Japanese Culture and Reminders of Home

How's this for cultural fusion:

Yesterday, the members of the Japanese Tea Ceremony Club at school invited me over to the Japanese culture room for a tea ceremony and..."Halloween" party (more on that below)!  The tea ceremony in Japan is an incredible demonstration of skill, grace, history, tradition, and delicious tea and snacks.  There really is a grand art to it, especially the sitting on your knees the whole time which, needless to say, is next to impossible for my lanky Western legs!

Besides wrapping me up in the beautiful yukuta (light-weight summer kimono) from above, the girls also showed me how to prepare tea, which involves rapidly whisking the water and tea powder into a hurried, frothy mixture while only moving your wrist and not your entire arm (to keep the graceful appearance which your kimono lends itself to).  Seriously, folks...preparing tea this way is not easy...it takes a lot of practice and involves a lot of ritual (which is why, therefore, we have an entire club dedicated to it)!

After the traditional ceremony, we drank tea, ate cookies, and had our "Halloween" party with some treats I brought myself (thanks to some kind folks back home...see below)!  The students told me how they're excited Halloween is becoming popular in Japan, just like Christmas had done a few years ago.

Ahhh, the joys of global marketing.

In other news, I wanted to give a shout out to some amazing people back home in the States who have sent me care packages!!  First of all, besides all the boxes of winter clothes and toiletries sent over, my mom also sent me a Halloween goodies box!  Thanks so much, Mom!!!

Also, from our lovely friends in KC, Krissy and Rob, came a box of stickers, treats, and easy English readers for my students!  どもありがとう (Thank you!!!)

And finally, the hugest package ever in terms of the amount of stuff crammed in came from my former fabulous co-workers in the English Language Center and the International Center at the University of Central Missouri.  You guys are AMAZING and your goodies will make excellent briber--I mean motivational items for the students!!

My mailbox is hungry and it's got an appetite for some snail mail!  That's all the hint I feel I need to give.

Tomorrow, Jacob and I are headed to....Japan!  That is, we're flying down to the island of Honshu (Japan's main island) to visit the historic cities of Kyoto and Nara.  I will be back next week, hopefully with some gorgeous photos and some good stories!

The Sapporo Marathon 10K

It was an absolutely gorgeous fall day yesterday in Sapporo for the 33rd annual Sapporo Marathon (half, 10K, and 5K).  Sapporo has an extremely short autumn, so anytime I have the opportunity to be out and about amongst the vibrant trees, I do it!

The scenery wasn't the only thing that brought us out to the marathon.  Every student at SIT is required to run the thing...5K for girls (3.2 miles) and 10K for the boys (a little over 6 miles)!  I personally think it's an incredible feat to get a school of 1,000 students to all run either a 5K or a 10K...back home, a request like that would no doubt be met with parent (and student) protests, as well as the infamous "doctor's note," preventing any and all activity.  It's no wonder that the States, with it's "treat rather than prevent" mindset is in the healthcare crisis that it is!

Another cool thing about this event was that it began and ended at Makomani Stadium, which was built for and host to the 1972 Winter Olympics...

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I was signed up to run the 10K as well!  Out of about 100 teachers, I think only 4 or 5 of us ran (yes, those numbers aren't quite as impressive as the students)!

Can you spot the gaijin (foreigner) in the middle of this photograph?

Me at the end, feeling confident that I wasn't totally passed by EVERY high school boy, and trying to beat the speed-walker to the finish (in my defense, he wasn't walking the ENTIRE time):

For my first international race, it was a pretty good time.  I even had a student standing ovation and cheer squad from most of the school as I entered the stadium for the finish!  How often do you get THAT!?!

Jacob and the PTA

There's a nice little word that likes to float around our school.  It's "internationalization," and it represents the coming together of nations in order to learn about other cultures, peoples, and customs.  Japan, as a notoriously isolated and homogenous society, loves sprinkling this word around in everything from school speech contests to travel agency advertisements.  Although they still refer to anyone who is not noticeably Japanese as gaijin (literally, "outside foreign person"), I think it's a positive step towards a fabulous ideal.

Tonight, our school's PTA hosted a "Cooking With the ALTs" dinner.  Jacob, along with Dawn (the other ALT who is from Singapore) were the star cooking instructors.  We showed the moms how to make the American dish of Cajun jambalaya with corn bread, and Dawn made Singaporean chicken and ginger, garlic rice with fried banana fritters for dessert.  This is what we call internationalization at its best!  It's certainly my favorite kind...

Jacob demonstrating his mad skills!

Lovely Japanese lasses trying their hand at some down-home Louisiana cooking!

The final spread of all of the dishes...around the world on a plate!

Along with banana fritters and ice cream for dessert!

The gals responsible for this delicious "internationalization," the heads of the PTA (and some of our favorite ladies):

Do we look worldly yet (and I'm not talking the size of our stomachs, although those are seemingly of the same scale)!?

Keitai Gods Taketh Away. Keitai Gods Giveth.

After my first painful fiasco of trying to get a cell phone ( or "keitai", as they're lovingly called here), I admit, I was a little scarred from trying again.  The persistent chants of "When are you EEEVVER going to get a keitai??", however, finally drove me back to the electronics store last Sunday.  There, armed with the new confidence of having my own Japanese bank account and my Alien Registration Card (two things I didn't have on my first attempt), we proceeded to chose the cheapest plan, choose the cheapest phones, and get registered for our new service!

And then I was denied.  Again.  All because my Hokkaido bank card says only my first and last name, whereas my passport says my first, last, and middle names!  It was about that time that I began to feel like a cursed middle-named freak!!

Tuesday, we went back for the proverbial third try.  Denied.  Fourth and fifth attempts with my names switched around.  Rejected.  Just because the Japanese government has approved you for residency and decided you're not a terrorist doesn't mean the cell phone companies will!  Sixth attempt with a "different" signature.  Nada.

And then, after 3 1/2 hours, seven attempts, and some of the nicest, persistent staff EVER, we got to walk away with two fully functional, wonderful keitais!  There was a large, loud round of applause when my name finally went through!  I was so happy that I got my photo with the two gals who relentlessly helped us:

They felt so bad for my long trife with Softbank (keitai company) that they sent me home with 50 free coffee coupons from McDonalds (which got me thinking, "Do they just keep these on hand? Or were they waiting around for the right schmuck to come along?"):

And here they are in all of their glory!  I'm particularly proud of the "his and her" kabuki decals I found to help us feel more Japanese-y:

So there, hopefully, is where the keitai saga ends.  Please contact us for phone details if you want to...uh...contact us!

Camping At Shokotan

We headed to the peninsula of Shakotan for some camping and another HAJET welcome party this past weekend on the one and only bus out of Sapporo that makes the 3-hour trip.  Shakotan is a rugged package of beaches, mountains, dense forrests, onsens, sunsets, and drool-worthy clear blue ocean waters.  Despite being accused of being dirty Russians, and having to pay $3.50 for a can of beer, the area was a gorgeous getaway from the city!

One of my panoramas, stitched from 4 photographs of the coastline:

Sam and I being mermaids...or water buffalo...or something...

Our awesome and FREE campsite right on the beach!

Yes, we were very happy to be there:

I LOOOOVE wearing flannel in Japan...while camping...on the BEACH!

For some reason, this shot reminds me of one of those t.v. "reality" shows about the rich kids who live near the beach in California and lead dramatic lives and have scandalous love circles but still manage to all come together for some beach bonfire action.  Is this the first sign of homesickness?

Oh, and I promised a more creative sparkler shot...I call this "Burning Man."  Deep, isn't it?

As you may have gathered from my various excursion posts so far, Hokkaido is definitely NOT Japan.  We're hoping to visit that country next month if all goes well.

Wild and Wacky Wednesday Weekend Wrap-up

Still recovering from a three-day weekend this past week, due to "Respect for the Elderly Day" on Monday, hence the late weekend wrap-up once again (a whole lotta elderly and a whole lotta respect can REALLY take it out of a person!).  

Anyhoo, I had yet another "welcome" enkai (all you can eat and drink party) last Friday for my school.  This time, it was to welcome not only myself, but the Chinese ALT as well, so I like to think that it was double the fun with double (or triple?) the languages to work through!

You knew I couldn't leave you hanging without at least ONE food shot, right?  Feast your eyes on the luscious bowl 'o sashimi for our starter:

On Saturday, our fun Aussie friend, Sam, came for a weekend of foolishness!  We did some more great Purikuras, harassed 100 yen-men at Bic Camera, ate Indian food, did some day-tripping, and frolicked with some drag queens (more below)!

We took the train to Otaru, a quaint little canal-town known for music boxes and hotate, or grilled scallops.  This is where my kyoto sensei took me on one of my first weekends in Japan:

Otaru is also great because of its apparent identity crisis.  It's a Japanese town that sells itself as "little Venice" and is known for its great German beers.

Sam getting cell phone advice from this shady character:

Jacob eating hotate on the streets of Otaru:

Okay, so perhaps the best thing we stumbled upon this weekend was the fabulous, fabulous Sapporo Rainbow March, celebrating diversity of all orientations!  The SRM is the longest-running march of its kind in Japan...even folks from down in Tokyo fly up for the event!  Even more awesome, the entire event ends with an address from the Mayor of Sapporo...completely revolutionary for this country!

I have to say, if a conservative, resistant, homogenous country such as Japan can start to embrace all of our wonderful human differences and diversities, I have a little more hope for the rest of the world than I did before!

I can only wish and hope in my wildest dreams that I could EVER look as good in a Medusa outfit:

And this is perhaps the greatest...well...the greatest thing I think I've ever seen!  I have a whole new batch of inspiration for my life now:

Sam holding our Polaroid with the anti-AIDS guy...yes, Japan can even make AIDS look cute:

All I have to say is, "yes!"

I looooooove long weekends filled with random fun lovin' and good times!   Especially when those good times are clad in leather and neon feathers!  Am I in Japan?