Mmm. Back from Hong Kong, dizzy-dancing whirl of colour and foreign words and foods and waters and intriguing side streets that it was, particularly at Christmastime; the island isn't a place that I could live permanently, if only because the weather was perfect in December, so the heat of the summer months would be disastrous!
I'd missed the ability to walk everywhere; in three days, I walked most of the Island and a healthy part of Kowloon, interrupting that with short stints on double-decker buses, trams and outdoor escalators (!) and the MTR metro system - which was fantastic, if terribly packed. I got a kick out of how each station was colour-coded ; my 'home base,' Wan Chai, had lime green floors, grates, and the walls were tiled in varying shades of green - it was new enough that it looked edgy and modern as opposed to nauseating. Other stations were golden, crimson, bluebell... it made it almost impossible to get off at the wrong station, that's for sure!
The whole island felt young. Edgy. Vibrant. Affluent. And so you need to be, if you're there for longer than a short visit; the Causeway Bay area apparently has the second highest rent/square foot rate in the world, right after NYC's Fifth Avenue!
But I was happy with my handful of days, and the ability to walk around with just a light coat on my arm was fantastic. As was the botanical garden; I think I spent an entire afternoon wandering through its paths and marveling at all the different orchids and bromeliads and palms and other, native plants. As cool as it was to see the animals in the zoological part of the gardens - hornbills have to have some of the most character out of all the animals I've ever seen; the one that I watched for a while was hilarious - and the facility is known for its good work with endangered animals... ah. I like zoos. They can be educational, and if nothing else they make the animals *real,* not just an illustration, which is immensely important, but it's tough to see anything caged in.
...yeah, yeah, bleeding heart. Tell me something I don't know. ^_~
Not my first green Christmas, but certainly my warmest! I took in the Festival of Lights that night, during which hotels and skyscrapers on either side of HK Harbour light up their faces with Christmas scenes and patterns, and shoot spotlights from their roof in time to different songs - definitely surreal, and probably plays havoc for aircraft in the area, but it was fantastic, and the excited shouts of the kids who were watching the show beside me ... it just felt like Christmas.
Lots of Christmas carolers, and on Christmas morning, I joined in - in my wanderings, I'd discovered St. John's Cathedral, which was holding a family carol service. I have a soft spot for carols that's about a mile wide (with the exception of "Last Christmas," which does not count. If I hear it/have to sing it one more time... ahaha) so of course I went. The children's choir sang some carols in Cantonese and then we joined them later in English - very cool, and symbolic of how multilingual HK is. Probably the best example of this was on the trains, where young people would change from Cantonese to English and back in the same sentence. Very, very cool. I was definitely a little envious, but my J!studies have been going slower than I'd like. Hopefully with the rest of my holidays being really quiet, I'll have a chance to buckle down.
In the meanwhile, happiest of happy holidays to you, whoever you happen to be. Take care, and stay warm. ♥
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
- pilgrim, where's your head at ; are you payin' the birds to sing -
...it's Christmas?
Or will be soon; I think the lack of snow is throwing my holiday radar for a loop. As did celebrating Christmas in November during my mom's visit... I even had a little tree to decorate; my first year without a real tree. I miss it - perhaps not environmentally sound, despite that they're farmed, but Christmas in my headspace needs a real tree - the smell of spruce, the needles everywhere, the month when it's the centre of the house.
...it sounds utopian. And maybe it was; maybe it wasn't.
Still, the trees and stations have all been lit up in my corner of Japan, which is a nice touch; as the days grow ever shorter, the light is a touch of brilliance.
Regardless of twinkling lights, it was surreal to hear the same terrible arrangement of Christmas carols I remember from days of working in a mall today (and I heard those so many times that I could still probably sing them in the same off-key warble.) But hearing some of my students sing bits of Christmas carols is... endearing. I'm a great sap. And need a lesson plan for tomorrow!
...a poor sap, by the end of this month; parties and presents and holidays all call. And (provided no adventures like those of my Kyoto trip transpire) - off to Hong Kong for four days in just over a week! It'll be a good change of pace and scenery; now to plan what to do.
Not that I think it's done there, but no shark swimming! I heard enough scary shark stories tonight to scare me off of that for a good while. Adrenaline's one thing, but I happen to like my limbs. ^_~
Or will be soon; I think the lack of snow is throwing my holiday radar for a loop. As did celebrating Christmas in November during my mom's visit... I even had a little tree to decorate; my first year without a real tree. I miss it - perhaps not environmentally sound, despite that they're farmed, but Christmas in my headspace needs a real tree - the smell of spruce, the needles everywhere, the month when it's the centre of the house.
...it sounds utopian. And maybe it was; maybe it wasn't.
Still, the trees and stations have all been lit up in my corner of Japan, which is a nice touch; as the days grow ever shorter, the light is a touch of brilliance.
Regardless of twinkling lights, it was surreal to hear the same terrible arrangement of Christmas carols I remember from days of working in a mall today (and I heard those so many times that I could still probably sing them in the same off-key warble.) But hearing some of my students sing bits of Christmas carols is... endearing. I'm a great sap. And need a lesson plan for tomorrow!
...a poor sap, by the end of this month; parties and presents and holidays all call. And (provided no adventures like those of my Kyoto trip transpire) - off to Hong Kong for four days in just over a week! It'll be a good change of pace and scenery; now to plan what to do.
Not that I think it's done there, but no shark swimming! I heard enough scary shark stories tonight to scare me off of that for a good while. Adrenaline's one thing, but I happen to like my limbs. ^_~
Monday, November 26, 2007
- saccharine caffeine nicotine gum -
AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH.
...that is all.
(will I survive tomorrow? Only time will tell.)
(sorry about the lack of posting as of late. Life's been - life. Chaotic and beautiful and hurtling by at breakneck speed. I'd turtle if I could but that seems a luxury reserved for my ichinensei guys as they fall asleep during school assemblies.)
...and damn but is it cold outside!
...that is all.
(will I survive tomorrow? Only time will tell.)
(sorry about the lack of posting as of late. Life's been - life. Chaotic and beautiful and hurtling by at breakneck speed. I'd turtle if I could but that seems a luxury reserved for my ichinensei guys as they fall asleep during school assemblies.)
...and damn but is it cold outside!
Friday, November 9, 2007
- there are no right angles in my life -
Oh, freedom of speech. ♥
I kid, but everyone on this programme is supposed to be mature enough to be teaching children (in any case, we do so) - so the reminder rubbed me the wrong way. Yes, we are public servants; yes, our position is enviable and honestly amazing; yes, we are highly visible foreigners, but we are adults, and we generally know when we're being idiots.
On the upside, the mid-year seminar (!) went well, particularly Thursday's discussions... I think a good number of interesting/decent/useful points were raised. Less certain about today's progress but I was in one of five groups so I'm sure that the output balances out. ...okay, so I'm sore over not seeing the presentation involving zombies and prodigal running shoes, that's all. But in this moment, I'm still in a happy food coma from scallops served on the half shell and amazing spareribs and padh thai and chai brulee and mango sorbet... mmm, Sanuk. You continue to impress, and my company for dinner was equally excellent.
That's all, I think - looking forward to the complete lack of alarms set to get me up tomorrow morning and off to read One Hundred Years of Solitude which is wordy but lovely so far.
Cheers. ^^
I kid, but everyone on this programme is supposed to be mature enough to be teaching children (in any case, we do so) - so the reminder rubbed me the wrong way. Yes, we are public servants; yes, our position is enviable and honestly amazing; yes, we are highly visible foreigners, but we are adults, and we generally know when we're being idiots.
On the upside, the mid-year seminar (!) went well, particularly Thursday's discussions... I think a good number of interesting/decent/useful points were raised. Less certain about today's progress but I was in one of five groups so I'm sure that the output balances out. ...okay, so I'm sore over not seeing the presentation involving zombies and prodigal running shoes, that's all. But in this moment, I'm still in a happy food coma from scallops served on the half shell and amazing spareribs and padh thai and chai brulee and mango sorbet... mmm, Sanuk. You continue to impress, and my company for dinner was equally excellent.
That's all, I think - looking forward to the complete lack of alarms set to get me up tomorrow morning and off to read One Hundred Years of Solitude which is wordy but lovely so far.
Cheers. ^^
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
- call it predictable; yesterday my dream was of you -
To celebrate having wireless - a media post of the times that have been had and some of the music that probably got me through said times.
...I find it amusing that it took a shift of hemispheres to get me into a cowboy hat (for Halloween) and listening to country music (of a sort, but the Eagles are classic and nostalgic and Calexico's music is whispery and whiskey-soaked and the perfect music to listen to whilst curled in blankets. Which I can do now, on my new couch. I'd never thought that furniture could make one quite so happy, but it beats sitting on bare floorboards and small pillows by a long stretch.)
Most of these are songs for autumn; for days of goldenrod and leaves stained crimson; for warm tea and cool nights - enjoy.
- burn that broken bed - calexico feat. iron and wine
(love song. folk song. lust song. alt-folk-country, but watch for the brassy finish. here's to change and changes.)
- siamese cities - metric
(not country. sassy, canadian indie-pop. emily haines should never be happy in love, if frustrated love means songs like this. and yes, that thought makes me a terrible person.)
- river flows in - yiruma
(just the piano. short and evocative and beautiful. a gift from a friend that brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard it. a curl-up song.)
- strangest land - tom mcrae
(maybe it's like someone said; there are a million singer-songwriters in the UK. why care? mr. mcrae's music stands above most of what i've heard - and with an affinity for said music, that is a lot. smoky and strange and a backwards theme for this Japan thing. and arguably for the someone in question.)
- are we family - the tragically hip
(the other Canadian thing that it took Japan for me to appreciate is the Hip. guitar and gord downie - give me ten bucks and a head start; are we family or not? - finding families and mothers and lovers all over again in this corner of the world.)
- dear sons and daughters of hungry ghosts - wolf parade
(wake up. no, really. wake up. shake yourself and move - the year is dying, so dance it off with a smile. electronic cacophony - half bar song, half rally cry, half song to shake the cold. and that's three halves, but who is counting, really?)
- people in love - art brut
(tongue in cheek. it begins with: people in love sit around and get fat; i wouldn't want us to end up like that. because you have to be able to poke fun at yourself some of the time, and failing that, there are facebook pictures.)
- fidelity - regina spektor
(because ultimately this girl's a romantic. singing love songs to break her fall is something she's done before, and finds herself doing it again, with all twenty (of two thousand odd) songs on her iPod that fall under happy-romantic. this song is one of the twenty, and has one of the cutest music videos known to man.)
...I find it amusing that it took a shift of hemispheres to get me into a cowboy hat (for Halloween) and listening to country music (of a sort, but the Eagles are classic and nostalgic and Calexico's music is whispery and whiskey-soaked and the perfect music to listen to whilst curled in blankets. Which I can do now, on my new couch. I'd never thought that furniture could make one quite so happy, but it beats sitting on bare floorboards and small pillows by a long stretch.)
Most of these are songs for autumn; for days of goldenrod and leaves stained crimson; for warm tea and cool nights - enjoy.
- burn that broken bed - calexico feat. iron and wine
(love song. folk song. lust song. alt-folk-country, but watch for the brassy finish. here's to change and changes.)
- siamese cities - metric
(not country. sassy, canadian indie-pop. emily haines should never be happy in love, if frustrated love means songs like this. and yes, that thought makes me a terrible person.)
- river flows in - yiruma
(just the piano. short and evocative and beautiful. a gift from a friend that brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard it. a curl-up song.)
- strangest land - tom mcrae
(maybe it's like someone said; there are a million singer-songwriters in the UK. why care? mr. mcrae's music stands above most of what i've heard - and with an affinity for said music, that is a lot. smoky and strange and a backwards theme for this Japan thing. and arguably for the someone in question.)
- are we family - the tragically hip
(the other Canadian thing that it took Japan for me to appreciate is the Hip. guitar and gord downie - give me ten bucks and a head start; are we family or not? - finding families and mothers and lovers all over again in this corner of the world.)
- dear sons and daughters of hungry ghosts - wolf parade
(wake up. no, really. wake up. shake yourself and move - the year is dying, so dance it off with a smile. electronic cacophony - half bar song, half rally cry, half song to shake the cold. and that's three halves, but who is counting, really?)
- people in love - art brut
(tongue in cheek. it begins with: people in love sit around and get fat; i wouldn't want us to end up like that. because you have to be able to poke fun at yourself some of the time, and failing that, there are facebook pictures.)
- fidelity - regina spektor
(because ultimately this girl's a romantic. singing love songs to break her fall is something she's done before, and finds herself doing it again, with all twenty (of two thousand odd) songs on her iPod that fall under happy-romantic. this song is one of the twenty, and has one of the cutest music videos known to man.)
As always , enjoy your music responsibly. if you like what you hear, you know the drill. i like to think that the grey market feeds the white market (is there such thing as a white market? hrm..) because I'd never have heard tom's or regina's or yiruma's music without the internet, and as a result would not own the former two artists' CDs now. life's funny like that. in the meanwhile, and pseudodisclaimers most certainly aside, enjoy.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
- through the eyes of a girl who's still around the morning after -
...oy.
To update?
...I have a couch. Or will, within the span of two hours. I found and bought and arranged delivery for said couch in (broken) Japanese, a feat for which I am inordinately proud; it helped that my sales clerk looked like the incredibly handsome actor from "House of Flying Daggers" and I probably could have tried to talk to him all day and been happy.
...my ninensei (grade 11 to westerners) students are almost done their poster presentations. It has been amazing to see the progression, and while they definitely had their moments of typical teenage idiocy, the posters look really good. Presentations start on Tuesday. It was the first 'big' project I've sent at them, and they took it all in stride. ...It is terrible that I am thinking of staying another year just to see them graduate, isn't it? Damn this attachment thing; it complicates matters.
...I danced right through a pair of socks last night - but considering it was due to dancing the night (and part of the morning) away at a huge Halloween bash at one of the largest clubs in Japan, that's a small price to pay. The club itself was absolutely mad - tons of people, some amazing costumes, and a lot of good times with the other Ibaraki JETs. I feel vaguely like death warmed over this morning, and think that the good people at the station are getting used to my semi-regular pseudo-walks of shame. It helped that I had a cowboy hat dangling from one hand and might have been limping a little - dancing the night through in heels was okay until I stopped dancing, and *then.* Ow, pain. ...and the Facebook pictures. God bless Facebook - network and social watchdog that it is.
... also, the trouble with unrequited love is that you never expect it to run both ways (and the problem with being prone to unrequited love is the oh dear what now? when it isn't anymore. ...oh, it's not love, but it is something lovely and perplexing and fun. Was? I may have torched my chances. But then, I may not have; hoping for respect, at least.
(what is simple in the moonlight, in the morning seems insane?)
A little.
To update?
...I have a couch. Or will, within the span of two hours. I found and bought and arranged delivery for said couch in (broken) Japanese, a feat for which I am inordinately proud; it helped that my sales clerk looked like the incredibly handsome actor from "House of Flying Daggers" and I probably could have tried to talk to him all day and been happy.
...my ninensei (grade 11 to westerners) students are almost done their poster presentations. It has been amazing to see the progression, and while they definitely had their moments of typical teenage idiocy, the posters look really good. Presentations start on Tuesday. It was the first 'big' project I've sent at them, and they took it all in stride. ...It is terrible that I am thinking of staying another year just to see them graduate, isn't it? Damn this attachment thing; it complicates matters.
...I danced right through a pair of socks last night - but considering it was due to dancing the night (and part of the morning) away at a huge Halloween bash at one of the largest clubs in Japan, that's a small price to pay. The club itself was absolutely mad - tons of people, some amazing costumes, and a lot of good times with the other Ibaraki JETs. I feel vaguely like death warmed over this morning, and think that the good people at the station are getting used to my semi-regular pseudo-walks of shame. It helped that I had a cowboy hat dangling from one hand and might have been limping a little - dancing the night through in heels was okay until I stopped dancing, and *then.* Ow, pain. ...and the Facebook pictures. God bless Facebook - network and social watchdog that it is.
... also, the trouble with unrequited love is that you never expect it to run both ways (and the problem with being prone to unrequited love is the oh dear what now? when it isn't anymore. ...oh, it's not love, but it is something lovely and perplexing and fun. Was? I may have torched my chances. But then, I may not have; hoping for respect, at least.
(what is simple in the moonlight, in the morning seems insane?)
A little.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
- the trick is to keep breathing -
...write. Inkshed. To Hades the fact that you`re on the train and feel ridiculous and a student whose name and face you only half-remember stands across from you with better English comprehension than he`s ever shown in class. Write and perhaps you will finally say something.
Say anything.
Boomboxes are out of date and you sold your car that you could have stood upon - but everything else from the 80s is coming back, so you never know.
You still can`t believe you looked at armwarmers with anything other than arch amusement, or leggings for that matter. But you are living here - what are you waiting for - a written invitation? Don`t hold out. People stopped writing a long time ago.
Japan will teach you to save your words. If you thought you were wordy in Canada, well. You`ll lose them, though, if you`re not careful - stunted bilingualism and what could be whispers of dyslexia already twist your scribblings on the endless sheets of B5 paper between covers of red and rose and fractured Japlish.
You`ve lived outside yourself for too long - not lost touch but lost perspective. It`s not a cardinal sin, more an aftereffect of a liberal arts education, but in a land where people could not care less, be careful. Now`s a good time to jump back in. Maybe not the leap you were expecting or hoping for, but at the very least, it`s a start. And you - judging from your reflection and the fact that this exists at all - could use one of those.
Say anything.
Boomboxes are out of date and you sold your car that you could have stood upon - but everything else from the 80s is coming back, so you never know.
You still can`t believe you looked at armwarmers with anything other than arch amusement, or leggings for that matter. But you are living here - what are you waiting for - a written invitation? Don`t hold out. People stopped writing a long time ago.
Japan will teach you to save your words. If you thought you were wordy in Canada, well. You`ll lose them, though, if you`re not careful - stunted bilingualism and what could be whispers of dyslexia already twist your scribblings on the endless sheets of B5 paper between covers of red and rose and fractured Japlish.
You`ve lived outside yourself for too long - not lost touch but lost perspective. It`s not a cardinal sin, more an aftereffect of a liberal arts education, but in a land where people could not care less, be careful. Now`s a good time to jump back in. Maybe not the leap you were expecting or hoping for, but at the very least, it`s a start. And you - judging from your reflection and the fact that this exists at all - could use one of those.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
time is a healer ; time will take care of you -
- weird: going to Harajuku and marveling more at all the foreigners than all the Harajuku girls. Seriously. After two months, it is almost strange to be in a place that is (comparatively) ethnically diverse. But considering that Harajuku is one of the top 10 tourist recs...
- Tokyo is surreal, especially when compared to the rest of Japan. Spending a day/night/morning windowshopping and dancing (scandalously, aha) and dreaming only heightened that sense. Still, I`ve yet to find the right bartender; the restaurants` are fairly weak, and the bar we hit in Shinjuku`s ni-chome for my friend`s birthday mixed drinks that could peel paint off walls. Honest.far,
- mmm for banter with someone who I should stay far away from, but since when have I ever listened to my better nature when guys are concerned?
- teaching continues to be amazing and exhausting. Imperfect but better for its imperfections. The kids are cool beyond words, the teachers are mostly supportive, and the environment (when not in the midst of a typhoon, anyhow) has this quiet, green sort of beauty to it...
- I miss Bleach. (I miss having internet so as to watch Bleach.) But I am presently addicted to season one of Jack Bauer`s Worst Day Ever, so you know, life is good.
Take care, everyone, and lots of love.
- Tokyo is surreal, especially when compared to the rest of Japan. Spending a day/night/morning windowshopping and dancing (scandalously, aha) and dreaming only heightened that sense. Still, I`ve yet to find the right bartender; the restaurants` are fairly weak, and the bar we hit in Shinjuku`s ni-chome for my friend`s birthday mixed drinks that could peel paint off walls. Honest.far,
- mmm for banter with someone who I should stay far away from, but since when have I ever listened to my better nature when guys are concerned?
- teaching continues to be amazing and exhausting. Imperfect but better for its imperfections. The kids are cool beyond words, the teachers are mostly supportive, and the environment (when not in the midst of a typhoon, anyhow) has this quiet, green sort of beauty to it...
- I miss Bleach. (I miss having internet so as to watch Bleach.) But I am presently addicted to season one of Jack Bauer`s Worst Day Ever, so you know, life is good.
Take care, everyone, and lots of love.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
... I have a class of thirty sixteen-year-old guys and six girls. Someone figure out the math in that one? The classroom dynamics therein are interesting to say the least. And my methods of getting attention might have been better coming out of a shounen badass`s mouth, but I don`t think anyone was too scandalized... at least I hope not. One `oi!` should not be able to stop even the greatest slackers in their tracks but hey, I`m not complaining!
Regardless, even at three days of teaching in, I have such respect for my own teachers. Wow.
Still no Internet at home; this is woeful and verging on expensive, but getting out into the city is worth the journey.
Speaking of journeys, myself and a couple of other JETs climbed Fuji over Saturday night and Sunday morning; yes, that reads right. Deluded by the idea that seeing the sun rise from the top was a good idea, we ignored both sleep and shelter (and fifteen dollar aerosol bottles of oxygen!) to scramble over rocks and (politely; the Canadians made up the largest percentage of the climbers) Gaijin Smash our way past the hordes of people. (I mean hordes literally - standing in line behind a tour group of fifty to get up a mountain whilst five hours up said mountain is quite something; it`s another thing altogether to realize, seven hours in, that you have grown to like the lines because the breakneck pace otherwise is quite probably killing you.) Definitely an amazing experience, and, okay, the sunset, even from the tiny gap between my scarf and hood, was surreal and stunning; a neon-bright sun emerging from between clouds of pale slate; it looked as if it was literally rising from between the clouds.
Impossible, I know. And yet.
Cooking continues to be an adventure... I have learned the hard way to always read everything that I can, if only because what I thought was a ham and mozza panini turned out to be a ham and cream cheese panini, which, when microwaved... well, in my defense, I was hungry at the time? Haruka Shitow was right about mayonnaise and rice; it is surprisingly tasty, but there certainly have been some food combinations that perplex my Western palate.
But I have grown addicted to anpan and onigiri... oh, sometimes the simplest things are best. ^^
And I have an orchid; a yellow one this time, and not a Phalaenopsis; it is ruffly and lovely, and brightens up my room very well. (A home just isn`t a home without a flowering plant in it, I think...)
...and I am out of manga-kissaten-internet time. Take care, everyone, and keep in touch!
Regardless, even at three days of teaching in, I have such respect for my own teachers. Wow.
Still no Internet at home; this is woeful and verging on expensive, but getting out into the city is worth the journey.
Speaking of journeys, myself and a couple of other JETs climbed Fuji over Saturday night and Sunday morning; yes, that reads right. Deluded by the idea that seeing the sun rise from the top was a good idea, we ignored both sleep and shelter (and fifteen dollar aerosol bottles of oxygen!) to scramble over rocks and (politely; the Canadians made up the largest percentage of the climbers) Gaijin Smash our way past the hordes of people. (I mean hordes literally - standing in line behind a tour group of fifty to get up a mountain whilst five hours up said mountain is quite something; it`s another thing altogether to realize, seven hours in, that you have grown to like the lines because the breakneck pace otherwise is quite probably killing you.) Definitely an amazing experience, and, okay, the sunset, even from the tiny gap between my scarf and hood, was surreal and stunning; a neon-bright sun emerging from between clouds of pale slate; it looked as if it was literally rising from between the clouds.
Impossible, I know. And yet.
Cooking continues to be an adventure... I have learned the hard way to always read everything that I can, if only because what I thought was a ham and mozza panini turned out to be a ham and cream cheese panini, which, when microwaved... well, in my defense, I was hungry at the time? Haruka Shitow was right about mayonnaise and rice; it is surprisingly tasty, but there certainly have been some food combinations that perplex my Western palate.
But I have grown addicted to anpan and onigiri... oh, sometimes the simplest things are best. ^^
And I have an orchid; a yellow one this time, and not a Phalaenopsis; it is ruffly and lovely, and brightens up my room very well. (A home just isn`t a home without a flowering plant in it, I think...)
...and I am out of manga-kissaten-internet time. Take care, everyone, and keep in touch!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
you`re everybody`s satellite ~
...okay, so what with internet access being thirty minutes from home, I may not be the most faithful recorder, but here`s an update.
Along with a bunch of other Ibaraki JETs, I will be climbing Fuji this weekend, sadly with no tuque in tow. I knew I should have brought one from Canada! Oh well, you can`t win them all. Despite hearing that parts of the hike are much like standing in a cattle line, I`m looking forward to the climb and the sunrise ... the view from Fuji at sunrise is one of the most celebrated in Japan, and apparently the basis for the old national flag (the one with the red sun with the rays.)
With any luck, I won`t be too broken to train by Monday; I`ve only been to two aikido classes so far, but quite enjoy the sport. It is definitely an adjustment, but the other participants are kind and very talented at the martial art - and a lot of fun to hang out with afterwards. I`ve adopted Carl`s word - nomunication; a blend of the Japanese verb nomu, to drink, and communication - to describe the afterwards, where we hang out in the kitchen/common area and talk, laugh, play guitar, dodge divebombing hornets, and share a drink or two. The shrine and dojo themselves are historic, which is both odd and perfectly natural. Maybe it`s just my Canadianisms acting up. It`s odd... Japan is very much a country of the synonymous past and future, whereas Canada is very much about the here and now. Not in all things; of course, that`s a generalization, but still, there`s something to it.
I have no doubt I`ll be able to put a more eloquent spin on that thought by the end of the year - maybe by the end of the week! Classes start tomorrow, but I don`t teach until Friday... I have my lesson plan completed, and my introduction practiced for... I am nervous, but it`s more anticipation than anything. I hope.
Cheers, and take care, everyone. ^^
Along with a bunch of other Ibaraki JETs, I will be climbing Fuji this weekend, sadly with no tuque in tow. I knew I should have brought one from Canada! Oh well, you can`t win them all. Despite hearing that parts of the hike are much like standing in a cattle line, I`m looking forward to the climb and the sunrise ... the view from Fuji at sunrise is one of the most celebrated in Japan, and apparently the basis for the old national flag (the one with the red sun with the rays.)
With any luck, I won`t be too broken to train by Monday; I`ve only been to two aikido classes so far, but quite enjoy the sport. It is definitely an adjustment, but the other participants are kind and very talented at the martial art - and a lot of fun to hang out with afterwards. I`ve adopted Carl`s word - nomunication; a blend of the Japanese verb nomu, to drink, and communication - to describe the afterwards, where we hang out in the kitchen/common area and talk, laugh, play guitar, dodge divebombing hornets, and share a drink or two. The shrine and dojo themselves are historic, which is both odd and perfectly natural. Maybe it`s just my Canadianisms acting up. It`s odd... Japan is very much a country of the synonymous past and future, whereas Canada is very much about the here and now. Not in all things; of course, that`s a generalization, but still, there`s something to it.
I have no doubt I`ll be able to put a more eloquent spin on that thought by the end of the year - maybe by the end of the week! Classes start tomorrow, but I don`t teach until Friday... I have my lesson plan completed, and my introduction practiced for... I am nervous, but it`s more anticipation than anything. I hope.
Cheers, and take care, everyone. ^^
Saturday, August 18, 2007
here, where the daylight begins ~
Ｊｕｓｔ ａ ｑｕｉｃｋ ｈｅｌｌｏ ｆｒｏｍ ｔｈｅ ｌａｎｄ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｒｉｓｉｎｇ ｓｕｎ！ Ｉ ｈａｖｅ ｍａｄｅ ｉｔ ｓａｆｅ ａｎｄ ｓｏｕｎｄ， ａｎｄ ａｍ ｃｈｉｌｌｉｎｇ ｉｎ ａ ｍａｎｇａ－ｋｉｓｓａｔｅｎ； ａｎ ａｌｌ－ｎｉｇｈｔ manga library that also has super-cheap Internet access and reclining chairs... mmm. Paradise? Maybe something close to it, aha. My town, Omitama, is about half an hour south of where I am right now, and is charming and super-spread out (by which I mean there will be a massive vegetable garden/random game preserve right next to the supermarket or across from my school - which is four stories tall!), but it has a kickass little bookstore/art supply shop, an amazing coffee shop where they roast the beans on site (I know nothing about coffee, but the process had me enraptured) and a great little bakery... so, with all my bases covered, I am a happy clam.
Or a happy Taryn, more like. ...Although, after spending the night at the Beach Bash just north of Iwaki, sun, saltwater, and sand all having worked their magic, I still feel a little like a clam. ^^ The party was, while smaller than expected, a ton of fun; a great chance to meet a bunch of other JETs and catch up with ones I had met earlier; to catch the waves of the Pacific and wish for a one-piece swimsuit, to raid the conbinis (convenience stores) at unspeakable hours for onigiri and beer and chocolate with handfuls of others after scaling walls and crossing scrub-brush that we nicknamed the Valley of Doom. Mmmm, and it was all for very healthy food. Yum.
Hey, it was a party, so...
I`m not teaching yet, so still feeling sort of touristy, but life is good. Settling in, nesting a little, partying a little, and trying not to lose my voice via karaoke. Blistered feet from dancing are terrible (and saltwater does not help this, either) but oh, the dancing is worth it. Even if it is to bad 90`s pop of both the Japanese and English persuasion!
This, and I am seemingly surrounded by writers. This fact is immeasurably kickass. ^^ I hope you all are well; you`re loved and being thought of. Take care, and I will try to write more soon, and post pictures once I have my own Interwebs.
Or a happy Taryn, more like. ...Although, after spending the night at the Beach Bash just north of Iwaki, sun, saltwater, and sand all having worked their magic, I still feel a little like a clam. ^^ The party was, while smaller than expected, a ton of fun; a great chance to meet a bunch of other JETs and catch up with ones I had met earlier; to catch the waves of the Pacific and wish for a one-piece swimsuit, to raid the conbinis (convenience stores) at unspeakable hours for onigiri and beer and chocolate with handfuls of others after scaling walls and crossing scrub-brush that we nicknamed the Valley of Doom. Mmmm, and it was all for very healthy food. Yum.
Hey, it was a party, so...
I`m not teaching yet, so still feeling sort of touristy, but life is good. Settling in, nesting a little, partying a little, and trying not to lose my voice via karaoke. Blistered feet from dancing are terrible (and saltwater does not help this, either) but oh, the dancing is worth it. Even if it is to bad 90`s pop of both the Japanese and English persuasion!
This, and I am seemingly surrounded by writers. This fact is immeasurably kickass. ^^ I hope you all are well; you`re loved and being thought of. Take care, and I will try to write more soon, and post pictures once I have my own Interwebs.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
- here, where the daylight begins -
...a week to go and I haven't started packing. Go, go, self. ^___^ (Although frankly I'm unsurprised.)
Now to figure out how to stuff one's life in the confines of two suitcases and a carry-on. But as long as I have sufficient funds, American Gods, a camera, good shoes, a nice suit, a watch, and a year's worth of fluoride toothpaste (Japan doesn't put fluoride in their water or toothpaste to the best of my knowledge, and I don't want cavities...) I should be okay.
That's an odd list of priorities, but... I never professed to be normal.
Now to figure out how to stuff one's life in the confines of two suitcases and a carry-on. But as long as I have sufficient funds, American Gods, a camera, good shoes, a nice suit, a watch, and a year's worth of fluoride toothpaste (Japan doesn't put fluoride in their water or toothpaste to the best of my knowledge, and I don't want cavities...) I should be okay.
That's an odd list of priorities, but... I never professed to be normal.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
- i will start painting houses (if things come alive) -
Good work, self. Your timing couldn't be better. Tumbling into infatuation with less than a month to go before departure to another continent? Utterly romantic and beautifully typical.
Ah well ~ life's to be lived, and so here's to summer evenings, old radio plays, and meanderings through moonlit/streetlit parkways with the best of company.
Now to get back to the practical side of life - read: packing. Egad.
Ah well ~ life's to be lived, and so here's to summer evenings, old radio plays, and meanderings through moonlit/streetlit parkways with the best of company.
Now to get back to the practical side of life - read: packing. Egad.
Friday, June 15, 2007
- pack up all our things and move so far away -
(Say something, anything.)
- Testing, one, two, three?
(...anything but that.)
So the words belong to the characters Mark and Joanne from the musical Rent, but in lieu of other snappy banter - there you have it. This is the testpost from home ground - soon enough, my feet will leave the ground en route for Ibaraki-ken, Nihon, where I will work as an English language teaching assistant - but not yet.
For now, being buried under ten feet of paperwork and with a growing sense of brilliancehesitationexcitementwonderohgodit'sactuallyhappening is a good start.
Here's to dreams and to dreamers; cheers!
*t.
- Testing, one, two, three?
(...anything but that.)
So the words belong to the characters Mark and Joanne from the musical Rent, but in lieu of other snappy banter - there you have it. This is the testpost from home ground - soon enough, my feet will leave the ground en route for Ibaraki-ken, Nihon, where I will work as an English language teaching assistant - but not yet.
For now, being buried under ten feet of paperwork and with a growing sense of brilliancehesitationexcitementwonderohgodit'sactuallyhappening is a good start.
Here's to dreams and to dreamers; cheers!
*t.
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