Early-Mid August seems to have the highest concentration of festivals in a two-week span than any other comparable amount of time within the year.

Last week, Rob and I met our friend Steve, who lives in Shizugawa, to have a meal and some drinks for his birthday.  We ended up at this certain karaoke club and were subsequently invited to the owner's band's concert the next weekend (this past Saturday and Sunday).  On a whim, we thought, "yeah, let's go".  We could not have imagined a more enjoyable time.

We arrive about 5:30 and stop by the grocery store for a bite and some beers to last us the walk from our friend Steve's apartment to the beach (about 20 mins or so).  We park at his apartment complex even though he's out of town in Kyoto for a week or two (feeling absolutely gutted we didn't take his apartment key when it was offered).

As we are nearing the festival area, we hear "HEY! Where are you from???" Some Filipino lady was just randomly shouting at us because we were foreigners.  Fair enough, we chatted for a bit, then went our separate ways.  Not 5 minutes later, the pitter-patter of someone running in flip-flops and yelling "HEY!" again. It was Juliet, the Filipino lady.  "Do you want to ride in my husbands boat?"

"Uh... Yeah!"

So we follow her to the pier, get introduced to her whole family (in-laws), and get on the boat.  They had torches lit on the sides and ours was the lead boat in a parade >.< Definitely a "WTF" moment.



So we went out to sea a bit to get in line for the procession and we were given free beer and seafood. I may have also hooked Rob and Me up with a job part-time on this guys salmon boat.  That aside, we waved to the enthusiastic crowds (sarcasm).  As we got more toward the actual festival crowd they, and we, got more energetic.



And after we parked, we were treated to a wonderful fireworks display and dance performance.



When all the fireworks were over, we met up with the owners of a karaoke bar (that we visited the previous weekend) and were treated to free chicken and beer.  I was suckered in to buying a tray full of squid because I thought the girl was hot, but they didn't tell me she was 17.  *sob*. 

A great night, altogether.  We finished up at the karaoke bar, then rob and I fell asleep in the car (still kicking ourselves we didn't get the apt. key) and the next morning, watched our friends play an excellent cover of "Sweet Child of Mine" and "Rock n' Roll" by Zeppelin. 

A fantastic weekend in the Shiz!

I should begin by apologizing for the three week gap in-between postings.  As it is now summer vacation, I can concentrate a bit on getting those who read my journal (thanks Mom!) a little caught up.

I have updated my scrapbook with two new galleries (as always the link on to the left of the entries).   I included Shonan Hiratsuka's famous Tanabata festival which was the first weekend of this month and my most recent trip, to the coast to see Matsushima (lit. Pine Tree Island).  Matsushima is regarded as one of the three most beautiful sights in Japan, rendering a famous Haiku poet wordless.  It was heavily touristed, but still beautiful. 

School is out until August 25th, but I had too much month at the end of my money so I am laying low until payday.  I do have two festivals on the docket, and camping near Lake Towada in the wild north, Aomori Prefecture.  My friend Mariko and her friend from Uni are planning on coming up for that and also Sendai's Tanabata festival, the first week of August. Should be a blast!  I will update before then, so check out the pictures until then.

I couldn't sleep until I wrote these down.  Here they are:

#1
The rainy season has obscured the sky for days.
How can we be sure that we are together
When the stars are our only witnesses
And the moon our proof?

#2
In vain I copy the myriad verses
Of ancient sages in foreign script
While the language of my homeland
Lies dead on my tongue.

The other teachers, not knowing much English and aware of my limited Japanese ability, generally leave me to my own devices in the staff room.  This generally is my time to practice Kanji, or the Japanese ideogram alphabet borrowed from Chinese.

So in the in the sleepy afternoon hours between classes, there sits diligent Scotty scribbling away in his workbook when lo, he comes to the character "shi", representing death.
                 

                   *Cultural Note*
             The Japanese have an extreme aversion to using the number 4 and 9, because when 4 is pronounce in japanese "shi", it is the same as the reading for the Kanji of death.  9 when read "ku" is the same as the Kanji for suffering.  So when counting numbers, these sounds, though technically correct, are conspicuously absent in proper spoken Japanese.  It is also, interestingly enough, why Japanese office buildings and hotels generally don't have a 4th or 9th floor and will number their rooms in such a way so as to not have any 4's or 9's in the designation.
                  
                   *End Cultural Note*

So there I sat, clear blue sky outside and wonderful sunlight filtering through the windows, feeling terribly morbid that I am spending such an afternoon writing over and over, and endless repetition:

CORPSE

DEAD PEOPLE

POSTHUMOUS

DROWNING

Follow the link to the left, or click here to access the whole scrapbook.

Wikipedia Entry:

News Stories:
Read up on it here:
And here:

They interview a man from Oshu City, which I drove through twice today, and the staff at the Marue supermarket in Kurihara which is half a block from my apartment.  I am ok, but all my dishes are busted.   I will post pictures and the video I took when I get it all cleaned up.

Edit: I just found out that one of my schools was in one of the hardest hit areas and completely destroyed. I fear for my students.  Also, 3 foreigners who were camping on Mt. Kurikoma are missing. The helicopters I've been seeing are looking for them.   Aftershocks registering in the 6's are expecting in the coming days.  The major event that occurred was 7.2.

Here is the video tour I took of my apartment:

This poem was composed in 1901 with Tsuruga-jo as the inspiration. The history of the castle is tragic, not the least was the events during the Boshin War (when the Tokugawa Shogunate was overthrown and the Emperor Meiji remade head-of-state. It was in the hills near here that a group of teenage samurai (called the White Tigers) who withstood the Imperial forces committed ritual suicide when they thought that the castle had been taken by imperial forces, though they had made a mistake and only the town was aflame.

A banquet was held  in the splendid castle in the season of the cherry blossom.
Where is the light now, that shadowed the glasses and flew through the old pines?

The encampment was covered with frost in the autumn.
Where is the light now,
that shone on the swords like plants,
that were as numerous as
the cackling wild geese that flew ?

Now there is the moon over the desolate castle.
Whom is it shining for without change?
Only tendrils remain on the walls.
Only the storm sings between branches of the pines.

More pictures and proper captions in the scrapbook here!

Funny Incident Of The Day:

Third graders on unicycles playing keepaway with my necktie clip because I "bought it at the dollar store and I could afford a new one." 

I still need to get it back.

The point of a poem is to evoke emotion, regardless.  It was just a few lines I had rattling around inside my head. It was taken to mean that I'm sad/homesick/upset. It's not true. Poetry = Universality.  It's not even that good and in retrospect it was a bad idea to even post it before I could put it in a wider context.

Human beings are, by nature, categorical creatures.  As social primates we rely on family and friends and our network of affiliations to define normalcy.  If one of these networks is disrupted by removal and expatriation, the behavior is almost sure to become erratic until a routine is established and another network can be built.

As for being distant (figuratively speaking), is it that unreasonable that I would, while establishing the aforementioned routine, choose not to place emphasis on the daily goings on in a society a world away?  I understand the necessity of updates for those whom I love and love me, but the frequency is mine own to establish.  If what I am able to provide in terms of information does not fit the desired regularity, should that mean that I am being rude or ignorant?  That is an arbitrary and frustrating paradigm thrust upon me by those who seek to fill in the gap of their own social scheme caused by a sudden and complete absence.

I love you all, but please bear with me while I try to grow up.

Who can really say
To hold on when
The willow weeps and
Even the oak
Sheds its leaves
Like the tears
Of Autumn

Today concludes my first month living abroad and the longest span of time I've been away from home.

To be entirely honest, I've been ignoring posting here.  I feel like I have something to write, but when the time comes I just... don't.  Ability without inspiration is the ultimate frustration.  I wouldn't call it a low point because I am absolutely living my dream.  The adjustment to life here simply means there will be ups and downs. 

There are things I do miss from the states and some evenings I wish I was at the bowling alley with my friends, but that is dangerous thinking.  I refuse to get caught up in missing home;  there is simply too much world to keep my mind in Kansas.  The biggest adjustment to make is accepting the fact that this is my life now and I need to remove myself from certain spheres that I am no longer fit to dwell. Or, as a band out of Boston encourages, "Don't Look Back". 

I'd like to think that I will make an impact on my schools. The teachers seemed to be receptive to me and the material to cover is simple enough.   It's great that at recess the kids will ask what certain things are in english.  They will just point to things and say "Kore wa?" which just means "this?".  It is energizing to have that type of interaction with the students.  The teachers seemed shocked that after I was done for the day, I went out and played soccer with the kids who stayed until 4:30 in the afternoon.  They even thanked me for it! I told them that I just didn't want to go home. 

I'm wary of spending any sort of time in my apartment.  There is just too much to do, but money is getting tight and with my first paycheck not due until the 30th of June, it will take some creativity to regularly feed and otherwise nourish my modest hierarchy of needs.  Summer marks a heavy cluster of festivals, particularly the first week of August.  I have plans to take the bullet train to Kanagawa soon.  I need to see my Hiratsuka friends - they are terribly important to me and I want so very much to speak with them.

I'm sure more will come to me. To sum it up, REO Speedwagon comes to mind:

Well its comin together
I finally feel like a man, oh yes I do
I never thought that Id be where I am
Everyday I wake a little bit higher
Whoa I keep pushin on

I get to push this whip around Miyagi:



Oh yeah. It's got remote locks, cd player, and a chassis stolen from a riding lawnmower.

Coming Soon:  A special post!  Currently in progress. 

I'm posting here a more thorough walkthrough of my apartment.  It still has the Carolina curtains, and for that again I deeply apologize. 

I bought this hat randomly at a mall in Miyagi. I'm not lying.



Take that officially licensed KU apparel! This hat cost me the equivalent of $10 US and looks better than most of the crap they sell at the Union.  UGHGH

  My beautiful studio in Miyagi-ken, Kurihara-shi, Ichihasama-Masaka.  A more detailed walkthrough of the whole place is forthcoming.  As is a change in curtainage.  I apologize for the carolina blue. I am not sure what I was thinking.



One of the coolest group of folks I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.  Thanks for helping me keep my sanity, guys!

You can find the rest of the pictures in the Kurihara gallery here.

Hey All Who Read This:

I'm still alive. Right now, I'm at my buddy Rob Beasley's (He's from Wales and a hell of a human being) enjoying the aftermath of karaoke-ing for  his birthday.  We thought we sounded brilliant but the video tells an entirely different story.  He luckily has a neighbor with an unsecured wireless connection so I'm able to steal a bit of the interwebs from next door.  Everything is fine and I'm looking forward to getting my own connection soon so I can start with the regular updates.

What a day, Thursday. 

I said goodbye to the fam about a quarter until 7 in the morning, arrived in Chicago at quarter until 10 am, The flight to Tokyo left promptly at 1, and I got to enjoy the unique hospitality of United Airlines Business Class - which is exemplified by a glass of Port wine after dinner with a piece of apple cheesecake.  There was so much space between the seats my legs, fully extended on the rest, did not touch the seat in front of me.  In fact, I had to unbuckle myself to reach my backpack under the front seat.  In any case, I slept when we first took off.  I woke up when the time in Tokyo was 7am, so I forced myself to stay awake by watching 2 Lord of the Rings movies back-to-back.  That made the time fly by, and we landed in no time.

Immigration and customs were a breeze, paying someone to deliver my two big ass bags the next morning was even easier.

The company recommended taking a train from the airport to another spot in Tokyo, which was about an hour ride. I then hailed a cab and was at my hotel about 15 minutes later.  After checking in I found the friendly Golden Arches and snagged a chicken sandwich.  After washing up, I crashed completely.  Local time: 8:30pm.  That was all I could muster in order to get a head start on beating jet lag.

However, I snapped awake at 4:30 today, Saturday morning which was 2:30 pm Friday back in good ol' Central Time.  I have been awake ever since.  I decided to load up my backpack and do a little foot tour, which pictures I will post in their own gallery, so click here. 

Lucky for me the Asakusa Tourism Office is right down the block and I found out that there was a Horseback Archery (called Yabusame) demonstration.  I posted that in the Asakusa gallery as well. I will post after this the video that I took of these guys absolutely tearing it up. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, though the wind is terribly strong and the ambient temperature quite less than ideal.

Stay tuned...