Monday, February 26, 2007
Shamisen Awesomeness - YOSHIDA BROTHERS -- Tsugaru Jongara 2007.1.1
Shamisen is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. It's fretless, has three strings and the strings are plucked with a flat, car-window-ice-scraper-like thing that you will see if you watch this. Please enjoy these brothers rocking out.
Friday, February 09, 2007
RANDOM8
Little Kanji, from the taiko group, flings a ball down the alley. Me, Yoshie + Kanji (big sis, little bro), Chika + Suguru (same) and Nagisa, all went bowling a week ago. We had the gutter-guards put in for Suguru and Kanji which meant those who would've done terribly normally did better than those who would've done alright without them. It was fun times!
Shoko's big dog, Daikichi (or Dai-chan). Shoko took me to her absolute favourite place in the ken (more favourite than the previous places that we saw in the autumn)...it's a gorgeous hike through bamboo and other trees unknown to me to the top of this huge hill from which you can see Kudamatsu on one side and neighbouring Tokuyama on the other. About halfway up the hill Shoko let Dai-chan loose and man that can dog run. Energy for daaays. Just tore all over the forest without missing a step.
Angela Aki - the only taste of "J-Pop" that I've really taken to. She writes her own songs, plays her own piano, and sings with her own voice. A rarity in pop these days, I think. She's half American, went to uni there, and is fluent in English. She also has a lovely down-to-earthness which I judge from her appearences on TV. One time she was playing one of her songs with a full orchestra at this beautiful concert hall and she walked out in jeans, t-shirt (not a tight sexy one, but a regular, kind of baggy t-shirt) and a zip-up hoody sweater. Awesome.
Below are two pictures (in a series of 5) that Mike or Anna took while I was napping in their apartment over winter holidays. I discovered them by accident later when I was previewing that pics on my camera.
Little Kanji, from the taiko group, flings a ball down the alley. Me, Yoshie + Kanji (big sis, little bro), Chika + Suguru (same) and Nagisa, all went bowling a week ago. We had the gutter-guards put in for Suguru and Kanji which meant those who would've done terribly normally did better than those who would've done alright without them. It was fun times!
Shoko's big dog, Daikichi (or Dai-chan). Shoko took me to her absolute favourite place in the ken (more favourite than the previous places that we saw in the autumn)...it's a gorgeous hike through bamboo and other trees unknown to me to the top of this huge hill from which you can see Kudamatsu on one side and neighbouring Tokuyama on the other. About halfway up the hill Shoko let Dai-chan loose and man that can dog run. Energy for daaays. Just tore all over the forest without missing a step.
Angela Aki - the only taste of "J-Pop" that I've really taken to. She writes her own songs, plays her own piano, and sings with her own voice. A rarity in pop these days, I think. She's half American, went to uni there, and is fluent in English. She also has a lovely down-to-earthness which I judge from her appearences on TV. One time she was playing one of her songs with a full orchestra at this beautiful concert hall and she walked out in jeans, t-shirt (not a tight sexy one, but a regular, kind of baggy t-shirt) and a zip-up hoody sweater. Awesome.
Below are two pictures (in a series of 5) that Mike or Anna took while I was napping in their apartment over winter holidays. I discovered them by accident later when I was previewing that pics on my camera.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Better late than never: My Grandma plays the electric organ. [Originally shot in August of 2006]
She didn't know I was taping....the room is what the call the "store"; lots of random craft-like things my grandpa makes, as well as an enormous collection of jazz and old rock albums that my great-grandmother accumulated.
She didn't know I was taping....the room is what the call the "store"; lots of random craft-like things my grandpa makes, as well as an enormous collection of jazz and old rock albums that my great-grandmother accumulated.
Kids Say The Darndest Things.
One of the games I play with the kids as a warmup is the ol' "Who/What Am I?" game. It's basically a riddle game; I describe myself and the kids have to guess "Are you ----?". The following are two episodes of this game that actually happened this week. *Note. most of the kids, as you might very well do when listening to a language you are just beginning to learn, pick out certain key words they know and skip over the words they don't know. Which explains what happened.
"What am I? I can be short, I can be long.
I can be small, I can be big!
I am in every school and house.
I know everything! There are many of me in the library" [answer: a book]
One 7th grade girl, Reina: "Are you poo?"
Mr. Tadachi, who I was teaching with that day, thought of this one:
"Who am I? I was the president of South Africa.
I fought for freedom and equality. I was in prison for 26 years.
I am over 80 years old. I am a black man. Who am I?"
Mischevious boy: "Michael Jackson!" and then did a little dance.
One of the games I play with the kids as a warmup is the ol' "Who/What Am I?" game. It's basically a riddle game; I describe myself and the kids have to guess "Are you ----?". The following are two episodes of this game that actually happened this week. *Note. most of the kids, as you might very well do when listening to a language you are just beginning to learn, pick out certain key words they know and skip over the words they don't know. Which explains what happened.
"What am I? I can be short, I can be long.
I can be small, I can be big!
I am in every school and house.
I know everything! There are many of me in the library" [answer: a book]
One 7th grade girl, Reina: "Are you poo?"
Mr. Tadachi, who I was teaching with that day, thought of this one:
"Who am I? I was the president of South Africa.
I fought for freedom and equality. I was in prison for 26 years.
I am over 80 years old. I am a black man. Who am I?"
Mischevious boy: "Michael Jackson!" and then did a little dance.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Illness - Ill!
Just a short story to let you know I am well cared for here.
Two days ago, on Tuesday, I woke up in the morning feeling like I might, just might, throw up. But I said to myself, no, Ken, this is probably just from eating two suppers the night before. So I went to school, did my lessons for the day (all in the morning that day) with my usual vigour and good energy but then felt a little weird afterwards. Munechika sensei (English teacher) told me that Okuda sensei (another English teacher and my private Japanese tutor) was absent that day because she came down with the flu. Well. I was at Okuda's house the night before for my lessons so I thought, hmm. Maybe I've caught something ( I was later informed that flu takes at least 5 or 6 days to manifest itself after contraction).
In any case, I was starting to develop a fever so Munechika called the Board of Education office, talked to Kawamura (one of my supervisors, she of the ginger tea) who promptly drove over with Komatsu (my other super) and picked me up from school, like an ambulance or something. They drove me to a nearby clinic where I met one of my students, 3rd year girl. Komatsu asked me if I was embarassed that this little girl was here by herself and I was escorted by two adults. After getting some drugs, they drove me home and commanded me to sleep.
At this point you're probably thinking to yourself, wow, what considerate teachers and supervisors he has, that they would take time out of their day to do all this for him. Wait til I tell you that those two showed up after work with a big grocery bag full of appropriate food for feverish people. Moreover, when they arrived, they brought in another big bag full of fruit and juice that Shoko (she of the awesome daytrips and encyclipaedic knowledge of everything Japan) had dropped off and hung on my doorknob, so as not to disturb me (I had told her of my illness via cell txt). While we were marvelling over all this goodwill, Munechika sensei dropped by with a hot take-out okonomiyaki (one of my fav foods, as she recalled from one of my lessons) and a box of strawberries. Wow.
The entire inventory of gifted foods is as follows:
5 packages of rice gruel (soft, hot rice soup stuff)
3 cups of Doraimon chocolate pudding
2 cups of fruit yogurt
2 big apples
2 packages of fresh rolls from the bakery
1 cinnamon roll from the bakery
2 packages of multi-vitamin juice
1 pack of omochi
1 quick-make udon set
1 okonomiyaki
1 bottle of apple juice (355mL)
1 bottle of Aquarious (2L)
1 bottle of Pokari Sweat (1.5L) [these last two are like energy
drinks...very delish]
1 box of strawberries.
My parents called the next day (I had emailed them about this wonderful generosity)and they were very happy and thankful to know I had such good friends looking out for me. 'Are they all women [who brought this food for you]?` asked my Dad. `Incidentally, yes they are', I replied. 'You are your father's son', he said with a laugh. Whatever THAT's supposed to mean!
The point of the story here, is that I am not alone, even when ill. Fear not for your little Kenny, he is in good hands.
Just a short story to let you know I am well cared for here.
Two days ago, on Tuesday, I woke up in the morning feeling like I might, just might, throw up. But I said to myself, no, Ken, this is probably just from eating two suppers the night before. So I went to school, did my lessons for the day (all in the morning that day) with my usual vigour and good energy but then felt a little weird afterwards. Munechika sensei (English teacher) told me that Okuda sensei (another English teacher and my private Japanese tutor) was absent that day because she came down with the flu. Well. I was at Okuda's house the night before for my lessons so I thought, hmm. Maybe I've caught something ( I was later informed that flu takes at least 5 or 6 days to manifest itself after contraction).
In any case, I was starting to develop a fever so Munechika called the Board of Education office, talked to Kawamura (one of my supervisors, she of the ginger tea) who promptly drove over with Komatsu (my other super) and picked me up from school, like an ambulance or something. They drove me to a nearby clinic where I met one of my students, 3rd year girl. Komatsu asked me if I was embarassed that this little girl was here by herself and I was escorted by two adults. After getting some drugs, they drove me home and commanded me to sleep.
At this point you're probably thinking to yourself, wow, what considerate teachers and supervisors he has, that they would take time out of their day to do all this for him. Wait til I tell you that those two showed up after work with a big grocery bag full of appropriate food for feverish people. Moreover, when they arrived, they brought in another big bag full of fruit and juice that Shoko (she of the awesome daytrips and encyclipaedic knowledge of everything Japan) had dropped off and hung on my doorknob, so as not to disturb me (I had told her of my illness via cell txt). While we were marvelling over all this goodwill, Munechika sensei dropped by with a hot take-out okonomiyaki (one of my fav foods, as she recalled from one of my lessons) and a box of strawberries. Wow.
The entire inventory of gifted foods is as follows:
5 packages of rice gruel (soft, hot rice soup stuff)
3 cups of Doraimon chocolate pudding
2 cups of fruit yogurt
2 big apples
2 packages of fresh rolls from the bakery
1 cinnamon roll from the bakery
2 packages of multi-vitamin juice
1 pack of omochi
1 quick-make udon set
1 okonomiyaki
1 bottle of apple juice (355mL)
1 bottle of Aquarious (2L)
1 bottle of Pokari Sweat (1.5L) [these last two are like energy
drinks...very delish]
1 box of strawberries.
My parents called the next day (I had emailed them about this wonderful generosity)and they were very happy and thankful to know I had such good friends looking out for me. 'Are they all women [who brought this food for you]?` asked my Dad. `Incidentally, yes they are', I replied. 'You are your father's son', he said with a laugh. Whatever THAT's supposed to mean!
The point of the story here, is that I am not alone, even when ill. Fear not for your little Kenny, he is in good hands.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Just some random thoughts, lest the blog become stagnant.
Has anyone else noticed something peculiar about the minty chewing gum industry? Remember back in the day when they were all going nuts about how chewing Trident/Dentyne/whatever would help to PREVENT cavities? Nowadays, if you look carefully, they proudly display the fact that this gum 'Does Not Cause Cavities'. What the heck. Next they'll be selling us with, 'Does Not Cause Dizziness, Headaches, Back-pain, or Diarria' (P.S. Does ANYBODY know how to spell 'Diaghrria properly??)
-------------
The other day after school I was biking towards an intersection when a kid I passed shouted 'Oh! Ken!' So I looked back and waved and when I looked forward again, the flashing green man had turned to a solid red hand and a whole bunch of my students were all there to see me run through a stop-signal. Sigh. This probably made the news at many a dinner table conversation, and I will probably be fired for it.
Japan is a very letter-of-the-law society and most Japanese pedestrians will wait at a deserted crosswalk until the light turns green even if they were the last people on earth. This is in stark contrast to certain people I know in Canada, who shall remain nameless, who will routinely ACCELERATE through familiar stop signs when no cars are coming (ryan baer). What? Who said that?
However, as evidence of the changing times, I am seeing more and more rebellious youth and adult alike darting furtively across an empty street EVEN THOUGH THE LIGHT SAYS STOP.
-------------
I made an extremely delicious meal from scratch. It consisted of stir fried veggies and fried beef strips with some delish spices and melted cheese and ground flax seeds and yoghurt and brown rice. I do this kind of thing all the time.
------------
Just to show you how awesome my supervisors at the ol' Board of Education (BOE) office are, I was sick this past week with a nagging cold and cough. So Kawamura-san brought me a steaming cup of GINGER & HONEY TEA to my desk, just like my Mom made back home! Wow!
Has anyone else noticed something peculiar about the minty chewing gum industry? Remember back in the day when they were all going nuts about how chewing Trident/Dentyne/whatever would help to PREVENT cavities? Nowadays, if you look carefully, they proudly display the fact that this gum 'Does Not Cause Cavities'. What the heck. Next they'll be selling us with, 'Does Not Cause Dizziness, Headaches, Back-pain, or Diarria' (P.S. Does ANYBODY know how to spell 'Diaghrria properly??)
-------------
The other day after school I was biking towards an intersection when a kid I passed shouted 'Oh! Ken!' So I looked back and waved and when I looked forward again, the flashing green man had turned to a solid red hand and a whole bunch of my students were all there to see me run through a stop-signal. Sigh. This probably made the news at many a dinner table conversation, and I will probably be fired for it.
Japan is a very letter-of-the-law society and most Japanese pedestrians will wait at a deserted crosswalk until the light turns green even if they were the last people on earth. This is in stark contrast to certain people I know in Canada, who shall remain nameless, who will routinely ACCELERATE through familiar stop signs when no cars are coming (ryan baer). What? Who said that?
However, as evidence of the changing times, I am seeing more and more rebellious youth and adult alike darting furtively across an empty street EVEN THOUGH THE LIGHT SAYS STOP.
-------------
I made an extremely delicious meal from scratch. It consisted of stir fried veggies and fried beef strips with some delish spices and melted cheese and ground flax seeds and yoghurt and brown rice. I do this kind of thing all the time.
------------
Just to show you how awesome my supervisors at the ol' Board of Education (BOE) office are, I was sick this past week with a nagging cold and cough. So Kawamura-san brought me a steaming cup of GINGER & HONEY TEA to my desk, just like my Mom made back home! Wow!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
NABE. I realized that after writing a great deal about nabe in my last email, I had failed to post a picture of it. To be technical, this is real nabe, where food is already prepared and all cooked at once inside the nabe. The piece-meal method of tossing stuff in to cook and eat instantly is called "Shabu shabu" - a key feature of shabushabu is the thinly sliced raw meat that is dipped for like 2 seconds and eaten post-haste. I think that's all correct.
Giant seafood NABE that Shoko took us to. To eat.
Giant seafood NABE that Shoko took us to. To eat.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Winter Holidays Part III: Yokohama - Eisuke, Eiko, Hidemi, Jun.
From Yamanashi, Anna, Mike and I travelled onwards to Yokohama where my Dad's little sister's family doth dwell. FUN TIMES! The first night we got there, my cousins (Hidemi and Jun) were both there as well as Jun's wife, Rieko who bears a striking resemblence to my mother. Anyways, it was so great to see the whole family there together, I hadn't seen Jun or Hidemi for a long time (Eisuke and Eiko came to visit me in November). Good food, lots of pets, lots of English (they were all quite able when they really put their minds to it) and lots of laughs.
ほんとに たのしかった！ありがとうございました！
My cousin Hidemi and me.
The Yokohama family. Hidemi (holding Harry), Jun (holding Chatta), me, Rieko (Jun's wife, holding their cat, Giovanni), Hidemi's friend Takahashi, Anna and Mike, and Eiko (my dad's youngest sister).
We went for a 2.5 hour hike over a range of hills into the ancient city of Kamakura. GLORIOUS hike through bamboo, spruce, cedar trees... this is a giant graveyard ("hakaishi") that we saw on our way.
My cousin Taiki (from my Mom's side) met up with us for this little walk since he couldn't make it to our grandparent's place. Good guy.
Amazing old temples in abundance at Kamakura. Enormous wooden structures, not a single nail in any of them.
The ceiling of one particular temple.
We took a jaunt into Tokyo for a day. Exhausting. This is a picture Mike took of the train routes at Shibuya (I think) train station in Tokyo. Finding my way around the public transport system was probably the only thing that I had any anxiety about when preparing for my time in Japan, oddly. Turns out it's really not that bad, and really well organized, so all you gotta do is ask someone if you're lost.
From Yamanashi, Anna, Mike and I travelled onwards to Yokohama where my Dad's little sister's family doth dwell. FUN TIMES! The first night we got there, my cousins (Hidemi and Jun) were both there as well as Jun's wife, Rieko who bears a striking resemblence to my mother. Anyways, it was so great to see the whole family there together, I hadn't seen Jun or Hidemi for a long time (Eisuke and Eiko came to visit me in November). Good food, lots of pets, lots of English (they were all quite able when they really put their minds to it) and lots of laughs.
ほんとに たのしかった！ありがとうございました！
My cousin Hidemi and me.
The Yokohama family. Hidemi (holding Harry), Jun (holding Chatta), me, Rieko (Jun's wife, holding their cat, Giovanni), Hidemi's friend Takahashi, Anna and Mike, and Eiko (my dad's youngest sister).
We went for a 2.5 hour hike over a range of hills into the ancient city of Kamakura. GLORIOUS hike through bamboo, spruce, cedar trees... this is a giant graveyard ("hakaishi") that we saw on our way.
My cousin Taiki (from my Mom's side) met up with us for this little walk since he couldn't make it to our grandparent's place. Good guy.
Amazing old temples in abundance at Kamakura. Enormous wooden structures, not a single nail in any of them.
The ceiling of one particular temple.
We took a jaunt into Tokyo for a day. Exhausting. This is a picture Mike took of the train routes at Shibuya (I think) train station in Tokyo. Finding my way around the public transport system was probably the only thing that I had any anxiety about when preparing for my time in Japan, oddly. Turns out it's really not that bad, and really well organized, so all you gotta do is ask someone if you're lost.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Ken's TAIKO!
This is a video of a special performance that I was asked to do for my Aikido club's Christmas party. I got together an elite team of drummers: Chika, Nagisa, Saori & Tao (two leaders of the group). Get this: the night of the performance, I get to the place where I was meeting the others and Tao told me Nagisa had been sick all day - fever and vomiting, poor girl. I felt bad because I know she was really looking forward to doing this. Not only that, her absence threw a wrench into our format because now Saori would have to play both timekeeper AND do Nagisa's part. Turns out this was a blessing in disguise because Saori is SO GOOD. I learned later in the night, she was a professional at one point. She is the one behind me.
Let me just say that this was EXHAUSTING. By the end of the performance, I was half past dead. Very physically strenuous, but very impressive to watch too, if done right (see Saori!).
Special thanks to Brett Plotz for taking this video!
Enjoy!
This is a video of a special performance that I was asked to do for my Aikido club's Christmas party. I got together an elite team of drummers: Chika, Nagisa, Saori & Tao (two leaders of the group). Get this: the night of the performance, I get to the place where I was meeting the others and Tao told me Nagisa had been sick all day - fever and vomiting, poor girl. I felt bad because I know she was really looking forward to doing this. Not only that, her absence threw a wrench into our format because now Saori would have to play both timekeeper AND do Nagisa's part. Turns out this was a blessing in disguise because Saori is SO GOOD. I learned later in the night, she was a professional at one point. She is the one behind me.
Let me just say that this was EXHAUSTING. By the end of the performance, I was half past dead. Very physically strenuous, but very impressive to watch too, if done right (see Saori!).
Special thanks to Brett Plotz for taking this video!
Enjoy!
Friday, January 05, 2007
Winter Holidays Part II: Yamanashi.
I invited Mike and Anna to come along to my grandparents place in Yamanashi and my aunt and uncle's place in Yokohama (later) to experience some real Japanese family environment, especially for New Years. My cousin Wataru came up the day after we did so the new years weekend participants consisted of Mike and Anna, my grandparents, Wataru and me. Good times!
The drive to Yamanashi was beautiful. Some real mountains.
Kampai!
Obaachan playing the keyboard and Ogiichan singing an old song in his gravelly voice. We jammed quite a bit, actually. We had a really nice piano (so Anna told me, I don't know much about those things), a guitar and keyboard. I didn't really know this before, but Obaachan has a really good ear! She'd listen to what Mike was playing on the piano and after one listen would play right along with her keyboard...
Their dog, Ai-chan, though being a female, had a peculiar habit....
Great picture of Ogiichan in his workshop. Their house is just a big clutter of various crafts, artifacts, raw materials and other nicknacks... a lovely home.
This is the driveway to my grandparent's place. We had to park Mike and Anna's car out by the main street because it wouldn't fit in the footpath that is the driveway. Only Ogiichan's skinny van driven expertly by Ogiichan himself can navigate this course.
Fuji-san. Quite possibly the most beautiful mountain in the world. I hear the Table-Top Mountain in South Africa is pretty, too...
Me trying to play a shamisen. I was inspired by two brothers playing on TV - they ROCKED out on these things, I don't know how they did it, but it was amazing. The "pick" is that ice-scraper-like thing in my right hand and you have only three strings on a fretless neck.
I invited Mike and Anna to come along to my grandparents place in Yamanashi and my aunt and uncle's place in Yokohama (later) to experience some real Japanese family environment, especially for New Years. My cousin Wataru came up the day after we did so the new years weekend participants consisted of Mike and Anna, my grandparents, Wataru and me. Good times!
The drive to Yamanashi was beautiful. Some real mountains.
Kampai!
Obaachan playing the keyboard and Ogiichan singing an old song in his gravelly voice. We jammed quite a bit, actually. We had a really nice piano (so Anna told me, I don't know much about those things), a guitar and keyboard. I didn't really know this before, but Obaachan has a really good ear! She'd listen to what Mike was playing on the piano and after one listen would play right along with her keyboard...
Their dog, Ai-chan, though being a female, had a peculiar habit....
Great picture of Ogiichan in his workshop. Their house is just a big clutter of various crafts, artifacts, raw materials and other nicknacks... a lovely home.
This is the driveway to my grandparent's place. We had to park Mike and Anna's car out by the main street because it wouldn't fit in the footpath that is the driveway. Only Ogiichan's skinny van driven expertly by Ogiichan himself can navigate this course.
Fuji-san. Quite possibly the most beautiful mountain in the world. I hear the Table-Top Mountain in South Africa is pretty, too...
Me trying to play a shamisen. I was inspired by two brothers playing on TV - they ROCKED out on these things, I don't know how they did it, but it was amazing. The "pick" is that ice-scraper-like thing in my right hand and you have only three strings on a fretless neck.
WINTER HOLIDAYS Part I.
CHRISTMAS in Kudamatsu! - feat. Mike and Anna.
Nothing like best friends from home to brighten up a foreign and potentially lonely Christmas. Mike and Anna sped from their Japan-home in Gifu where they are teaching English, to my humble abode on the Friday before Christmas. I'd like to say I showed them all the glory of Yamaguchi-ken, but the truth is, we ended up just relaxing in my tatami (bamboo carpet) room for most of the time - it was just what we all needed. Some pictures.
On Saturday (Christmas Eve's eve) we had a Taiko concert at an old-folks home. Mike and Anna's first taiko experience, and even though we were pretty rusty, it was fun times.
The traditional cutting of the best friend's hair which is a ritual long practiced in Japan ever since that day I cut Mike's hair, which was last week, I guess.
SNOW!! Machi, Ken and Anna revelling in the first snowfall of the year, and what a snowfall! Flakes the size of my fist and perfect for chucking at the nearest friend. You can see the flakes are so big they cast a shadow from the flash.
The Tree Festival in neighbouring Tokuyama. Lots of lights, big stage, thumping subwoofers accompanying highflying cheerleading acts, dance groups, and singing performances. And many many food tents. Delish.
The main objective of this photo was to get the guy's hair behind me. So pay no attention to me and please refer to the mane of Japanese style piled behind me.
We bumped into Chika and Suguru (Taiko friends, if you have forgotten) as well as Arisa and her little sister. Arisa, along with Chika, were in my group at the Karyo English camp waaaay back in August! Check out that jacket Chika is wearing! These kids are stylin'.
CHRISTMAS in Kudamatsu! - feat. Mike and Anna.
Nothing like best friends from home to brighten up a foreign and potentially lonely Christmas. Mike and Anna sped from their Japan-home in Gifu where they are teaching English, to my humble abode on the Friday before Christmas. I'd like to say I showed them all the glory of Yamaguchi-ken, but the truth is, we ended up just relaxing in my tatami (bamboo carpet) room for most of the time - it was just what we all needed. Some pictures.
On Saturday (Christmas Eve's eve) we had a Taiko concert at an old-folks home. Mike and Anna's first taiko experience, and even though we were pretty rusty, it was fun times.
The traditional cutting of the best friend's hair which is a ritual long practiced in Japan ever since that day I cut Mike's hair, which was last week, I guess.
SNOW!! Machi, Ken and Anna revelling in the first snowfall of the year, and what a snowfall! Flakes the size of my fist and perfect for chucking at the nearest friend. You can see the flakes are so big they cast a shadow from the flash.
The Tree Festival in neighbouring Tokuyama. Lots of lights, big stage, thumping subwoofers accompanying highflying cheerleading acts, dance groups, and singing performances. And many many food tents. Delish.
The main objective of this photo was to get the guy's hair behind me. So pay no attention to me and please refer to the mane of Japanese style piled behind me.
We bumped into Chika and Suguru (Taiko friends, if you have forgotten) as well as Arisa and her little sister. Arisa, along with Chika, were in my group at the Karyo English camp waaaay back in August! Check out that jacket Chika is wearing! These kids are stylin'.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Christmas Shout Outs!
To Ed Wagler, who was mad because I hadn't given him a shout out yet. He makes an excellent turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken stuffed with bacon stuffed with bacon. Ask him about it.
To Shoko, who is a great ambassador for Japan and who hosts us with tireless enthusiasm and love for friends and Japan.
To Takahashi-san, aka Wendy, who is like my Mom at the Board of Education Office, and brings me treats and snacks daily.
To Kayo, my "oneechan" (elder sister) and supervisor at the office who frequently brings me presents of candles (during typhoon season), kerosene pump (for my kerosene heater) and curry mix with English instructions printed out so I could make my own curry. And also for being wonderfully weird and funny. Offices worldwide need more Kayos.
To all y'all at Shantz Mennonite Church who sent me a lovely little care package that arrived exactly on Christmas day! Thank you for the flouride toothpaste!
To my Mom and Dad whose nest is now suddenly empty. You won't miss us for long. Dad, now you can blare Bach and Mozart as loud as you like! And Mom, you can watch as much figure skating as you like. Also, you can spoil Dad since he is an old man and it has been approximately 100 years since he has been spoiled like a child on Christmas day. Actually, that's not true, he's spoiled just to have a family like us, right? Love you!
To Ed Wagler, who was mad because I hadn't given him a shout out yet. He makes an excellent turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken stuffed with bacon stuffed with bacon. Ask him about it.
To Shoko, who is a great ambassador for Japan and who hosts us with tireless enthusiasm and love for friends and Japan.
To Takahashi-san, aka Wendy, who is like my Mom at the Board of Education Office, and brings me treats and snacks daily.
To Kayo, my "oneechan" (elder sister) and supervisor at the office who frequently brings me presents of candles (during typhoon season), kerosene pump (for my kerosene heater) and curry mix with English instructions printed out so I could make my own curry. And also for being wonderfully weird and funny. Offices worldwide need more Kayos.
To all y'all at Shantz Mennonite Church who sent me a lovely little care package that arrived exactly on Christmas day! Thank you for the flouride toothpaste!
To my Mom and Dad whose nest is now suddenly empty. You won't miss us for long. Dad, now you can blare Bach and Mozart as loud as you like! And Mom, you can watch as much figure skating as you like. Also, you can spoil Dad since he is an old man and it has been approximately 100 years since he has been spoiled like a child on Christmas day. Actually, that's not true, he's spoiled just to have a family like us, right? Love you!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Yamaguchi JET Christmas Party - in Beautiful Hagi.
A very enjoyable evening. Italian restaurant, gift exchange, good eats and drinks and conversations.
The distinguished Marko. One of the coolest guys in the ken, he has done much in his 36 years including graduating from Oxford with a History degree, which we young bucks always tease him about.
Brett and Junko... Junko is one hip girl, even though nobody says hip anymore. Has a unique sense of fashion (kinda hippy) which is both a great feat and at the same time not at all surprising because everyone is fashionably unique in the same way in Japan.
Louise and a Japanese man who owns a 70's vintage store who came over to talk to us. He had on an amazing Chicago Cubs sweater which unfortunately, you can't get the full scope of in this photo.
Sally and Louise pose with the Benda, Sally's work car. This was my ride home after the part; probably the smallest car I've ever ridden in. The backseat was actually less than 90 degress so my spine was distorted after a while.
A very enjoyable evening. Italian restaurant, gift exchange, good eats and drinks and conversations.
The distinguished Marko. One of the coolest guys in the ken, he has done much in his 36 years including graduating from Oxford with a History degree, which we young bucks always tease him about.
Brett and Junko... Junko is one hip girl, even though nobody says hip anymore. Has a unique sense of fashion (kinda hippy) which is both a great feat and at the same time not at all surprising because everyone is fashionably unique in the same way in Japan.
Louise and a Japanese man who owns a 70's vintage store who came over to talk to us. He had on an amazing Chicago Cubs sweater which unfortunately, you can't get the full scope of in this photo.
Sally and Louise pose with the Benda, Sally's work car. This was my ride home after the part; probably the smallest car I've ever ridden in. The backseat was actually less than 90 degress so my spine was distorted after a while.
The following is a letter I wrote to my church back in Canada. Also appropriate for the general viewing public.
The God of Small Things.
Hello to my Shantz Church family!
Hope y'all are well and healthy...
I have to start off by saying "I am sorry for not writing to you sooner and I have really no excuse for this, except to say that time is REALLY flying over here and I can't believe it's been four months since I left Canada". Forgiveness please.
I have to say, I miss you all. I miss the church community, the discussions, the friends, and the potlucks. I have not yet found a church here, but to be perfectly honest, I haven't looked very hard. But I've taken the opportunity to spend more time with God alone. Most Sundays I wake up, stretch a bit, and then sit on my bamboo mat floor and... do nothing. Just sit. Then I'll crack open a random page of the Bible and read it, think about it... then read a bit of The Purpose Driven Life (thanks Mom), dwell on that for a bit... then read "What Is Zen" (great book, check it out) by Allan Watts for a bit and reflect on that.
The result of this kind of prayer and meditation has been a renewed sense of gratefulness to God for all the blessings in my life, not least of which are the people back home (you) who pray for me and are supportive of me. It's really quite amazing the difference a thankful heart can produce in everyday existence. I've found myself able to appreciate each interaction more, every student that smiles and waves at me or goes out of his/her way to say something in English; every teacher that is so grateful for my proofreading their tests... little things like that. Honestly, there is nothing that exciting in my day-to-day routine in Japan, but it's all these mundane blessings that, if remembered, make for a good time. Allow me to share a few...
This week I have been giving interview tests to 9th graders and it's really fun most of the time because it's basically just me and the student chilling out and talking in English. One question I asked a bunch of times is "What do you want to be in the future?".
Normal answer: "I want to be a [profession of choice]"
Abnormal/Awesome answers:
"I want to be rich!" Why? "Big house! Lots of shoes!" - Mami
"I want to be happy" - Shizuka [this was immediately after Mami's comment].
"I want to be Ritchie Blackmore" - Taiki. I thought at first that he said "I want to be a rich black man" and I didn't quite know what to say. Turns out he was talking about the aforementioned Mr. Blackmore, former guitarist of Deep Purple!
I led a game of pictionary with one of my 7th grade classes and divided the class into two teams. I asked for team names and Natsuki volunteered "Sushi" for her team. I just have to say at this point that Natsuki is probably one of the best persons in Japan. I haven't really had any conversations with her (she can't speak English very well) but she is just so bright, bubbly, smart, gentle, and good-natured that she has become one of my favourites. There are some kids who are cheerful in a loud, obnoxious way, but Natsuki just seems full of joy... and as I watched her with her team, everyone always looked to her as their leader to consider their next move. Anyways, the other team, upon deliberation from their EXTREMELY loud leader, we'll call her Alpha Girl, decided that a good opposition to Japanese Sushi would be American Steak. Steak vs. Sushi. America vs. Japan. Interestingly, the Steak side was very rowdy, outspoken, and noisy while team Sushi was very quiet, but attentive. Sushi won 3-1.
This last story takes place at taiko practice [taiko is Japanese drumming... big drums... big sticks...]. We were learning a new piece which involved an A side and a B side and the two would call and answer, back and forth. I was really struggling with the transition from A to B because I couldn't get the timing right and was always coming in too early or too late. So I was resorting to counting out the individual beats and this was getting nowhere too... Finally, Saya, a 12-year-old girl who is really good and knows both A and B parts, turned to me and said in absolute seriousness (in Japanese), "Ken, it's no use trying to count the beats. You've got to feel the music, feel the rhythm." I didn't know 12-year-olds knew anything about groove, much less how to teach it, but I've got the part down pat now!
It's stuff like that that make my day, and I thank God for making me sensitive to them. I hope you can take the time to see these little things in a season too often overwhelmed by big spending and stress.
Blessings to all of you, Merry Christmas!
peace,
Ken
The God of Small Things.
Hello to my Shantz Church family!
Hope y'all are well and healthy...
I have to start off by saying "I am sorry for not writing to you sooner and I have really no excuse for this, except to say that time is REALLY flying over here and I can't believe it's been four months since I left Canada". Forgiveness please.
I have to say, I miss you all. I miss the church community, the discussions, the friends, and the potlucks. I have not yet found a church here, but to be perfectly honest, I haven't looked very hard. But I've taken the opportunity to spend more time with God alone. Most Sundays I wake up, stretch a bit, and then sit on my bamboo mat floor and... do nothing. Just sit. Then I'll crack open a random page of the Bible and read it, think about it... then read a bit of The Purpose Driven Life (thanks Mom), dwell on that for a bit... then read "What Is Zen" (great book, check it out) by Allan Watts for a bit and reflect on that.
The result of this kind of prayer and meditation has been a renewed sense of gratefulness to God for all the blessings in my life, not least of which are the people back home (you) who pray for me and are supportive of me. It's really quite amazing the difference a thankful heart can produce in everyday existence. I've found myself able to appreciate each interaction more, every student that smiles and waves at me or goes out of his/her way to say something in English; every teacher that is so grateful for my proofreading their tests... little things like that. Honestly, there is nothing that exciting in my day-to-day routine in Japan, but it's all these mundane blessings that, if remembered, make for a good time. Allow me to share a few...
This week I have been giving interview tests to 9th graders and it's really fun most of the time because it's basically just me and the student chilling out and talking in English. One question I asked a bunch of times is "What do you want to be in the future?".
Normal answer: "I want to be a [profession of choice]"
Abnormal/Awesome answers:
"I want to be rich!" Why? "Big house! Lots of shoes!" - Mami
"I want to be happy" - Shizuka [this was immediately after Mami's comment].
"I want to be Ritchie Blackmore" - Taiki. I thought at first that he said "I want to be a rich black man" and I didn't quite know what to say. Turns out he was talking about the aforementioned Mr. Blackmore, former guitarist of Deep Purple!
I led a game of pictionary with one of my 7th grade classes and divided the class into two teams. I asked for team names and Natsuki volunteered "Sushi" for her team. I just have to say at this point that Natsuki is probably one of the best persons in Japan. I haven't really had any conversations with her (she can't speak English very well) but she is just so bright, bubbly, smart, gentle, and good-natured that she has become one of my favourites. There are some kids who are cheerful in a loud, obnoxious way, but Natsuki just seems full of joy... and as I watched her with her team, everyone always looked to her as their leader to consider their next move. Anyways, the other team, upon deliberation from their EXTREMELY loud leader, we'll call her Alpha Girl, decided that a good opposition to Japanese Sushi would be American Steak. Steak vs. Sushi. America vs. Japan. Interestingly, the Steak side was very rowdy, outspoken, and noisy while team Sushi was very quiet, but attentive. Sushi won 3-1.
This last story takes place at taiko practice [taiko is Japanese drumming... big drums... big sticks...]. We were learning a new piece which involved an A side and a B side and the two would call and answer, back and forth. I was really struggling with the transition from A to B because I couldn't get the timing right and was always coming in too early or too late. So I was resorting to counting out the individual beats and this was getting nowhere too... Finally, Saya, a 12-year-old girl who is really good and knows both A and B parts, turned to me and said in absolute seriousness (in Japanese), "Ken, it's no use trying to count the beats. You've got to feel the music, feel the rhythm." I didn't know 12-year-olds knew anything about groove, much less how to teach it, but I've got the part down pat now!
It's stuff like that that make my day, and I thank God for making me sensitive to them. I hope you can take the time to see these little things in a season too often overwhelmed by big spending and stress.
Blessings to all of you, Merry Christmas!
peace,
Ken
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
TSUANO -- Fall in Japan on a rainy day.
Once again Brett, Jennifer, Supervisor/friend Shoko and I joined forces to see a bit of Japan. This being fall, and we being in a nation quite obsessed with its four seasons, we set out to see the changing leaves, which has a specific word in Japanese which I forget. Shoko took us to some of her secret favourite places which included a little waterfall, pool, and creek that was hidden away off of a mountain road. It is so secret that I will not post pictures of it. I will however post some pics of the aforementioned leaves.
Makka. Which is to say, "pitch red" (like pitch black). The Japanese maple turn some serious shades of red and gold. Very bold indeed.
This is me being chilly on a bridge that crosses a river that runs 100 meters below. Very long way down indeed. Shoko freaked out anytime Brett or I came near her because she thought we would throw her over or something. Not really, but you know how people are when they are near the edge of a very long drop. Please note how low the railing is... I could trip over it for crying out loud.
Very tall waterfall that you can't really see. It's not the secret one though.
Once again Brett, Jennifer, Supervisor/friend Shoko and I joined forces to see a bit of Japan. This being fall, and we being in a nation quite obsessed with its four seasons, we set out to see the changing leaves, which has a specific word in Japanese which I forget. Shoko took us to some of her secret favourite places which included a little waterfall, pool, and creek that was hidden away off of a mountain road. It is so secret that I will not post pictures of it. I will however post some pics of the aforementioned leaves.
Makka. Which is to say, "pitch red" (like pitch black). The Japanese maple turn some serious shades of red and gold. Very bold indeed.
This is me being chilly on a bridge that crosses a river that runs 100 meters below. Very long way down indeed. Shoko freaked out anytime Brett or I came near her because she thought we would throw her over or something. Not really, but you know how people are when they are near the edge of a very long drop. Please note how low the railing is... I could trip over it for crying out loud.
Very tall waterfall that you can't really see. It's not the secret one though.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Kudamatsu Mall Bunkasai cont'd.
These pictures give a tiny glimpse into the phenomenon of fashion in Japan. Everyone is fashionable in Japan. In one way or another, people dress on purpose. Little kids, grandmothers, they're all rockin' something good when they go out. It is not uncommon for me to see a super-fly young couple grocery shopping together with their super-fly three-week-old baby. This is in stark contrast to my own growing up when I wore faded trackpants with tapered legs well into my senior years in highschool. But I wore them well.
You're never too old to dress young, is the unofficial motto for most contemporary Japanese.
Likewise, you're never too young to dress old(skool). I think I saw a pipe in his breast pocket.
These pictures give a tiny glimpse into the phenomenon of fashion in Japan. Everyone is fashionable in Japan. In one way or another, people dress on purpose. Little kids, grandmothers, they're all rockin' something good when they go out. It is not uncommon for me to see a super-fly young couple grocery shopping together with their super-fly three-week-old baby. This is in stark contrast to my own growing up when I wore faded trackpants with tapered legs well into my senior years in highschool. But I wore them well.
You're never too old to dress young, is the unofficial motto for most contemporary Japanese.
Likewise, you're never too young to dress old(skool). I think I saw a pipe in his breast pocket.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Kudamatsu City Bunkasai (Cultural Festival).
This was one of the last festivals of the 2 week festival blitz that happened all over Yamaguchi-ken this year (every year, a different ken hosts the national cultural festivals). This one was held at The Mall and the parking lot was converted into a fair or market of sorts. Quite strange, actually, I'd never seen anything like this because they were selling - get ready for a huge shock - USED goods! It was reminded me strongly of markets in Uganda, of all things, because the vendors just spread out a blanket or tarp on the ground and laid out their stuff. I'm not sure if this was a special day for used clothing and stuff but I haven't seen it anywhere else.
Below are some random things for sale. What is Bruce Lee doing with his thumb?
Those trees are pretty sweet. I bet you're jealous because you think it's warm here. It's not. It's warmer than Canada, but when your school or apartment doesn't have insulated walls or central heating, 14 degrees feels much colder.
These kids were just jumping and spinning in midair...I don't know if they were practicing for something, but they were really good at it. I wish they would've practiced in front of a solid background though.
Below, a cheerleading group doing a pretty quick routine to "Hey Mickey" (you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind...). I'm not cheerleading routine expert, but this seemed pretty high level for little kids.
This picture has nothing to do with this bunkasai, but I thought I should post it. It was from the Kudamatsu Junior Highschool bunkasai from a few weeks ago...a picture drawn by a student who shall remain anonymous because I don't know his or her name.
This was one of the last festivals of the 2 week festival blitz that happened all over Yamaguchi-ken this year (every year, a different ken hosts the national cultural festivals). This one was held at The Mall and the parking lot was converted into a fair or market of sorts. Quite strange, actually, I'd never seen anything like this because they were selling - get ready for a huge shock - USED goods! It was reminded me strongly of markets in Uganda, of all things, because the vendors just spread out a blanket or tarp on the ground and laid out their stuff. I'm not sure if this was a special day for used clothing and stuff but I haven't seen it anywhere else.
Below are some random things for sale. What is Bruce Lee doing with his thumb?
Those trees are pretty sweet. I bet you're jealous because you think it's warm here. It's not. It's warmer than Canada, but when your school or apartment doesn't have insulated walls or central heating, 14 degrees feels much colder.
These kids were just jumping and spinning in midair...I don't know if they were practicing for something, but they were really good at it. I wish they would've practiced in front of a solid background though.
Below, a cheerleading group doing a pretty quick routine to "Hey Mickey" (you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind...). I'm not cheerleading routine expert, but this seemed pretty high level for little kids.
This picture has nothing to do with this bunkasai, but I thought I should post it. It was from the Kudamatsu Junior Highschool bunkasai from a few weeks ago...a picture drawn by a student who shall remain anonymous because I don't know his or her name.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Women's Volleyball continued.
On Saturday night I saw these women do something which I thought was impossible. They were playing undefeated Serbia/Montenegro, the top team at this tournament with a perfect 6-0 record. And they showed it in the first two sets by totally dominating the smaller Japanese squad. The S/M spikes were just malicious; they hit so hard the ball was often not visible to the naked eye. I gave it up, to be honest, and told myself that Japan is just playing for pride at this point. Turns out they have a lot of pride!
Our girls really started clicking in the third set and the attack combinations, blocks, digs, were all firing perfectly! The turning point in the set (and ultimately, the game) was when Japan got two crucial blocks from the most unlikely player: tiny captain Takeshita!
Japan then basically cruised through the next 3 sets and took the match 3-2!! Unreal.
On Saturday night I saw these women do something which I thought was impossible. They were playing undefeated Serbia/Montenegro, the top team at this tournament with a perfect 6-0 record. And they showed it in the first two sets by totally dominating the smaller Japanese squad. The S/M spikes were just malicious; they hit so hard the ball was often not visible to the naked eye. I gave it up, to be honest, and told myself that Japan is just playing for pride at this point. Turns out they have a lot of pride!
Our girls really started clicking in the third set and the attack combinations, blocks, digs, were all firing perfectly! The turning point in the set (and ultimately, the game) was when Japan got two crucial blocks from the most unlikely player: tiny captain Takeshita!
Japan then basically cruised through the next 3 sets and took the match 3-2!! Unreal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
