorrow. Until then, your daily J-pic:
Not much happened today. Hung out at home, and then my friend took me back to the eye doctor that we went to last weekend so I could pick up the contacts I ordered, and then we got some Chinese food. Uh, yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Then again, it's difficult to do much with only 100¥ (about $1) until tomorrow. >.< It's not that I don't have money in my account, it's just that stupid, stupid UFJ (my bank) closed all of their ATMs this weekend, moreso than they usually close them. Yes, in Japan, ATMs close. Weekdays, they're open from, like, 8 to 6; weekends, they close even earlier. It's so convenient. >.> In this case though, UFJ merged with another bank a little while ago, and so they've been trying to merge the account info and computer stuff, and it's been a right mess, let me tell you; a few weeks ago, the whole UFJ computer system seized up because one of the info programs had a weird kanji in it. No lie. Which meant that no one could access their account until they fixed it. I guess a person could withdraw enough money for the whole week to make sure they didn't get caught with no cash if/when the system crashes, but I'm still not comfortable carrying around that much cash. Too much time spent in Detroit, I guess.
Anyway, it's supposed to be up and working tomorrow morning, so enough about that. **crosses fingers** It's time to start getting ready for bed, so that's all until tomorrow. Until then, your daily J-pic:
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Random post is random
So I feel I've been slightly mislead by all of the anime I've seen and all of the manga I've read -- not one of the high schools I work at allows people to go up on the roof. What's up with that?? In practically every story that involves a school in any way, that's where the confrontations and confessions and camaraderie goes on, not to mention the napping and the hanging out and the eating of lunches. I feel cheated; it's a trope, for cryin' out loud. Yeah, it's probably a safety issue, but still... **pouts**
Uh, yeah. So obviously, not much has been going on today if that's the lead-off in today's post. >.>; It's two days before payday, so I didn't really go anywhere or do anything except clean the apartment and do laundry. And I'm pretty sure you don't need a play-by-play about that. But, I'm supposed to go to a "raibu" (live -- the Engrish word for concert) with some friends on Monday (Tokumaru Shugo, Tenniscoats, Xiu Xiu, and Deerhoof), so that should give me some interesting fodder to write about. Heh-heh. You hope, at least.
Anyway, that's the news for now. And now, your random J-pic:
Uh, yeah. So obviously, not much has been going on today if that's the lead-off in today's post. >.>; It's two days before payday, so I didn't really go anywhere or do anything except clean the apartment and do laundry. And I'm pretty sure you don't need a play-by-play about that. But, I'm supposed to go to a "raibu" (live -- the Engrish word for concert) with some friends on Monday (Tokumaru Shugo, Tenniscoats, Xiu Xiu, and Deerhoof), so that should give me some interesting fodder to write about. Heh-heh. You hope, at least.
Anyway, that's the news for now. And now, your random J-pic:
Friday, June 13, 2008
Live from the O.Z.
So, I technically missed the midnight deadline, but I haven"t been to sleep yet, so it still seems like the same night to me. Also, the apostrophe doesn"t work on this computer that I"m using right now, so that"s why I"m erroneously using quotation marks instead.
Aaanyway, I went to the enkai with my teachers and it was...predictably tame for the teachers from my mountain school. The school itself is kind of high level and they"re pretty uptight about most everything, the enkai being no exception. It was pleasant. That"s not a bad thing, just not very exciting. Gomen ne. I"ll post more later (probably tomorrow), when I"m on my own computer. And I don"t have access to my photos here, so no random J-photo either. >.< I know you"re disappointed; I am too. >.>;
Until then, mata ne!
Aaanyway, I went to the enkai with my teachers and it was...predictably tame for the teachers from my mountain school. The school itself is kind of high level and they"re pretty uptight about most everything, the enkai being no exception. It was pleasant. That"s not a bad thing, just not very exciting. Gomen ne. I"ll post more later (probably tomorrow), when I"m on my own computer. And I don"t have access to my photos here, so no random J-photo either. >.< I know you"re disappointed; I am too. >.>;
Until then, mata ne!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Giri giri saaafu
Yeah, I'm cutting it a little close today, but I just got home from Nagoya. We had our monthly meeting earlier today, which generally means that we all go out afterwards and relax at an izakaya. Or, y'know, hang out under the T.V. tower. >.>; Hence the late hour, and my lack of interesting news to report. I can say with confidence, though, that it is officially starting to get hot here. A group of us walked from Fushimi to Sakae (about ten blocks or so), and by the time I got there, I was completely sweaty and gross. And it's only June. This does not bode well for August... >.<
Aaanyway, my complaining aside (especially since just a few months ago I was whining about how cold it was), I should have more interesting stuff to talk about tomorrow. I've been invited to an enkai by my high-level mountain school, and it'll be the first time I've ever hung out with those teachers outside of school. So, news at 11:00! Or possibly later, depending on when I get home.
And, as always, your random J-pic:
To remind myself that it was, in fact, cold here not too long ago...
Mata ne!
Aaanyway, my complaining aside (especially since just a few months ago I was whining about how cold it was), I should have more interesting stuff to talk about tomorrow. I've been invited to an enkai by my high-level mountain school, and it'll be the first time I've ever hung out with those teachers outside of school. So, news at 11:00! Or possibly later, depending on when I get home.
And, as always, your random J-pic:
To remind myself that it was, in fact, cold here not too long ago...
Mata ne!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
I hope you don't get eaten by a dingo!
So class at my base school was fun today: my usual self-introduction for half of the period, and then introductory student dialogues for the other half (e.g. meeting for the first time, staying with a host family, etc.). The oral communication textbooks are, um, a trifle stilted (to put it nicely), so I rewrote the scripts to make them more exciting. Also so the students can write more of their own answers. For example:
A: About what time will dinner be ready?
B: It’ll be ready (soon/in an hour/tomorrow/when I feel like cooking).
A: What are we having?
B: __________________________.
(kind of food)
A: That’s (great/good/too bad/disappointing/a problem).
B: Why is that?
A: Because I (love it/am really hungry/can’t eat that/wanted pizza instead/am a vampire).
B: Oh, I see.
Meh. I thought it was funny, anyway. And the kids seemed to like it, so it works for me.
After that, I had a six hour layover until English Club after school. >.< So, I did some Japanese homework and updated the English bulletin board. I also had lunch at my desk with our school's Chinese exchange student, which basically means that the two of us ate our bentos while conversing in English about how we don't understand Japanese at all. Heh-heh. We're so multi-cultural...
English Club was pretty interesting. The teacher in charge bought a Scrabble game over the weekend, so I taught the kids to play. Overall, it went well, though it's difficult to keep the game going when most of the words are four letters or less (and no, they weren't swear words -- they don't know too many of those (yet)). And one poor guy got stuck with J, Q, Z, and X, and I couldn't give him much help with those. I think they did well, though, even if they were all muttering "muzukashii" (difficult) under their breaths the whole game. My students are so smart! **beams**
That's all for now. Until tomorrow, here's your random J-photo:
A: About what time will dinner be ready?
B: It’ll be ready (soon/in an hour/tomorrow/when I feel like cooking).
A: What are we having?
B: __________________________.
(kind of food)
A: That’s (great/good/too bad/disappointing/a problem).
B: Why is that?
A: Because I (love it/am really hungry/can’t eat that/wanted pizza instead/am a vampire).
B: Oh, I see.
Meh. I thought it was funny, anyway. And the kids seemed to like it, so it works for me.
After that, I had a six hour layover until English Club after school. >.< So, I did some Japanese homework and updated the English bulletin board. I also had lunch at my desk with our school's Chinese exchange student, which basically means that the two of us ate our bentos while conversing in English about how we don't understand Japanese at all. Heh-heh. We're so multi-cultural...
English Club was pretty interesting. The teacher in charge bought a Scrabble game over the weekend, so I taught the kids to play. Overall, it went well, though it's difficult to keep the game going when most of the words are four letters or less (and no, they weren't swear words -- they don't know too many of those (yet)). And one poor guy got stuck with J, Q, Z, and X, and I couldn't give him much help with those. I think they did well, though, even if they were all muttering "muzukashii" (difficult) under their breaths the whole game. My students are so smart! **beams**
That's all for now. Until tomorrow, here's your random J-photo:
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Guess what time it is!
It's time to go to sleep, actually. But then I remembered that I hadn't posted anything yet today, so here I am, resplendent in my (sleep) depravity. Plus, I didn't want to botch the penance thing already, since it's only day two. Messing things up at this point would just be lame...
**And, um, in case you haven't noticed by now, all of that stuff I said earlier (i.e. half a year ago) about catching up on all the events since last August? Yeah, probably not going to happen. If I feel overly ambitious one day, I might do the Readers' Digest Condensed Version, but looks like you're stuck with in medias res for the time being. Gomen!**
I was at my mountain school today (that's not really the name, but some names have been changed to protect the innocent (and myself from potential lawsuits)). It's not technically on a mountain per se, but it is at the top of a hellish hill. Anyway, I only had one class sixth period, but even so, I still had to be there at 8:30. Normally, it would have been mind-numbingly boring, but luckily I had a three-foot stack of papers to correct. No, no, I'm kidding, it wasn't three feet -- they use metric here, so it's meters. >.> It wasn't that bad, though; it gave me something to do, plus I got to read about the kids' school trip to Hiroshima and Kobe. The only thing is, after you've been reading Engrish essays for an hour straight, no language, native or otherwise, makes sense anymore; I had to keep getting up from my desk to walk around and get more coffee so I could give my brain time to reboot.
Tomorrow I'm at my base school, where I also only have one class all day, but this time it's first period (ugh), so I have to start getting ready for bed fo' realz now. As a bonus, maybe adequate sleep will make my post tomorrow more interesting than this one. One can only hope. In the meantime, a random photo from Japan:
Mata ashita!
**And, um, in case you haven't noticed by now, all of that stuff I said earlier (i.e. half a year ago) about catching up on all the events since last August? Yeah, probably not going to happen. If I feel overly ambitious one day, I might do the Readers' Digest Condensed Version, but looks like you're stuck with in medias res for the time being. Gomen!**
I was at my mountain school today (that's not really the name, but some names have been changed to protect the innocent (and myself from potential lawsuits)). It's not technically on a mountain per se, but it is at the top of a hellish hill. Anyway, I only had one class sixth period, but even so, I still had to be there at 8:30. Normally, it would have been mind-numbingly boring, but luckily I had a three-foot stack of papers to correct. No, no, I'm kidding, it wasn't three feet -- they use metric here, so it's meters. >.> It wasn't that bad, though; it gave me something to do, plus I got to read about the kids' school trip to Hiroshima and Kobe. The only thing is, after you've been reading Engrish essays for an hour straight, no language, native or otherwise, makes sense anymore; I had to keep getting up from my desk to walk around and get more coffee so I could give my brain time to reboot.
Tomorrow I'm at my base school, where I also only have one class all day, but this time it's first period (ugh), so I have to start getting ready for bed fo' realz now. As a bonus, maybe adequate sleep will make my post tomorrow more interesting than this one. One can only hope. In the meantime, a random photo from Japan:
Mata ashita!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Well, I was half right...
So, back in my last post, I said it wouldn't be three months before I posted again, which is totally true. Because it's been five. >.>; Worst. Blogger. EVER. But, the first step in overcoming a problem is admitting you have a problem, right? So there's that already taken care of!
Anyway, as penance, I've decided that I have to write something here every day from now on, barring days when I have no feasible access to a computer (**note to self** -- find out if posting is possible from the keitei; if so, there's that excuse gone, too). I'm not saying it's all going to be grand prose or lucid insights, but I've got to get in the habit of doing this. **sigh** I'm really glad I finally got my degree and all, but it's horrible how academia has made me practically resent writing...
So, one post down, about 400 to go!
Anyway, as penance, I've decided that I have to write something here every day from now on, barring days when I have no feasible access to a computer (**note to self** -- find out if posting is possible from the keitei; if so, there's that excuse gone, too). I'm not saying it's all going to be grand prose or lucid insights, but I've got to get in the habit of doing this. **sigh** I'm really glad I finally got my degree and all, but it's horrible how academia has made me practically resent writing...
So, one post down, about 400 to go!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
More photos...
Sorry for the delay; apparently, I am neither efficient nor motivated. But on the bright side, it has been less than three months this time! At least I'm getting better...
So, on to the next part of the update. You've seen the apartment, so now let's move on to other parts of Okazaki:
This is...a shrine (I don't know the name >_<) that's not too far from my house.
This is a pharmacy in Okazaki that my mother should appreciate.
Near the train station
The city of Okazaki put up Christmas decorations, so it was pretty festive for a while. Also, it doesn't show up very well in the photo, but the tower of lights on the right was made with recycled plastic bottles -- decorative AND eco-friendly!
It's a little easier to see here...
And finally, a very distant shot of Okazaki castle. I'll put up better photos once I've actually visited it. That's pretty bad -- there's a castle in the town I live in, and I haven't even taken the tour yet. This would be an example of that whole "taking-a-long-time-to-settle-in" thing I was talking about in the last post.
So that's an embarrassingly brief look at some of Okazaki; I'll try to take some pictures of the rest of the city when I get a chance. Maybe when I tour Okazaki castle. >.>; Anyway, let me know if there's anything specific you want to see/know, and I'll try to address it here (I feel like I'm forgetting really important stuff). Next post will probably be about Handa matsuri or my visit to Nara, or maybe a combination of both. 'Cause I'm efficient like that...
So, on to the next part of the update. You've seen the apartment, so now let's move on to other parts of Okazaki:
This is...a shrine (I don't know the name >_<) that's not too far from my house.
This is a pharmacy in Okazaki that my mother should appreciate.
Near the train station
The city of Okazaki put up Christmas decorations, so it was pretty festive for a while. Also, it doesn't show up very well in the photo, but the tower of lights on the right was made with recycled plastic bottles -- decorative AND eco-friendly!
It's a little easier to see here...
And finally, a very distant shot of Okazaki castle. I'll put up better photos once I've actually visited it. That's pretty bad -- there's a castle in the town I live in, and I haven't even taken the tour yet. This would be an example of that whole "taking-a-long-time-to-settle-in" thing I was talking about in the last post.
So that's an embarrassingly brief look at some of Okazaki; I'll try to take some pictures of the rest of the city when I get a chance. Maybe when I tour Okazaki castle. >.>; Anyway, let me know if there's anything specific you want to see/know, and I'll try to address it here (I feel like I'm forgetting really important stuff). Next post will probably be about Handa matsuri or my visit to Nara, or maybe a combination of both. 'Cause I'm efficient like that...
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