Here’s to a happy (insert whatever winter holiday you celebrate) to you!

For me that’s Christmas. This Christmas is definitely a first for me. As it is for many of you, Christmas has always been a family time for me. Getting together with friends and family at my Mom’s house is pretty much the definition of Christmas for me. That being said, this is the first Christmas that I have not been at home. Moreover, a few of the dudes here in Nakano went home to see their families, so our crew here is even smaller. Even though this sounds like a recipe for a blue Christmas, it most definitely has not been that bad.

First of all, it was a white Christmas…well kinda. There is plenty of snow on the ground here. It didn’t snow over night down here in Nakano, but it sure did up at the ski hill. Brandon and I went up to Nozawa-onsen (where we have seasons passes http://www.snowjapan.com/e/resorts/resortdetail.php?resid=40) to shred some powder today. It snowed there last night, and today was a beautiful blue sky day with tonnes of powder. Check out that website, they seriously have 12 feet of snow! Not only was it a beautiful day to be on the hill, but Brandon and I decided to have some fun for Christmas. I wore a Santa jacket and beard, and Brandon wore a Santa hat (my Santa hat wouldn’t fit over my helmet.) We rode around all day with people gawking or gasping and saying “Santa-san!” It was really great. Every time someone would say something or have a funny expression, I would yell “Merry Christmas!” It was often met back with at “Meri Kurisumasu!” The best was when we went in for lunch. There was a little girl no older than three, she saw my suit and dragged her mom over to us. She stared up at me with wide eyes. I gave her my Santa bit and she was all smiles. Then, she noticed Brandon’s hat. She pointed and said “Santa-san no boshi (Santa’s Hat)!” In Japanese, Brandon told her that Santa’s head was too big, so he had to wear the hat. The girl laughed and kept staring and smiling at us until her mom had to drag her away. That moment right there made the whole day for both of us.

Now for the second reason that this Christmas is not as blue as it could be. I got a surprise package in the mail. Now she may say different, and she may even write it here, but I distinctly remember my mom saying that she wasn’t going to send anything for Christmas. She has already sent me many things, at a pretty penny each. I totally understood, and wasn’t expecting anything. Never the less, a box arrived for me, and it was full of Christmas stuff. A few of the unwrapped items included a mini tree, a garland, and some strands of lights. It even had my stocking in it!

I set up the items a few days ago when I opened the box. They definitely gave my house a festive feel. I even put the gifts under the mini tree…well, the tree is on a small table, and I put the gifts under that. Having that all set up was a bit of a double edged sword; it made my house feel more Christmassy, but it also reminded me of what the holidays are really supposed to be like.

Brandon also received a box of gifts from home. He and I decided to open our gifts together. He wanted to open them a few days ago, but I made him wait till at least Christmas Eve. We ended up waxing our snowboards that night, and by the time we got around to open them it was after midnight. In the end I guess we did wait till Christmas to open them, but we just didn’t wait till morning. It was pretty fun for both of us. We laughed at the typical things that we each got. I, of course, got a toothbrush and toothpaste. It wouldn’t be Christmas with out those in my stocking. It was also kind of funny that he and I both opened a package of socks at the same time, and we also opened long sleeve shirts at the same time. The best part was eating the shortbread cookies that my mom sent. The best shortbread ever was made by my Gran, but this is my mom’s best attempt yet. She put her own spin on them and they turned out delicious.

I had a great Christmas, but it would be a little dishonest to make it seem that I don't miss being home for the holidays. I miss getting to spend time with everyone. I miss relaxing by the fire and the tree with a coffee & Baileys. I do miss many things, but I knew what I was getting into when I came here. I feel like I prepared myself well, and I think the way everything turned out has also made it a good Christmas. I am happy with the decisions I have made, including staying here for the holidays.

Now it is almost the end of Christmas here, and most of you are just about to wake up for Christmas morning. I hope that you all have a great Christmas. Enjoy whatever it is that you do today. For me I will be waking up on a Boxing Day in Exile, and going to work. That’s right, we still have school. Winter break doesn’t start until Thursday!

Well here’s hoping for peace on Earth, and to health and happiness for all of you.

They Said it would never happen...

They never cancel school in Nakano. Come hell, high water, typhoons, or blizzards. Well they never thought this day would come. School was cancelled today…and all over a little snow. By little I mean snow that is almost to my knees. Besides it didn’t come down very quick at all. It has been snowing for 3 hours. That’s only a little over 6 inches and hour. Come on, half a foot in an hour…we should still be in school.

Now if you will pardon my previous sarcasm, I am going to have a beer and build the cities biggest snowman with Brandon!

It's finally here!

No, not a new post, the SNOW!!!!!

Before anyone starts on about how it has already snowed in Vancouver (and probably in Toronto too Auntie Sue…) I am not talking about a little snow. We have had our share of flurries over the last few weeks, but I am talking about a full-on dump of snow. Snow that even makes die hard snowboarders cringe (well really only when armed with a shitty Japanese snow shovel…but more on that later). So here is the deal:

Monday night, my buddy Derek came over to watch some hockey (yeah for Liz and the delivery of recorded hockey games…the lock out didn’t end for me until yesterday.) At some point in the region of 8:30, I ran out to my car to grab something. The odd night time snow flake was making its slow way to the bare ground; nothing unusual there. I went back inside to watch the rest of the game.

Derek had a hockey practice later that evening to attend, so he booked out around 9:20. I was seeing him to the door, when I happened to glance at the winter boots I bought at Mountain Equipment Co-op. They are rated for -10 and they are comfy and really nice to walk in. Looking at them while Derek was putting on his shoes, my exact words were “Man, I can’t wait for it to snow enough for me to finally get to wear those boots…”

It was seriously not 10 seconds later when Derek opened the door to go, and…all he could say was “ask and ye shall receive.” He stood aside to reveal the ground entirely coated, nay, blanketed in snow. There was a good 8 cm on the ground already, and it had only been snowing for less than an hour!

It was absolutely puking. It made some of the snowstorms I have seen on the Sea to Sky highway look like dry heaves! Everything was coated in fluffy whiteness, even the links in my neighbour’s chain link fence. It was a beautiful sight to see, and yes indeed I got to use my new boots right then and there.

I followed Derek out to his car, only to see that both his and mine were simply amorphous white blobs in a sea of white. As Derek got started on cleaning off his car, I decided that I should do some preparatory snow removal as well…since it didn’t show any signs of letting up. After dusting off (and I use that term very liberally) my car with my little scraper/brush combo, I hauled out the snow shovel to work on my disgustingly large drive way.

A little side note here on Japanese snow shovels: They suck. They are quite unlike the ones we have back in Canada. They don't have that nice curve on them. They aren’t wide. Worst of all, they aren’t made of thick plastic or metal. They are rather flat, only about 20” wide, and worst of all they are kinda like flattened baskets. They are full of holes, as if they were woven. Now maybe in the olden days that’s what they were, woven, but come on now, a flimsy, narrow piece of plastic that is full of holes is not a good way to remove snow.

***Amendment***
I have found the snow shovels that are like the ones in Canada. Apparently they don't stock those till it really snows. By really snows I am talking about feet of snow in a day. I have gotten myself a nice new orange Canadian-style snow shovel now.

Back to the story.

So my driveway and car were clear from snow, so I went back in to my house to do some reading. About half an hour later I went outside to take a peek at the weather. I didn’t think it was possible, but it was coming down even harder than it had been before. I took a walk to my car, and found it covered in another 5 cm of snow. That’s 5 cm in 30 min, which breaks down to about 1cm every 6 min. I am not exaggerating that at all either. At that point I decided that I was just gonna deal with it when it was all down. If all the work I had done was erased in half an hour then I wasn’t gonna bother.

Later that night I was awake reading in bed. It was around 1am, and I was trying to muster enough desire to sleep (I was reading the 11^th book of a series that I am severely addicted to). It was all quite, then I started hearing a strange scraping sound. I took a look out my door, and my neighbour Brandon was out shovelling. When I asked why the hell he was doing it at 1am, he said that last year he found it easier to get it done before the morning. The reasons for that being are that you get your driveway before the plough fills it with more snow, and you can get the road in front of the house before it becomes hard packed and hard to drive on or clear.

That all being said, I was soon hauling on some warm clothes, and my faithful winter boots, and trekking out to my car. The snow had eased significantly, but not before it had thrown down 6 or so centimetres. I cleaned where I had before, my car, and this time I did the road in front of my house as well. After that it was on to the area around my car, and then to my door. Brandon and I were planning on doing the neighbours roadway as well. They are old, and it just makes it a little easier for them come morning. I say planning, because a series of events was put into motion that wouldn’t be resolved till the next afternoon.

It was about 2 am. I was just finishing my snow removal when Brandon came out side. For some reason his gas heater was not working. It was clicking (the electric starter) but not engaging, and then the safety shut off would engage after about 15 seconds of not working. I went in with him to check it out. We tried a bunch of hunches I had on what it would be. None worked. We hauled out another heater he had, and that didn’t work. Brandon was getting a little upset at this point…it was getting damn cold in his house. I have a spare electric only heater, and I told him I would let him borrow that. After trying a few more things, we went into the kitchen and checked the gas range. Low and behold it wasn’t working either.

So we had the problem diagnosed, now time for a prescription. I asked B where his main gas shut off was. He kinda looked at me like “what the hell is the main gas shut off?” I just went outside to find his gas meter. After a little searching, I found the meter and the valve. There was a red light on the meter flashing. For me, that was a sure sign that that was where the problem was. I turned the valve to off, then back on. I looked for something else to do, but it was really dark, cold and late. We went back in, and the gas was still off.

B was gonna lose it at this point. I told him I was gonna go get the other heater I have. On the way to my place, I went to my meter to check out what it looked like to see if there were any clues to how to fix his.

I got to my meter and there was no flashing light. Decided to turn the valve to off, and then back on. I left it in off for about 2 seconds when I heard a very loud, very ominous click. If my suspicions weren’t enough, the little red light on my meter started flashing. Sure enough, my gas was off now too. (note to self: don't mess with the gas lines unless you need to shut them off in an emergency)

I went over to B’s, and told him I couldn’t lend him the heater. He asked why not. I was trying to explain, but I just started laughing. I couldn’t talk. Every time I tried to get out what had happened, I just started laughing more and more. It got to the point where I was in tears, and doubled over in pain. After that had subsided, I managed to squeak out what had happened. B went from chewing nails to doubling over as well. We were both wrecks, but at least it put B in a bit of a better mood.

It was about 2:45am. Our houses were cold. Neither of us could cook breakfast. Neither of us could have showers, but surprisingly we both headed to bed laughing. The situation was just too silly not to laugh at.

The resolution is that we called our boss the next day. While we were at work, a little cold, hungry, and stinky, our boss called the gas company. By the time we had both made it home that day we had gas again. One cold night, and a hungry morning, but in the end all was normal.

As far as the snow goes, there was 20 cm on the ground when I woke up. I stopped snowing sometime in the night, but started up in the afternoon. It has been going on and off ever since. Last time I checked, it is coming down pretty hard again tonight. The real irony is that a few months ago while I was talking to Brandon about when winter arrives, he simply told me “you’ll wake up one day, and there will be a foot of snow.” He wasn’t that far off. The snow is still on the ground, and winter had most definitely arrived.

--------------------------------------------------

So I have a lot of adventures to relay to you all, but they will have to come in time. Since the snow is coming down fierce, the hills are prime for shredding. I hate to tell you all, but ripping up fresh powder with my board is probably my top priority other than the necessities. Who am I kidding, it is one of the necessities!

Well that’s it from Nakano. I have a hockey game to get back to watching…albeit from Oct. 8^th. Big big props to Liz for bringing me a few months worth of NHL on tape (amongst all the other things I requested)…the lock out didn’t end for me until yesterday when I watched my first game in a year and a half.

Cheers Beers all!
Adam

sorry for the wait...

...but it will be just a little longer for a real update. My life lately has been so intense that there has been very little down time, and that which I have had I have spent burried in the wonderful novels my mom sent to entertain me.

As far as why I have been so busy, here is s recap of my last month. My friend Mike was in Japan with family, so he came and stayed with me for the better part of a week. About a week after he left, I went to Europe for a week with my neighbour Brandon. The day I got back to Japan, Liz came to Japan to visit. That pretty much brings it to this moment. Again, sorry for ignoring you all, but I promise, come next week I will have a hearty update that will hopefully make you happy.

As far as this moment goes, it's snowing. It has been for a few days...off and on. It is cold, but great. Liz and I are forgoing a weekend in Tokyo to hit up the ski hill...

hope you are all having a good time, and please check back soon....

miss you all, and I do really feel guilty for ignoring this!

-adam

Pic's

***NOTE: click to enlarge photos***









This is a view from the window of Matsumoto Castle. It's taken from the moon viewing room over looking the moat.










Mastumoto castle from outside the moat. Nicknamed "Crow Castle" for the black lattice work that is kind of unique. It appears to have 5 stories, but in reality there is a 6th (the 4th floor) that is hidden from outside view. The used this space for food and ammo storage.

















Matsumoto Castle, taken from the inner grounds.

















Another shot from the Moon Viewing room. You can see the array of colours that accompany fall in Japan.
















Some cool samurai frog things. If you want to know more, you'll have to find someone to translate the sing, cause my Japanese sure isn't that good!













Some ni-nen-seis (2 - year - students) at Hirano Elementary. This was taken at lunch so they are in their serving clothes.










Halloween, English Night Class style. Meet Devin Snow aka. "Cold Cobra," Brandon Dean Back (BD) aka "Masta Rasta," Rich Shelala aka "Soop," and me...I could tell you my code name, but then I would have to kill you!

















The good old tub of apple bobbing fun.














One of our students trying after a successful snag...

















...and giving the obligitory peace sign as I take her championship photo.








Sakura. The cutest, and most tempermental, little kid. Her mom is a student in our class. Sakura likes me, but takes a good 30 min to warm up to anyone during class. She is holding Kaki, or persimmons...which are suprisingly like pumpkins. We carved them for a good old halloween feel.










Another ni-nen-sei class. This was taken at Nagaoka-sho (sho is short for the word for elementary school) during our Haloween party. Click to enlarge and see the cool costumes. My Spiderman mask pales in comparison.











More Nagaoka-sho kids. This was taken in September. No one would be ballzy enough to wear shorts now!












Pink team taking a bow after their play at English Camp.














Pink team celebrating many victories in the English Camp awards.


















A Japanese parfait...edible art.













A traditional Japanese meal...more edible art.













If you click to enlarge, see if you can find the first mountian snowfall.


















A waterfall in the hills near my house. I have been told it freezes into an ice fall in the winter.

I am...

I am a Japanese Teacher of English. I work in Japanese junior high schools. I work myself extremely hard, and I follow the Japanese expression: “baka na kaze ga hikanai” or “only a fool doesn’t get sick.” Many foreigners do not understand this, but it is simply a part of our group mentality. I apologize to my co-workers when I finish before they do, even if it is well into the evening, and well after my paid work hours are over. I enjoy teaching English, and I really do try to help these students learn…even when I also realize the shortcomings of the system or text books we use. I am glad to have a native speaker help with my class, even though I sometimes don’t know how to best utilize his skills in the system that is set up here.

I am a third year junior high school boy. School is fun. I goof around. I play with the other boys (often in weird physical ways, reminiscent of the ancient Greeks), because the girls are strange and make me nervous. I am highly competitive, but at the same point in time a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors will end any dispute. I don’t try that hard at English, because no matter how poorly I do, I will still pass...no one fails courses here. School after this year is optional, and many of my friends will not continue on. They don’t care about English at all, since they will end up working their family orchard, and what use is English to them. All my courses are with the same students, my homeroom class. Some of the students try really hard at English. They can even have conversations with Adam, and often write him simple letters in English. Personally, I like when Adam comes to our class because we usually play games. I like to teach him ‘cool’ Japanese words, and he teaches us some cool English too. I don’t really understand what “How’s it going” means, but I now say that instead of “how are you.” But if you ask me “How are you,” my answer will be “Fine thank you, and you?”

I am a first year junior high school student. This is my first year in a big school like this, but things aren’t so different. Just like in elementary school, I have my class, and those are my friends. We will be a class until we all graduate together after third year. The big difference is that I have more than one teacher…but it isn’t so strange because they come to my class room to teach us. This is the first time I have studied English from a book. Adam pushes us to have proper pronunciation, and I can kinda make the difference between the sound of a B and a V…sometimes. I have mastered some of the phrases in our text book like “oh, your change” and “this is a pen.” I know how to say them, but I am unsure of their meaning…but hey I am still speaking English right? In the end I will pass the class, and I will move on to the next text book…and I will memorize other phrases that I don’t really understand. I like school because I can be crazy. I don’t have to listen in class, and I can be as rowdy and disturbing to the class as I want…besides everyone thinks it’s funny.

I am a sixth grade student at elementary school. I don’t speak a lot of English, since there is no curriculum to teach us. My teacher knows a little English, and can sometimes translate when Adam comes to our class. I am shy. I don’t like to participate, because I am too afraid of being different from the group. Adam seems to think that our class can pronounce English better than his high school students…probably we haven’t been taught to speak English using Japanese sounds yet. I am very polite, I ask for forgiveness before I enter the teacher’s room, and utter my apologies when I leave. My class stands up and thanks Adam-sensei for giving his time to teach our class, with a simple “Oneigaishimas.” When Adam comes to visit, I drag him around the school, and I am happy when he comes to play soccer with us at lunch.

I am a third grade girl in elementary school. I know the colours in English: Redo, yehro, brew, gureen, papuru, pinku, buraku, o-a-i-to, and orenji. I also know how to count 1 to 10. Adam has taught us that you can be good, bad, fine, hot, cold, hungry, thirsty, and sleepy, when someone asks how you are. I can use all these answers and I even know what they mean, but if someone says “How are you” I usually forget and say “How are you.” Adam usually shakes his head and explains to me that “How are you” is a question and that I need to answer it. Adam only comes to our school for 2 days in a month, so I usually forget what he taught us last time. My teacher is good and helps us try and remember, but other teachers don’t help their classes. I really like it when Adam comes to class, because I have a big crush on him. I don’t speak a lot, but I stare at him and blush and look away when he sees me. I like it when he eats lunch in my class room, because he always gives away his milk, and I like to play Rock-Paper-Scissors for it.

I am a first grade boy at elementary school. School is just like preschool. I can run around, yell at the top of my lungs and even hit other students. I never get in trouble…life is great. I like when Adam-sensei comes to my class because I like to ask him questions…but he doesn’t seem to understand me….I don’t know why. He is also a little mean; he won’t let me yell a lot, and gets mad when I hit other kids. So I usually sit there and pick my nose then eat it. I don’t understand why Adam won’t hold my hand. My favourite thing to do when Adam comes to school is to try to “kancho” him. I think that means enema in English. Really it is just an excuse to try to stick my fingers in someone else’s bum. Adam caught me trying before and yelled “DA-ME” really loud. I am kinda scared of that, so I probably won’t try again.

I am an English conversation night class student. I work hard all day, and every Tuesday night I go to the community centre. I am very interested in learning English. I practice hard, and I like the way the teachers push us to learn. Some of my friends here have lived and traveled abroad, and I am very interested in doing the same. All the teachers say that this class is really rewarding for them because we all try really hard. My favourite part of class is the first hour that the teachers call “Walk and Talk.” All the teachers circulate around the room, and we have English conversations about what ever is on anyone’s mind. We learn a lot about the countries that the Teachers are from, and we are able to share interesting insights on Japanese people and life with them. I feel that my English is improving every week, and I am excited to get to practice all the new things I am learning.

I am Mrs. Tanaka. I live next door to that new English teacher…I can’t remember his name so I just call him “Sensei.” He brought me a small jar of Canadian Maple Syrup when he moved in. He is very sweet and always says hello when he sees me out gardening. I don’t know any English, and he doesn’t seem to know that much Japanese. We usually talk about the weather or something simple like that.

I am Adam Stokes. I have written this admittedly biased take on the views of the people I am in contact with pretty often. Take each of these write ups with a big grain of salt. They are based on the truth but written for humour’s sake. I am teaching English in Japan. I think most of the kids I teach are wonderful…even the ones who don’t care to learn the language. I work with some teachers who are overly dedicated and underpaid. I feel a little guilty making the wage that I do when I see how much they all take on and for a very little money. I see a strange work ethic in Japan, where people drive themselves into the ground head first simply to show their dedication to their job and co-workers. I also see a fatal flaw in an English education system that bases it’s teaching around preparing students to pass a test instead of focusing on creating students who understand and have an ability to speak the language. Life here in Japan, is different. I don’t feel that the words better or worse can be applied. There are many conveniences that are not available in Canada, but also many things that seem grossly inconvenient when compared to home. All in all, I am quite enjoying the life I am carving out here, and I am excited to try and improve the way English is taught, even if it is one student and one class at a time. I am also trying to improve my meagre Japanese skills, but when my job is to speak mostly English all day, and when most of my friends are other ex-pats it’s not the easiest thing in the world. I also invite any and all to come over and see this crazy country first hand. I thought I knew a lot about it before I got here, and most of it was true. That being said, there are a million little things that could never be explained and must simply be experienced. Come on over, sip some sake, and slip into an onsen, and soak in the Japanese life style.

The Mountians of Northern Nagano

I thought I would change this post up a little and use blue...and a new font. If any of you even noticed...hehehe...man I am otaku (the Japanese equivalent of geek) sometimes!

So here I am, on Sunday night, sitting under my new favourite appliance: the Kotatsu. Before you ask how you sit under an appliance, or start Google-ing Kotatsu, I will fully explain what it is later in the post. It has been a hectic weekend, and sitting in my chair (which I have dubbed my ‘floor Lazy-Boy’) getting warm is the best feeling in the world right now.

Friday was one of those days that just seemed to go on forever. (I am sure the late night of Karaoke and Nomihoudai the night before didn’t help…either.) I was at elementary school all day. Now the school I was at was one of my favourite schools in the city. The teachers are helpful and nice (and organized), and the kids are sweet and have great hearts. Being October it is also really easy to come up with lesson plans. One of the classes was all decked up in costumes, and I was running around in my Spiderman mask. Tonnes of fun, but it also burns a couple gazillion calories. As soon as my fifth class ended (I had 6 scheduled) I had to bolt. I flew home, and threw some clothes in a bag, and headed over to Nakano-Nishi Senior High School.

This Friday and Saturday were Nakano-Nishi’s English Camp. The English Language department at Nishi offers an intensive English course. These kids are taken on 3-4 camps every year. The camps are held in the highlands to the north east of town, known as Shiga-Kogen. In total there were about 40 kids, 2 Japanese English Teachers, and 6 of us AET’s. We all loaded into a few busses, and headed up to Shiga. The bus ride is about 40 min, and there is a significant elevation increase. As soon as we started climbing up into the mountains, I could see why ‘Autumn Leaf Viewing’ is such a popular thing to do in the fall here. The mountains are mixed deciduous and conifers. At this point of the year they are a rolling sea of reds, yellows, oranges, and greens. It is simply beautiful.

We finally reached the Hotel/Onsen that we were staying at. 10 seconds off the bus and it was easy that we had gone up a few hundred meters…the temperature had dropped significantly. We were ushered into the hotel, where we then set up a ‘customs and immigration area.’ We announced that after the last camp some parents had phoned and complained that their children had gotten into bad things during the supervised nights. We informed them that we had to do a random bag check. It was really all a rouse, as before the bus left, we hid a few packs of cigarettes, some beers, and a girlie magazine in a few bags. We knew which bags they were and after checking some of the clean bags, we cracked down on the planted ones. The kids were all freaking out, and the others were shocked, and we all hammed it up to be a big deal. They all caught on to the rouse pretty quickly, but the first few shocked moments were well worth the effort.

We all had 15 min to go unpack and settle into our rooms before the afternoons activities got under way. My room was MASSIVE! It had 2 single beds, a small table and 2 chairs, and it had an attached 10 tatami mat sitting area. It had closets full of futons and chairs. I swear it could have slept 10 people comfortably. I threw my bag on the tatami and headed down to the conference room.

We all assembled and each of the AET’s did a self introduction. Then the students, who had been organized into groups, drew a name to see which AET would be their leader for the camp. My name was drawn by the group wearing pink name tags. We decided (upon my insistence that we have a team name) that our name would be Pink Team.

The first activity that we did was a questionnaire about all of us English speakers. After that is was dinner. The food was good, and during dinner each group pulled a number out of a hat. The number determined which of the secret items (which the AET’s provided) and the filming order for a commercial that they would make about the about the product. Pink Team drew baby powder.

After dinner we convened and started to plan the commercial. I helped my team with the structure and concepts of the infomercial, and then let then do most of the dialogue themselves. We had only an hour and a half to plan this 2 min commercial. This was a little too short, but we had to press on. While one group was out filming, the remaining teams played competitive group games. Pink team did pretty well on most of them.

Then it came time to film our commercial. We of course, were the 6^th of 6 teams to go, but I think that helped my group get psyched up about the whole thing. We called the baby powder “Super Deluxe Friendship Powder.” Our film started with a product introduction, moved into a personal story, and back to the big sell of the powder. I think one of the Japanese teachers filmed for all the other groups, but I asked if I could take over the camera. We shot with different angles and had artistic shots of flying powder in between scenes. It was hilarious, and the kids were really into it. Our product slogan was “Super Deluxe Friendship Powder. Get cool. Be cool. Stay cool. Forever.”

When the filming wrapped up for the night, camp was done. That meant that the fun for us leaders was just beginning. The teachers gave us a bag full of beer and snacks, and we had brought some of our own. We chilled in one of the ridiculously large rooms, and shot the shit. Through a game of “I never ever” we learned a lot more about each other. (I never ever is played like this: you go around the circle and say something you have never done. If anyone else has done it then you need to take a drink. It usually starts out clean and simple, but soon degrades to more raunchy subjects.) We went hard till around 1 am, when some of us decided to take advantage of the onsen. The water was hot, smoking hot. But man, noting relieves stress like a nice hot soak in a natural thermal hot spring. Around 2, being fully dazed from the beer and the dizzying effects of the hot spring (and probably a combination of the two) I made my way to bed.

The next morning we woke and had a decent sized breakfast. Derek (one of the AET’s) and I got to have rather large meals, as Jen and Chris are vegetarian, and Brandon will never get up for breakfast. We were treated to espresso after breakfast and then day 2 began.

Day 2 was mostly a performance oriented day. The groups had been working on simple English plays for a few weeks. That morning they each got 90 min with their group leader to fine tune, and work on their lines. Derek, who was the head AET as Nakano Nishi is his school, told everyone that they had to memorize their scripts. This came as a shock to many of the groups, and in reality it was only meant to get them to work hard on committing some more English to memory. In the end they would be allowed to use scripts. Having sat through more rehearsals than I can count, and memorizing my own lines, I knew that I could get full potential out of the kids. We worked each of the 5 scenes individually, once on book, once with 2 chances to look, and once completely off book. My group was awesome, and were fully off book by the second reading in most scenes. We got to our feet and worked with props and costumes. They were wonderful.

When rehearsal was over Derek announced that they could use their scripts, but I pushed my group to go off book. In the end some of them were so nervous that they had to use the script in some scenes. I told them to hide their scripts in a pocket or sleeve if they needed to, that way the play would be less interrupted, and they wouldn’t fall back on to the crutch. We were the last team to perform, and all the other groups did wonderful work. We finally went up, and they were wonderful. 3 of 6 were fully off book, and the others were very inconspicuous about reading when they had to.

Immediately following the plays, we watched the infomercials. I guess commandeering the camera from the teacher was a good idea, as the rest of the products where shot straight on and in one take. Ours was last in the rotation, and was by far the best. It was funnier, more over the top, and the girls were loud and clear. I was so proud of them. After watching the plays and videos, everyone voted on best actor, best costumes, best play, and best commercial. Pink team stole a lot of the thunder with 1^st place in best actor, and also a special award for trying to go off book. We also stole over half of the votes for best commercial.

The day was wrapping up and it was time to say good bye. All of us AET’s gave a few farewell words, and then it was picture time. First group shots, then a mêlée of individual pictures with us AET’s. Each student had their cell phone out, snapping pics with all of us. They are really adorable. Brandon, veteran of 5 English Camps now, is still talked about at Nakano Nishi. Judging by the assault that he and I both got, I am sure that there are now 2 idols there.

After that it was time to grab our bags and head home. The weather up in Shiga was really chilly, close to 0. I pegged it at around 6 degrees. The ride back was gorgeous. The trees had gotten even more beautiful even with only one more days worth of fall. There were Japanese people out in hordes taking pictures left, right and centre. Finally we arrived back at the school, waved a quick good bye in the torrential downpour, and headed for home.

It was raining, and bloody cold. I got home a quickly made it to my bed. Even though it was mid afternoon, my house was too cold, and my covers too thick. I had a great nap. When I got up I was inspired by all of Brandon’s talk about how wonderful the Kotatsu is, so I made a trip to Watahan Homu Senta (Watahan ‘home center.’) I purchased the finishing touched for my Kotatsu (which had previously been serving as a coffee table.)

What is a Kotatsu? Good question! A kotatsu is s table that has a removable top. Built into the frame of the table is an electric heater. Think toaster oven with less metal. To finish off my kotatsu set I had to get a floor mat and a blanket. The floor mat is a fire retardant rug, which is designed to cover the tatami. With out it the kotatsu is a pretty dangerous appliance. Think industrial strength heater 18’ away from a rice straw floor. The blanket is also fire retardant. This is where the brilliance of this Japanese invention really shows itself. You take off the removable top drape the large blanket over the table frame, the put the top back on. The blanket traps the heat of the heat in, and you sit with your legs under the heater, and the blanket up around you. The beauty is that you still have a table! Since energy costs here are a little pricy, it works really well to heat a small space and yourself, and not the rest of your un-insulated home.

I definitely made the right decision about getting the kotatsu set up when I did. When I woke up this morning I was grabbed by my neighbour Brandon. I was told to put my shoes on, when I asked why I was ordered to put my shoes on. I did, and we went running down the street. I seriously though something bad happened. I could not have been more wrong. What Brandon revealed to me was one of the most beautiful sites I had seen since landing in Japan. The torrential rains that pelted my poor little house all last night, had more than dusted the mountain tops with snow. Not only was it a scenic wonder, but also means that just around the corner is the day that Brandon and I have been waiting for with baited breath: the first day of snowboard season.

And now, sitting in my chilly house, warm and cozy under my heated table, I am content. Another weekend has flown by. From an exciting English camp, with all the eager students and successes of my team, to the warmth that my house has lacked since the last dog days of summer passed, to the beauty and excitement ushered by the first mountain snows, I am beginning to fully realize how wonderful life in this country can be. There are times when I feel a little down, and there are times when I wish I could blink and be in Vancouver for 4 hours, but on days like today when all the celestial bodies seem to be lined up in my favour it is hard not to feel like one of the luckiest people on this planet.

With this being the 2340^th word, I bid you all adieu. (Seriously copy this into a word processor…the word ‘this’ is actually the 2340^th! Honest! You know me; I am that geeky to have figured that out!)

Zen and the Art of Using Chopsticks...

...left handed!

That's right, left handed! But I will get to that later. It has been a pretty slow week, and there isn’t a whole lot to report. This post is kinda like one of those clip episodes of a series. The crew and cast are on vacation, so the writers just slap together a buncha the old stuff. Well this post won’t be a casserole of my old posts, but it will be a ‘filler’ post. Still I hope you find it interesting.

Chopsticks. Ohashi, in Japanese. There are a few differences between the various chopsticks of Asian countries. Chinese chopsticks are probably what most people are familiar with. They are long, usually a beige plastic, and are square in the handle and round off slightly towards the tips. Chinese chopsticks are flat (blunt) nosed, and do not taper. I have been told that in China that the higher up you hold the chopsticks the more status you command. Needless to say, after hearing that I started holding my chopsticks as far up as I could. It is actually much more difficult that one would think.

The next chopsticks I will examine are Korean chopsticks. Korean’s have made some wonderful advancements in chopstick technology (and lets keep in mind this is ancient technology). As in China your chopsticks are paired with at spoon, however the Koreans use a large, long handled metal spoon that resembles a western spoon, more than the Chinese scoopy thing (yes, that is the official name. Google it if you don't believe me!). As well as the spoon being metal, the chopsticks are as well. They don't stain, and they are really easy to clean. Another interesting thing about them is that they are quite flat. Where Chinese chopsticks tend to be a square shape, Korean chopsticks are as flat as most table knives. The coolest (ok, you know how much of a geek I am when I am referring to the cool things about chopsticks) thing about Korean Chopsticks, is that they have an area near the end that is textured with a pattern. There are a few patterns of these textures, and I have personally made the assumption that they vary depending on the type of dish you are eating, be it noodles, rice, noodle soup, etc. This assumption is based on the observations I made while in Korea a few years ago.

Finally, Ohashi: Japanese Chopsticks. The O in Ohashi is actually just a polite thing. Japanese put O in front of certain words when they are being polite or honorific. In spoken Japanese you say Ohashi, in the dictionary you would find them under Hashi. Anyways, I digress. Hashi are quite unique compared to Chinese and Korean chopsticks. Hashi tend to be round from end to end. Sometimes the handle area will be a little squared off, but the majority of Hashi are completely round. Hashi also have the unique feature of being tapered. They come to a rounded point. It is not considered impolite to stab certain hard to eat dishes with the hashi (both mind you) in Japan. The smaller surface area also makes it much easier to cut your food with the Hashi. You are expected to use them to slice large pieces of food. That is an etiquette that is often neglected, but still it is made much more possible by the taper of the chopstick. The other point of note about Hashi is the material. Most household Hashi are lacquered wood. They tend to be quite beautiful, but the lacquer often peals off the tip exposing the wood. This happens even more readily if you do not soak them immediately after eating sticky rice.

Now that we have had a cross-cultural chopstick lesson, let’s get into my personal history with chopsticks.

I learned how to use chopsticks in grade 4. My teacher at Garden City Elementary was Ms. Liu. Now as the name implies she was Chinese. Every year she made it a large unit for her class to throw the Chinese Lunar New Year Celebration…you know Gung Hei Fa Choi, and all that. We decorate the gym, and presented a lion dance, the one where the lion eats your lettuce then ceremonially regurgitates it back at you. The more you catch the more luck you will have in the coming year. Who knew lion puke could be so luck…I wonder if anyone bothered to tell the zoo keepers and vets around the world. They could be cashing in!

Back to the Lunar New Years fest in Grade 4…as well as having the lion dance we also had stations set up in the gym. One of them was learning to write 1-10 in Chinese characters…which low and behold, actually came in handy for me! But the real cash in was the chopstick activity. There were two large trays that contained marbles. Yes, small round slippery marbles. The point of the activity was to use the Chinese chopsticks (the slightly rounded ones made of plastic. Hmm, plastic chopsticks and round marbles…sounds worse than that water torture the Chinese are so renowned for) and move ten marbles from one tray to the other. This is a lot easier said than done, when one has never used chopsticks before and all the instruction that exists is a sheet showing the proper way to hold the chopsticks (on this note I will digress and state that the number of people that don't hold their chopsticks the ‘proper’ way far out number those who do...hmmm, maybe it should just be do it what ever way works Ms. Liu!). Well with some determination, and I’m sure a little cheating I finally had it down.

Seriously, if you can move marbles with chopsticks you have got it down. That was the meagre beginnings of my chopstick-ing career. And here I am in Japan, the land of Ohashi…or Osushi…or Osake…well all of the above I guess. Now, eating sushi, with hashi, while drinking sake, requires a certain amount of skill.

Since I plan on being a Jedi Master of chopsticks, I have recently taken on a new challenge: using chopsticks left handed (all the left handed people sit down and shut up, of course you can use them left handed!). Since I have learned to shift gears left handed, I figured that this is a good challenge to try and work on. I actually started trying this in Vancouver a year or so ago, and I got ok at it…but I wasn’t using chopsticks regularly enough to really master the technique. Everyday at school we get school lunches. They undoubtedly consist of a bowl of soup, a salad of some sort, a main dish (usually meat based), and either rice or bread. Everyday I make it a point of eating at least half my meal with my left. It is actually quite easy if you put your mind to it, and give it a little practice.

The real reason that this all came about, was that I was constantly getting complimented on how well I used my chopsticks. Seriously I think a Gaijin could throw his Ohashi at the food like a spear, and still get complimented on his prowess with chopsticks. Since I found the hollow praise slightly offensive, I decided to show up the Japanese. The first time, I casually, coolly, tossed the chopsticks into my left hand. I then proceeded to eat the rest of my rice with my left. In reality this wasn’t such a huge feat, the rice is really sticky and is the easiest part of the meal to eat that way. That’s how it all started. Since then I have changed lunch class rooms two times, and each time I have been met with the same praise. This last class room, I decided to change it up even more. I ate with my left until it was commented on (no one in Japan uses their chopsticks in their left hand…even the lefties! God forbid being different from the group!) as soon as they asked if I was left handed, I said nope, and proceeded to eat with my right. Needless to say, I am now even more of a hero in my current class!

Well I am all written out for tonight, and frankly, I don't want to think about chopsticks anymore. I hope this instalment was as fun and informative as it was for me to write. If it wasn’t, well go suck a lemon, and then try to use chopsticks left handed (right handed for you damn lefties). When you think you have it down, I am always willing to accept a challenge: 10 marbles, 2 trays, wrong handed. You name the time, I name the place (or you can pay for my plane fare!)

Enjoy the chopsticking! (hahaha, that is something you would read on a Japanese t-shirt!)

moon viewing season

Well it is now officially Moon Viewing Season. Actually it has been Moon Viewing Season for about a month now, but it finally feels like it.

As with most things in Japan, what better way to celebrate the season/something new/actually anything than cutsie little cartoon characters. Right now it is hard to go anywhere without seeing little moons and bunnies. No, the Japanese don't see the Man-in-the-Moon, they see the Rabbit in the Moon. Personally, I have to agree, the Rabbit is a little easier to see than the Man. Although I wonder if the Rabbit can survive on cheese alone? I don't thing rabbits even eat cheese…

What is Moon Viewing Season? Well it is essentially fall. As spring is the season to view cherry blossoms, fall is the time to view the Moon. Is the Moon view really wonderful right now? Well actually yes. I’m sure it helps that I am in the country side, and that my city of a modest 47,000 doesn’t create all that much light pollution (you can see 5x the number of stars as Vancouver….I know this is not really even a lot, but hey I’ll take what I can get). The other reason that I thing fall is good for Moon viewing is that the nasty humidity of the rainy/typoon season has, for the most party, passed. The air is clear and crisp…quite crisp.

That is actually the forefront of my thoughts lately. The temperature has dropped significantly. The night time temp is down to 12c. Now, being from Vancouver, 12 isn’t that low. In fact if I were at home right now, I think I would feel that 12 is still nice. However, compared to the 35 degree, super humid days of summer, these evenings and morning are definitely chilly. The day times are still warm and pleasant, when it is sunny out. When it is cloudy out it is a different story. The days are still chilly when the clouds are here, and often it rains. The rains are not like the summer squalls, which were warm and quite refreshing. These autumnal rain falls are chilly and wet…kinda like late Vancouver fall.

Apparently the winter snows will come with early December. That is here in town. Up on the hills, I have a feeling that the snows will start in late December. The winter is apparently quite cold. My house will be colder than outside, as I am already discovering with these chilly days. Luckily the Japanese have ways of dealing with this. They don't insulate houses here, for whatever reason, but they have other wonderful inventions. The first of which, I cannot wait to fire up. It is called a Kotatsu. It is a table with a heater under it. You put a blanket under the removable top and drape a fire proof blanket under it. You sit with your legs and torso under the blanket and stay warm. Other ways of staying warm are gas and kerosene heaters. The kerosene heaters are a little counter productive however, as burning kerosene creates carbon monoxide. This requires an open window or door to ensure proper ventilation. A little counter productive if you ask me.

That all being said, winters here are a snowboarder’s paradise. With town getting up to a foot of snow overnight on a regular basis, the hills can get up to 3 metres of snow in one storm. Also being inland, and sandwiched between 2 mountain ranges, we get the nice fluffy powder. Some places on the hills have chest deep snow. Mmmm, yummy!

Well that being said, I think I will have a shower and hop in the tub. That is another difference. You shower before a bath, as the water is expected to be reusable. I personally can’t bring myself to use the water more than twice, but I think I may get over that. The tub I have has some cool heating features. The tub itself is heated, and there is a pump to re-warm and recycle the water. The best part is that the tub is deep and you can sit fully submerged up to your neck, even if you are a gaijin ‘giant’ (which thankfully I am not…it would be nice to be head and shoulders above a crowd once in a while, but I don't need to wear my gaijin badge any more openly than I already do).

Cheers and adieu all. Hope that fall is treating you all well, and that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am glad that I don't need to say Canadian Thanksgiving to you all, as I do with my American friends here. If I don't they proceeded to tell me how that doesn’t really count as thanksgiving, but what do they know anyways, eh? I will be spending my Thanksgiving with another Canadian, shredding some mud up on a mountain with our bikes. No turkey, but we can have some ‘Sea Chicken’ as the Japanese refer to Tuna (or the American’s Tuna Fish, come on though, what the hell else would it be, Tuna Horse?!?). I might make some mashed potatoes though, as there is no shortage of those!

Take care and have a safe holiday!

Also for some insight in to the life of a foreigner (Gaikokujin) in Japan, I highly recommend ‘Hitching Rides with Buddah’ by Will Ferguson. He was a Canadian Assistant English Teacher, and decided to hitchhike from the southern most tip of Japan to the northern most. I have just started reading it, and it is laugh out loud hilarious, and a true insight into the life that all us Gaijin live over here.

And this time I really am finished! :p

Another year older…

…and not much wiser…maybe just more worldly. Ok, bad pun I admit it, but hey I have to use my corny English jokes on people that understand them right?

Well as I said, I am another year older. September 22^nd came around pretty quickly this year. It really doesn’t feel as if a whole year has passed since this time last year. I guess between applying for JET, interviewing, getting accepted, prepping for leaving, and actually taking off and starting work, the time has just flown. Throw all the other great things that I had in Vancouver (a cool apartment, all the jobs, a great gal, etc) and it is easy to see where the time has gone.

So this is the first year with out many of the things that have made birthdays what they were for the last few years. Not having my friends and family around, and not just being able to go somewhere I know for a party, has definitely been strange. I don’t know if it was as difficult as I though it might be, but it still wasn’t easy. I have friends here and we did go out (to the few places we know) but it definitely wasn’t the same as birthdays have been before. So here is a recap of how my birthday unfolded.

Wednesday night, the eve of my day of birth, 5 of the teachers at my school took me out for dinner. It was a double header to welcome me and to celebrate my birthday. We went to Burera, a pasta and pizza joint here in town. It was killer food, weird pizza and weirder pasta. The most out there was squid pasta, in a squid ink sauce. That’s right, squid ink sauce. It was jet black, and tasted great. The down side of squid ink is that it stains things…like your insides, and everything in there too. The dinner was great, and the teachers were hilarious. Only 2 of the 5 were English teachers, but with help of those two, my limited Japanese, and the others limited English, we totally hammed it up and had some great conversations. I was the youngest there, but only by a year, and I found out that I am not even the youngest teacher at the school! After dinner, to my surprise a round of cake showed up. This was some killer cake, but perhaps the sweetest part about it was the fact that they got candles. We all put a candle on our cake and we all celebrated each others birthdays.

Thursday rolled around, and low and behold it was my birthday. The day started off a little rocky, but proceeded to get better and better by the hour. When I first go to school I was in a low mood, but many of the teachers wished me a happy birthday, then I taught 3 of the best classes of the year. Admittedly, one of them was all games, but it culminated in the students teaching me some slang and more modern Japanese. After that I had the rest of the day to kick around the school. I started a project that I have been planning for a while: Adam Bucks. This is a way to give rewards every game, but not give out all my prizes to quickly. “Adam Bucks” can be cashed in for prizes when the certain amount has been reached; different prizes will have different values.

After school, I headed home. I swung by the post office to pick up a package that I missed the delivery on the day prior. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a package from Liz. I flew home and sat for all of 30 seconds before I started opening it. I would say before I ripped into it, but for those of you who know me well enough to see me open gifts, you’ll know how my meticulous anal Virgo comes out in full bloom when I unwrap gifts. I won’t go into details of the contents, but I was really pleased. The one thing I will mention is the coffee. It definitely rocks that I now have a JJ Bean stash at my house! After that I was sending some email, when I got an e-card from my mom. I replied to it and mentioned that her package hadn’t come yet…we both had assumed this would be the case, but we were holding out hope. The hilarity of the situation is that with in 2 min of sending that email, the post man arrived at my door. Low and behold what did he have, my birthday package from my mom. The irony of the situation left me laughing for hours.

At around 7 pm, people started gathering at my house. We were going to party since it was a long weekend. I love the fact that the Autumnal Equinox is a holiday! There were 5 of us all together. We were missing a few of our crew, one to a previous (many months prior engagement) and another to a thrown out back. We hit up a restaurant called Shunsaibo. It has all sorts of great food, the two best being the deep fried Camembert cheese and taco rice. The other rocking thing about this place is that if you make reservations on your birthday you get a free bottle of champagne. Needless to say, I had made a reservation. After a kick ass meal, and some ice cream with a sparkler, it was time to head to Karaoke. We showed up and only had to wait 5 min…frankly I think they always make you wait 5 min…it helps them look busier. We requested the system that has the most English songs (this Karaoke place actually has 3 different systems). We got the system we wanted, and had a great time. We were there for about 3 hours, and the better way through the 3^rd hour a surprise showed up. My friends had gone to the Baskin Robins in town and ordered an ice cream cake for me. They had left it at the Karaoke place earlier in the day. It was a delicious cake. Moreover, the also got me some gifts. Since the car I was really hoping to get was a Subaru Impreza WRX, they got me a remote control version of that car. They also wanted to get me a taste of home, so they got me a big bottle of Canadian Club Whiskey. We closed off the night with a few last songs and headed home. That was the end of my actual birthday. All in all a pretty kick ass day.

Friday morning rolled around, and Brandon and I decided to hit the beach. We drove out to Niigata, and got there in time for some good surf. The only weird thing was that the waves were breaking in such a way that made them a big pain in the ass to catch. We tried hard until the surf died down, then we hit the international food store in Niigata. On top of Jamaican Red Stripe Beer, I got some A&W Root Beer (something impossible to find here), and some brie cheese. I was looking for peanut butter, but I couldn’t find it…oh well. After that we bombed back into Nakano, as we had a party to get ready for that night.

We hosted a party out at Riches super huge house. It’s a little in the sticks, but large enough to allow for many people. We got there, set up the place, and then waited. People started showing and the party started rocking. It went late in to the night, and we all had a blast.

Then it was Sunday, time for some R&R. Well kinda. I took a trip into Nagano City with a fellow Canuck, Derek. We hit the big electronics store, and I got a mic for my computer. The kick ass thing is that I can now have voice conversations with anyone over the internet. If you use a pc and have messenger we can chat that way. Or have a mac or don’t want messenger, then get a program called Skype. Its free and the killer part is that with either PC Messenger or Skype, and a mic you can talk for free, in real time over the internet. Look into it. I have found it to be well worth it!

The other part of my trip to Nagano was to look for a bike. I inherited 2 bikes with my house, but to be honest, they both suck. The breaks have seized on both, and they are not worth trying to repair. After a few hours of lost and hopeless searching we finally found the mountain bike store. Well the wait was worth it; the owner knows his bikes, and he offers screaming deals. In the end he made me an offer I couldn’t reuse (and no, this isn’t the Godfather Bike Shop). He offered me over $700 off a top of the line mountain bike. It’s a Kona and it is killer sweet. The deal is that it is the end of the season, and this is this year’s model and people in Japan want things brand new so no one will by it next year. Score for me. In the end I just got myself a birthday present.

Well that is a recap of the days surrounding my first birthday overseas. It was memorable, and eventful. I was sad to not have all my regular peeps around, but it was still a great time. Thanks to all who sent me birthday wishes, it definitely made it a little less hard.