Under the Weather

Hi everyone. I'm sorry that I've been avoiding this blog, but what's important is that I'm back. To tell you the truth, I'm still adjusting from my trip home. After experiencing the warm, tropical Baton Rouge winter, the weather here has become almost unbearable. Luckily I'm young and strong and nothing can hurt me. Or so I thought.

This hasn't been the best month for my health. It all started the day before I flew to Japan. I was enjoying a few drinks with friends and family while watching the national championship football match. It was all fun and games until the tortilla soup I ordered came out. For starters, the presentation was wonting. That was the first hint that something was off, but I took a bite anyway just to find that it was lukewarm. I called the waiter over. The smart thing to have done was to ask him to take it away for good, but instead I asked him to heat it up. When it came back, I quickly ate it and put the ordeal behind me. Or so I thought.

When I got home, I had only three hours to sleep before Jonathan and I had to head to New Orleans for my flight. I had a bit of a stomach ache, but nothing that kept me from resting, at least for the first two hours. The third hour, however, was spent at the toilet vomiting out the last remanence of my trip to America. But I was glad to get it all out before I actually had to leave for the airport. Or so I thought.

On the way to New Orleans, we had to pull over so I could vomit. Before I got on my plane to Houston, I went to the bathroom to vomit. During my layover, I visited many restrooms so that I could, you guess it, vomit. I was in pitiful shape. I tried to get some rest at the gate, but it was clear that I was sick and dehydrated. I wanted to get some water, but I couldn't muster the strength to get up and buy some. The man sitting next to me could see that something was wrong and asked me if I was alright. I quickly learned he was using that as a conversation starter. For the next hour, I sat there in agony hearing this man's life story. I wanted to ask him if he could go to the nearest store and buy me some water, but he wasn't giving me a chance to speak. So eventually I excused myself and went to get a bottle of water. When he noticed what I was doing, the man, being the caring individual he is, asked me if I could get him one too while I was up. I didn't have the energy to argue.

When we finally boarded, I asked the flight attendant if I could switch with someone and sit near the bathroom. Instead of helping, they tried to convince me not to take the flight. I was getting really upset, so I went to the bathroom area and found a seat for myself. I moved very little the next seventeen hours, and thanks to God reached Tokyo with little incident.

On the upside, my time in Tokyo was wonderful. I met with Lalita, a close family friend. It was thanks to her that I was able to come to Japan the first time three and a half years ago. We spent the whole weekend together catching up. We went all over the city. We even went up Tokyo Tower, which for the record, is 9 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower. The best part of the whole trip, believe it or not, was the food we ate. I was still a little sick in the stomach, but Lalita has a reputation for knowing great restaurants. We went to an amazing Korean restaurant the first night and an authentic Thai restaurant the second day. By the end of it, my stomach was reeling a bit, but no regrets.

I returned to Ichinoseki on Sunday, and as I mentioned earlier, the weather was brutal. I have upgraded to wearing three pairs of wool socks at a time. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. My health was suffering a bit. Whenever I cured one thing, another thing would come up, but I still went to school everyday. That is, until last Wednesday.

On Tuesday, I went to my biggest school and was really feeling bad, but I kept it to myself. After all my classes were finished, one of my teachers told me I wasn't looking too good and should go home. I told her that it was nothing, but apparently over 100 kids were sent home with the flu, so she was worried. I didn't have to flu but I agreed to go home anyway. On my way back, word had reached my main office and my supervisor was really concerned. I told him it wasn't a big deal and I'll be fine tomorrow. Boy was I wrong.

I woke up the next day with a bad fever, so I went to the hospital, and guess what... I have the flu! Don't worry, it's not the bird flu, but I'm being quarantined in my apartment till Monday. It sucks, but at least I get a vacation.

So that's how life has been here in Japan. As always, despite everything, I'm still loving it. Till next time.

Japanese word/phrase of the day:

byooki ...................................... sick

On My Way Home

I have been debating for a few days whether or not to post this week. The reason why I'm hesitant is that I'm going back home this Thursday for Christmas and I want to make sure that I still have some stories to tell in person. However, after much consideration, I have realized that my stories for this past week aren't that interesting to begin with. Furthermore, I doubt anyone will have the patience to hear one of my tales during this hectic time of the year. So, here goes.

Last Friday I was invited to go to an overnight party with my office. The party was called 'bonenkai', which is held so that we can forget all the bad things of the year just past. The idea sounded great, but keep in mind that my office and my schools are separate places. My office consists of mostly older, professional Japanese men, but they are all really nice to me so I decided to go. We drove down to a city on the sea in prefecture below us. It was a nice fishing community known for it's great seafood. As expected, the dinner that was served was a cornucopia of what the ocean has to offer. It really takes a strong stomach or a lack of taste and smell to eat some of this stuff. Luckily, my sinus was acting up. I was able to put down everything. Well, almost everything.

On each of our personal tables were small grills. Atop the grill were live abalone (a mollusk type thing). I didn't realize they were alive at first. They hardly moved. However, when the servers lit each of out burners, the abalone came to life. Each one struggled to escape the flame below them. Though they couldn't make any noise, they visualized their screams through they desperate movements. When I realized what was happening, I hit mine off the grill. I was shocked by this display. The men around me just laughed, but I didn't see anything funny about this. I could tell that I was too late to save mine. It was still contorting itself in agony. I wanted to put it out of its misery, but there was no discernible head or brain at which I could quickly end its life. My only option was to put it back on the flame. I watched in anger for the next few minutes as its life was slowly brought to an end. I was so mad, but luckily there was an endless supply of alcohol to help me put it in the past.

After two hours of drinking, we headed to karaoke to drink some more. The best part of this party was that all the big bosses were there. During working hours, they are the most serious guys, but come a few drinks and all hell breaks loose. One of them loved singing English songs, so he put in one after another and dragged me on stage each time. He seemed to know a wealth of songs, so I had to put some very obscure title to finally get a chance to sing on my own. Fortunately, I had the sense to take a break from drinking, because after karaoke we went to someone's room to continue, can you guess it, yup, drinking.

In the room, I sat across from the top boss and his bottle of some crazy Chinese liquor. We took turn taking shots of what I suspect was part gasoline. With every gulp I took, I could see his respect for me growing. Now I know this is a stupid way to earn someone's respect, but at the moment nothing seemed more right. At about 3 in the morning, we all headed to our own rooms to sleep, but the story doesn't end there.

At about 4 a.m., I was awoken by a very long earthquake. I was still half asleep and still fully drunk, so my mind began trying to find ways to justify the shaking. At first, I thought we were under attack, then I thought the building was on fire, but finally I realized it was just an earthquake. Keep in mind, that none of these scenarios were able to get me out of bed. When the shaking stopped, I happily went back to sleep.

The next morning (And I do mean morning! I was awoken at 7!), I went down to breakfast to find the three main bosses in full suits. How do these people do it?!?

On a final note, here is a picture of a really cute kid:









Japanese word/phrase of the day:

issho ni ................................ together

Omar vs. Winter

IT'S FINALLY HERE! In my last post I mentioned that we had gotten some snow, but I continued by saying that it was just a trivial amount. Well this seems to have angered the weather god, because shortly after, the snow came in full force. Last Saturday I awoke to a great surprise. Everything outside my window was covered in white, and I mean everything. To tell you the truth, it was really exciting. I immediately called one of my friends in a city further north to ask him how the weather was for him. He casually replied, "it's snowing." I could tell that he was taking a minute to figure out why the person on the other end of the line was sounding so excited about this answer, but I followed by reminding him that I was from Louisiana. He, being Canadian, couldn't fully grasp the wonderment of it all, but he was happy for me nonetheless.

So what did I do in such hazardous weather? I headed up North. Makes sense, right? Let me explain. I had planned to go up to Kitakami to meet my friend Ben so that I could watch Harry Potter. I really had no choice. It's the closest city with a decent movie theater. A little snow wasn't going to divert my plans. See how loyal of a fan I am. Or does this just mean that I'm a big dork? I think it's a little of both. Anyway, I ended up really enjoying myself. It's snowed nonstop the whole day. The freshly fallen snow was so light and powdery that it was almost a pleasure to walk through it.

Of course, come Monday, the pleasure was all but dead. Fresh snow fell all morning on the now packed ice from the weekend. There was no way I could ride my bike in this weather, so I took to walking. It was a perilous journey. My dress shoes had very little traction, so I had to use tiny steps that barely took my feet off the ground, but eventually the ice was too much for me. I began slipping left and right. Usually I would find a pole or a wall to save me from the ground, but luck wasn't always with me. Two times I fell into the slushy ice on the frozen concrete. My pants, socks and gloves all got wet. It was the worst feeling to be wet and cold on top of being late. Needless to say, I had a very bad day, but I learned my lesson. That day after school, I bought a great pair of snow boots. They're wonderful! Not only do they have a good grip on the ground, but they are also insulated. Problem solved!

I can't help but laugh at myself when I think how hard of a time I'm having with this cold, especially since my students don't seem bothered at all. My current wardrobe consists of a thick coat atop a jacket which is over my dress clothes and thermals, and I can't forget about my two pairs of wool socks, my wool scarf, my wool hat, and my wool gloves. It may seem a bit much, but for me this is necessary. However, some of my students think otherwise. While most have enough sense to wear a jacket, others must have missed the bulletin that winter has a arrived. I found a group of them, for example, playing in the snow with shorts on! I guess at their age, it's not cool to be cold. To be honest, I'm just jealous. Why do I suffer so?

All in all, I'm still enjoying myself. No amount of snow can change that. I'm sure in another few weeks I'll be used to this weather and I'll look back at this post and laugh. Here's to hoping.

One last thing. This was my Japanese lunch today. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that life here isn't one big sushi restaurant. C'est la vie.














Japanese word/phrase of the day:

tenki .................................... weather

Well the Weather Outside Is Frightful

Hello everyone. I hope everybody is keeping warm this time of year. I'm trying my best to get away from the cold, but nature is keeping me on my toes. Yesterday we experienced our first light snow of the season here in Ichinoseki. I was hoping that I would make it to December before it happens, but no such luck. It wasn't much snow, but it was enough to make me put on an extra layer of clothing this morning. To be honest, though, a part of me is looking forward to seeing the mountains filled with beautiful white snow. As you can imagine, it's a very, very small part of me.

In an effort to stay warm, I headed down south to Sendai last weekend. I went with three fellow teachers; two Brits, Damian and Holly, and an Irish girl, Ciara. They are great to travel with because they are all really laid back. All of us just went with the flow, and it turned out to be a wonderful weekend. We stayed with a friend of mine, Nisha, who is working on her third year in Sendai. She volunteered to be our tour guide for the two days, and thank God she did. She showed us all the cool spots in the city, which included some great antique shops. But the best part of the trip had to be the food.

On Saturday night, we went to an Indian restaurant. To our surprise, the cook was actually Indian! I saw him waving from the kitchen as we walked in and I knew right then that we had hit the jackpot. We all ordered the party platter which was an all-you-can-drink multi-course meal (something with that many hyphens has to be incredible). They started us off small, but quickly got to the good stuff. We were going on about how great the nan bread was until they brought out the tandori chicken. Bright red poultry never tasted so good. Then there was the curry. Two types, creamy chicken and mutton. I want to describe the taste to you, but there aren't real words that can do it justice, so all I will say is "mmm...". We were stuffed. All of our stomachs were filled to the brim, but then... the dessert. We had to tell them to delay bringing it out because there was no way we could eat another byte. When we finally were ready, a cool pudding type dish capped off the meal. Gochisosama deshita (that was a feast).

After a meal like that, all we could do is DANCE! So we went to a local club which evidentially was having live performances. It was a great experience. There was a wild mix of music, from the heaviest punk to the coolest swing. One band was a little strange though. It was three girls who could play just fine, but the singing was a little off. It wasn't their fault though. There was some crazy drunk guy hassling them from the dance floor. We later figured out that he was the lead singer of the band, but got too wasted to perform. Way to go! The last band we heard was a great swing band. They were really terrific. The guitarist played so hard that he broke one of his strings. And then there were the saxophone and trumpet players. Both these girls were on that night. To lead this bunch was a guy who sang in perfect English. However, we learned by talking to him afterwards that his English doesn't exceed the lyrics. But nonetheless, they did a superb job.

The next day we went shopping and sightseeing. Included in our tour of Sendai was a trip to a marvelous park. It was really beautiful to see the effect Autumn had on it. Everyone was enjoying the scenery. In the middle of the park was a group of people doing Tai Chi. How cool is that? And of course no park would be complete without pigeons. But these pigeons were different. They didn't mind being touched. There were some kids feeding a playing with them. It was cute to watch, but I kept my distance. Pigeons are filthy animals and I never want to touch them! Anyway, all in all it was a marvelous time. Oh and to top it all off, the main street had Christmas decorations up. Christmas lights never fail to excite me.

Wow, that was a very cheerful post. I guess I'm forcing myself to look at the bright side of things before this cold puts me into a deep-seeded depression. Ah well, life is great (who am I fooling?). Until next time.

Japanese word/phrase of the day:

yuki .............................. snow

Love Is in the Air

After four long months in Japan, love has finally come my way. To be honest, I never thought it would happen, but now that it's here I can't deny it. Who, you may ask, could make me feel this way? Well, she's someone who I have recently come to depend on very much.

She's from Japan (no surprise) and she's petite. She's wonderful. I couldn't imagine going on a single day without her. She's always there to sooth me to sleep and always ready to welcome me each morning. She can make this brutal winter seem almost bearable. But alas, I know this is just a seasonal romance. Once Spring comes and the birds start singing again, I will have forgotten all about her. There's no trying to deny it. What she and I have is special, but it's not everlasting. So heater, my dear, I'm sorry for all the pain I will cause you, but know for now that you are my eternal love.

Okay, all joking aside, it's freezing here. At least for me it is. In my apartment I have to wear a hooded jacket at all times. I even sleep with it on. The heater does give me some warmth, but I have to be careful. Every three hours I have to turn it off and open a window to let out the deadly carbon monoxide. So where does this leave me? Alone and depressed in the walk-in freezer that is my home? Nope. Despite the bitter winter, I'm still having a blast in Japan. Don't get me wrong, I still hate the cold (especially when I'm biking half an hour during the icy mornings), but my life hasn't stopped because of it. On the contrary, I've become even more active.

The other day I played mini-indoor soccer (called futsol in Japan) in the neighboring prefecture. It was really fun but also really painful. We didn't have any substitutes. All five of us played every second of all three games. My lungs were not processing the cold air well and I was having trouble catching my breath. BUT, we won the first game (and lost the next two). But what's important is that we were winners (for a little while).

The week closed off with a nice night at an international center in Ichinoseki. They were having an event to welcome foreigners and to expose them to Japanese culture. It was a blast. I got to do some pottery, try my hand at calligraphy, and even take part in a tea ceremony. It doesn't sound like much on paper (or your computer screen), but it's things like this that make life in Japan truly unique. Oh, and I almost forgot, they had us make our own sushi for dinner!

Well, this weekend I'm off to Sendai. I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to share when it's all said and done. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving.



Japanese word/phrase of the day:

ondo ...................................... temperature

Work Hard, Play Hard!!! (minus the work)

Wow! What a week! This may be the best time I've had in Japan yet. It was a week filled with alcohol and nudity, and it's not even Mardi Gras! Please, allow me to catch you up. It all began with the looming Mid-Year Conference.

I had known for a while that there was a conference to be held from November 9th to the 11th. From what I understood, it was going to be a three day long seminar for all the ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) and many Japanese English teachers in my prefecture. Though it was going to be nice to see everyone (over a hundred people) in one place, I was dreading the trip. To make it worse, I found out that the hotel we were staying at was four to a room. You never realize how much you love privacy until you share a Japanese size room with three other people.

My supervisor tried to get me excited about the trip. He told me that the hotel was actually an onsen resort. Now I was really dreading this expedition. If you don't remember, an onsen is a hot spring that you enjoy in the nude. I had overcome my modesty when I was sharing the onsen with old Japanese men whom I would never see again, but getting naked with people I knew. No thank you. Not only was I going to a boring seminar, but now I would be cooped up in my room while everyone else enjoyed the onsen.

There was no point complaining. I had to suck it up and hope these three days would pass quickly. Instead of pouting, I decided to enjoy myself until I had to leave for the trip on Wednesday morning. Tuesday night before the conference there was a farewell party for one of the ladies in my office. So, I went. As always, these parties were all you can drink. Everyone at the office had a their fill and started speaking their best English to me. I in return spoke all the Japanese I had learned. It was great fun. We ended the night with... can you guess it.... all you can drink karaoke. My supervisor is a great singer. From what I understood, he used to be a backup singer for some major act in his college days.

Anyway, back to the story at hand. I woke up the next day with a terrible hangover and went to the train station. I was extremely grumpy and expecting to have the worst week imaginable. However, when I finally reached the onsen resort, something snapped! I can't explain it. I just had a feeling that this could potentially be a great experience and I had better not sulk the whole time. As soon as my attitude changed, so did things around me. Once I registered, I found out my room assignment. I was randomly grouped with three other people who I would have chosen as roommates. I knew the guys and got along with them really well. I couldn't believe my good fortune. That was one problem fixed.

There was still the problem of the onsen. After seeing how beautiful the onsens were, I knew I had to go. But what do I do about being nude in front of these people? This is where alcohol comes into play again.

[side note: I know I have been going on and on about how great alcohol is, but the reason I can enjoy it is because I know my limits. I am in no way advocating getting drunk every night. Back to the story]

So I got piss drunk and finally had the courage to go to the onsen. I am so glad I did too. I can't describe how beautiful the experience is, but I'll try. Imagine walking outside into freezing cold air and then entering a wonderfully hot steam bath. The extremes were invigorating. And to be honest, there was no need to be ashamed of being naked. First off, everybody looks terrible naked (men at least). Secondly, people tend to practice their best eye contact when in the nude. When someone spoke to me, my eyes were frozen to theirs.

The second night, a special event was planned; Karaoke Contest! We packed into the largest karaoke room I had ever seen and we had at it. I decided to don a fake mustache and do my best Freddie Mercury impression. I must say that I do look a lot like him when I have the facial hair on. I really put on a show as I sang the Queen song. I especially impressed the Japanese teachers who found the resemblance remarkable. After three hours of singing, I had a small party up in my room. For the second night in a row, I didn't sleep until four a.m.

I woke up the next morning and went to the last of the seminars. The glorious trip was coming to an end, but I just couldn't let go. I decided to head back to the city of one of my roommates who was having a little movie watching party. It was a nice way to ease out of the crazy three days I had just had. However, as I was watching the movie, I got a call from one of my JTE (Japanese Teachers of English). He wanted to go party in Sendai. I really couldn't say no.

The next morning he picked me up and we went to the wonderful city of Sendai. I met tons of new people, ate some good food, and even watched a baseball game before heading home the next evening. I was out like a rock when I reached home.

(The picture is of me and the Brits at the conference.)

The End!

Japanese word/phrase of the day:

Kampai! ................................. Cheers!

Good Sport

Sorry everyone for my long absence from the blog, but I have been keeping myself very busy with school. I'm finally getting more responsibility so a lot of my time is spent on making lesson plans. If I didn't know better, I would think that I was actually becoming a good, responsible teacher. Luckily, I do know better. I'm just enjoying playing the role while it lasts.

In other news, Fall has found it's way to Japan. I never realized how beautiful of a season this is. Despite the cold, I'm actually enjoying the Autumn. All the leaves around me are turning colors, creating a wondrous display all over the area. The mountains are the most remarkable part. The forested mounds that surround many of my schools are set ablaze with color. Red, orange, and yellow vibrantly mark each tree up to the top of each mountain. It makes for an extremely pleasant commute. I always hear the Japanese proudly go on about their four distinct seasons. Now I understand why.

Going back to my school life, I had an interesting day last Friday. I went to my small school that I visit only once a month. The day started off as normal. I had three classes in the morning followed by an always intriguing school lunch. However, after lunch was over, some students began packing all their things and left! I didn't understand what was happening. None of the other teachers seemed to have noticed that these students were sneaking out. I debated whether or not to stop them, but I just watched in confusion. Then as more students began leaving, I realized that I was in the dark about something. I confronted the English teacher and he told me that they were having early dismissal today. I didn't know the Japanese had early dismissal. These kids usually stay till 6 in the evening playing sports and do other club activities until they are finally kicked out. Seeing them leave this early was shocking. Then I learned why they were ending school early.

In the typical work hard/play hard fashion of the Japanese, classes ended early today so that all the teachers could have a sports day. My teacher drove me to one of my other schools where the faculty from junior high and elementary schools from that area all agreed to meet. Each school formed a team and we had a tournament. What sport did we play? A friendly sport called "dodgebee". It was a combination of dodgeball and frisbee. Each team stood on opposing sides throwing a soft frisbee at each other, trying to knock one another out. It was a silly game if you asked me, but my opinion changed quickly once I started playing.

Once I picked up the rules, I became quite good at the game. The English teacher and the principal were also really good. We had a formidable team. We won one game after another. We were unstoppable. My skills were improving with each match. For many of these teachers, this was their first introduction to me, and it came in the form of a frisbee to the face. I felt guilty at the beginning, but that feeling quickly subsided. A string of victories led us to the championship match. We played incredibly and won the first set. Unfortunately, the second set went to the opposing team, and they won with a margin of one person greater, sealing their victory. It was a sad end, but it sure beat having classes.

Of course, Monday came and it was business as usual. Though I hate how overworked the Japanese are in general, it's nice to know they get a chance to release all their tension every once in a while.

Japanese word/phrase of the day:

omoshiroi...............................................interesting, funny