January 2005
Sunday, Jan. 16, 2005 — Back online
Happy New Year! After three glorious weeks at home, I'm back in Japan again. I returned to Tokushima a week ago after the usual exhausting 24-hour travel marathon. Since my trip back home has nothing to do with Japan, I probably won't be posting my family pictures up, at least any time soon.
No big news in the interim, except I got back my medical check-up results. I made A’s on everything (yes, they GRADE you) except one area. But man, when I fail, I fail miserably. I got a “B” in cholesterol. But it might as well be REALLY be a “C” for CORONARY DISEASE. My cholesterol levels have appallingly and inexplicably skyrocketed since my coming to Japan. This country is trying to kill me! I'm supposed to have gotten HEALTHIER and this it what I get for eating the school lunches and biking everywhere! I live on a diet of rice and noodles and my cholesterol levels shoot up to alarming levels. I just don't get it.
Consequently, I've had to seriously re-evaluate my lifestyle. I went swimming TWICE (that's got to be a record, given my lack of will power, especially given exercise) this weekend because I think the lack of conscious exercise may have something to do with it. I also read up on heart disease (which having high cholesterol levels puts you at higher risk for) and how to eat healthily. I cooked myself a dinner of tofu and three different kinds of mushrooms! Although I discovered working with fresh mushrooms was kind of gross (they're all ... soft ... and spongy ... and, you know, fungi), the end result was quite pleasing. I only hope I can find enoki, shimeji and shiitake mushrooms in the grocery store when I go home. And that I can keep up this lifestyle. I don't like having to watch what I eat and, well, exert myself ;-)
News of the gigantic tsunami that hit Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka was quite frightening. Quite a few of the Tokushima JETs had gone to southeast Asia for their winter break, just as I had last year. The good news is that, from what I hear, they've all returned home safely. Rory, the other Texas JET in the prefecture and my neighbor, was in the mountains of inland Indonesia when the wave hit that country. He didn't even know about the tsunami until he checked his e-mail and had a flood of concerned missives from friends and family.
Another big development for me was that I was forced to leave my precious laptop behind in the U.S. for repair. The CD drive was all dodgy on me, so I had to get it fixed. They told me it’d take four to eight weeks, an agonizingly long wait, but I wanted to get it taken care of. Not being able to read or burn CDs was getting quite annoying. As a result, I am without my laptop (otherwise known as my third arm) in Japan, at least for the present. Fortunately, my dad lent me an old laptop that I’m grateful to have because it lets me access the Internet and my e-mail and thus not feel like I’m cut off from the world. But, as his laptop dates to 1997, it's not so good at multitasking. So, I won’t be Photoshopping for me for a while. That includes posting images, too, until I get my own laptop back. Trust me, I'm counting the days.
Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2005 — At last
A little over a week ago today, my kerosene heater gave out on me. The unthinkable had happened. I turned it on, it ran for a few minutes, the heat unnaturally strong, and then it shut itself off. It just wouldn’t stay on. The cold immediately pounced. Temperatures had hovered in the 30s and 40s.
I fought to keep the panic down. This was my worst nightmare: No head in the unrelenting, inescapable Japanese cold. It was the weekend, so the school district office was closed, my supervisor wasn’t in and even if she was, the electronics department that serves the school district in situations like this wouldn’t be working. But I needed heat and I needed it NOW.
Then it hit me: Wait, I have ANOTHER heat source, one it’d never occurred to me to use! My A/C has a heat setting but the thought of using it hadn’t crossed my mind because kerosene heating is by far the norm in cost- and energy-efficient Japan. After all, both my schools used kerosene heaters to warm the teachers’ room (and JUST the teachers’ room; the students fend for themselves). Kerosene is just so much cheaper. Japanese people and a lot of JETs always cringe when they talk about how high the electricity bill becomes when you use the electric heater. Kerosene heaters can warm a room for a fraction of the cost.
Then I started thinking about it, though. My living room is quite tiny, about 10 feet square, so it’s not like it’d be a huge strain on the electric heater. I had used the A/C frequently during the summer, sometimes overnight for weeks at a time. I hadn’t blinked an eye at using A/C and heat all the time when I used to live in Abilene, where temperatures occasionally rose into the triple digits. My current electrical bill ran about 2,000 yen (or $20) a month, including the summer months.
What was stopping me? Obviously, nothing. I had no good reasons and it’d taken me a winter and a half to figure that out.
So I figured out how to turn the heat on (I was afraid I’d never be able to access the A/C again from my fumblings, but I don’t think it was that drastic a process) but the switch was surprisingly easy. It helped I had a handy kanji guide especially geared toward air conditioners.
Electric heat, it turns out, is WAY better than kerosene-fueled heat. It’s clean; you don’t have to worry about fumes or having to open a window. It heats more evenly, so my nose doesn’t get cold and I don’t have to wear a ski cap all the time, which I’d been doing. There was no need to wheel my bike to the gas station to fill up on 18 liters of kerosene, an amount that usually lasted me a month during the deep winter.
WAY better.
But it’s not like I wanted a broken kerosene heater lying around. And was it something my school district, the BOE, had provided, and thus something the BOE was willing to replace? I decided to ask about it. The worst they could say was no.
In fact, they told me YES, that they’d have the old one hauled away and a new one delivered. Having discovered the beauty of electric heat, I was still gleeful to suddenly find myself with not ONE but TWO heat sources. Hallelujah! The electrician guy dropped it off yesterday evening. I had it placed in my bedroom. It was bigger and shinier than my old one. It even played music when we first turned it on. Most importantly, suddenly I was able to go to actually read IN BED at night without my hand, exposed to the chilly air, going numb after five minutes! Changing clothes in my bedroom would no longer have to be frenzied sprint to escape the cold and having to see my breath!
The new kerosene heater also had a gauge that tells you the ambient temperature. I turned it on this morning and eyed the temperature before it started to change when the heat came on. Aaaaaaand the number? 4 degrees Celsius. In other words, 39 degrees F. IN MY BEDROOM.
I always knew my apartment was cold. Now I know HOW cold.
Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 — Unfinished business
Yuri-chan, the little girl who first taught me how to go about setting up and cleaning up for calligraphy class, met me with a cheerful greeting at class this afternoon. I handed her some chocolate I’d brought over from the U.S. Japan has plenty of chocolate but the Japanese are big on bringing souvenirs back from trips and Yuri-chan seemed like a good recipient.
She looked surprised and pleased by the candy and then said something to me in Japanese. I told her to say it slower because I didn’t understand. She said it a couple of times and I finally figured out the first half of the sentence: “When I come next week …” I tried to get her to say the rest of it, but I had no idea how to ask her to do that, I didn’t know the words. So I tried saying what she had said, only the first half and then trailing off, thinking maybe she’d realize that I wanted her to say the rest. <sigh> Didn’t work.
She just kept nodding and saying, “Yes.” I guess she thought I’d figured it out. Aaaaarrrrghhhh. Ah, well. Eventually I deduced she’d said something to me like, “When I come next week, I’ll give YOU candy.” But that didn’t make sense to me at the time. I guess she felt my gesture had to be reciprocated.
Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 — The principal’s office
Because I no longer have a laptop I can bring to school, I’ve been reading a lot instead. I had heard some schools disapprove of this (indeed, I’d heard of one ALT whose school said they would only renew his contract if he agreed to read only Japanese-language materials and surf only Japanese-language Web sites), although I’d never been reprimanded myself.
But this afternoon, I was called into the principal’s office. Right away I was anxious. You only get called into the principal’s office when you’re in trouble! At least in the States, anyway. But apparently trouble was the last thing on the agenda. Takahashi-sensei, the principal, wanted to invite me to his home to have dinner with him and his wife!
Relieved I wasn’t in trouble, and flattered by their kindness, I accepted. He asked me what foods I didn’t like and I gave him the usual list: sashimi (raw fish) and takoyaki (doughy balls filled with octopus). I would have said enkai (banquet) food, too, but I didn’t think that would be on the menu. We arranged to meet Monday evening, when he’d pick me up and drive me to his home. I left his office feeling so grateful for my principal’s kindness
That evening, I went to a Vietnamese restaurant for a friend’s birthday dinner. I was excited because it was my first time to eat Vietnamese food (or the Japanese interpretation of) in Tokushima. However, I got there halfway through the seven-course meal, which turned out to be meager servings of mediocre Vietnamese food. While the company was great I found a fellow Alias fan and had a great chat with a couple who live south of the city whom I hadn’t seen a while the food left much to be desired. Disappointing.
Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005 — Burns Supper II and … ALIAS
Having found out that Andy, an ALT who lives out west, is an Alias fan, I hitched an early ride with him west (we were both headed to the same event that evening) and watched the two most recent episodes at his place. He’d downloaded them to his computer and hooked up his Mac to his TV so we could watch it on there. Technology is WONDERFUL!
Burns Supper was similar to last year’s. In case you’ve forgotten, it’s that annual even when Scots pay tribute to their native son, poet Robert Burns. It’s a night of culture and food, where haggis is eaten and poems recited. In our version, there was no haggis available. Ellie, one of the two Scottish JETs in the prefecture, had ordered it from New Zealand but it didn’t come in on time but there was still plenty of food for the potluck dinner and poems from all sorts of sources were recited. In so many languages, too! We had English, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Hindi poems. I read Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “An Ancient Gesture” and refrained from reading any of my own poetry, having learned my lesson from last year.
Monday, Jan. 24, 2005 — Dinner with the principal
My principal, Takashi-sensei, had arranged to pick me up at 6:30 p.m. this evening to bring me to his home for dinner with him and his wife. But I knew the kind of person he was and made sure to be outside 10 minutes early. He ALWAYS comes early, which drives me nuts because when I come out on time, it looks like I’m late because I’ve been keeping him waiting.
He had just pulled up and we went the short distance to his home, which was actually quite close. But giving directions in Japan because of the lack of house numbers and street names so it’s just easier to TAKE a person there than TELL them how.
Takahashi-sensei doesn’t speak very much English nor did his wife, Kyōko, although she spoke more than he did. But we still managed to have a pretty lively conversation for the three-and-a-half hours I was at their home! They really made me feel at ease. Kyōko made enough food for twice as many people as were there; there was temakizushi, the kind of sushi you make yourself, pasta salad and KFC chicken. (Yes, I know.)
I ended up eating sooo much, just roll after roll of sushi. Kyōko had included avocadoes in the mix. Her husband was perplexed by this and asked why and she explained that Americans like avocado. I cheerfully agreed, thinking of the guacamole and like to scoop liberally onto my tortilla chips. The avocadoes were quite scrumptious when wrapped in vinegared rice and dried seaweed. There was also tuna, imitation crab meat, white onion slices, cucumber and scrambled eggs. You don’t necessarily eat all of this together at the same time.
I ate so much sushi I had to really work to get in some pasta and fried chicken, too, just to let Kyōko know I appreciated all the work she’d done. Then she brought out an apple pastry she’d made herself. Takahashi-sensei boasted that his wife was quite the cook. I didn’t doubt it. She warned that she knew Americans like their desserts quite sweet but she hadn’t put any sugar in the pastry because she’d thought the apples sweet enough. She was right. I can’t believe there wasn’t any sugar, but it was still so tasty!
After the apple pastry, she brought out a dish of sliced fruit! My god, I was bursting. Neither she nor Takahashi-sensei were touching the fruit but they were looking at me expectantly so I gamely put away some kiwi and pear, plus drank my tea. Soooo full.
During the course of the conversation, I found out Takahashi-sensei not only was okay with my reading at school, but he was quite impressed! “She’s always reading,” he told his wife wonderingly. I was like, “Wow, he’s so cool!” until I began to the realize that he may think I’m studying Japanese when I’m reading … That was bad. But still in my favor, which was good. I guiltily resolved to study more Japanese so as to live up to his impression.
He also really gave me a confidence boost when he said I was doing a good job with my Japanese. The last ALT he’d known (not my predecessor) could barely get a word out even after having been in Japan for the same length of time as me. That made me feel really good even though I know I still am pitiably bad at the language.
When it neared 10 p.m., I asked if one of them could bring me home. Takahashi-sensei, who’d been drinking beer all evening, laughing told me it’d be his wife who brought me home. Japan has a strict zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drinking and driving. They left me with invitations to come visit them again and to even learn some Japanese cooking from Kyōko. It’s times like these when I feel so grateful to be in the position that I am in.
Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 — Cheap movie ticket night
In Japan, movie theaters typically have a “cheap ticket night” on the first of the month. My local movie theater, which is right around the corner from where I live, follows that tradition plus has a weekly cheap ticket night on Wednesdays.
Wanting to check out “Ocean’s 12,” since I’d missed it while home, I invited Jenna out. Jenna, who hails from California, lives in between me and Tokushima Station and is one of my co-workers at the Tokushima City school district office. We had some Mexican food for dinner near the station before hopping on a bus and coming to my neighborhood.
I don’t know how this movie theater survives, as Jenna and I, plus one Japanese girl, were the only ones in the theater that night at the 6:30 p.m. showing. Whatever the case, I was heartened by the lack of Japanese people because they never laugh at funny movies because they’re too shy. I’m serious. It’s like dead quiet at the humorous parts. I don’t even think it’s a language problem, where the humor doesn’t translate. They’re just quite self-conscious about bursts of emotion like that. So with only the one Japanese lady in the theater with us, I felt quite free to guffaw loudly while watching the movie.
It made for a pleasant night.
Jan. 27, 2005 — Put it in your pocket!
Remember Yuri-chan from last week? When I gave her some candy and she (I eventually figured out) said she’d give me some the following week. Well, today was that day. I was setting up my calligraphy station when she furtively came over with her hands clasped one over the other, hiding from view what she held.
It’s not nice to give someone sweets unless you have enough for everyone, so she was trying to carefully to make sure no one saw what she was giving me. She covertly handed it to me beneath the table, out of plain view, a little packet of chocolates before scurrying back to her own desk. She’s so sweet.
Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005 — Snowboarding down the road
Ellie, who lives in Miyoshi out in the western part of the prefecture, invited me to come snowboarding. She’s near the only ski place in Tokushima-ken, Ikawa-cho. And because I’m willing to suffer much for snowboarding, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. today so I could catch the 6:20 a.m. train west.
Luckily, I didn’t have to weather it alone. Sally’s boyfriend John and another Tokushima City JET, Amy, also came along with me to meet Ellie. At 8 a.m. we finally pulled into the train station and began the 20-minute walk to our designated meeting place. As we walked through the town, I was really struck how friendly people were. So many people said “Good morning” to us in Japanese.
When we met Ellie, we walked a bit more to the bus stop, where she’d arranged seats for the four of us. The bus came at 9 a.m. and began what turned out to be a tortuous descent up the mountain to the Kanayama ski slopes. My motion sickness kicked in with a vengeance and I had to concentrate hard — and by concentrate hard, I mean try to pass out so unconsciousness would make the ride bearable — to not throw up. Bleh.
An agonizing hour later, we finally pulled up to the ski place. I rented a board and boots for $40, plus another $30 for the one-day lift ticket. The day was relatively warm, just at freezing, so all the snow was artificial. There were patches of ice you had to watch out for. The slope turned out to be more of a hill than a mountain. There were only two lifts and I kept expecting another lift somewhere to actually take us to the top of the mountain but no such luck.
Still, it’s hard to not have fun when you’re snowboarding. I’d switched stances again on my board, which meant having to relearn how to turn. That took me the better part of the day but by the end, I roughly had the hang of it. Ellie and John were quite the pros while Amy still was working on switching edges; she’d come down on one edge the entire time.
The one pass that I kept going on was soooo short but at least it was wide enough that I could practice turning a lot. I still fell a lot. At one point, this guy ended up boarding right through my legs while my board was still on, which meant he slammed into me from behind and sent us both sliding down the mountain. I was okay but quite vocally frightened at the time. We stopped for lunch and I had a hearty meal of rice and curry before returning to the slope.
Because it was a Sunday the traffic at the mountain was quite high. Ellie kept grumbling about the lines and how many people there were. Apparently Friday nights and Saturdays were idea. As much as I’d like to snowboard again there, the ride up and down the mountain was just too painful. We parted ways with Ellie and then trudged back to the train station. We had a 45-minute wait for the train, so stopped a tiny food store along the way for snacks.
We took the 6 p.m. train and I was home again at 7:30 p.m., just in time for a hot, hot bath to ease the bruising on my knees.