Just got back from Judo. One of the boys found out a family member has a week to live. It was very sad to see him sobbing for a long time.

An Exciting Tidbit: reader's choice

I've been feeling like a lion lately. After school I come home and lay around, yawning big yawns and wondering what's for dinner.
Today for school lunch I had a shrimp burrito. I got the ingredients at a specialty food store about an hour and a half from here. The kids were really interested in the avocado I'd brought. Funny, because I bought that in Mammy's supermarket. None of them had ever tried avocado before, so I sliced it all up and gave them each a piece. Now there were six kids in my lunch group today, and when I went around handing out the slices of avocado, I could here kids from the surrounding lunch groups saying, 'Ee na!' in whiny tones. That means, 'You lucky bastard!' in Japanese, except without the 'bastard' part. Japanese is such a clean language overall. 'Shoot!' is about as bad as I've heard, and someone's really got to have goofed up to say that. Anyway, everyone liked avocado except one kid. He ate the slice and immediately gulped down his entire carton of milk. His face went all sour as he ate it, demonstrating fully his dislike. I feigned regret; avocado is quite sour, after all.

I also had a new taste experience today at lunch. After I ate my burrito(the kids hadn't seen black beans before either), I tried the raisin bread from the school's lunch. The funny thing about this raisin bread is that it didn't actually have raisins in it, it was just raisin 'flavored'(never could find italics on this darned blog) bread. No actual raisins, just a slightly bluish tinge to the bread, which made it all the more appetizing. It was pretty tasty in the end.

I almost went paragliding this weekend. It got rained out, so about six of us English teachers ended up at Joyfull Family Restaurant, trying to make up for the lack of thrill with seafood pizzas and tofu salads. I had the 'ebi-fry set-to', a set which comes with three fried jumbo shrimp, a salad, some pickled veggies, a bowl of miso soup and a bowl of rice. I always get the ebi-fry set-to. And I'm never disappointed--the salad always comes with two pieces of broccoli, one tomato slice, and one (out of place) lemon slice. The pickled veggies are always a bit strong for my taste, and the miso is always too hot to drink. The rice undoubtedly hits the spot. Joyfull is like the Denny's of Japan--open 24 hours too!

I know it's nuts, but Wednesday I go in to check out a job at a girl's high school in a neighboring town. If I like it and they like me, I'll stay for another year.
Reader's choice: If you were me, and you got the job, would you stay?

What a beautiful breezy night in the patch of rice fields interrupted by cold concrete buildings, also known as Arao.
As I frequently do, I frequented the grocery store 'Mammy's' tonight. That's pronouced 'Mommy's' in English, something that I've always gotten a kick out of. I like of telling my friends, "Hey, I'm going to Mommy's." It bring back memories of boogey-board 'slip-n-slide' in the mud at the Murphy's house next door back in Pennsylvania. As dinner time approached, weary from the fun of it all, someone would eventually mumble, "Hey, I'm tired. I'm going to Mommy's."

It took me and my brothers a long time to break the 'Mommy' habit. I think my brother wanted to switch to calling our mother 'Mom' before he turned 30, a noble aspiration indeed. Having made the switch has assuredly saved us years of counseling. And yet, these days, I still recall the comfort of the old days when after a long day at school I can say to my friends, "Hey, I'm tired. I'm going to Mammy's."

At Mammy's, I bought a chilled, sweetened late coffee drink, 'Snow Brand Coffee.' The slogan of this drink is, "Please enjoy a traditional taste." Instantly, I pictured armor-clad samurai in heated debate, discussing the fate of Japan, maps sprawled about on a table. As the intensity of the debates increased, one of the men would look about sheepishly and remove a carton of 'Snow Brand Coffee' from his knapsack. Slicing it open with his sword, the others would slowly become silent, watching him gulp down the contents. He would look at them, realizing the akwardness he had creating and would exclaim, "What are you looking at? My family's been drinking this Snow Brand Coffee' for years!"
Japan's so great, ain't it?

Mango Coco, Judo Babble (say 5x fast)

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Originally uploaded by jetblossom.

Mango Coco

After Judo practice, I stopped at 7-11 for a cool, refreshing 'Mango Coco'.
Please take a moment to share in my excitement upon catching sight of this titilating title. Mango and cocoa? Could it be done? Could the two be fused into a thirst-quenching 'dessert drink?' Oh, the anticipation!

Sadly, yet probably fortunately, there was no cocoa to be found here for reasons unknown to me. Maybe I was slightly disappointed. Actually, it just seemed to be mango juice.
The container promised 'An invigorating drink for your refreshment and exhilaration.' I expected that from a mango/cocoa combo, but I found myself truly exhilarated after almost gaging on several cubes of mango cleverly planted inside the drink.
Note: container should, but does not read--DO NOT SERVE MANGO COCO TO CHILDREN UNDER THREE AND ILLEGIBLE FOREIGNERS--SEVERE CHOKING HAZARD.

Practice was invigorating as well. I had four teachers today: Kikukawa-kun, Murakami-kun(if you'll remember from one of my earlier blogs, he is the one whose hand always seems to return to his nether regions for a good scratch--blecch), Ryu-kun and Hinuzuka-kun.

They huddled to decide who should take the falls for me. Murakami was the reluctant pick, and the rest of the boys chatted idly while he stood in front of me grinning blankly. Finally, he asked me what I wanted to learn. I said, "I just started, you can teach me anything." So, after several minutes of Japanese 'umm's and 'hmm's, Murakami called the coach over. The coach was sitting on the mat, utterly involved in his own world. He was in a daze, rolling up and back and up and back. He could not be disturbed from his rolling.

Finally, and to the relief of Murakami, one of the other boys, Ryu-kun, took over.

Ryu-kun, a solid, calm, humble eighth-grader, is about the same height as me. He has a pleasantly average build. I noticed that he shaved his mustache fuzz today for the first time, which I presume to be something like the male equivalent to the women's onset of menstruation. It goes something like this: 'Ryu is thirteen years old; at home in his bathroom today, he became a man.' I silently congratulated him on his adulthood as he began bashing his chest into mine, going over the old drills.

I like Ryu-kun very much. His earnestness and at the same time, his humbleness on the mat, draws me in. His technique is accurate and relaxed, and despite his modest nature, he takes on the role of instructor easily. Ryu often looks me gently in the eyes, something the other boys don't do, and I don't wonder about it; I'm just thankful for it. After chest-bashing, we went over four other throws. After practice, I went to 7-11.

Hips Higher than Previously Thought

I recently had a realization that my hips are a lot higher up on my body than I thought. My Aunt Cheryl used to tell me that I should wear my pants so they come up to my hips, not saggy and baggy like recent fashions. I always thought she wore her pants very high up, but now I understand that's possibly why pants work, because they fit over the hips. So thanks for the tip, Aunt Cheryl, I finally understand.

I'd like to attribute this seemingly insignificant triumph to the students of the Arao #1 Middle School Judo team and their worn-out, but sensible coach.

Using this 'higher hip' knowledge, all my Judo throws will now be flawless.

Greeting practice

They went down the row: "OHIO GOZAIMASU!" "OHIO GOZAIMASU!" "OHIO GOZAIMASU!" "OHIO GOZAIMASU!" "OHIO GOZAIMASU!" (good morning)

I went to the window of the teacher's room and peered down. Seventeen students were lined up, backs straight as boards.

"You--Ms. Fugihara. Not loud enough. Sit down."
The shouting resumed: "KONNICHIWA!" "KONNICHIWA!" "KONNICHIWA!" (good afternoon)

The tall eighth grader, the one whose voice creaks like a squeaky door, cracked.
"Mr. Matsuda, from your chest next time. Sit down."

"HAI!" "HAI!" "HAI!" "HAI!" "HAI!" (yes)

"Okay, everyone up. Let's do it again."

"OHIO GOZAIMASU!" "OHIO GOZAIMASU!" "OHIO GOZAIMASU!"

Julie: "English Teacher Morimoto, what are those students doing??"

Ms. Morimoto: "They're doing 'greeting' practice."

Julie: "Greeting practice?"

Ms. Morimoto: "Mr. Kaneko thinks the badminton team needs to have a strong greeting, so he's training them."

Julie: "Oh yes, of course. Greeting practice. Thank you."

Yesterday's elementary school shirts boldly noted:

DETUOR-Speed limit 15

I will becom a smart man-BAD BOY-those glittering eyes

ACCORDANCE 65 COPACETIC

I'm sure happiness coming your way

Ball & Bill-Many Quarter(in the center, big skull and crossbones surrounded by lots of little hearts)

People who an active part for the world 1982


...and my personal favorite:

YOU AREN'T REJECTING INFORMATION
[let's get that straight, okay?]

Loquat that! Uhh, loquat what?

I discovered loquat Jello at 7-11 tonight. Inside, you could see three fleshy loquats suspended in a delightful, 'just too big' plastic cup. The loquat balls, resembling sponge clown noses, tasted funny. Ha ha, no they tasted like big apricots.
Of course, as the advertisers promised, I did experience absolute extravagance upon tasting.

More on loquats(come on! spruce up your staff room with random trivia!): (http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/loquat.html)


Also, check out (http://www.yongfook.com) under Food Reviews. You'll find a wacko, brilliant take on the stuff we see here (almost) every day. Yongfook (John) used to live a few hours from here in Aso.

Making foam with old folks

I seem to have gotten myself into some sort of Mary Kay exclusive beauty and health products club for rich old people. We sit and watch a women talk about skin cream, then put about seven kinds of cream all over other women's faces, and then we ooh and ahh about how creamy their skin looks. I enjoy the oohing and ahhing part very much.

I can't explain the foam making--there's this technique to rubbing skin cream in your hands so that it makes some foam you can store for later. But I can say that there were way, way too many fake flowers in the hostess' home. I mean there were fake flowers in vases, fake flowers covering entire walls, fake flowers sprouting from Scooby-Doo planters, and fake flowers emerging from the hands of a Buddha statue. Not that fake flowers don't have some sort of colorful appeal, and all, but they're FAKE, you know?! I don't understand fake flowers.

Sunday, I joined some of the Mary Kay-esque ladies for a Hawaiian dance luau charity fundraiser down in Amakusa, a chain of islands south of here. Yes, that's right, a Hawaiin dance fundraiser. I donned a Hawaiian dress and two leis. I collected money from the crowd. Many people commented that I looked like the most Hawaiian person there, which completely bewildered me because I possible looked like the least Hawaiian person there. I began to believe them after a while, just to humor myself. I thought, "I may just look like the most Hawaiian person here. Go me!!"

Afterwards, we attended the customary drinking party, where we relaxed and shared toasts(mine, literally: "It was super!"). For thirty minutes. After that, and I swear, the very moment the clock struck thirty minutes, dessert was served and a second wave of party goers arrived. Instantly, we were ushered out. I didn't even get to eat my cake, let alone drink any sake. I found out later that we weren't the main guests of the evening, the dancers were, so that's why our party was pooped.

Lastly, school. These days I'm really enjoying ninth grade classes. The kids are starting to look all grown up, but when they speak, they still say the same kinds of things little kids say.
Lunch time is so entertaining. The other day I brought my English-Japanese dictionary with me, and I let the students look through it. One student felt a dire need to tell me something, so I asked him to please use the dictionary and look up the words. He flipped frantically, and began to sound out 'sssrrimu, ssrimu, slim.'
Uhh-oh, I thought. What's he trying to say?
He pointed to his eye. 'Eye,' he said pointedly.
'My friend,' he continued.
'My friend eye slim.' he announced proudly, as he pointed to his friend's eyes. His friend turned to me, waving his hands in front of his face, and said 'No, no. Eye no slim'.
He pointed to himself. 'Very cute.' And he beamed.

Friends? I imagine he said that too!

I summoned up the courage to engage in conversation with one of the gas station attendants.

Julie: Oh, hi Uehata-san! Fill 'er up, please.

Gas Station Attendant Uehata Who Wears His Cap Sideways: Oh, hi Julie! Didn't I see you driving somewhere the other day? Going to the Iris Festival?

J: Oh, I was driving to Kumamoto for Aikido, but I went to the Iris Festival on the way back.

U: I see. I'll bet you're coming from Aikido now also? Say, ... ... ... ? Because ... ... ... . Shall I clean the windows now?

J: Uhh, yes, please. (three minutes and several clean windows later, after contemplating the potential of making a friend, and having nothing to lose) Uehata-san, do you like music?

U: Music? What kind of music do you mean?

J: Like Japanese band A or Japanese band B or Japanese band C?

U: Oh, you know, I haven't been getting any sleep at all lately. ... ... ... not listen to music.

J: Whaa?

U: Well, you see, ... ... ... music ... . And you know, also, ... music ... . Almost no sleep, you know.

J: Sounds hard.

U: Hmm..., hard, yeah maybe. I do play the guitar though, and occasionally my band has a show. (gesturing playing guitar)

J: Really?

U: Yeah, sometimes we have a show. ... ... ... guitar ... ... . It's really ... ... .

J: Really?

U: Yeah. (pause) Uhh, that'll be 1626 yen.

J: Here you go. (pause) So, you mentioned you're a black belt in Judo. You know, I just joined the Judo club at Arao #1 Middle School.

U: Is that so?

J: Yeah.

U: ... ... Judo ... ..., you know?

J: Mmm, mmm (i.e., keep talking, maybe I'll understand something)

U: ... ... ..., and that's how it is. Almost no sleep.

J: Mmm, I see. Almost no sleep. (pause) Uhh, here. Maybe you'll like this CD. It's called 'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'. You can have it. I have another copy. (Very non-commital language, I know.)

U: Oh, are you sure? Thanks! (pause) So, which way are you turning, right or left?

J: Left.

U: Please, let me stop traffic so you can pull out(manditory service).

J: Thank you!

U: Thank you!

My interpretation of events: I think he said that his wife just had a baby and he can't sleep these days. But I know the word for baby, and he didn't say it. But he didn't say the words for 'all-night rock star' either. What do imagine he said?

This is why making friends isn't easy for me. I can't understand 94% of what anyone says. Maybe he'll enjoy the CD, that is, if he's not too busy attending to his wife and newborn infant.


NOTE: Reaching out to anyone is a challenge. I've got Hiro and Etsuko and her family, whom I've known since the beginning, but I want to try to make some more friends before I leave. It's not just that I can't speak Japanese so well, but most people don't seem interested in making friends.

Loneliest Night

Friday night I had planned to go dancing with some friends in Fukuoka City(a.k.a., the 'big city'). Unfortunately, my friends canceled at the last minute.
I was all dressed up with no place to go, so I called another friend. He was at a birthday party in Kumamoto City(the 'not-as-big city'), and he invited me to join it. I headed to the train station, and arrived as the last train pulled off. I arrived exactly one minute too late. 'I'm sorry!' I told my friend, and I set off to find some other entertainment for the evening.

I drove. I briefly considered going to karaoke by myself. I drove on.
I got gas(Hai, Hai, Hai, OKKKAAAAAYYY!!!!! Julie-sama! Oh, Exalted Julie! We are here to serve all your petroleum needs. Let us wipe your windows. Shall we empty your ash tray? Oh, you don't smoke? We don't care, we will ask you every time! Thank you for letting three strapping young men serve you today!!!).
I drove to an amusement center. I didn't go inside. Amusement centers are amusing if you are with people. Amusement centers are not amusing if you are watching people amuse themselves.

There's such a dichotomy--we live inside our body and our mind; we can't go outside those things. But somehow we think we are not alone if we are with others.

I drove for a long time, feeling the pangs of loneliness. I think I feel lonely when I think I should be with others. For example, if I have to go to the market or the laundromat, I don't feel lonely, but when I intend to spend time with others and I can't, I feel lonely. I guess I could stop intending to spend time with others. Pretty difficult.

I drove for about an hour and a half, aimlessly. I ended up doing nothing. Eventually, I went home and went to bed.

later dater

My Aikido dojo did a demo this weekend for another dojo's anniversary, and Suganuma Shihan was there again(9th dan, Fukuoka). We got to watch him demonstrate, which moved me to want to change some things in my Aikido practice.

Also this weekend I attended an 'iris-viewing festival' down by the ancient stone bridges and canals of Tamana, a neighboring city.

This month I team-teach all 9th grade classes in my current middle school, Arao #1.

It's now getting late, so this is just an update. it's not great, but enough to contemplate, hopefully not enough to complicate, and simply put, more to come at a later date

Here's to You, Ito-kun!

Ito-kun('Ee-to koon') is bright-faced and ready to go. There is nothing hiding behind those brown eyes and freckles. Ito-kun is wonderfully and absolutely nuts.

There are only a few special ed kids at #1 Middle School. There's the boy who barks like a dog and wears girl's school uniforms(perhap he was found to be a girl during the school physicals; I just don't know), there's the partially retarded girl whose smile shines like an kind old Japanese lady, and then there's Ito-kun.
Ito-kun's illness in difficult to describe. Maybe he's diagnosed: 'too independent.'

I've never actually seen a Japanese student fall asleep in class. Last time, Ito-kun fell asleep. When we woke him up, I could see some drawings in his notebook. There were some fish and a few triangles. I've never seen drawings in any of the students notebooks.
Ito-kun can't take tests. He can learn simple things, but he has no concentration.
He is frequently late for class. Generally, when he's late, he'll explode into the classroom, shouting out in English, 'I'm sorry Sensei, I'm sorry!'
Ito-kun is the only student who ever showed concern for me if I had to cough during class. "Are you all right?", he'd say in Japanese, and would continue asking again and again until I answered.

Sometimes, he'll come up to my desk in the staff room and say 'Julie Sensei, hello', and if I don't respond quickly enough, he'll say, 'Fine, thank you, and you?'

I don't think the teachers know what to do with Ito-kun. He's so friendly, harmless, yet he holds so much power over the teachers. He is free in his will, and the teachers can't help but love him and be ever so afraid of him.

My favorite time is when he comes up to me and speaks absolute nonsense. Then he turns and walks away, satisfied with the hearty exchange.
And there's nothing I can do but to appreciate the splendor of life's variety.