CoRE JET

Dan's Encounters With Japanese Police

2008-01-23T20:16:00.000-05:00

This is going to be something of an Anti-Japan, Anti-Establishment, Anti-Japanese kinda rant, so I want to warn you ahead of time to realize that while I am a little bitter about this, I love Japan and love living here. This is just something I had to let out, and since I had already written it, I mine as well post it here.

I dinged a guy's car last night in a conbini parking lot. There is nothing like a visit from the police to put your Japanese to the test. I don't think I will forget the word "menkyojou"(vehicle registration) or "hoken"(insurance) again. It wasn't a serious incident, so I don't think I will get in much trouble. Fortunately, I went through the hell of getting a real Japanese license and had all my papers in order, so it was treated as though I wasn't a foreigner. Well, that was going to be the case, until they decided to do the "is he legal" check. Allow me to explain.

Japan, especially the government, has been pushing this idea that most crime(and problems in general) within Japan is due to foreigners. The so called "rise in foreigner crime" is a huge issue and basically accepted as fact. The real facts are this, removing Visa violations, foreigners are significantly less likely to commit crimes. Over half the reported crimes are simply them overstaying their work visa and such. The real "problems" in Japanese society are much deeper, and deal more with a disillusioned youth generation, a disconnect from the culture of old, a rapid modernization of culture, and such.

This foreigner check is a combination of the belief that foreigners are always suspect and more likely to be criminals, combined with a police force that is, in my opinion, simultaneously ineffective and without anything better to do. Whenever they encounter a foreigner, which around here is probably a bit rare, they immediately feel they have to do practically a full background check. I mean, I had a Japanese License(not easy to get for Americans, and it looks the same as a normal Japanese persons. I also had a vehicle, registered in my name, along with information on my address and place of work not a mile away. Still they had to take my foreigner card, check all the dates, compare it to the license, call it up to make sure it was legit, and then started badgering me with questions about how long I had been in the country, if I had moved, if it was legal. All of this, of course, was in Japanese. But to be honest, this incident alone isn't the problem.

Last year, I was in Matsuyama(capital city of bordering prefecture). After a great night with great music, I was driving home around midnight. I had 3 girls I met at the music event driving in front of me to show me the way out. Then came the problem. For the first time ever, I saw a Japanese checkpoint(for drinking, I guess). I couldn't avoid it, so I pulled up at the right moment, documents in hand. At the time, my Japanese was significantly worse and I only had an International Driving Permit, though legal. After about 3 minutes, I knew this was going to be a problem. He decided that I was holding up the line, and had me pull over completely. Then began the fun.

He asked me for my passport, which I didn't have. Why? We were told that with the exception of leaving the country, our foreigner ID cards were as good as passports. In fact, it was a good idea not to keep them together in case you lost both. He tells me he needs to see my passport. I tell him I was told, by the government, I didn't need it. He tells me it is too late at night to call my prefectural office, so they can't verify it. They need the passport. I tell them I don't have it. Then they say that they haven't seen an IDP like this before, and ask me where I got it. I point to the various AAA seals stamped on it and explain that it is the American version of JAF(Japanese Automobile Federation). I tell him that this is the standard American IDP. He starts examining it, and I can tell instantly that he has both never seen an American IDP before, and can't read any English at all. Yet he proceeds to check it as though he knows what he is doing. He literally pretended to read using his finger as a guide. I might have believed him if his wasn't trying to read from right to left.

So things are getting sticky. He tells me that I should get a license. I tell him I probably will, but I don't have one now. He says it's easy to get and that it IDPs are often fakes. I am not getting his point. At some time, one of the girls came back to help me. Her English was not so good, but better than my Japanese at the time. She starts telling me that the problem is that without my passport, they can't tell when I entered the country. I tell her it is right on my foreigner card. The policeman says that for a IDP to be valid, you have to come to japan, then leave for 3 months, then return. I tell him that he misunderstands the law, and that the rule is you must leave for 3 months to renew an IDP. You can't just stop at home and get another year of driving. He doesn't understand. I found out later from a friend that this discrepancy is actually common, that most police didn't read the memo about it carefully enough.

Anyways, things start to escalate, and I am starting to worry he is going to take me down to the station. We are arguing heavily, and even though I know he is wrong, he won't budge an inch. He says that until they can clear it up, I can't drive. Now it is around 1AM, and I got a 2 hour drive ahead of me. He is telling me I can't drive at all. I ask him what I am supposed to do, but he just reiterates that I can't drive. Finally, I get one of the girls to drive my car to the city limits, then I switch back and hope that I don't get pulled over again.

I know it sounds anti-climatic, but this has given me a quite negative view of Japanese police and such. The fact was that he was pulling people over to check for drinking, which I obviously wasn't, and then used the excuse to mess with me because I am a foreigner...Okay, that is the end of my rant.

PS: I should mention that while these were both negative incidents involving police, in the interests of full disclosure, I will admit that I have asked them for directions a few times and they have been helpful. They also act as a lost and found for cell phones, bags, etc. One time, a few of us guys, fairly drunk(this one of the rare occasions that I decided to drink), were walking around Kanonji looking for the next bar. We had heard of one from the place we left(it had closed), and so we set off. Navigating the city wouldn't be so bad if we weren't drunk or knew where the place was, but after 45 minutes of walking, we decided to find somewhere to ask directions. We happened upon a police station, and the sole officer sitting there bent over backwards to help us find our next drinking establishment. Pulling out all kinds of map books, making copies, etc. I think we could have gotten a police escort if we had asked. So in this case, the police worked in our favor.

Here is a copy of what I wrote my supervisor at my school last night afterwards:

I had a little problem.

A little while ago, I hit a stopped car while backing up in ***'s Family Mart. Don't worry. He and I are fine. Also, my car scraped his car just a little bit. Therefore, tomorrow he will call *** Junior High School. I told him to speak to Mr. *** about insurance. I'm sorry for the trouble.

少し問題がありました。

さっきOOのファミリーマートの駐車場でバックさせた時に止まってる車にぶつかりました。心配しいで下さい。私と彼は大丈夫です。そして、私の車を彼の車にちょっとだけ擦りました。だから、明日に彼はＯＯ中学校に電話します。私はOO先生に保険について話して下さいと言った。しつれいします。

Becoming Assimilated

2007-11-06T21:35:00.000-05:00

I have a little time on my hands and haven't posted for a while, so I thought I would update people on what has been happening. This post is unlikely to be that funny, though I will try to put some humor in, if possible. It is mostly for my parents and friends back home who are wondering about my general condition, not people looking for a good story. I will write one of those later. I have now been living in Japan for about 15 months, and haven't left the country in 6 months. Actually, I haven't even left my island, Shikoku, for 5 months.

As you might have noticed with my lack posting, I find myself usually very busy in Japan, and I have only been getting busier over time. With my good friend Steve having left Japan in August, I have started hanging out with a lot more of the other foreigners and making friends with Japanese people. Given the low level of English in my rural area, combined with the lack of young people aged 18-29, and general social customs, making friends was quite difficult for me my first year. Sure, I got to become acquaintances with some people, but only in the last couple months has my Japanese improved such that I have I met people and made friends outside the "gaijin social circle", which includes the foreigners and the Japanese who hang out with various foreigners often. Not just friends, but people who I can call up, hang out with, ask questions, or do whatever I want. They also have a variety of jobs and hobbies, which has lead me to doing things like Octopus hunting and knowing good mechanics to get a sound system in or get my Shakken(Japanese Vehicle Registration) done for cheap.

My Japanese has been improving(I have been studying, just not enough), but I go back and forth between feeling like I am starting to get very good and feeling like I will never get to where I want to be. My mood has, for the most part, been fairly upbeat(though tired), but it seems that one moment or incident can make you feel really depressed for a short moment sometimes. I feel like I need a really long vacation, but when I have time off, I tend to spend most of it doing things that make me even more tired.

I am also somewhat conflicted about where I want to go in the future. I am enjoying living here, making decent money and learning Japanese, but as my father pointed out to me, my engineering degree will become worthless if I leave it collecting dust for too long. Talking with several friends, I realize that graduate school is the best option for me, but the choice of where to do it(Japan, America, Binghamton, Albany) when to do it(After this year, after my 3rd year, after my 5th), and what to do(Bioengineering, Business, Japanese, Politics) is still difficult for me. Also, affording graduate school will put me into debt, which is not something that I like to think about. I also have a perfect Math score for my GRE that will expire eventually.

I also feel like I am starting to assimilate to Japan, and not always in the best of ways. I think I have lost a lot of my morality, and it is falling even faster. I am getting used to things that I should be outraged about, and I do or consider things that I would never have thought about doing back in America. In a country were sexual harassment is a joke and seems like it is welcomed half the time, your sense of decency and morals start to waver. I now can tell how old Japanese people are, see the differences between them, really understand the culture, and have a general feeling of knowing the ropes.

The constant feeling of being out of place has started to subside and it is being replaced with the feeling of being a local. This has the added effect of making me even more upset when someone freaks out in the supermarket just because I am not Japanese. I normally humor most people, and thought that I would never really get angry just because of stupid questions, but when you walk into a place, read the kanji on a menu, they know you have lived here for over a year, you speak local dialect phrases with your Japanese, and they still ask if you can use chopsticks, or worse, have ever had udon(basically the standard food in my prefecture, and the only type of restaurants in my town...I have had it 1,000s of times), it really annoys you a bit. Though it is fun to hang out with Japanese friends, go places(movies, restaurant, stores), and have them see and watch the way you are treated. It gives them a totally different view on things.

I once argued with a friend that I couldn't be seen going into the adult section of a book/game/video store because I was a foreigner. Since going into such a place isn't abnormal in Japan and people usually don't mind or say anything about it, even for a teacher, they didn't know why it would be a problem. One shopping trip to Utazu, where in every store we went, I was stopped by students who saw me and then asked me 20 questions convinced her otherwise. That the rules of privacy in Japan only apply to Japanese people. After a few lessons like these, it is fun to see your Japanese friends get defensive for you. "Of course he can use chopsticks." "He can speak Japanese, you know." "Why do you care?" It is kinda nice.

Anyways, it is taking me a lot of time to adjust to being busy with full time work and life. You end up, after essential things, having maybe 2 nights during the week and 1 day and 2 nights during the weekend to do things like socialize, study Japanese, clean your apartment, meet new people, go to parties and events, visit temples, exercise, or even just relax. You get really worn down, the coffee can't keep you going any longer, and you just crash, having wasted a day on sleeping and yet still feeling just as tired the next day. I have so many things I want to do, but they all seem to cancel each other out. Anyways, I gotta go eat lunch with the students, so I am going to go now. Don't worry, I promise the next post should be funnier. I have a group blind date(4-5 Foreign guys meeting 4-5 Japanese girls at an izakaya) this Friday, and a lot of other fun, story generating things have happened as well. Oh, by the way, if I hadn't mentioned before, I got my Japanese Driver's License.

Year 2 - Hajime!

2007-09-10T19:47:00.000-04:00

So a couple people wanted me to update my blog...I thought that I should give in finally. I will likely find something funny to talk about, but this is mostly an update of what is going on in my life.

For those of you that didn't know, my first year ended at the end of July, and now I have begun my second year of JET. Summer break has ended and this is my first week of classes in a while. Unfortunately, no one told the sun that summer was over, so it is still pretty freaking hot. I didn't really do very much this summer. I wanted to, but they actually make you go to work EVERYDAY during the summer even if the kids aren't here. Of course, this is Japan, so most of the kids come in for club activities during the summer, on the weekends, and whatever. This leads me to the first rule in my Generalized Theory of Japanese Society.

Generalized Theory of Japanese Society

Note: Due to Western Influence, many of the younger generation are no longer bound by these rules. Therefore, this is mainly for traditional Japanese society, not the pseudo-counter culture of Japanese Hip-Hop and such

Rule 1: Free time, also known in some scientific circles as "leisure time", is a very bad thing. Having any of this means you aren't a hard worker, and therefore a bad Japanese person. In order to improve your position in Japanese life, all free time MUST be converted into unpaid overtime work or a hobby of which you put your full work ethic into and can't possibly enjoy by any American standard. Unlike Western society, where free time is a goal to be achieved, here it is a bug to be squashed.

For example, the students go to school sometime between 7-8 AM and school ends around 4 PM. Not too different from America. But then they add something, club activities. Pretty much every student is expected to have a club activity, which requires them to stay another 2 hours each day, plus show up on weekends for extra practice. Missing a single day is like missing class and club activities are treated as supremely important, second only to class itself. This of course, also forces the teachers to stay, which is why I think club activities might have just been an excuse to give teachers something to do. Even without students here, they will often stay until 6 or 7, even though school is over around 4-5. But do not confuse productivity with the amount of work Japanese do, because they are unrelated. Which leads me to my next rule.

Rule 2: Productivity is irrelevant. The amount of time you spend "working" far exceeds the amount of work you accomplish. In fact, being productive is actually counterproductive to "work".

For example, if it takes me 15 minutes to create a worksheet, a Japanese person with the same skills will stretch it to 3 hours. He will be considered a better worker because he spent 3 hours on it, while I only spent 15 minutes. Even if I were to create two worksheets in 30 minutes, him creating one worksheet in 3 hours is better. In fact, I have gotten this feeling that completing assignments quickly is actually rude somehow. Like you are saying that you didn't consider the assignment worth a lot of time or that you aren't given enough work by your boss.

The worst example of this is how Japanese people will stay late with no work to do. Seriously, not a thing to do, but have to stay 3 hours after for unpaid overtime. I ask why, and it is because it is necessary for being a good Japanese worker. When I tell them they should just go home, they look at me as if I were some sad little child who just didn't get "it". Well, here I am saying, I GET IT! I JUST THINK IT IS STUPID! The same thing happens with my students. I ask them if they HAVE to go to club activities, and they say yes. I ask them why, and they just say they are supposed to. I should note at this point that these are still optional after school activities, but just aren't treated as such. They will sometimes tell me how tired they are and I tell them they should skip. That these aren't mandatory classes. They give me the same look as the adults like I just don't get it. This leads to the next rule.

Rule 3: There is no difference between what one should do and what one has to do. Here is the simplified equation: Optional == Mandatory

I honestly believe there is no difference in Japan. Granted, sometimes "optional" things in America are not optional, but this is like everything. If coming to a day at work is optional, every teacher will be there. I could think up more examples but it is not needed. I think you get this one based on the last Rule's example.

Rule 4: Lack of knowledge does not prevent a person from answering a question definitively.

This one gets really annoying really fast. Ask a Japanese person a question, and you will normally get a direct answer. It just often won't be right. What is worse is when you know for a fact that they are wrong, but can't call them out on it either. Here is an example conversation:

"Can I buy a ticket with my credit card?"
"Definitely not. You can't do that here."
"Are you sure? A couple friends said they have done it before."
"Nope. Not at this place."
Ignoring the Japanese person, you go buy a ticket with your card.
"I was able to to buy one."
"With your credit card? Really? Wow."

I guess they just assume that if THEY haven't done it before, it can't be done. Either that or they take an educated guess, but with a Japanese school system that pushes memorization over critical thinking, they aren't good guessers.

Anyways, I will get to some more rules later. Here is the rest of what has happened to me.

I saw Matsuyama(Biggest city on Shikoku, it is in Ehime Prefection) and Kochi(capital of the prefecture of the same name below me). I have gotten better at Japanese, bought a Nintendo Wii(only have used it at a party so far), bought a kanji game from my DS, bought a tempurpedic double sized bed so I don't have to sleep on futons, and had some medical issues come up.

I also dressed up like a ninja for a Pirates vs. Ninja party, failed my Japanese driving test twice, saw a bunch of my friends leave and a bunch of new ppl come. Some are really nerdy too, so I might have some classic geeky fun this year.

Well, first period just ended, so I guess I will post and maybe post later(big maybe). I have been considering another, more anonymous blog that only some select people will know is me so that I can post some less clean rants. My parents, grandparents, and some family friends read this, so...

Student Journals

2007-05-23T19:37:00.001-04:00

Well, it is that time of the year and I am back to checking papers. In this case, specifically the journals from my 2nd year English elective class. When I first did this, I would have to stop every few pages because it was hard to take so much laughter. After being in Japan for a while though, I barely even realize it's funny anymore. I have a small stack in front of me right now though, and I decided that I should quickly write down to my blog any funny ones I find.

Note that this is not an anthology or "best of the best" post, just a real look at what a normal stack of 15 journals would have in it. I will not exaggerate, reword, edit, censor, or change in any way the words that I see. In the interests of time of course, I will only past sentences that have at least some glimmer of humor. Remember though that this is about 15 journals with about 1-3 sentences per journal written. I will post the journal number as well. There won't be that much material. So without further ado:

Translator's Note: "Birugeitsu" means Bill Gates

Question: Who do you want to be like?

1. I want to be like a maid cafe.
2. I want to be like sister. The reason is that it is terrible anything can be done. I want also to hold out like the elder sister.
4. I want to be like "Birugeitsu". He have a lot of many. And he made "windows". He is exciting. So I want to be like he.
7. I like taking a photographer.
13. I want to be like cat. Cat is a No. 1! like.

That is it. I know, not that great. I will try to do a best of the best at some later point, perhaps. I hope this just gave you a basic idea of what one small stack of papers is like.

Most Awkward Moment in Japan

2007-04-11T13:34:00.001-04:00

I know I have written in a while, but it really is because I am enjoying myself too much to take the time out to write. However, something happened today so shocking that I feel I must write about it.

When I came to Japan over 8 months ago, I had already done plenty of reading to prepare myself for life here. Of course, nothing you can read could possibly prepare you for the level of awkwardness you will be subjected to during your tenure as a foreigner in Japan. That being said, I came with a positive attitude, and up until today, that has carried me through some of the more...difficult moments of adjusting to Japanese culture.

I have been stared at constantly, everywhere I go. People will talk about me as though I am not there. I have had people refuse to serve me, or assume things like I can't use chopsticks and I must want the big portion. I have been asked highly inappropriate questions(How many girlfriends do you have? Do you play sex? Do you have a big "thing"? How do you get to a Love Hotel?), etc. Those same questions have also been used as declarations(You have many girlfriends. You play sex. You have a big thing.) Of course, then there are the just general moments where you always have to explain you don't understand, go to the wrong place, or make some mistake because you couldn't follow directions. And much much more.

But none of that reached the level of awkwardness of today. I mean, I actually had to look up in the dictionary how to say "awkward" in Japanese afterwards so I could tell my supervisor just how awkward it was. Thank god it happened at the end of the school day, because I needed some time alone after this.

It all started around 3:15 today. I am not allowed to leave until 3:45, so as usual I walk around the school to kill time, saying hi to the kids, and generally letting my presence known. I did the same thing yesterday, but wearing an elephant mask. But that is another story(If I remember, I will post it after this). Anyways, I walked around for a while, even visiting the music room which I normally don't go to, and then eventually heard the sounds of a movie as I was walking by the stairwell. So I went upstairs to the 3rd grade(9th grade American) floor and saw a projector setup with all the kids in front of it watching.

There was a classic Japanese style to the film, one which I recognized well because I had taken Japanese Cinema back in college. It was your standard Japanese people lazily doing something that I think is boring(Tea Ceremony, Laundry) and putting it to soft, slow music. I am sure a Japanese person would tell you it somehow demonstrates the nature of the Japanese spirit, but I just thought it was boring. Now, I watched for maybe a minute and I started to get this really weird feeling. I slowly started to back away from the screen(I was towards to back of the room) and make my way to the stairs. I made it about halfway before it happened. BOOM!

The second I heard that sound and saw the white flash, I knew I was done for. By the time the mushroom cloud formed I was already a goner. And by that, I mean I got the fuck out of there as fast as possible. It started to form in my head what this film was about, and things started getting a bit weird. Now I thought, "Not all the kids saw me. Plus, they are pretty dumb, maybe they won't make the connection. Maybe it 'wasn't' what I thought it was?". Now, I know it probably wasn't that bad. It isn't like the kids are going to attack me or something. But I was kinda afraid that the movie would remind them "why" I am teaching them English in their schools now. It was about 3:38 before my supervisor returned from the movie. My supervisor is a pretty light-heartened, Western-knowledgeable guy, so I wasn't too worried about him being angry. I thought I was probably in the clear. Then, the moment when from "kinda awkward" to "very awkward".

He turns to me and says, "Good movie. Nagasaki. Give me my parents back!"

Now for the life of me, for about 15 seconds, I honestly thought he was talking about his parents.

I can almost imagine my face as my eyes go wide, my skin goes white as a sheet(a clean sheet), and my heart starts racing. Normally, an awkward moment can just be brushed off with an "I don't understand" or a "Whoops" or even just ignoring it. But this time I had no idea what to do or say. I turned and looked at him and was actually trying to figure out how I was going to apologize for killing his parents. My mouth actually opened and started forming the words when I realized that, while not smiling, he didn't seem to have the anguish of a person accusing someone of murdering your mother and father. I mean, Japanese people can be hard to read sometimes, but not that hard. I realized pretty quickly that he must have been quoting the movie after I left and was kind enough to translate it into English for me.

I just sat there for about a minute and thought about how awkward a moment that just was. I realized it was so awkward that I had to tell him. So I grabbed my electronic dictionary and looked it up. Then I showed it to him and he is like "Ah yes. Awkward. Now I remember." Then he looked at me and for the first time realized why it may have been awkward. "Oh, I get it. Atomic Bomb. You are from America, who dropped the bomb. Awkward." He said with a smile on his face that he has when he understands a new word. I just looked up at the clock, grabbed my bag, said goodbye, and left. I left 3 minutes early.

Singapore

2007-01-24T23:57:00.000-05:00

I am getting dragged to Singapore for a few days in March, it seems...

Ramen Stand Girls

2007-01-04T19:30:00.000-05:00

While I like Udon, Yakiniku, Yakitori, Yakisoba, Yaki-anything that isn't too disgusting, I absolutely love Ramen. The way it is always served hot but not enough to burn, with just a bit of meat, vegetables, possibly a slice of egg, and of course, noodles. The way that Ramen is eaten with chopsticks, but comes with a spoon too. The way you can slurp your noodles and even lift the bowl to your face and drink, without it being impolite. The way it is served with a steaming bowl of rice and, if so desired, a six-pack of meaty gyoza. The way it is made quickly, and the large number of ramen stands that are open late hours and located everywhere, even in rural Japan. But one thing I really like are the Ramen Stand Girls.

I should probably clarify one thing first though. While they do exist, none of these places I visit are actually stands. They are resturants...in a way. More like a diner, actually. I just like the way that "Ramen Stand" rolls off the tongue, especially when you pronounce the "Stand" as though it were "Stond". Ramen Stands are often featured in anime, but in rural areas, you mostly see real buildings. They are normally family owned and family run, perhaps with some hired hands if needed. This leads me to my original topic, Ramen Stand Girls. At most Ramen Stands, or at least the ones I go to often, there is a Mom and Pop running the show. Helping them out is always their cute daughter who is my age. They are never beautiful in a model way, but more the "wearing a stained apron and bandana with many hairs lose and a polite smile on their face, girl next door that you want to marry" kind of look. Being younger, they also tend to know more English then the parents, so they are often the ones you interact with the most.

Of course, I find the Ramen Stands to be one of the best places to socialize, so talk a lot with these girls and their parents. Since I am a foriegner, I am automatically a memoriable customer after one visit and they are eager to talk to me. Now, this isn't a Ramen Stand thing exclusively; many places like Udon Stands and Hardware Shops also have the same cute daughter setup. However as I said, I love Ramen and I find Ramen Stands to be one of the best places to socialize around town. Something about all the different types of people that come and go, and the fact that Ramen makes everyone happy. Well, except for stiffly stiffersons.

PS: I will try to post some pictures of my favorite Ramen stands later when I get internet back.

A Long Shogatsu(New Years)

2007-01-04T19:13:00.000-05:00

I lost internet and hot water, but found an awsome arcade, bought a car, and learned a little more Japanese. With the car I managed to find all new shops, rent videos easily, and leave my prefecture for the first time(except for heading to and from airports to go home). For New Years Eve, I went with a few foriegners and friends to a temple(I got to help ring the giant bells with a swinging battering ram). Then we visited a drumming performance at another temple. Finally, I went to Konpira-san, the famous temple with somewhere between 800 and 1300 steps to the top. I made it the whole way without breaking down, and even bought one of those cool pilgrim hats(pointy straw hats like the one Raiden from Mortal Kombat wore). All in all, it was a fun time.

Pornographic Karaoke

2006-12-20T21:10:00.000-05:00

Though I normally don't drink on a weeknight, I had my last class for a few weeks yesterday, so I called up a friend and we headed out to Kanonji. Kanonji is a small city that I have not explored very much, but that will be rectified soon. After walking aimlessly for a while, we found a place off of a side alley of a side alley with the description "Naito Pubu" or "Night Pub". It became a tossup between that location and another, high class place we saw called "Baby Face Planets". We settled on the "Night Pub".

Upon first entering, we already could tell that this was not an ordinary place. You walk in and are faced with a mirror, which messes with your head for a second. As you head in, the bar is shaped like a semi-circle, with a single curving bar and bench. It took a bit to slide your legs between the overhanging bar and the bench, and even longer to get out. Having visited a lot of places since I got here, I could already tell this was a bitof an abnormal establishment. I was enjoying myself fairly well, grabbing the Karaoke mic and having a beer or two. Then things came to a crashing halt.

The Karaoke machine had porn on it. More than that, you had to sing to get the porn. The better the performance, the better the score, the more seconds of porn you won. What I figured out about the system was that out of 1000 possible points:

600-700 was 5 seconds
700-800 was 10 seconds
800-900 was 15 seconds
900-1000 was 30 seconds

The highest score of the night was by the owner, who managed a 975 and got us a full 30 seconds. I ranged 600-800 normally, which often wasn't enough to see anything good. The porn seemed to be randomly selected from a few scenes, so 15 seconds might just get you a girl licking a banana, while 5 seconds might be action. I started laughing at the banana clip, and the Japanese people were half humored, half amazed that I got it, which made my friend laugh even harder. Japanese people seem to think foriegners wouldn't understand anything of their culture, which nowadays is very often stolen from American culture. It is not uncommon for a Japanese person to ask an American if they have McDonalds or KFC in their country.

Anyways, a lot has happened to me this week, and maybe I will write about it later. I got an enkai(drinking party) tonight, and I am still shaking off the effects of last night. Bye!

Takase Izakaya Explorations

2006-11-15T00:34:00.000-05:00

Now, I realized when looking back at the list that I can't really post half of those stories here because they all involve things I don't want my parents or grandparents reading. Unfortunately, they are also the funniest stories. I will set something up so that my friends can read them later, at least. Now, onto a...cleaner, but still alcohol fueled story.

My town is very nice. It is quiet and beautiful, with almost no crime and a very relaxed pace of life. Unfortunately, it is also very small, rural, and pretty much everything besides one 24/7 conbini is closed after 6 PM. This wouldn't be so bad if the trains didn't stop running around midnight. That means going out to Marugame, Takamatsu, or even Kanonji ends around 11:00 PM, costs $5-15 roundtrip, and for the most part, isn't worth it. Fortunately for me, there is Takase.

Takase is the town next to mine, and with a good 15-20 minute bike ride, you can find yourself surrounded by...slightly more places to go to than my town. It is also home to my friend, Steve, who also doesn't feel like leaving this area all too much. (The other gaijin or two around here often spend the night on someone's floor in Takamatsu or something along those lines.) The real key with Takase is that unlike Mino, Takase has many izakayas and similar food accessible locations.

Note: An izakaya is a Japanese bar. Izakayas have plenty of drinking going on, but they also normally have a decent selection of food and almost always around here, they have kareoke for free. Basically think of a cross between a bar and a small restaurant.

Therefore, Steve and I decided to add a new job title to our resumes: Izakaya Explorers. With our "Momma Cherry" bikes(basket and bell in front), we ride through the night, searching for new izakayas to try out. Izakayas normally have a flashing orange light in front of them, so we often goto nearby hills, looking for the lights.

Ground rules are simple:

We commit ourselves to trying every izakaya, even if it seems shady from first glance.
We try more than one a night.
We make sure we stay out of trouble...mostly.

So, the following are a few of the interesting places we have found. Unfortunately I don't know the name to many places, so I have given them their own.

Name: "The place next to that Ramen shop near the Korea House." or "Next to that place where Andy saw you know what."

This was one of our first discoveries, and it went pretty well. I had about 3 chuhais(stronger than a beer). One common thing in Japan is that people will give you stuff for being foriegn. This place gave us food. It was pretty good, but my dislike for vegetables clashed with my desire to be a polite guest and eat the free food given me. This would bite me in the ass later that night. But I digress. This place is also memorable for the 3-4 old women sitting at the bar(we were at a table) who seemed to enjoy our presence. They were definately at the upper end of 40-60, so it was mostly just funny. Of course, as we started to leave, some of the women asked us to stay and sit next to them. They offered to pay for us if we would. I decided to pass on having a 60 year old Japanese lady become my sugar momma for the night, a decision I would later regret.

The next stop that night was "Starless" or "That place next to Korea House."

Starless was somewhat nice. Good kareoke setup, nice long bar, and the people there were a bit younger. Steve and I went to the bar, where after the basic pleasantries, Steve got ambushed. You see, Steve knows Japanese. I don't. When the 60 year old guy wants to talk with the foriegner, he gets stuck on talk duty. Unfortunately for me, I got stuck on drinking duty. As Steve talked with the man, the man got into the standard "Japan is such a great, nice place" routine. Steve hates this because the people always say the same things, but at the same time, they often pay for us. This was such the case.

The man didn't make his offer until I was about 2 more chuhai deep. Chuhai are a kinda fruity drink, so it tastes good. The man wanted to buy me a drink, so I felt almost obligated to drink. That is where I made my big mistake. I forgot that unlike in America, finishing your drink is a signal that you want another. If you are ready to stop drinking, you leave your glass with some in it. So, I would keep finishing the drink to be polite to the guy, and then I would end up getting another. After that 6th or 7th drink(3rd or 4th at this place), the rest of the night is somewhat a blur. However, I remember a few things and Steve helped me with a few other details.

I had somewhere around 12 chuhais total(3 before and 9 at Starless). This was way too much. I believe I broke a glass around drink 8 or 9. According to Steve, I seemed to start to zonk out around my 7th drink, laying my head on the bar and such. However, I regained my energy(prob form the sugar) around drink 9 or 10. I had a conversation with the guy to my left in decent Japanese. We were both totally drunk, but according to Steve, we seemed to be understanding each other fine. I kinda remember talking to him, but not what I said. When we left, I went outside and laid on the ground for about 5 minutes. I didn't remember this at all. I rode my bike to Steve's place fairly well and went to sleep.

About half an hour later I started feeling really sick. I started doing my standard "drink a lot of water to lower the effects of the alcohol". Up to now this has always worked...now it made it worse. A few minutes later, for the first time in over 10 years and the first time ever from drinking, I threw up. I managed to make it to Steve's bathroom and aim for the toilet, but it just exploded out everywhere. About 50% went forward into the can, but the rest hit the floor and walls. This was the first in a series. After about 2 hours of off and on puking, I finally felt a little better, and using all of his paper towels and toilet paper, I cleaned up 99% of the mess I made. Fortunately it was confined to the bathroom.

I really wanted just to get home where I could take care of myself, so right around dawn in the freezing cold, I started biking home. I made it home without puking, and started taking a warm shower. The puking returned. Fortunately this whole time, it was purely clear liquid that came up. The chuhai is clear and a large part water and I hadn't eaten much that day. Anyways, after another 2-4 hours and some advice from a friend back home, I was alright. I hadn't really slept since I started drinking, but I didn't want to get off schedule. I wasn't really up to eating food that day, but Yom Kippur was beginning that night, so I had to get something in me before a day of fasting. Anyways, that was one night of adventures. I will post about some...less messy nights at another time.

Bye.

Basic Conversations

2006-11-05T21:45:00.000-05:00

I know I have been pretty weak with posting here, but I actually have been somewhat busy. I apologize though.

So, a lot of things have happened to me recently, and I feel I should rant about them a bit.

This past week, I realized that I was now capable of basic conversation. I could both say and understand things like, where do you live, what did you do last week, how did you get here, have you ever been to america, how are you feeling, what are you doing tomorrow, do you have a boyfriend, do you like to watch movies, etc.

This revelation has seemed to untie my hands a bit. I first learned about month after getting here that with my Japanese at the time, I couldn't really talk to anyone. Steve and I were in a bar with two girls, and while his Japanese level is through the roof, I couldn't even ask them what their name was. Now after a couple more months of being stuck in rural Japan and actually studying a bit, my Japanese has improved quickly. This seemed to come to a head this last week.

First, I had to visit a new elementary school in my town. This is the one furthest away, and requires 20-30 minutes to get there from the school by bike. This elementary school is a pretty amazing place from a distance. Located on the top of a hill/mountain(they just stick up around here), it is mostly concealed by trees. The playing field has large spotlights for baseball/soccer games, which makes for an unusual image. This school looks like a maximum security prison. You just see a drab stone building on top of a mountain, concealed by trees, with giant spotlights surrounding it. The only ways up the mountain are steep paths on each side, which are nearly impossible to bike up. Anyone who makes it to the top is sweating like a pig, fat or no.

Anyways, at this school, I got there about 45 minutes early, which meant 40 minutes of getting poked and prodded by the school staff. Now, this consists of the standard questions, showing of pictures, and embarassing fawning by 40-80 year old women. Only this time, it was different. Instead of sitting there just nodding my head and grunting, I actually understood their questions. I found myself capable of answering them as well. My study of grammar also allowed me to figure out which words I didn't know and ask them about it specifically. I actually enjoyed myself a bit. I even told some good jokes, my personal favorite being the Danshi joke. You need to know some kanji to understand that one, but it has to do with the fact that danshi means young boy and my name is Dan.

Anyways, the conversation went well, and of course right after it was all over, one of the women had to goto a meeting with the principal of my school. Now, I don't plan these things, but I seem to have an insane amount of luck with the principal and teachers at my school. Whenever the principal walks by, I just happen to always be talking to the kids in the hall, teaching them some American game or cool English word. When he is not around, I am rough housing with students, setting them up for pile drivers, giving them light smacks to the back of the head, and saying vulgarities in Japanese to them. It just happens he always sees me doing good things. Or, I will meet some random person at a festival, bar, or shop, hit it off, and it will happen that they know someone or know the principal and it gets back to him. Already I have gotten the impression that I am welcome to recontract for next year, and my supervisor has actually told me directly that he wants me to stay.

Now I know there weren't a lot of good stories here, but I want to segment my posts so I can post more often but smaller stories. Besides, who will read this far into a post to get to a good story. But just a hint of coming attractions:

Crazy Enkai(Having the parent of a student come onto me)
Proving to Andy that I am not all talk
Joining the gym
Politeness or flirting
Trip to Utazu(Junk section of Hard-Off and Giant used goods and collectables store)
Halloween Bash in Takamatsu
Marugame Castle Party
Takase Izakaya(bar) Explorations
Crazy questions from students
Funny shirts, labels, and mistranslations

Japan - 2 Months In - Part 2

2006-10-02T20:42:00.000-04:00

This is part two of my attempt to catch my blog up to where I am now. Where I left off was approaching Takamatsu Orientation, which was held in mid-August. However, there were a few things that happened to me prior to orientation that require mentioning.

For about the first two weeks I was here, I did not have a bicycle. Considering that I normally have to bike 20 minutes to get anywhere besides the market, this kept me pretty isolated. I was shown on a map where the train station in Mino was, but after talking to a friend in a town near mine, I decided to attempt to hitchhike my way to Takamatsu for a pre-orientation get together that was happening. I mentioned this to my coworkers, who seemed stunned and somewhat amused. They had never heard of anyone hitchhiking in the area. While still at work(I was haivng to come in to school even though I had no class), I created a sign with the word Takamatsu on one side and the kanji for Takamatsu on the other. After work, about 4 hours before I needed to be in Takamatsu, I started walking towards the main route, Route 11, which leads into Takamatsu.

My plan did not work. After about an hour of walking around holding the sign, I decided that all I was suceeding in doing was to make a spectacle for the drivers on the road. So I decided to head to the station, but realized that I didn't really know where the train station was. Remember also that at this point, my Japanese ability was near zilch, so getting directions was difficult. I finally ambushed a woman who was standing outside a car near some shop. I asked her "where is the train?" is very bad half English/half Japanese. She went on to explaining, which I replied one piece of Japanese that I knew very well, "I don't understand". After about 3 tries she gave up, pointed at me to get in the car, and started driving me to the station. She started talking to me, and I just nodded my head and gave grunts of confirmation at the right time. From what I got from her, she knew I was the new JHS English teacher, because her daughter had seen me at school already.

I should mention that the first two weeks at school, I would just go visit the different club activities going on that day. You see, even during summer vacation, the students still come in for club activities. Mostly I would pop in on the clubs that were near the teacher's office, namely the Art Club and Music Club. The thing with the students, was that at this point, they were VERY shy around me. Some still are, but not like this. I would walk into the music room, and all the students would stop talking or practicing music. I would try to get them to speak, or I would do a quick song on the piano, but they were totally silent. The second I would step out of the room, they would start talking and laughing. I would even play the game where I would act like I had left, then pop back in and scare them. Yeah, I was bored.

Anyways, I got a ride from the woman to the train station in Takase, and she pointed to two places. I would later find out that one was the ticket counter and the other was the bike rental area. I went to the bike rental area first, realized my mistake, and went to the ticket counter. Now understand just how difficult it is to get things across when you don't know the langauge. I will never again make fun of signs or pictures that seem obvious or stupid. These were and are extremely helpful to me. You would be surprised at how much you can figure out with just these helpful clues.

That being said, my attempt to buy a ticket devolved into a form of communication that can only be described as Neolithic. I barely knew enough to say where I wanted to go, but I definately didn't understand anything after that. The time, price, and track number of the train became a confusing bundle, and my normal ability to figure things out didn't work. After about 5-10 minutes of me not getting it, the ticket counter lady came out of the ticket counter, grabbed my hand, and led me to the track I needed to go. Then showed me on a clock when it would come. I had already given her a bunch of money and let her take care of the ticket, too.

I made it to Takamatsu, met up with some JETs at the train station(kinda hard to miss a group of non-Japanese), and headed to get some dinner with them in the Shotengai(a shopping district, kinda like a covered strip mall). We went to an Indian resturaunt(suprisingly there are a few good ones in Takamatsu), and then went to a big park with some alcohol in hand. I managed to tag along with the group heading to the last train going west for the night, and with seconds to spare, I made it onboard. This was fine until one by one, they got off, leaving me alone on the train without any idea what I was doing. The train to Takamatsu was easy, the track ends there and everyone gets off. But now I needed to switch trains at some point and get off at Mino. I should also point out that I really had no idea how to ask someone for help and I couldn't hear the announcements on the train about where we were.

I decided that I had no chance and began to look to someone to ask for help. I walked up to a woman and said "Sumimasen. Doko ni ikkemasuka?"(Excuse me, where am I(are you) going?) She looked at me and spoke in perfect English, "You speak English, right?". It turns out that she lives in the town next to me, and lived in Australia for a few years. She helped me get to the right station and I had a nice conversation. When I made it to Mino station, I was relieved to have found my way, until I started walking. I quickly remembered that I had never come here before, and I only kinda remembered the way from a map I was shown. To top it off, it was near 1 AM and Mino is not exactly well lit. I asked a random guy where the Junior High School is, and he gave me directions(which I didn't understand) and pointed to the left. I went left, and then tried to follow the map to the best of my recollection.

This did not work out so well. While near the station it was dark, once I got on the roads, it was pitch black. I couldn't see in front of me, and the only sounds around were bugs and my footsteps. I really didn't want to step into a ditch, so I had to go pretty slow. Before I knew it, I was far out, away from anything resembling a big street, and surrounded by rice fields. I saw lights off in the far distance, and started to make my way towards them. It took about an hour, but somehow I eventually found myself home. I did not know the way to my house, but I did know its general position relative to the station, so using that I knew I had been heading in kinda the right direction. Oh, I should also mention that I was slightly drunk this whole time.

Sometime over the next week, I got a bike, a new JET moved into the town next to mine, and I got a cell phone. When I went to orientation, I managed to bike to Mino station fine, and caught the train fine. Mino is a very small station; you can't even buy tickets there, you have to buy them on the train. The station is basically a track with a hut next to it. This hut does have three benches, each with old tattered seat cushions that make you rather sit on the bare bench.

Prefectural Orientation was mostly a rehash, but there were a few good things. I didn't really show up for Tokyo Orientation very much, and frankly, I wouldn't have minded missing this one either. It was nice to meet all the new and old JETs again though. I sat next to the new JET in the town next to mine, and we hit it off pretty well. We would later become pretty good friends, and he is really the only JET I see on a regular basis(between August 30 and September 30, he was the only JET I saw). He was at orientation, but did not hang out with the rest of us afterwards, because he was short on cash. That night there was a nomihodai(as much as you can drink) and I remember taking it easy like I normally do. That is, until I got buzzed enough to be convinced into doing some serious drinking.

Now, I like to think we learn things about ourselves all the time. However, it is rare at my age to learn about a new physical talent, as most such things have been tried before. The fact is, I have always considered my tolerance to be low, because with only a couple of drinks I was be heavily buzzed. With about 3-4 drinks, I am drunk. What I didn't realize, is that once I hit that stage, I just stay there. I can take a ton more alcohol and not really get any worse. Once I hit 4 shots, I can drink another 6 shots and be the same. So I did. We played a game of arrogance which involved drinking beer laced with warm sake, while taking sake shots when it wasn't my turn. I am not sure how much I drank, but I got my money worth. After that was kareoke which involved more drinking. I got back to Mino around 1 AM and biked home, still drunk. I wore a helmet, at least.

So, this leads up to the point where langauge lessons began. This meant traveling to Takamatsu every morning and spending the day there. It also meant that my language level improved greatly and I actually was able to start branching out. At home, my bike now allowed me to explore more areas, finding resturaunts and shops besides the market, conbini, and udonya(Udon Shop) immediately around me. This period last from mid-August until the end of August, at which there was a second orientation. The new JET that I became friends with did not attend language lessons, as he had placed out easily. His Japanese level is very high, which has also been a great help in learning Japanese and for hte two of us to get around. However, I have to go in a minute, so those two weeks will be covered in the next part. Ja mata.

Japan - 2 Months In - Part 1

2006-09-26T22:25:00.000-04:00

I have now been in Japan for 60 days, and with internet finally reaching my apartment, I feel like I have become settled in. There are still things that need to be done, such as buy a car and figure out how to throw away my garbage(I get 10 bags stacked in my kitchen), but for the most part I am able to move around the area with some autonomy and I have developed somethign of a routine. I am sure that future challenges await, but for the time being, things are going well. For this reason, I finally feel ready to make a major post covering many of the things happening here. It should be noted that besides photos posted in on flikr, I have now been able to upload large numbers of high quality photos to the CoRE server:

core.binghamton.edu/~animekamee/japan/

There are so many things to talk about, and I could fill pages just on something simple like how people drive or the unintentionally funny things the students write in their journals. After this post, I plan to highlight such things in a humorous fashion, but first I would like to give a general idea of what has happened to me since I got here. Think of it as my State of the Union address.

I arrived at the end of July after an exhausting flight. To avoid jet lag, I did not sleep at all on the plane. It was kinda nice, talking to people around me. But, eventually everyone went to sleep. The few of us who were awake congragated to certain areas of the plane every 20-30 mintues to stretch out a bit. I came to Japan with only American money, and it was around 9 PM when I started looking for dinner. Fortunately, a girl I met on the plane bumped into me at the hotel, and she was a Japan veteran. She took me out to eat, showed me what to do, and talked with me for a few hours. I never saw her again. The only other thing I remember that night was leaving a message with my freind James to tell my parents that I was alright.

Most of orientation was a blur. After realizing how boring the opening meeting was, I skipped everything except the final meeting. Those of you who know me know that it is not my nature to be very irresponsible, but I was in a strange mood. I made many friends at orientation, almost none of which I have spoken to since. I also met someone who knew about CoRE, Stea's brother. Small world. It's mostly a blur, but I remember getting massively drunk one night, and staying out until 5 AM. This basically created jetlag for me. I also woke up with a sore foot the first morning there, and the pain would come and go during the day. Up to four weeks later, I was sometimes having to limp. Now I am fine, though. The people in Tokyo are quite rude, and often they were downright racist to us foriegners. From what I hear though, many foriegners do things to cause a very bad reputation. In Kagawa, the people are extrodinarily nice.

Coming to Kagawa was nice. I got to meet people that I would actually have a chance to be friends with later. Some people I got along well with, and other I didn't like at all. However, there are so few of us, that you kinda put aside those things you don't like because there aren't enough foriegners to be hating some of them. When we landed at Takamatsu airport, the three of us going to my city(which is made of 7 towns, 4 of which have JETs) were met by three teachers and our Board of Education supervisor. Each of the teachers was from our respective school. Unfortunately, I had not yet realized how much younger Japanese people look, and at first I asked my teacher what grade she was in. She is a little older than me, I later found out.

The day was a whirlwind of sorts. We were driven from place to place, to fill out forms, take pictures, meet important people, etc. Finally, I was dropped off with the English teacher who is my school supervisor. He brought me to my apartment, and showed me a couple of basic things. Checked the lights, phone, water, gas, and pointed out the rooms. He told me to take my shoes off in the special area just in my door. I still don't normally do that. My apartment isn't great, but good enough for me and much more than what some people in the city get. It has a bedroom, kitchen, study, and bathroom. It also has a balcony and comes with a TV, phone, furniture, bike, rice cooker, microwave, and basic amenities(cups, silverwear, etc). I also have a parking space with it, I have discovered.

After seeing the apartment, my supervisor told me to lie down on this dinky...thing(think a chair without legs or armrest). He also turned the fan on, since the heat this day(and the next couple weeks) was oppresive. He told me to sleep, but instead I ran inventory and unpacked. I showered, changed, and after several days of temporary living, I got to stop and settle down a bit. He came back two hours later to take me out to eat, which resulted in myself making a mess all over the table and myself as I tried to eat Udon. Udon is a prefectural favorite and is also on of the hardest foods to eat with chopsticks. I would get better with time, but I still make splashes. I also was chastized for being too quiet while eating, since Udon is supposed to have slurping noises involved.

My supervisor showed me the market where I got some butter rolls, a yogurt, and some mikan juice for tomorrow`s breakfast. Slowly over the next few weeks, I discovered more food items and have greatly expanded my diet at home. The next few days were basically things to help me get settled. The other 2 JETs and I would be taken to places like the bank, video, and phone store to get signed up for things. I was given a tour of the school and had things explained to me. I managed to study a little Japanese, but the gap between my limited knowledge and actual speaking/listening comprehension was staggering. Trying to talk just made things worse. Some days there was very little to do(school didn't start until September), so I would visit clubs or try to do something worthwhile. The first day of Prefectural Orientation was in the middle of August, so until then I tried to explore my area a bit.

Prefecture: Kagawa
City: Mitoyo
Town: Mino
Population: Around 7000-8000, I think.
Demographics: Mostly young children and older people. The people around 18-30 goto college elsewhere or move to cities. Some come back to start families.

Mino is a beautiful farm town. Everywhere you look, there are majestic moutains, lakes, rice fields, and temples. It is also a very small town. Even for the rural area I am in, it is pretty rural. There is one 24hr convience store in town, and one or two small grocery stores. For serious shopping, videos, resturaunts besides Udon shops, and other amenities, I have to bike to one of the nearby towns. The closest real city, Marugame, has about 80,000 people and something that resembles a night life. Unfortunately the trains stop running at 11:50pm, and don't start up again until 5:00am. I am still trying to figure a solution to that problem.

The people of Mino are very nice, exceedingly so. I am the only Westerner in the town, and I am also a teacher for their children. Teachers are highly respected in Japan. This amounts to me being treated very well by the townsfolk. The conbini shop workers welcome me as sensei(respectful title for teachers). At the antiques shop, called "Antiques Shop", in Takase, I get welcomed in and served tea. I was once at a house warming party for a friend and a child there wanted some OJ. I ran to the conbini across the street, but they didn't have any when I asked. But another customer heard me, took me outside, went through some recently bought groceries in his car, and gave me a quart of OJ he had there. He refused to accept money, and said it was because I was a teacher.

The only problem with small towns is that they talk. I don't like vegetables, and said so at lunch in school. Now, every student, all the young kids at town, and most of the adults know I don't like vegetables. I get asked all the time by store owners and little kids who are in disbelief. Hating squid and octopus(which I've started to like) is one thing, but hating vegetables is jsut crazy. This also means I can't run red lights on my bike, hit on the local girls, or do anything that would look bad while in town. Word would get around.

Anyways, I gotta go now. Part 2 will be posted soon. Ja ne!

Beware of the Man

2006-09-06T20:24:00.000-04:00

So my supervisor hands me a sheet of paper, written completely in Japanese, and says that it is very important. Of course I can only read about 5% of it, if you include the date and school name. He stands there for a second as though waiting for me to confirm it is important, but after a few seconds he realizes that I have no idea what the paper says.

"Ah. It says: Beware of the Man in Takuma(town next to mine). He is a..." At this point he checks his electronic dictionary to confirm the right word. This takes about 15 seconds, afterwhich he continues. "...a dangerous...no...uh...a strange man." I just sit there and say "Okay...There is a strange man in Takuma."

Supervisor: "Ah, yes. Strange man. Police looking for strange man."

Me: "Oh, that kind of strange man. Kiken." (Kiken kinda means dangerous but not exactly)

Supervisor: "Yes, kiken. Drive up to school girl. He give girl one sen." (A sen is about $10.00)

At this point I'm wondering how bad this story is going to get. Given some of the horror stories I've heard about these things in Japan, it could get pretty rough. I remember reading somewhere that a stunning percentage of High School girls in Japan have at one time or another gone on 'dates'(read: sexual favors) with older Japanese for money, clothes, or bags and such. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad.

Supervisor: "He give girl one sen. Ask her age."

So it at least seemed not so bad, but I am still at a loss of what to say at this point. He of course did not explain what this person looked like, what he was driving, what to do if I saw a strange man or anything. For all I know the entire story could have been fabricated just to give me a subtle hint not to do things like that. Sometimes a JET in say...Osaka...will do something bad like that, and every school finds out through the grapevine, ending with myself getting a lecture on it. Eventually I decided that my best response was just to correct his English.

Me: "Oh, so he is a man wanted by the police. Strange isn't the best word for that. You should say a suspicious man or fugitive."

My supervisor just gives my the nod to confirm he heard me but didn't really understand, and I just went back to grading journals.

Oh, I had to eat squid today. Again. The teacher tells me to try it and just stares at me until I take a bite. Oh man, it is way too chewy.

Pictures

2006-09-06T03:02:00.001-04:00

Even though I still don`t have internet at home, I managed to upload a couple of pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99666256@N00/

I tried just to post some general pictures of my area and such. The funny/cool pictures will come after I get internet.

Last Action Hero

2006-09-04T01:41:00.000-04:00

For some reason, after 5th period ended at my Junior High School, they started playing some crazy "end of a dramatic hero movie" music on the school speakers for no discernable reason. I mean, imagine the end of October Sky, as the kids watch the rocket finally go up and look into each others eyes with a sense of accomplishment. I have no idea why they are doing it. It keeps going on and off, fading in and out. Seriously, it has been like 10 minutes now...

Zoning Laws and Antiquity

2006-08-21T00:29:00.000-04:00

Zoning Laws are much simpler in Japan than America. They don`t exist. Residential, commercial, and industrial are all mixed in together. Towns in Japan make me think of a kid with Downs` Syndrome playing SimCity 2000 for Macintosh. It is not really upsetting or anything, but the lack of proper zoning makes it almost impossible to find things unless someone tells you exactly where they are. There is no downtown or business district where you can expect to find all the bars, shops, resturaunts, in one convinient place. Instead, you find electronic shops, grocery stores, and coffee shops down small and dark alleys in the middle of nowhere.

There is a positive to this though, it makes exploring a lot more fun. You find the most amazing places while walking down a random street. Here is a good example. In Marugame, there are many walking bridges. Under one of these walking bridges, there is a dark alley. On this dark alley there is a bar with no sign. In this bar, you will find an Austrailian bartendress who has all the standard American and European drinks along with real American food like Pizza, Nachos, and Tacos. Not poor fascimilies either, she actually has the real deal. If you ever happen to be in Marugame, try to find the "Grasshopper". It is worth your time.

In Takase, Steve and I found a Antiques shop we heard about but were not told where it was. This place is amazing. As soon as you walk in, the woman there has you sit down and serves you really good tea. She then asks questions with simple Japanese that even I can understand. After this, the fun begins. Forget what you know about American antique stores, this is a league of its own. Besides advanced electronics, people in Japan don`t buy second hand goods very often. This means used things can be bought cheap and sold cheap. The owners of this mom and pop store also seem to be in no rush to sell anything and have no desire to rip you off. You can just go there, stay, look around, and talk with them for hours without buying anything. However, don`t let that fact fool you into thinking that the collection in this place is weak.

We went there specifically to find instruments(we want to try and start a band), and we found more than we thought we would. I got an almost perfect trumpet for 5000 yen($43) which just needs some oil and a small part replaced. I also got a great harmonica for 200 yen($1.80). Steve grabbed a violin(that just needs the strings and bow strings replaced) for 4000 yen ($36) and a flute in good condition for 2500 yen($22) . They had good acoustic guitars(just replace strings) for about 1500 yen($13), but those we will buy later. On top of this, I got a book by Soseki from 1928 for under a dollar. They had books going back into the 1600s for almost no cost. They also had records, artwork, scrolls, and various china, trinkets, and toys. I also got a full majhong set in almost perfect condition for 500 yen ($4.50). One of the men at the counter, perhaps their son, offered to let me practice Japanese with him if he could practice Japanese English with me. All in all, a good day considering that I hadn`t slept the night before(all night at the Grasshopper and then Kareoke at Fuse in Marugame...caught the early train back to Takase)

Summer Koshien

2006-08-13T20:27:00.000-04:00

Sorry for havign multiple posts on a single day, but I don`t get to access a computer much nowadays. Hopefully this will change soon. Now, without futher delay, here is Summer Koshien:

Most of Japanese TV is pretty incomprehensible to me, although it can be fun to watch what is going on even if I don`t understand what is going on or why. I have a lot of fun watching dubbed American movies that I have seen before, even though they all seem to have Stallone as the main character(last night was Demolition Man). I am hoping that this is just like a week long Stallone special, and not the standard for all year round. Although, they do such a bad Stallone impersination with the dubbing, that it is almost worth it.

The best thing on Japanese TV for me right now though, is the Summer Koshien. For those that don`t know, the Summer Koshien is the major High School Baseball tournament during the summer. Baseball doesn`t really need any words, and they use both the same scoreboard and terminology that Americans do. There is a preliminary during March(the Spring Koshien, where only 2nd and 3rd years can play), but the real meat is here in the summer Koshien. I have always predicted that sports are more entertaining at nonprofessional levels due to the variance in play. What I mean is, the inperfections of the players allow events to happen that would not normally happen in professional sports. These kids overthrow to basemen, swing hard against bad pitches, bunt for the hell of it, bean players with pitches often, and generally allow something amazing to happen not two or three times a game, but two or three times an inning.

They also play with their entire heart, for at this stage of the tournament at least, it is SINGLE ELIMINATION. While quite inaccurate for determining actual rank of ability, single elimination does add something to the game, emotion. These are a bunch of 15-18 year old kids, many of which this is their last time ever playing in this tournament, and they get one shot. They have also never seen Tom Hanks in the movie "A League of Their Own". These kids cry. And I don`t mean one player every once in a while gets a sniffle, I mean that every player on the losing team in every game start bawling. Japanese TV is smart enough to realize that they should zoom in tight on the crying whenever possible. The best is when the game isn`t over, but a team knows they have lost(10-2 in the 8th or something). The kids start crying early, then have to wipe tears and continue playing. You can still see the tear marks running down the face of the kid at bat.

I know it sounds kinda mean, but if you watched it you would enjoy it too. These kids are in the full Japanese work mentality, and the pressure is extreme. Unlike America, the stadiums are full of cheerleaders from their home schools, and the whole place is like a mad house. The play itself is fun to watch, but the emotions and spectacle of the whole event are the real show. At the very least, it beats Stallone in "Over the Top" (on two nights ago). If you don`t know this movie, here is the plot summary from IMDB:

Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a struggling trucker who's trying to rebuild his life. After the death of his ex-wife, he tries to make amends with his son who he left behind years earlier. Upon their first meeting, his son doesn't think too highly of him until he enters the nation-wide arm wrestling competition in Las Vegas.

The Tagline: Lincoln Hawk will fight for his son the only way he knows how.

I will leave you with that, for now :)

Life in Japan

2006-08-13T20:05:00.000-04:00

I wrote this in response to an email from Tina, but since I got long winded, I thought I should post it here too. BTW, this site only shows up in Japanese on these school computers, so I hope I get this to post alright.

What I do:
I am teaching English, but I get the feeling that a lot of my job is just interacting with the kids, other teachers, and townspeople in general. Give them some international experience, and all that.

Cost of Living:
The cost of living in the major cities like Tokyo, Osaka, or Kobe is quite high, but I am living in a rural area of the smallest prefecture of Japan. My rent equates to about $130 a month and I make a little over $2600 a month after taxes(there is $300 for manditory social and health insurance, though). My apartment is a fully furnished and decent sized; one bedroom, a kitchen, living room/study, and a bathroom. I have heard about some people living in the main city in my prefecture, Takamatsu, paying about two or three times as much to live in a single small room that is a bedroom and kitchen in one. On the other hand, they live in a full fledged city while my neighbors are all rice fields and everything in my town is closed by 6:00 besides the supermarket.

Countries on my list of places to go after Japan...well, it`s not a definate list, but I have a few I have been thinking about.

Austrailia(I already know the language, so it would be easy to get around.)

Taiwan(Natalie seems to enjoy it, and I could teach there like I am doing here in Japan.)

Dominican Republic(I have a Dominican friend who tells me about it all the time, and I took 3 years of Spanish in High School. While I am not fluent or anything, I could get around and probably become fluent quickly. I could maybe find a real job as an engineer or something there, since people with advanced skills are greatly needed. It is kinda like Mexico but less corruption and more beaches.)

Latvia(Very pretty place, very strong economic growth. I could probably find a place there, but I have heard that learning slavic langauges is rough. Latvia holds a special place in my heart since my family emigrated from there almost a century ago. Any remaining familial ties I had were undoubtedly exterminated during the Holocaust, but it would still be interesting to live in the home of my ancestors.)

Croatia(A bit dangerous, given the rebels, revolts, and wars dealing with the former Yugoslavian territory, but things have been doing well recently and the economy is growing fast. It is known as one of the most beautiful places in the world, but like Latvia it has a Slavic language.)

England(It is basically America with funny accents, more history, and a slightly modified culture. I wouldn`t stay here too long though, I don`t think. Why live in England when you can live in America?)

That is my list for now. I`ll probably have a whole different outlook in a year or two when I finish my stint here.

Food:
Ramen is not the big thing where I am, it is Udon. After about 4 or 5 days of Udon in a row, you get kinda weary of it. As for things cooking at home, at first I was living of yogurts and butter rolls, then I found microwavable pizzas and french fries. I attempted to make rice, but I failed. The rice in resturaunts here is amazing, better than anything at home, but my rice is have soggy, half crunchy and always bland.

Once I got my bike I was able to investigate my neighboring towns, and I have found some better food stores. In Takase, I found a super sized Marunaka(Super Market), where I found real cheese, pasta, sliced bread, bananas, brocolli, and other things. Unfortunately, I can`t understand what most pakages say, so I can`t really cook many things or find many things except by sight. I managed to find a Cook-san last night that had salt, some kind of seeds, something like teriyaki sauce, and a cute checkout girl to boot. I also fixed my rice cooker(after breaking it last week), so I was able to actually eat rice. It is still crappy, but its food.

Home, Sweet Home

2006-08-03T03:48:00.000-04:00

I am in Kagawa now, but I will not have a phone or internet for at least a week or two. Things are fine here and the people seem nice. I am studying Japanese as hard as I can(a few hours a day) so that I can get to at least a basic conversation level soon. My studying today alone allowed me to pickup a few more words being shouted around. I even tried to tell a joke, but I ended up having to have an english teacher translate my explanation of why it was funny. They started laughing, but I don`t think it was at the joke.

Tokyo was a crazy time, and I will mention more about it when I get internet at my place. I have also noticed a lot of crazy things since I arrived in Kagawa, but those shall also be withheld for now. All I can say is everything is really small. Not in a good way, either.

Tokyo

2006-07-30T09:13:00.000-04:00

I have arrived in Tokyo safely. I have been up for the past 29 hours. I am going to head out for a bit with $300 to have some fun. Bye.

Final Post From America

2006-07-27T22:11:00.000-04:00

With the exception of my laptop bag (which I will be packing shortly), my bags are packed and I am ready to go. This will be my last post from America for a very long time. I do not know when I will be able to reach the internet again, but it might be a while. In fact, no one may hear from me for several days, weeks, or even a couple months. Well then, it's time to pack my laptop. To all my friends and family, sayonara!

Father/Son Bonding

2006-07-20T00:05:00.000-04:00

I went shopping for Japan at CVS with my dad yesterday, and one of the things we got were condoms. I almost would have prefered it if he acted embarassed or did his normal corny jokes, but instead he tried to be supportive. Having your dad try to give you pointers about condoms is really freaky. "Make sure it has one of those special tips." "Don't get the Lambskin, it doesn't protect as well." Geez, as if he has worn a condom in the last 20 years. He also told me that he would buy them for me if I was too embarassed and suggested that I talk with the Pharmacist about the different brands. The worst was when we first walked in and he asked me loudly if I wanted him to ask where the prophylactics were. It took me a few seconds to even realize what that word meant, because I haven't heard it used since 11th grade health at the latest.

I initially grabbed two of the largest boxes they had(32 packs) when my dad prompted me to make sure I had enough. Well, I reminded him that he could send care packages with more later, so I really only needed enough to last 6-8 weeks. However, I grabbed another box to please him. I calculated the numbers in my head:

Three boxes is 96 condoms.

Assuming the maximum time of 8 weeks you get 56 days, which I rounded to 60 days to be safe.

I would be busy with orientations, business, and traveling the first week. However, let us assume that I had someone who threw themselves at me the first day and even more unlikely, that I would have sex with a girl that threw herself at me the first day.

This leaves 1.6 condoms per day. 11.2 condoms per week. More than enough.

I grabbed another box.

9 Days to Go: Crunch Time

2006-07-19T23:11:00.000-04:00

As the day of departure looms forward, it seems that I am still jumping hurdles to make sure I actually make it to Japan. The most recent hurdle involved the travel agency that is reserving our plane tickets. Here are the events of this hurdle in chronological order:

Mid-June: At the Pre-Departure Orientation, they mention a bit about the flight and hotel information being sent out soon.

June 30: I receive a letter from the Consulate with some general information. This letter also tells me that I will be getting another letter and/or email very soon about travel and hotel arrangements.

July 12: An email from the Consulate saying that if I have not been contacted by the travel agency yet, I should call them ASAP. I have not been contacted.

July 13 or 14: Slighly worried due to the urgency of the last email, I call the travel agency ASAP. It takes a bit of work to understand the guy on the phone as he has a heavy Japanese accent, but what he tells me is they haven't even sent an email out because they haven't gotten the info from Japan yet.

July 19, the Morning: After having still not gotten an email, I call the travel agency again. After playing B is for Boy and M is for Mother with a guy who has a heavy Japanese accent, he tells me he will send an email ASAP. (BTW: I realized that having a 23 character email(my school email really sucks)

July 19, the Afternoon: I get the email, with attached information and Reply Form. The Reply Form says it needs to be sent to the travel agency no later than the 7th of July.

July 19, the Night: I send back the Reply Form, and hope that everything is fine. Still awaiting confirmation tomorrow, but I think this is another hurdle cleared.

On the JET Program Application Process annoyance scale, this is a 2 or 3 out of 10. Not even close to the post office fiasco or the week of rejection of the past few months. Or maybe I am just so used to it now that I don't even get bothered much anymore.

11 Days to Go

2006-07-18T19:41:00.000-04:00

This is the first post of my blog, CoRE JET. As I write this, I am 11 days away from my flight to Japan to participate on the JET Program. The purpose of this blog is to record my thoughts, adventures, and more importantly misadventures as I enter the "Land of the Rising Sun". It will also give friends and family a way to keep in touch with me and see how I am doing. For those of you who don't know me, here are a few quick things about me:

1. I have been a camp counselor during the summer for 5-9 year olds for the past 5-6 years.
2. I have a bioengineering degree and I am very good with computers.
3. I am Jewish but only follow the customs and laws I feel make sense.
4. I am overweight, but I remain active. Due to this, I have a lot of muscle mass to go along with my fat. As of right now, I am approximately 275 lbs, but I appear to weigh much less.

Anyways, thank you for visiting my blog, and hopefully in the future there will be posts detailing how a strong, overweight, Jewish engineer, whose only teaching experience is summer camp, fares at teaching English to Junior High School students in rural Japan. Irasshai!