July 12, 2010 – Monday
I am too excited to sleep. It is 3:09 a.m. In just 36 minutes my cell phone alarm clock will sing me awake to the song of “This Side” by Nickel Creek. Robin will wake around that time, we’ll tip-toe out to the subaru, and she’ll whisk me off to the airport, Tokyo bound! Strange coincidence: Micah Pearson is going to arrive in Tokyo on Tuesday also. How bizarre is that? I would love it if we ran into each other.
Robin and Chris have been incredible. As soon as I arrived we jumped into their Outback and shared three different Thai dishes at a new restaurant in Eagle River. Then we came back home, created some Chocolate Honey Cake while sampling Robin’s kombucha and HOMEMADE CHEESE. Her brew of kombucha tastes different from the concoction I have created this summer. Also, her culture/ mother mushroom is really healthy. We decided that kombucha tastes similar to Framboise beer.
Japanese phrases:
domo arigato — Thank you
arigato gomzaimasu — Thank you very much
konichi-waa — Hello
udon – a classic, good meal to rely on at a restaurant
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I brought with two fun reads: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden and First You Have to Row a Little Boat by Richard Bode
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New Info:
Nike — comes from the Greek work Nikero meaning “overcome”
Yaks — are vicious unless bottle fed
goatmilk is sweeter if the male goat is kept separate from the female when it is producing milk
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Korean Phrases:
un yong han say doh — Thank you
kom sa ham ni da — Hello
July 13,2010 – Tuesday
I met Kyle in Seattle checking what seat numbers were already called up to board. he was traveling over to Japan to meet up with Meghan–his girlfriend–who helped chaperone a high school Japanese studies group. We sat coincidently near each other on the plane, and it was Kyle who first noticed three hours after take off that our flight wasn’t on schedule. We were supposed to land in Korea at 18:05 and catch the connecting flight to Japan by 18:50 (it would be boarding at 18:20). Kyle, having never traveled internationally, was concerned to say the least and we began communicating immediately with two stewards. Doing everything in their power, they called ahead to their managers in Korea, asking them to hold the flight, and before our plane even came to a complete stop we were ushered forward to the exiting door, met by some of their land-locked assistants in floral blouses, raced to the front gate… only to be intercepted by a gentleman with a hand held radio who delivered the news that our flight had, indeed, departed without us. The next flight would leave at 10:00 the next morning. Poor Kyle tried every phone in our path to attempt contact with Meghan, who would be meeting him at the airport in Tokyo. Asiana Air set us up with a hotel nearby with meal vouchers and a shuttle service. At our hotel Kyle was able to call Meghan/ their Japan contacts, and I was able to email Julie and the Sakuru Hostel (where I had arranged to stay for the first night).
July 14, 2010 – Wednesday
The Train Ride North
Bamboo was flying by my window view mere seconds ago, and now it has blurred into building structures with gently sloped roofs and shingles. Richly green shrubs and slender trees with wispy leaves are everywhere. And there again passed by a patch of tall bamboo, and now ivy crawling across walls.
July 15, 2010 – Thursday
I have always loved Julie but I forgot just how amazing she is–why it is that I love her so–until I reunited with Julie and Taylor last night. Taylor picked me up from the Hachinohe train station with a bag of snack food. He pulled out a bottle of water, peanuts, a “soy joy” (which is an energy bar), a triangular salmon/rice mixture wrapped in dry seaweed paper, and a chocolate bar. I sipped on the water and ate the triangular seaweed sandwich while catching up with Taylor. He commented, “I can’t really remember what is normal food or unusual anymore.”
We took a shorter train from Hachinohe to Noheji-machi to their apartment and then, after dropping off my things, zipped over to a near-by community center to find Julie among women wrapped in pretzel positions doing yoga. Excitement leaped within me. While Julie was finishing her class, and also having a goodbye party, Taylor and I drove to a small, quick restaurant for some real Raman soup. Yum.
Taylor has been teaching me Japanese culture:
1. Tipping is disrespectful.
2. Slurping at meals is expected.
3. You can lift any food item to your mouth (like a bowl of soup to drink) and it is perfectly acceptable.
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After Taylor and I ate dinner we went to a convenience store and bought some ice cream. I picked out this bag of colorful ice cream balls. They were fruit flavored, with a thicker chilled shell to hold their shape, but would melt in your mouth with the tiniest of pressure. Loved it.
Today Julie and I will go to one of her schools and give a short “speech” in English about Alaska. All of the students will give speeches too. We are going to teach the students how to do the one foot high kick.
July 16, 2010 – Thursday
Yay! Wonderful Day!
Went to work with Julie today– we showed off pictures of Alaska, and I shared a little about Saint Michael and introduced the one foot high kick. The kids couldn’t believe how high the Yupik athletes could kick following the one foot rules. Some were sheepish to try the game, but all were interested and would laugh when the braver students would try. All of the students were interested in this strange friend that Julie had brought with her to class.
July 19, 2010 – Sunday
Mmm! I am loosing track of all the days and all the fun we have been having. Here are some highlights:
Presentations:
The Third year students (which is 9th grade age level) prepared presentations in English about their choice of topic: Aomori, the school, a cartoon, etc. They were very shy. After many of the classes, students were eager to come up and meet this strange American teacher. I was given a folded paper crane, a hand drawn map of Aomori Preficture, on girl showed me a drawing she did of Julie and myself during the presentations, another came up and introduced herself and asked that I remember her name– I am embarrassed to say that I do not have it memorized.
Funny/ Personal Questions:
I only got a few of these but at the end of presentation if there was time remaining the students could ask questions of Julie and me. The strangest question I was asked is “What are your three numbers?” This questioned baffled me and when I gave Julie a puzzled look she told me she would explain later, and waved the question off as inappropriate to ask. Your “three numbers” are your three measurements: chest, waist, and hips.
Gifting/ Hospitality/ Unity:
I am so glad I brought little gifts to share with the kids and a few teachers. The kids were very excited over them and so were the few staff members I was able to give trinkets to. I brought Alaska pins to stick on your shirt, Valdez pens, and some stickers of moose, bear, and otters. A few of the younger boys put their pins instantly on the collar of their uniform and when the first gift was given the kids would pass it around excitedly to show each other. I didn’t have enough for all of Julie’s students so we used them as participation prizes.
I gave a pin to Yuki, one of the teachers Julie worked closely with, and the teacher of one of the classes we presented in. Yuki is a true example of hospitality. When I first came into the office with Julie, she offered me tea and coffee and shared treats with us over lunch. On Julie’s last day she gave each of us a bundle of pictures she had been taking over the past two days while I was here, and also gave us both a beautiful pouch that she had made by hand– it is her hobby. I had seen her carrying many little bags for each of her important items: camera, electronic dictionary, etc. They were all her creation. When I gave her an Alaska Fag pin she placed it on one of her bags and explained to me that she uses that bag every day and so it will remind her of me.
Another man in the office gave Julie and myself a paper lantern, perhaps because it was Julie’s final day in the office. It is just a very kind, hospitable country. Also, while I was at the office a man entered and gave everyone who accepted a canvas bag to use at the grocery store instead of plastic bags. The whole country is trying to minimize waste and this is one way. They, as a nation, chose a day when plastic bags would cost a tax to urge people to bring their own, reusable bag.
This is another amazing memory that exemplifies comradery. At the end of the school day on Friday, Julie and I stayed as long as we could to watch the band/ orchestra play for the school as their rehearsal for an upcoming competition. At this small gathering of only the student body and falculty, the student president of the school addressed the band and wished them the best of luck at the competition and said the school was proud of them. Then the captain of the baseball team stood and made a small speech to them saying, as translated by Julie, “Last month you supported our team when we went off to compete, now it is your turn. Go get em!” I was overcome with awe by these expressions of support and unity.
Here is another example of the cute friendliness I encountered. When I was at Julie’s main office meeting her work family, Julie showed me her signature stamp, which is her name formed from Kongi and what she uses on every document as her signature mark. That was the coolest thing for me to see and I was noticeably excited and impressed. Julie took a small sticky note and stamped her signature for me. A man I hadn’t talked with as much did the same for me and explained what the parts of his name meant. Julie’s supervisor, then, took out his card and stamped his signature on it, handling it to me–this action to be followed by a man sitting behind us who laughed at my collection of name stamps as he added his own signature to the pile.
After work on Thursday Julie and I went to an “in sai” (this may be the wrong term), a Japanese bath house. This was a really comfortable and relaxing experience; even being naked and white and larger than most Japanese women, I didn’t feel self conscious at all. I could completely see making a visit to the local “in sai” a habit. It was very affordable: only 300 yen– about $3.00.
On Friday Julie and Taylor had a going away party for Julie to attend, so I entertained myself here (at and near their apartment in Noheji). I turned to the left off of Julie and Taylor’s driveway and walked down the gently sloped cobbled street, over a short bridge, to a raman shop Julie had suggested. She had written out what I would want to order on a slip of paper. On the walk home I paused at the bridge and overlooked the water surrounded by large, lush trees. A path led beside the creek and it drew me to it like an adventure. I didn’t venture too far because it was becoming quite dim outside and I had learned that day, from Julie’s student presenters, that there are many vipers (a poisonous snake) in Aomori. I did crawl down a short, steep bank in my skirt and sit along the water for awhile, just enjoying breathing in Japan.
Yesterday Julie and I started off our morning by walking along that very creek/river in the opposite direction. Hidden behind layers of leaves called out the most melodious creature. It would begin its song with a long and low drawn out whistle that would change mid tone to a higher, flippity chirp. Fortunately we caught its call, though not its features, in a short video clip.
After our enchanting encounter with our masqueraded friend, we hopped in their car, Julie driving on the right side and me on the left, and carried on toward the Hirosaki which was about two hours away– a city with a castle! We didn’t find the castle immediately. Instead we found a mosque where I was able to ring a bell for prayer. We brushed past a free standing frame that carried a wall of wooden boards marked with wishes and prayers. Julie read a few to me: one person wanted to make it into a certain university, another wished for his team to succeed in a competition, a third boy (age 7) hoped he would be a good playmate at his school. There was another floating frame near this one that held little pieces of white paper tied to strings. These, Julie said, were bad fortunes tied here to be taken away from the future.
After leaving the mosque we tracked down the location of the castle and meandered through botanical gardens, past peacocks, and into this very old Japanese castle that displayed ancient samurai uniforms, weapons, and artifacts. The castle was surrounded by a lillypad coated moat and its foundation was composed of large bolder-sized stones that stacked up right out of the water. A fiery red bridge crossed over the moat at the base of the Hirosaki Castle, the brilliant red becoming even more bold in all the surrounding vibrant greenery.
After a late start home, we arrived at Zaizen in the middle of the second sitting. Julie had warned me ahead of time that during the meditation the monk would come by to each person and smack them on the shoulder with a flat stick and assured me that it wasn’t anything serious. Despite the forewarning, when a series of slaps began to echo around the room getting progressively closer to me I admit I was anxious. And all for naught. The time spilled by like water in a cup, and after came the celebration. It was here in this mosque that I met many of Julie and Taylor’s friends. They turned the Zen room into a dining hall with a long table down the center and pillows on the floor for sitting. There were four high school boys there from Taylor’s classes that were each a ball of energy. If they were not break dancing, they were playing some goofy, high action game or another. They LOVED Taylor. Since it was Brandon, Julie, and Taylor’s last night at Zen, the evening served as a sending off and wishing well of them. They each gave a small speech– which I am learning is a big thing here (I was asked to give a speech after many I visited). Each speech was very unique and genuine. Brandon speech, in Japanese, was longer and apparently funny. Of the three of them, he had become the most fluent. Taylor’s speech, Julie said, held some funny Japanese phrases that people are not usually taught, but that Taylor had picked up on through conversations with locals. Julie’s speech was in between in length, and was genuine and charming. We stayed for a long evening, enjoying everyone’s company. When folks did begin to clean up and drift toward the exiting doors I found myself in the middle of the most thorough of Minnesota goodbyes.
Julie and Taylor have made a sweet family here.
July 19, 2010 – Monday
Yesterday Julie and I took off for our Monkey Mission in the upper peninsula called Shimokita. The drive was beautiful. So green and wild and forested. The landscape was thick with shrubbery and life. We made a few stops and had to dash in and out of the car to avoid letting these HUGE prehistoric bugs from entering our car. We did find wild monkeys out walking on the road. As soon as they took even a step off the path they were lost to our eyes– the brush was so thick. The windy road was much more intense than windy section of the highway past Palmer. We enjoyed a view of the rocky coastline that could rival the beauty of the Twelve Apostles in Australia. Beautiful.
For dinner last night we visited Ohman: Yakiniku, which means grill/fry + meat
Yakiniku is a style of Korean food. There is a grill in the center of the table that you fry the meat on in front of you as your wish. It was seasoned to perfection and mouth watering tasty.
Today we visited the largest statue/ temple of Buddha in Japan, and he was certainly grand in size. The “park” was beautiful and the company was better. The trees were beginning, in splashes, to change in color, the hydrangeas were in full bloom, we passed by a forest of colorful, spinning pinwheels, and rich flags marking the temple grounds.
After returning home, Julie and I set out for a dip in the water at the Noheji beach. While there we happened to run into four of Julie and Taylor’s friends from the JET program, two of which I had met the evening prior at zaizen: Brandon, Taka, Eric, and Christina. As we parted we agreed to meet later at the theater to catch Invictus — a Leo DeCaprio film that keeps your mind spinning.
July 21, 2010 – Wednesday
Julie and I parted at the Noheji Station yesterday morning. After a few wrong turns I found Sakura Hostel in Tokyo and unloaded my belongings. The heat was immense (33 º C). To find Sakura Hostel you must strategically walk through a touristy market place with shops surrounding every side and angle. After dropping off my gear I retraced my footsteps and meandered through the shops looking for gifts. I bought some decorative chopsticks, beautiful postcards, bookmarks, a scarf for mom, and some little colorful charms for my upcoming class. When I returned home I took a refreshing shower to hopefully lift the humidity and settled in to write post cards to my past students and friends. I used four of my new, beautiful cards and finished up the two books of postcards Taylor had given me early on in the trip. Over all this week I have written over 30 post cards.
There is a large group from France here, and another small group from Spain, staying at Sakura Hostel, as well as families and stragglers like me. I met a man from Belgium last night in my dorm and another from Spain. The fellow from Belgium offered me a to-do list for the next time I visit Japan:
Food to try:
In Hiroshima –”Michan” has the best okonomigoki
In Miyojima — oyster “kaki” and “anago”… Only on the Island– Age Momiji Monju Kasutado, some deep fried specialty with custard cream
Good place in Japan:
1. Miyajima Island (near Hiroshima) + minimum of 2 nights in “Miajima Back packery” (I haven’t even looked to see if this is spelled correctly)
2. Nikko
3. Tokayama
All of these thoughts and bits of advice I will hold until the next time I am able to venture the islands of Japan.