Musings

Japan is one of the most modern countries in the world in some regards. However, that seems to be only what you see on television. Just from my short stay here, I have noticed that it seems backwards in some ways. There are wires everywhere. Despite the fact that everyone has a cell phone nowadays, and there is all this talk about the "wireless revolution" there are still wires everywhere overhead. There are no buried wires in Japan. One of my friend's says that it's perhaps because of the Japanese mentality of "If if ain't broke, don't fix it." Regardless of what the reasoning, the dichotomy is still a bit unsettling.

It's started to settle in just how far from home I am. I've found myself wanting certain things from America: a decent-sized burger, a regular pepsi, sandwiches (crazy, I know), an American beer that doesn't cost 6 bucks a bottle, the list goes on. So I've been a little down these past few days. However, last night we went to karaoke and had a blast. I sang "Pink" by Aerosmith and Jet's "Cold Hard Bitch." It felt good. There was also a rendition of Linkin Park's "Breaking the Habit" which took me back to middle school. Evanescense was also sung, giving me an oppurtunity to explain to the Japanese amongst us about emo subculture. It went something along the lines of: "Emo people are very sad and so they cut themselves." The response to this was, "So emo and cutting...onaji (same)?" "Yes, yes they are." After karaoke a group of us split off to go into the city to visit a gay bar and go drinking. I would have joined them except that they weren't going to be back until 5 this morning. I took a miss because I ingested far too much alcohol on friday night and had a massive hangover all day Saturday. The Nagoya group had fun, though.

I miss you all, a lot. Loves,

Wanderings

I had my first real "solo adventure" today while I was trying to find a hiking trail using only King-sensei's directions. Not surprisingly, I was unsuccessful and just ended up wandering around aimlessly, even into the next town. However, everything turned out fine even though I never found the trail.


I took a bus to the train station on the advice of King-sensei and proceeded to not find my way. I crossed the river like he said to, but after that things were less than clear. So I just walked around and got stared at for a couple of hours. On my way back I was waiting at a crosswalk for the light to change when a random woman with a parasol said hello to me, followed by, "Welcome to Japan." We had a nice conversation in English and Japanese as I walked back to the train station to take the bus back to Chubu. Her English was excellent, my Japanese was poor. She invited me to visit her in her home sometime and I told her politely that I might. Although truth be told, I had already forgotten her name, so that makes it far more difficult to find her, but I think that it will be okay for me to not follow up on her invitation.


I have already prepared myself better for the next trip. I have a map now. It appears that there are some areas which won't require me to spend the 200 yen to take the bus to the station. Also, I told King-sensei of my aspirations of climbing a mountain while I'm here, and he is in the process of putting me in touch with an OU grad who is currently in Nagano, not far from the mountain I want to climb. There are two, actually, Tate-yama and Tsurugi-dake, and both of these have religious significance with one representing heaven, and the other, with its crags and volcanic features, representing hell. The trip would be a two-day 18km trip over these two mountains. 6 km the first day and 12 the next. Kashima-san seemed surprised when I told him that it was 18 km and told him that it wasn't that far. Distances are different in Japan, I guess.

I talked to dad today. It was nice to hear a familiar voice. I also finished and submitted my Peace Corps application. Scary thought. Something that I`ve been working towards for such a long time is now coming to a head. Crazy.

Adventures of a Baka gaijin (stupid foreigner)

Walking around with Kotaro this weekend, I realized something that probably the Japanese don`t even notice. There are an incredible number of ads. Everywhere. All the time. Bright colors, attractive signs, cheery music, etc. All. The. Time. Even on loop. I pondered what it would be like to work in a store with annoyingly cheerful music on loop. The results were grim. I wouldn't last a shift.

It has been starting to get tough. I don't know

how to say what I want to say, and it gets incredibly frustrating. However, everyone is so incredibly patient. If I don't understand, they speak more slowly, use smaller words, or offer me a dictionary.

There have been a couple of times when I've wanted to break down. One was after coming back from Nagoya for the first time, and just being so "bo-ke," or "stupid tired" that I wanted to crawl into bed and not get out, ever. That passed, luckily and I made it a few more days before it happened again. When I tried to call Dad using my computer and he didn't pick up, it was tough. I just wanted to hear a familiar voice, speaking in english. Sure, when we're all together here, we speak english, but these people aren't my family. At least not yet.

On the hilarious side, here's a picture of me sitting at my tiny computer:

Funny, isn't it? I've actually not been taking that many pictures. I keep forgetting I have a digital camera now. I do have some, and I don't know when I'll put them up, maybe tomorrow. We have a holiday for the Autumnal Equinox.

I went to the Center for International Programs today to do some homework, and ended up talking to Oya-san about hiking, and she lent me a book on hikes in Japan. I don't know if I'll be able to do a big overnight trip becuase of time and equipment constraints, but Kashima-san helped me do some research on Tate-yama and Tsurugi-da-ke. Like I said, everyone is so incredible nice and helpful. I feel a little out of place, actually. Getting stared at while walking around is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it's an ego booster, but on the other hand, I have different fingers...sorry, on the other hand, all that attention makes me really self-conscious.

Sunday, we went to a multi-cultural event in one of the older districts of Nagoya to a Yokiso, or traditional style house. The house was owned by a man who had built up a department store chain and had wanted to encourage multi-culturalism in Japan. Pretty cool stuff, neh?

We got caught in a downpour of epic proporsions. My poor shoes were still wet from going out in a typhoon to buy beer, and then they were soaked again. It was nice, minus the mosquitos the size of dauchshunds and the rain. We talked to many nice people, sometimes in Japanese, sometimes in English. We got to see a traditional kimono dressing ceremony, which was interesting, if slightly boring, and also an ocarina performance. Yes, that's right, ocarina: it's not just for little boys wearing green trying to save the world.

After the party, we had some free time to wander around a nearby temple and street fair for some sort of temple festival. The temple was very large and very nice. I want to learn more about such things, but my Japanese just isn't up to the task yet. It's one of my personal goals now, in addition to so many other things.

That's a part of the temple. I didn't take many pictures, because I hope to go back in better weather.

I dont know if I'm actually going to lose weight here or not. Everything is just so delicious, and the Japanese grandmas they have in the kitchen of the cafeteria here keep us incredibly well-fed. I need to start going to the gym. I definitely will if I can get a chance to go hiking on these mountains.

Anywho, enough rambling on my part, the forum is open for discussion.

Missing you.

Live from the tiniest computer ever

Howdy all!



I purchased a new computer, and so I am coming to you live from Japan. This thing is quite tiny. In fact, it may be the smallest computer ever manufactured. The screen diagonal is around 8 inches. I`m having trouble typing it`s so small. This whole is due in part mostly to my new friend, Kotaro. He agreed to help me look for a computer in Nagoya on Thursday. Today Kotaro met me outside my dorm at 10 this morning and one of his friends drove us around Kasugai. We checked out a couple of stores but I ended up not buying anything. We had lunch and then Kotaro and I went into Nagoya to "Big Camera" where I purchased this tiny, tiny computer. He then proceeded to show me a shopping district in Nagoya. I know where I`m getting most of your gifts. We ended up walking around for several hours today. He even helped me set up my computer! The generosity is astounding.

Currently there are some people hanging around, so I`m going to say good-bye for now. Love you all.

First Thoughts

The flights went smoothly, which was nice. No delays, no problems, everything on schedule. Disembarking at Nagoya went smoothly. Immigration, customs: no problem. We were met at the airport by the people who were supposed to meet us, and everything was good. It was about an hour and a half drive to Chubu from the airport, which was passed in the usual "let's get to know each other" manner that has become a staple of my life.

There have certainly been adjustments to make. Fear of doing something wrong, appearing impolite.

One snag in the plan. My computer broke. I've been told it's probably something with the motherboard or BIOS. This is why I've been remiss and didn't update yesterday. My current plan is just to go down to the local electronics store, Hard-Off, (I kid you not) and buy a cheap computer to limp through these three months and fix my computer when I get home in the winter. I should have enough cash for this, so no worries, family.

Yesterday was the first full day in Japan, and the first one I've spent this far from home for ten years. The weather is hot and humid, with rain seeming to always threaten. Our placement test yesterday was not as bad as I would have predicted; we OU students seem to be among the best prepared.

We toured the campus yesterday. It's extremely compact. Afterwards we visited the 100 yen store. That's right, there's a dollar store equivalent. Returning to the dorm around 5:30, we had to register our fingerprints so we can unlock the door.

Dinner was amazing. There was so much food, and all of it was delicious.

My roommate and I ended up falling asleep around 9 at night and waking up around 5:30 in the morning. He remarked how much like old men we seem.

That brings you mostly up to speed. I'll post more thoroughly when I get a computer of my own. Right now I'm using my roommate's.

I miss you all.

Notes on a small town

As I run around getting things ready, I realize that this is the most I've interacted with the community in, probably, years. Sure, I've lived here during breaks and such, but I've not really been a part of the community since I graduated high school. Most of my time has been spent in Athens. But now, I've gone to see the doctor, gone to the pharmacy to get my prescriptions for three months, gone to the bank to get traveler's cheques and yen for the first few days in Japan, and gone down to the John and Annie Glenn Historic Site to get things for my speech to the elementary school kids. Thus far, not one person has failed to wish me a good flight, or told me to keep in touch, or asked me to bring in pictures when I come back. Everyone has told me to have fun. Everyone has shaken my hand and treated me like an adult. It's a transition that has taken some getting used to: the transition from "Alan's boy" to "Jonathan."

I'm also starting to get sick of the smell of paint. From the moment I wake up until the moment I sleep, I smell paint. The basement was painted with oil-based so it reeks of that. Even my freshly washed clothes smell like fuel oil. The new house smells like latex-based paint, which is worse in some regards, since I'm allergic.

It still doesn't seem real that I'm going to be thousands of miles away for an extended period of time.

I should probably pack.

Thoughts before setting out

It's just under a week before I leave for Japan, and I'm not really all that nervous. Or terribly excited. Maybe the reality of the situation hasn't really sunk in yet. Who knows. Anyway, this blog will be a way for me to keep in touch with people from back home and anyone who has the patience to read about my life. I'll try to keep it updated with details, photos etc., but no promises on any regularity.

It's strange, really, to not be going to class alongside all my friends, and maybe that contributes to the surreality of the situation. Also, it is rather tough to try to move into a new house and get ready to be out of the country for three months at the same time. I keep looking for things in the house in which I've lived for the past 19 years, not finding it, and having to walk over to the new house and search through the boxes in my new room.

I'm just starting to realize how much New Concord has shaped my behaviors. I've gotten used to running down to the grocery store, bumping into several people I know, and having to explain why I'm not in classes, and then answering the obligatory, "Well, what are you going to do after you graduate?" One part of me gets frustrated at having to answer the same question time and time again, but there is another part that enjoys that I have so many people interested in my life and respect me for daring to leave this small area. I will be both glad to leave, and miss seeing everyone.

Enough chatter.