tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23830718818958657902024-02-07T13:58:18.187+09:00Oh Hey Japanaudreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-19213701230788975212014-11-30T13:58:00.001+09:002014-11-30T13:58:17.272+09:00The Smell of Rice in August[Preface: I recently wrote this about a trip I took in August 2013 for a Japanese tourism contest, but I got carried away and eventually turned it into something that didn't really fit with the contest's description, so I couldn't use it. But, I put some time and effort into this and it is about a very special, very memorable day in my life, so I figured I'd put it up somewhere, and somewhere is here.]<br />
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Do you know what rice paddies smell like in August? Yeah, I
didn’t either. In fact, everyone I have asked since I discovered it didn’t really
know what I was talking about. Maybe it is just my imagination; maybe I just
fabricated the smell and attached it to this memory. Regardless, it’s a
beautiful smell. It is the smell of earth and water, growth and late summer. It
is the smell of Kyushu. It is the smell of Kumamoto and Kagoshima. It is the fragrance
that will always and forever be attached to August 2013 in my memory. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I really understand those people who claim that the journey
is the reward, not the destination. The destination in this case was pretty
disappointing. I spent a week in Kagoshima City farming through a program
called WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). WWOOF is a pretty
cool organization where you can contact farms around the world and work for
them for some amount of time in exchange for a place to stay, food to eat and
education in the realm of organic farming. My destination was a small farm that
provided fresh produce for their partner cafes. Although my focus was farming,
I unfortunately spent a lot of the time washing dishes in the cafes. It wasn’t
all boring though. Sakurajima, Kagoshima’s highlight volcano, had an enormous
eruption while I was there, turning a bright sunny day into late evening with
plumes of smoke and ash covering the city and my ice cream cone, which I
stupidly decided to eat outside. It made international news, but the only effect
it had on the local populous was making them a little more disgruntled that
they had even more ash than usual to brush off their cars and patios. While the
slightly disappointing aspect of the destination contributes to why the journey
was so much better, even if I had had a fantastic time there, the journey would
still have taken the cake on this trip. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The drive down to Kagoshima was okay, but real thrill of the
trip was the drive home. I had no time schedule to stick to, a full tank of gas
and a smart phone to guide to me anywhere I pleased (yet, many of the most
memorable moments were lucky finds and the smart phone only helped me get out
of jams when I made wrong turns). I took off in the morning, leaving an ash-covered
city in my rearview window, following a road that hugged the seashore a little
more closely than I was comfortable with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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A sucker for locally produced goods, I stopped first at a
roadside seller of the local mochi treat, Jumbo Mochi, a warm rice cake on a
stick, covered in a sticky sauce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a
warm treat in my belly, I continued on, racing a train on one side and waves on
the other. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My first destination was Ryumontaki, a waterfall only about
an hour drive away, hidden under the expressway and around a few tight corners.
I reached it eventually and was so glad I did. It was summer vacation, but
early enough in the day that the local kids hadn’t come out to play, or maybe
they actually heeded the signs warning against swimming. I followed a gentle
river to the bottom of the biggest waterfall I’d seen in Japan yet, and I love
waterfalls, so I’ve seen a lot. The water gushed out from an alcove of giant
rocks, forming a deep and enticing pool. Did I mention it was hot? I mean,
really hot. It was easily 100F (38C) and more humid than any human should have
to withstand and the air-conditioner in my little car didn’t work. With sweat
dripping down my face just sitting in my car, relaxing next to a raging
waterfall felt like heaven on Earth. Being alone, I heeded the warning signs and
only went so far as to climb barefoot around the rocks and dip my feet into the
cool, clear water; I wouldn’t want to be pulled into the depths with no one
around to call to for help.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After my refreshing half-dip, I followed a map to a path
that I assumed would take me to the top of the waterfall, so I could gain a new
perspective of the height and grandeur of the scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead it led me through a forest filled
with mosquitoes that sucked more of my blood than when I donated to the Red
Cross a few years back. Spider webs crossed the path to the extent that if I
was in any other country, I would think the path had been abandoned for months,
but summer on Kyushu just has so many spiders that the webs are endless. The
top of the path was confusing and overgrown. I could hear the waterfall clearly,
but it remained hidden and out of reach. It was too hot for this, so I headed
back down, hopped rocks back over the river and took my car up the mountain
where other signs promised more waterfalls. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I never made it to the top of Ryumontaki, but what came next
made up for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it’s important
to note here that while I am an adventurous person, I can be shy and hesitant
if I don’t know what I’m getting myself into. Well, that was the case at this
part of the story, but if this trip was important for any reason, it was
helping me grow brave and even more adventurous (although, this trip was
important for me in many more ways). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The next waterfall I found was an underwhelming falls created
by a man-made dam. It was still nice to walk down a lightly wooded, lightly
mosquito-ed path. I was getting hungry. I’m not much of a foodie, so much not-so
that when traveling by myself I sometimes forget to eat all together. On the
way to this second waterfall though, while driving down a small, gravel road, I
saw a hand-painted sign of kanji that I couldn’t make out, but I figured was
advertising a restaurant. I paid it no mind and went on. After leaving the
waterfall, I headed out back towards a big road to take me on my way, but I
passed another one of the same sign. I took it as an omen that I should go
there, so I went with my gut. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I almost left the moment I arrived. There was a gravel
parking lot big enough for three cars and I was lucky to get one, as someone
was leaving when I pulled up. But it was just a house. A house with no matching
sign. I was confused. I eventually found a door on the side that I thought
might pass as a door to a restaurant. In Japanese countryside-restaurant
fashion, opening the door I felt like I was walking into someone’s home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, I pretty much was. Many of the
restaurants out there are attached to the owners’ living quarters. The food was
probably prepared in their everyday-use kitchen. The seating area was rustic
with a historical feel, fitting to the old-time Japanese atmosphere; sliding,
aged, wooden doors, low tables, pillows to sit on and a garden to look at on
the other side of the window. The musty air was cooled by dusty electric fans. The
other customers were about as old as the house and clearly long-time friends of
the ancient man who brought my tea and took my order: the daily special. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So many kinds of food were placed before me that I couldn’t
fit them all in the same picture. I don’t know if you can tell the difference
between high-quality steamed white rice and lower quality steamed white rice,
but I definitely couldn’t until I tasted this rice. I didn’t know rice could be
so delicious. (I could also have just been starving, but I choose to believe it
really was the quality.) Every side dish I was served was vegetarian and all
ingredients were grown in the region and prepared with love and care by the
grandma slaving away in the kitchen. Goya, potato salad, boiled pumpkin, miso
soup, things that I didn’t even know existed but loved every bit of. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The old man started chatting me up with the normal small
talk that I grew so accustomed to being a foreigner living in Japan. Where are
you from? Why are you in Japan, Kagoshima? How the heck did you end up in our
little shop in the middle of nowhere? They were the same questions I often got,
although this time almost incomprehensible in his old-man Kagoshima dialect and
he was so surprised and excited to have someone new and exciting in his humble
restaurant that I answered with equal pleasure and enthusiasm in equally
incomprehensible Nagasaki dialect. I was thrilled to be in their little corner
of the world and I wanted to make sure they knew how happy I was to have found their
secret and delicious hideaway. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Leaving my new favorite restaurant, (although I will probably
never return to it), I quickly got lost. I didn’t mind though. Speeding down
those country roads with a full belly, an excellent mix cd playing, the smell
of growing rice wafting into my car through the open windows and the sun
shining on my face made me appreciate my life more than any single moment in my
life until that point, nor have I achieved such nirvana again. It was perfect. My
life was perfect. I was complete. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Hours of driving through nature, winding roads cutting
through nothing but cedar tree forests and fragrant rice fields. I stopped to buy
a Japanese pear from a roadside stand despite not really having room for it in
my tummy. “My life is perfect,” was the only thought that passed through my head
for hours. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I was driving in the general direction of my home-away-from-home
just over the Kagoshima border in the mountains of Kumamoto, but was free to
stop when I wanted. So I did. I spotted a sign while on the road approaching
the Satsuma area pointing the way to Kannondaki, yet another waterfall. How
could I pass that up? Again, a few wrong turns later I ended up in this park.
It had a river running through it and a few mini waterfalls along the path. But
the waterfall behind the Kannon (Buddhist goddess of mercy) statue was
beautiful and perfect. Some college kids were swimming in the pool, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>their clothes still on, leading me to believe
they were also serial subscribers to spontaneity. The bottom of the waterfall
was nice and relaxing, but I finally had the opportunity to go to the top. I
walked up winding, unkempt staircases until I reached the apex. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Living in Japan, my Japanese friends always talked about “power
spots,” but I didn’t really believe you could draw energy from nature in
real-life, but oh, how wrong I was. Standing on these rocks, the top of
vertical tunnels shaped by thousands of years of rushing water, I have never
felt so alive, yet so at peace. I was alone and my thoughts quickly left me,
leaving me stuck in a state of awe at nature’s beauty, power and magnificence.
Had I slipped, I would’ve plummeted meters down into a crevice, crushed by tons
of rushing water. It was an amazing and scary feeling to be standing there in
the presence of such dominating power. I’m not really sure how long I stayed there
absorbing nature’s energy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again,
complete, unadulterated happiness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My trip that day ended in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, probably my
favorite place on Kyushu. Before this trip I’d spent countless hours rafting
down the Kumagawa River with my raft guide friends who have a relaxed and fun
culture all their own and were so kind to share with me. My drive between the
Kannondaki and Hitoyoshi was cooler, literally, as I weaved up mountain roads.
There was the smell of rain in the air as the sun lowered in the sky. The rice
fields, still emitting their scent, were fewer and far between, but the shade
of the trees brought me gently back down to Earth from the clouds of elation on
which I was still sitting. I had other CDs in my car, but this one mix cd
played through again and again and again, the songs becoming as distinct of a
part of this trip as the smell of the rice, so I could never listen to a song
on it again without being taken back to this day when everything in my life was
perfect. I hope one day I can have this feeling again. If I know Kyushu at all,
I’m sure it has more hidden treasures that hopefully I will be able to find
someday and maybe, just maybe, I can experience a day as wonderful, fulfilling
and enlightening as this day in August 2013. <o:p></o:p></div>
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audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-49863141112416785972013-04-19T13:15:00.001+09:002013-04-19T13:15:41.599+09:00The Bike Saga Continued: The Return of CeceliaI got a call at school the other day, in one of the brief moments I was sitting at my desk. It was the main police station, they found my bike!<br />
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When I arrived there, I walked up to the main desk and all I had to say was "W<i>atashi no jitensha..." </i> (So, my bike...) and they said "<i>Akasu-san desuka?</i>" (Are you Ms.Akcasu?) and a lady in the back jumped up.<br />
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I had to fill out more papers (no mistakes this time, phew), sign two papers for each working brake of my bike (so, one for the left hand brake, one for the right), and then I had to get fingerprinted. Every individual finger, four fingers together and my palm. Apparently, they looked for prints on the bike in order to possibly catch the thief.<br />
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About 45 minutes in, I got to ride Cecelia away and I took her to the park. No damage except the sticker of Omuranchan's face was scratched off. Apparently the thief didn't like Omuranchan looking at him.<br />
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Whether all of the paperwork and signings and fingerprintings and crime scene investigation was necessary and added to their efficiency of finding my bike, I can't be sure- because it still seems a bit overkill. Regardless, they did a great job finding my bike and I'm grateful that missing bikes can be so high-up on their priority list- as the city (and country) lacks more dangerous crimes. In America, I don't think the police of most cities would concern themselves with something so trivial.<br />
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Also, I have some thoughts on the thief. The bike was found behind a hospital just a couple blocks from the station. I actually had to pass by the hospital on my way. I have three ideas about this guy:<br />
1. He really needed to go to the hospital, but for some reason couldn't call one of the FREE ambulances.<br />
2. He's actually a nice guy and felt bad about stealing my bike, so he dropped it off near the station, but didn't want to go through all of the paperwork of turning in a "lost item"- yes, there's plenty of forms for that as well.<br />
3. He's not the smartest thief and didn't realize how close to the police station he left my registered bike.<br />
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The End.<br />
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<br />audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-15905581363572640062013-04-14T18:39:00.001+09:002013-04-14T18:39:58.113+09:00The Bike Saga -I didn't study on my usual study days this week so I headed to McDonald's for a study session before a birthday party. I study at McDonald's because it's one of two places (the other being Starbucks) that I can sit and study for few hours, without having naps or internet to distract me. <div>
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So anyway, I rode my bike to Mac (the Japanese abbreviation) and when I went to park my bike I bumped in to one of my old students. "How are you?" - "... 'How are you'...?... I'm-fine-thank-you-and-you"- "Oh, I'm good, thanks. I'll study now." - "Oh! Do you remember my name?!" - "...No! I'm sorry. Tell me again." There was some more conversation in there too, but the point is, somewhere in that timeframe, I managed to forget to take my key out of my bike lock. </div>
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Normally, it's not a big deal if I forget to take my key out. This is Omura, the place where I had my dropped wallet returned to me not once, but twice, with nothing missing. Granted bike theft is about the extent Omura's crime (this came from the police officer's own mouth), McDonald's, Aeon (a shopping center) and the bike parking lot in front of the station, are often prime targets for the bikeless wandering "hoodlum" kids that have somewhere to go and only their feet to take them. Or maybe his friends all have bikes and he didn't feel like running along side of them (I see this a lot). The stolen bikes are usually just tossed aside somewhere else in the city. </div>
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I should have seen the foreshadowing a few weeks ago when I walked out of the community center to find a junior high school boy just sitting on my bike talking to his friends. He wasn't planning on stealing it, or even riding it, but it was a pretty awkward situation. </div>
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Back to the story, I walk out of Mac a couple hours later, to find my bike gone. Well, shoot. It was pretty late, so I'd just have to report it in the morning. Which I did. </div>
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I walked into the nearby<i> koban</i> (mini-police station) and told them what happened. I registered my bike when I bought it, a measure taken so that in case it did get stolen, there would be official record of it. It's also a way for cops to check and make sure people aren't stealing bikes at night. I once took my bike from the station and an officer cross referenced my name and registration just to make sure it was mine. </div>
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I knew this process would take a long time, so I left two and half hours before I had to catch a bus out of town. I didn't think it would actually take that long though. And so the saga begins. </div>
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First both of the working officers come out from the back office and start taking down my information. Name, address, job place, etc. Then I explained the what, when and where of the incident. Notes were taken and then they got out the official documents. We went over my personal info again, and then I described my bike. Every detail. Not just the maker, name, and color, but also the color of the basket, the style of gears, how many gears, "where is the name of the bike written?" "what's that part of the bike called, anyway?" and the position of the Omuran-chan stickers I stuck to it. The other officer in the mean time was typing all of this into the computer. He clearly did not know the alphabet keyboard very well because typing "Cecelia" (the name of the bike) took about 4 tries. Oh wait, that was supposed to be in capital letters, let me do it again, CECELIA. Then because my bike is teal, there was some fuss about whether they should circle blue or green on the form. </div>
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Then it was my turn to fill out my name, address and job on the official form. Thank goodness I can write it myself, but too bad I messed up my job title because then he had to redo that paper, staple it to the old version and I had to fingerprint it to verify that I was present when this new form was filled out. I made a mistake on the next one as well, but this time I just fingerprinted the mistake instead. I have an <i>inkan </i>(name stamp, which you can usually use for mistakes), but since it's in <i>katakana</i> (the writing format used for foreign words/names), they called the main station who told them they can't accept that- only kanji <i>inkans</i>. This is also when I learned that police officers have a special pouch in their vests for <i>inkan </i>cases. </div>
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Forty minutes, three forms, and 4 calls to the main station to verify different things (whether to write my name in English or <i>katakana, </i>etc) later, it's time to go check out the "crime scene." </div>
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They police officers are really nice guys and asked me questions about my life in Japan and where I'm from, the usual. They seemed pretty excited to be driving the first police car I've ever ridden in. I sat in the back seat where I was surprised to find no seat belts. I thought this was strange. Granted, it's only law for the front seat, but not even having them in the backseat? in a police car? Odd. </div>
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When we got to Mac, it was crowded, so they did a common move here of just stopping, not in a parking space. When I got out of the car, my back lightly bumped the side view mirror of this other car, that apparently had someone in it. When I say lightly bumped, I mean, it was so light I barely felt it. </div>
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While I was showing one officer where my bike had been and he was measuring distances (it seemed pretty arbitrarily), the man in the car started telling the second officer that I hit his mirror with the police car's door. When the second officer came over, he asked me about it and I essentially said, "The police car has sliding doors, it would be physically impossible for me to hit that man's mirror." The guy in the car was being aggressive and rude to the police officers, clearly just being a ****. I could tell they were just trying to appease him and were on my side. He eventually just left, but because it was an "accident," the traffic accident team had to come and take more seemingly arbitrary measurements and pictures, even though the guy was gone. There were more official forms too, but they didn't involve me in this new incident any further, since it was a bunch of bullsh*t to begin with, except taking a picture of my back where it touched the mirror. </div>
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Finally, it was all done. Instead of taking me back to the <i>koban</i> though, they offered to drive me to the airport, from where my bus was leaving. A free ride to airport, sweet. On the way there, while waiting at a red light, three of my 6th grade boys walked by. When they saw me in the back of the van, they waved, but then realized I was in the back of a police car and their jaws dropped, eyes widened and they looked panicked. The officer rolled down his window and told them I wasn't in trouble and all three of them clutched their hearts and I could seem them sigh with relief. It was very cute. I can't wait to go to school on Tuesday and find all of my students talking about it and all of my teachers asking me about it. At least maybe I can get word of my missing bike out and increase my chances of recovery!</div>
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I'm not going to say I'm glad my bike was stolen, but I am kind of glad that I had this wacky experience. I'll definitely be remembering this one. </div>
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(I am indefinitely borrowing by friend's extra bike, so I am still mobile.) </div>
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audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-86356596723002209332013-02-17T20:54:00.002+09:002013-02-17T20:54:45.334+09:00A Khumbi RideWarning: This will be long <br />
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I've pondered upon the best way to approach writing about my trip to Africa and my mind always comes back to the<i> khumbis. </i> The what?! The debilitated, cramped, time-consuming public transportation of Swaziland. I remarked to Mia at one point, that we should calculate the percentage of my trip spent in one of these mini-buses. While we never got around to it, rest assured, it was a significant portion. Don't get me wrong, I loved riding in khumbis. <br />
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Swaziland is not big. It's half of the size of Kyushu, four times the size of Nagasaki prefecture, and not even 1.5 times the size of Los Angeles county- remember this is an entire <i>country</i>. I didn't have the chance to venture into the southern half, but I saw my fair share of the north through the windows of khumbis.<br />
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Public transportation in Swaziland is like none I've experienced before and I actually didn't really get it when it was first explained to me (and I'm still no expert). There are a few options, but I'll start out with the most straightforward.<br />
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The bus rank. In Mia's hut, I saw an indiscernible picture drawn by her 6-year old brother, Nsika, that said "bus rank." I assumed the words were as non-sensible as the drawing. In hindsight though, it was actually a pretty good drawing and labeled correctly. Depending on where you are the bus rank can be a very intimidating mad-house or a quite parking lot with some ladies selling goods. It's just a bus stop, pretty much. Khumbis are 16-seat, privately-owned (but for public use) minibuses. Each has a set origin and destination, often painted onto the van. You find the khumbi going to (or at least in the direction of) your desired location and grab a seat. Here's the sticky part, the khumbi doesn't leave until it's full. If you're the first person on, you could be waiting for a long time. My first trip, we spent longer waiting to leave, than it took to get to where we were going; 48 minutes for a 20ish minute ride. <br />
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So, I said it doesn't leave until it's full, and I meant full. Every seat filled and usually every nook and cranny crammed with stuff. I saw jugs shoved under seats, eggs, live chickens, huge bags of maize meal, children. Children are no exception. If they don't take up a seat, they ride for free, so babies and kids sit on laps or stand between seats. Don't even ask about seat belts...<br />
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Apparently, you're supposed to get a ticket on the khumbi. I don't think we got one the first 4 or 5 rides, but no mind, we still paid and we made it. Every khumbi has a driver and a "conductor," a guy that takes the money, (gives tickets) and tells people where to sit. I was really proud of myself when Mia and I were separated on one of my last khumbi rides and I paid for myself. It's cheap, by the way. Less than two bucks for a 40+ minute ride. (If you're on the side of the road and a khumbi going in your direction has already let someone off so has some extra seats is going by, you can wave them down and jump in from there, as well. )<br />
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The doors don't always close, the windows don't always open, but don't worry, the music will always be pumping. Almost every khumbi had a new stereo and the drivers just blasted their favorite tunes throughout the Swazi countryside. This is the closest I'll get to a good time to mention that many of the khumbi have a name- like a ship has a name. Some of them were pretty funny, like "Cup of Dreams."<br />
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So why did I like khumbi so much? Other than seeing the Swazi countryside, I saw the country people-side. There were so many interactions in, on, or around the khumbi that made it so memorable. What I learned on khumbis:<br />
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<u>Swaziland has diverse, beautiful scenery:</u> When I left the airport in Johannesburg, I saw what I pretty much expected of African terrain: flat and grassy. But the closer we got to Swaziland I saw a whole different world. Vast rolling hills, tall trees, lush vegetation. Granted it was rainy season so there was a lot of new growth. Later on in the trip, I saw the flat fields of maize and sugar cane. Apparently in the south, the terrain is even more different.<br />
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<u>Swazis are friendly:</u> Probably the story I've told the most thus far, occurred at my first bus rank. I'd been with Mia for maybe 45 minutes and we are standing in line for a specific khumbi and Mia starts chatting away in siSwati with this make (pronounced ma-ge, means "mother" or "woman old enough to be a mother"). I thought it was so weird that Mia happened to know this lady, even though we were no where near her community. They were laughing and joking. "Must be old friends," I thought. Nope, just some lady standing in the same line?! I was shocked at the time, but over the next week I realized that it really is just how the Swazis are: super friendly (and talkative). Everyone I met in Mia's community made me feel like one of the family instantly. It was weird and so different from Japan. In Japan everyone is very polite, and I realized that this can make them seem cold and standoffish.<br />
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<u>People watch out for each other: </u>Okay, this was neither in Swaziland nor on a khumbi, but it's related. As we crossed the border to Mozambique, we were a little worried about getting to the bus rank from the border gate, but we were taken under the wing by this nice Swazi woman. The trick to getting to the bus rank is to catch a ride on the back of a pick-up that makes trips back and forth from the gate to the rank. The back of this specific pick-up was run by one tough 13 year old boy, who was trying to charge us for 3 people, the third being our big bag full of camping stuff. So this woman got in this huge argument, just for us. Other passengers piped in in our favor as well, but in the end we still had to pay.<br />
Again in Moz, but this time it <i>was </i>a khumbi, heading back to the border from Maputo- our big red camping bag was again the star of the story. This time, it was in the back of the khumbi, no problem except that the driver and conductor were talking about it, wondering whose it was, but only speaking in Portuguese! We had no clue! So this nice passenger, decided to ask us in English, just in case. What a pal! Things like this happened all the time. Anywhere from a simple translation like that to guiding me to a more direct khumbi and then helping me carry all of our stuff from one khumbi to another while Mia was out doing something else. <br />
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<u>You can eat on the go:</u> While it wasn't as bad as Maputo, there was quite a bit of trash on the ground around Swaziland, which made me sad. <u> </u>A lot of the litter, however, was maize cobs and mango peels, which is not so bad. It seemed that in every community you could find someone selling grilled maize and mangos (I think it's mango season). Unlike in Japan, eating on the go is fine here. Once you're done with the maize, just chuck the cob out the window of the khumbi. This was really hard for me to do that, especially on the right side, I was scared it would hit another car. Everyone else, including Mia, were seasoned pros.<br />
Another favorite story involves eating maize in a khumbi. We were sitting in the back row and there was a big gogo (grandmother) between Mia and me. I was just picking at some leftover maize I had and the gogo saw it and asked me if it was maize. I took that as, "Can I have a couple kernels?" so I offered some. She readily accepted and took a few. A couple minutes later, she mentions the maize again, but this time, she takes the cob, breaks it in half and hands one half back to me, keeping the other for herself. I really didn't mind, it was just funny. We proceeded to throw the cobs out the window.<br />
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<u>Swazis like their picture taken:</u> Maybe it's because not many people have cameras, but so many Swazi people asked me to take their pictures. It was nice for me because I got some pictures of everyday people, but I still don't understand their logic, they're never going to see the photos. Another odd part of this is that when they want their photo taken, they yell out "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Again, counter intuitive. <br />
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<u>Personal space is not a concept:</u> I'm sure you've seen pictures or videos of Tokyo trains in the morning during rush hour, packed like sardines. Swaziland has this too on buses and sometimes khumbis. Especially in Mozambique, where we didn't ride any khumbis within Maputo (thank goodness). There, we saw khumbis packed until butts are hanging out of windows. The buses got pretty crowded too. We got on one early in the morning near the start of the line so it wasn't very full. By the time we got to our destination, an hour later, every seat was filled and every inch of aisle space was packed with people. Getting out was not easy, especially with a big backpack and that darn camping bag. I had to carry my backpack over the heads of seated passengers or it wasn't going to make it out with me!<br />
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<u>TIA:</u> This Is Africa. TIA is an acronym often used by volunteers. My biggest TIA moment was riding in a bus on the way to Hlane Royal National Park. We were just riding along looking out the window when all of the sudden there were 8 giraffe just hanging out on the side of the road. Wild giraffe! Hanging out on the side of the road! I was beyond excited. Moments later we also saw some impala and vultures!<br />
Speaking of animals, I saw a ton. At Hlane, I went on 3 game drives (2 sunrise, 1 sunset). We saw rhinos, giraffe, impala, nyala, crocodiles, vultures, other big birds, warthogs, elephants (I got really close to some), hippos, a monitor lizard and some beautiful small birds. There is a lion section at Hlane as well, but unfortunately we didn't see any. The night we arrived they saw some lions feeding, but we'd opted not to do the sunset drive because lions are usually seen in the morning (oops!). The next two days however, the lions were nowhere to be seen. We saw their footprints and their leftover food, but no lions. It's especially hard during the rainy season because the grass is tall, there's plenty of watering holes and it's really hot (around 40C!) so the lions just lay around in the shade. Mia and I spent the daytime doing the same thing as the animals, just sitting by the watering hole watching as animals came and went. It was SO cool.<br />
Another TIA moment happened at night when we were in the fenced off camping area, just roasting some marshmallows, when we heard a lion roar! It was awesome, but also <i>terrifying</i> because in the dark we could also make out forms of animals running INSIDE the camping area. Could it be that unimaginable situation like Jurassic Park when the predators get loose and cause havoc? Were we doomed to be lion food? When we heard the safari truck fire up and head out into the wild, it didn't help. "No! They're INSIDE!" we said to each other. We were pretty scared, especially because the lights of the truck showed the silhouette of an animal crouching near our tent, so we couldn't even take refuge. We sought out the help of our neighbors who were in the buildings so hadn't heard a thing, but they came with us back to our site, with a flashlight, probably thinking we were crazy. We realized that there were, indeed, animals next to our tent, but only impala- no lions. Mia and I are positive they were chased away from where ever they had been by a lion. I don't think lions can actually get out of their area though.<br />
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<u>It's a small world:</u> It's amazing that one second I was thinking "Man, this is a different world," then the next I ran into someone from Oxy. That's right. After lugging our stuff and that damn camping bag all over Swaziland and Mozambique, we were finally headed to our last stop before we got to ditch the bag. We got off a khumbi and hitched a ride on the back of a pick-up, but then had a 2+ kilometer walk ahead of us, down a straight, boring road. A car pulled over and this nice young couple, who happened to be going to the same hostel (there really wasn't anything else down the road), offered to give us lift. Turns out the woman is an '03 Oxy grad who worked there until '09, before she moved to South Africa. She was just in Swaziland for the holidays. Since she was there until '09, that means we were on campus together for 3 years! But wait, it gets weirder. Her roommate of 4 years (that alone is rare), visited her the year before and they went to the same hostel for new years as Mia and I were on our way to! Crazy!<br />
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My two weeks in Swaziland, Mozambique and Zambia were amazing. This is just a <br />sample of my experiences and stories, but if I try to write them all down, you may never see it. I recorded pretty much every waking moment in a journal, so as never to forget my experience.<br />
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It's hard to portray how I felt being there. It made me feel happy and sad, surprised and impressed, worried but hopeful. Just like every place, Swaziland has it's problems, probably more than it's fair share. While I know the volunteers can't solve these problems for the country on a whole, I was really impressed and amazed at the difference that Mia alone was making in her community on a personal level. I could tell that many many people's lives were changed by her being there. <br />
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Sorry it took so long to post this. I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to check out my photos:<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/audlack/sets/72157632553083757/">Swaziland</a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/audlack/sets/72157632596376719/">Maputo, Mozambique</a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/audlack/sets/72157632596980519/">Zambia</a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/audlack/sets/72157632603501731/">Omuran-chan</a> is a doll of the mascot of my town. I took her around Africa and not only showed her to kids there, I took pictures of her to show to my students. Seeing Omuran-chan in the photos really engaged my students more. They loved it! But were a little upset that I ended up trading her for a bag in Zambia on my last day. But hey, now she lives in Africa!<br />
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<br />audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-90742207182972763212012-12-07T23:11:00.002+09:002012-12-07T23:35:33.924+09:00Nabe<br />
To my displeasure, winter has arrived. In my opinion there are only 4 good things about winter:<br />
1. <i>mikan</i>- clementines, which are much more delicious here<br />
2. <i>kotatsu</i>- the coffee table with a heating element under it<br />
3. snowboarding<br />
4. <i>nabe</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI4Rx49_UFJXT4XGHIOdoRmjGdsTcryw5-oFbTxZXIqtl-J1wlwjFgjVsSup_GPXdhnSGdRjevMaZyAMr1QSofaxU0zFDDrHquwW_HosH-iXlbm8RaBxZcoqbSZhTrVahsc2khEjQ3NyU/s1600/IMG_1033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI4Rx49_UFJXT4XGHIOdoRmjGdsTcryw5-oFbTxZXIqtl-J1wlwjFgjVsSup_GPXdhnSGdRjevMaZyAMr1QSofaxU0zFDDrHquwW_HosH-iXlbm8RaBxZcoqbSZhTrVahsc2khEjQ3NyU/s320/IMG_1033.JPG" width="320" /></a>What's <i>nabe</i>? It's often translated as "hot pot." Basically, you cut up a bunch of vegetables (napa cabbage, green onions, carrots, daikon radish, etc), get some meat (pork, meatballs, rolled cabbage, etc), maybe some dumplings and noodles, and some <i>nabe</i> soup you bought at the store. Then throw all of these things in a pot and cook it. But it's not just any pot. It's a pot that is heated on a portable gas stove, which is sitting atop your <i>kotatsu</i>. Then you sit around the table with your friends cooking, eating and having a good time. It's the life.<br />
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There are all kinds of soups you can get:<br />
よせ鍋<i> yosenabe</i> - the general soup<br />
キムチ <i>kimuchee</i> - kimchee<br />
みそ <i>miso</i> - fermented soy (?)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmIx5DdUxlt726qPOahqE8wWI3yubAJZhyv3e0PV5LJSORsWnS6rmL3CTHE8GVf-Ef3Wca_WM-1IvKqCIxUDRJItUHsve8BDz0MbM0uALqWoaaaOvqNUSbd5zF-ln7aJg-srqbYqqNeM/s1600/IMG_1066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmIx5DdUxlt726qPOahqE8wWI3yubAJZhyv3e0PV5LJSORsWnS6rmL3CTHE8GVf-Ef3Wca_WM-1IvKqCIxUDRJItUHsve8BDz0MbM0uALqWoaaaOvqNUSbd5zF-ln7aJg-srqbYqqNeM/s320/IMG_1066.JPG" width="240" /></a>ごま <i>goma</i> - sesame<br />
豚骨らめん <i>tonkotsu ramen</i> <br />
ちゃんぽん <i>champon</i> - champon is a seafood based ramen-like soup that is a Nagasaki specialty<br />
and more... <br />
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鍋<i> nabe</i> literally translates to "pot." My pot is special because it's split down the middle, so you can cook two different flavored soups at once. It's novel, really. When I tell people about it, they get really excited. Pots come in all different sizes from personal sized ones to ones that can serve up to 8 or 9 people. <br />
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I've already had 2 "<i>nabe</i> parties" and I can't wait to have more. audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-53898046497986324492012-12-07T22:44:00.001+09:002012-12-07T22:49:07.013+09:00KarateLast March I started taking karate lessons with two other female ALTs in my city. Our teacher is a really cool old man who is fluent in English and works on the US naval base. He's been all over the world and has many neat stories. He grew up in Okinawa where he started studying karate around junior high school. He's since achieved his 6th degree black belt in karate and his 4th degree in another Okinawan marital art called kobudo.<br />
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In the 1400s there were several forms of martial arts being practiced, but when King Sho Shin took control of the Ryukyu Kingdom, he banned weapons. Kobudo uses household, farming and other tools as weapons. Think of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, those are the weapons used in kobudo. With weapons being banned, new forms of martial arts arouse, empty handed ones. (Karate or 空手(空: open 手: hand)).<br />
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Eventually three main forms of karate emerged: Naha-te, Shuri-te and Tomari-te. Each has it's own <i>kata</i> (choreographed pattern movements). From these modern karate was developed. <br />
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There are many styles of modern karate, each focuses on different <i>kata </i>and<i> </i>techniques. Further, mainland karate varies from Ryukyu karate. The dojo I practice under, 真券 <i>shinken</i> ("true fist") is based in Okinawa and stems from Naha-te.<br />
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One main rule of karate, but especially Okinawan karate, is that in the real world, you only ever fight if it's in defense of youself or a loved one. Step one: Avoid fighting. Step 2: If you have to fight, end it quickly. Mainland karate usually calls for more hits, but in Ryukyu karate you want to finish your opponent in one hit, even if it's just a block or counter-attack. Pretty cool.<br />
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In October we passed our level 3 test, so we received our brown belts. Within the next year, we need to pass level 2 and level 1 so we can try for our 1st degree black belt. So far we haven't done much actual fighting, mostly <i>kihon</i> (basics- punching, kicking, etc) and <i>kata. </i>We will have to fight for the black belt though, literally. <br />
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In our karate training we are also learning many easy but painfully effective self-defense moves. I personally think these moves are way cooler than regular karate. With just a small movement you can break a hold and have your opponent on the ground. It's cool.<br />
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Last August we started kobudo, the martial art that uses weapons. We are using only bo, but we've seen the other weapons in action and boy, do they look deadly!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorry, it's a picture of a picture. But don't I look mean?!</td></tr>
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What I'm really trying to say is: you probably don't want to mess with me ;)audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-30983929851029313132012-12-07T22:02:00.000+09:002012-12-07T22:02:19.086+09:00OkinawaEvery month seems to get busier and busier, sorry to have been out of the loop. Let's take it back a couple months to my trip to Okinawa. I've made it a doozy. <br />
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Okinawa is pretty much Japan's Hawaii. It has the reputation of having beautiful beaches and a rich, unique culture. You probably know the name from the WWII Battle of Okinawa (sometimes referred to as "The Typhoon of Steel"). This fight, was not only the last major battle, but also resulted in the most casualties, nearing 200,000 in military and civilian deaths.<br />
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After the war, the US signed a treaty with Japan basically saying that Japan isn't allowed to have a military (only a self-defense force), but the US will protect them. This resulted in over 36,000 US military and civilian personnel being stationed all over Japan, known as the USFJ, United States Forces Japan (2009 figures). US bases really are scattered all over the country, we even have a US Naval base in nearby Sasebo City. However, about 70% of all USFJ bases are located in Okinawa. While the post-war Okinawan community seems to <i>tolerate</i> the military, their presence is not necessarily desired, in fact many people want them out completely. <br />
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The woes of the locals regarding the military aren't completely unwarranted. Many of the air force bases are located very close to residential neighborhoods, but also the US military doesn't have that clean of a rap sheet either, when interacting with locals. (For example: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/17/us-sailors-accused-okinawa-rape)<br />
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But anyway, back to my vacation. Well... not yet.<br />
Okinawa, once called the Ryukyu Islands, wasn't actually even part of Japan until 1609 when it was invaded by a Japanese from the mainland. Being so far away however, they were pretty independent until they were officially made part of Japan after the Meiji Restoration, in 1879. Coming in so late in the game, Okinawa has it's own "dialect" which is actually more or less a completely different language and nearly incomprehensible to Japanese speakers. Mainland Japanese is taking over though, with Okinawan only spoken by the elderly and in traditional songs and performances. (I had no problem communicating). Okinawan music and dance is also much different than that of the mainland, having more influence from China and other Asian cultures. These other cultures can also be seen in the unique architecture of traditional buildings.<br />
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Okay, now you know where I went, let's talk about what I did.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve</td></tr>
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Last year I wanted to hold on to the last wisps of summer with all I had, so I yearned for an early autumn trip down to the still warm islands. However, I didn't want to go alone, so I ended up not going at all. After that I made the resolution that I was going to Okinawa with or without a friend the next year, so without even bother discussing it with my friends, I went ahead and bought my tickets. I was eventually joined by my good friend Steve.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most sacred spot</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most southern spot</td></tr>
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Day 1: We arrived around 11 and immediately hopped on some rental scooters and scooted our way around the southern region of the main island, Okinawa. We saw some cool things, such as the most sacred spot in Okinawa and the most southern spot. Those were cool and all, but the best part was scooting around the beautiful coastline with the warm sun on my back. Although it was my first time on a scooter, I didn't have much problem getting used it, but then we went over two very long, very elevated, very crowed bridges with kind of strong wind and it was quite scary. It wasn't dangerous, just scary, especially because I wasn't expecting it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc_BQZxI7Mm3YvUkRHLG2AiSa1DMGPHhEsKI_veyqe-1D1zzqpIH0Huj501vT3BenG6h8mfYfBwhyZMMncZgLLP_mUhzIHDU4UaOF1AYp_Uuv-500HAlSmRXYwKdVYriha3LjbqECvMY/s1600/IMG_3432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc_BQZxI7Mm3YvUkRHLG2AiSa1DMGPHhEsKI_veyqe-1D1zzqpIH0Huj501vT3BenG6h8mfYfBwhyZMMncZgLLP_mUhzIHDU4UaOF1AYp_Uuv-500HAlSmRXYwKdVYriha3LjbqECvMY/s200/IMG_3432.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pig's foot</td></tr>
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That night we ate some Okinawan specialties like pig foot, pig ear (in peanut sauce) and some seaweed stuff. The pig foot was not good, the peanut sauce on the pig ear made it very edible, only the texture was a little strange.<br />
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Day 2: The next day we took a ferry off the main island to an island called Zamami. It's a small island with about 3,000 people and consists mostly of hotel and restaurant owners, but every thing was almost run down. Our room was a single standing "building" that reminded me of those "Pods," portable storage containers- barely enough room for our fold out beds and the bathrooms a port-o-potty and a port-o-shower. It was still fun though.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJsCSnv0CWwzXg-hkpP4TzSKCqWWbaV5WJGmoHiJHEekKmSLj6H2L6LUIDsZpB2Z-3oACsloQa5QY4I8FTH6-VbGpuVl0butKStceabyYuc1b41ZK-wPT0MzusbLx4VSJ-T6YCmu4HDw/s1600/IMG_3512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJsCSnv0CWwzXg-hkpP4TzSKCqWWbaV5WJGmoHiJHEekKmSLj6H2L6LUIDsZpB2Z-3oACsloQa5QY4I8FTH6-VbGpuVl0butKStceabyYuc1b41ZK-wPT0MzusbLx4VSJ-T6YCmu4HDw/s200/IMG_3512.JPG" width="200" /></a>After arriving we rented some bicycles and cycled our way to some beaches, then up some mountains (oops). The scenery was impeccable. The water was a little cold, but little fish would come and swim up right next to us! Later we ended up renting some snorkels and masks and swam amongst some corral. Let me tell you, I don't know if I've done anything so cool, and it got better. We not only saw a sea turtle, but we got to swim right next to him! It was SO COOL. But again, it gets better, just wait.<br />
That night, we had arranged to do a "mystery tour" with our hotel owner. The Mama-san came along too and brought their daughter who was visiting for the weekend from San Fransisco. The first stop was a spot to view fireflies, we didn't see many though. Mystery number two was at the port. Armed with flashlights and nets we were instructed to shine the light into the shallow water to attract plankton. The plankton would attract these little fish, which were supposed to catch. I followed the directions and found that I was surprisingly good at catching this fast little suckers. So I caught one and I was just excited for catching it. I thought that was that. Then they brought out the container of soy sauce and ginger. What?! Somehow I'd missed the part where we told we were going to eat the fish. I put the still live fish in the soy sauce and it kept flopping around until, crunch! I chewed him to death! In Japanese it's called 踊り食い <i>odorigui</i> (踊り means dancing and 食い is eat). So I <i>ate</i> the still <i>dancing</i> fish. Pretty wild right? It tasted bad, very very fishy. The next mystery was just a couple feet away in another shallow part of the port. Here we used the nets to stir up some bioluminescent plankton, but I didn't eat these guys. Next up was another dock were we caught two fish (again, everyone was so impressed by my net skills), one rare one that looked like a leaf and another that had a long nose. Second to last was the hermit crab lair. There were about a hundred hermit crabs walking around a giant pile of shells. We played with them a bit and then saw one change shells, which apparently isn't seen too often. (Steve later found this article http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/10/26/hermit-crabs-socialize-to-evict-their-neighbors/). The last mystery was the most spectacular. We drove up to the top of a a big hill and laid down on a helipad and gazed at the stars. I saw the milky way!<br />
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Day 3: The next morning we headed out for another fantastic day. With a blue sky, a wet suit and snorkel gear we first swam with some sea turtles, no big deal. Just kidding, it was a big deal! We followed around this big daddy turtle for awhile and then a little guy came over too. It was AWESOME! Our guide (for this sea kayaking/ snorkel tour we were doing) took a lot of pictures of us.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and a sea turtle</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayaking</td></tr>
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Next we kayaked to one of the uninhabited islands between two bigger islands and snorkeled in the corral reef. Our guide pointed out many cool creatures like a very fragile sea star and a very poisonous sea snake. The guide grabbed the sea snake by the head and tail and we got to touch it! It felt like a normal snake. Then when it was released, it swam right towards me! I guess it wasn't in the mood for any <i>oodoriigui </i>though. (Get it? My name is Japanese is pronounced <i>oodorii</i>, which sounds like the previous <i>odori</i>, but the vowels are longer. So I said he wasn't in the mood to eat any Audreys. Ha!) Other than the snake, I didn't get to touch any of the fish because they were too fast, but I did try.<br />
<br />
We kayaked to another island, did some more snorkeling, wandered around while the guide cooked us some Okinawan spaghetti on the beach and went out again. The sun was warm, the water was refreshing and I spent the day chasing animals. Doesn't get much better!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQwhktGvbYTAHFdDjzMo7fba9o-YsqZ4R69sQI4uxMoHzdcVz-Zz_zkYFx_s6SwR9NR1BPROSYBSeSSc2tyU4o7cjQ3I6d0gH2ucrxL-5HXJkD7EmflsfC-ht6vvU35Dgg_ohJeUhpWM/s1600/IMG_0826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQwhktGvbYTAHFdDjzMo7fba9o-YsqZ4R69sQI4uxMoHzdcVz-Zz_zkYFx_s6SwR9NR1BPROSYBSeSSc2tyU4o7cjQ3I6d0gH2ucrxL-5HXJkD7EmflsfC-ht6vvU35Dgg_ohJeUhpWM/s200/IMG_0826.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
That night we were turned down at a couple restaurants because they were too full. We eventually found ourselves at this place that was definitely not one of the hip joints (out of the 5 other restaurants on the island). It was run by an old man, who couldn't provide half the things on the menu, but the menu was a little odd itself:<br />
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Notice the top line: "spit" and the second from the bottom "an oil painting"<br />
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Day 4: The next day we headed off back to mainland Okinawa. The ferry first stopped at a neighboring island, Aka-jima. There's a cute story about two dogs, Marilyn and Shiro. Marilyn lived on Zamami, where we were, but Shiro lived on Aki-jima. The two dogs were in love, after meeting when Shiro was brought to Zamami on a routine visit. But it was love at first sight and legend has it that Shiro swam back and forth between the islands to see his beloved Marilyn. Cute right? There is a statue of each on their respective islands.<br />
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Back in Naha, we headed out Kokusaidori (International Street) to see a
parade and the execution of the world's biggest tug-of-war. We saw some
of the parade, ate some Mexican food, saw the GIANT rope, but got too
bored of the waiting through hours of ceremony and preparation to watch
the actual tugging, we wouldn't be able to see much anyway. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpP2_QmZ12l2c9og24LI9d69dG2VnRozx_3yNzILqpCfazotnYieFBhHhQiXq2aGT3vUOO9lGzq4yVjaiVYzYvd-RAGdh83jDaBEKKCEtXTrraDA_02P6aTkNE2Pa216eI9ukiTO2iSEY/s1600/IMG_3590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpP2_QmZ12l2c9og24LI9d69dG2VnRozx_3yNzILqpCfazotnYieFBhHhQiXq2aGT3vUOO9lGzq4yVjaiVYzYvd-RAGdh83jDaBEKKCEtXTrraDA_02P6aTkNE2Pa216eI9ukiTO2iSEY/s200/IMG_3590.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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<br />
This event
is a battle between two ends of town that dates back to the 17th
century. I assume the rope wasn't as big back then, because they didn't
the fleet of cranes needed to carry all 40 tons of it. Apparently, about
20,000 people participate and everyone gets to hold a smaller branch
rope and pulls on that as men call directions from atop the rope
itself. It was cool, but not as cool as I was hoping. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOf8f1h3Jmppt5ZydlvyJ542LM113sm5prZ9gMDPYVa14KVRQUGFkvuEHhyphenhyphenE0NwvXwmWzTaElrYM8jqzF7mnucqS6QIVrYgnIxEbNocHatFTsxEYqpzGb4Pbtq6meFjWDbsTqSZBLfhk/s1600/IMG_3716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxOf8f1h3Jmppt5ZydlvyJ542LM113sm5prZ9gMDPYVa14KVRQUGFkvuEHhyphenhyphenE0NwvXwmWzTaElrYM8jqzF7mnucqS6QIVrYgnIxEbNocHatFTsxEYqpzGb4Pbtq6meFjWDbsTqSZBLfhk/s200/IMG_3716.JPG" width="200" /></a>Day 5: This was a big day too. We rented a car and drove up to the northern end of the island to the world famous aquarium. It was pretty awesome and I got to hold more sea cucumbers (which if I didn't mention above, I really like sea cucumbers (not eating them though, even though it's one of Omura's specialties). There was a humungous tank with huge fish and a shark. Really neat.<br />
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(On the way up to the aquarium we stopped at an A&W Burger for the most disappointing meal of the trip. But I think we hyped it up more in our heads than it warranted.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwySTAw1tFVO8ZmyFV7Wfs57C7vIM7Rfwp3Xxrn8oS7DFdWINFdOTfsktqwTgUekoooA7_LbEbzs3vc_Fw17e8HgQ8rnR7JsZU2e7PQ46g5yNs8VxDPyFITXpKmEjNuEHYYrEABucSYh8/s1600/IMG_3769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwySTAw1tFVO8ZmyFV7Wfs57C7vIM7Rfwp3Xxrn8oS7DFdWINFdOTfsktqwTgUekoooA7_LbEbzs3vc_Fw17e8HgQ8rnR7JsZU2e7PQ46g5yNs8VxDPyFITXpKmEjNuEHYYrEABucSYh8/s200/IMG_3769.JPG" width="133" /></a>Next we went to the Nago Pineapple Park, which is indeed a tourist trap. It pretty funny though. We rode a magnetically controlled golf cart through a "botanical garden" as a tape told us facts like "pineapple comes from the words 'pine' and 'apple'." It was enlightening. I think we ate our admission fee in free pineapple samples though. We ate until our tongue burned and our stomachs ached. With full bellies, we were immune to the next tour of the gift shop where they offered everything from pineapple cake to pineapple wine to pineapple soap. The best (or worst...?) part of the park was the song that you heard constantly from the second you stepped out of your car until hours after you left, since you can't get it out of your head. I tried to find a good video so you could hear the song, but no luck. I'll sing it to you next time I see you.<br />
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One goal of ours for our trip was to find a mongoose v. habu (very poisonous snake) fight, that apparently used to be a thing. We playfully thought maybe there was an underground fighting ring we could somehow gain access too. While that didn't happen we did find a place that advertised fights, but since it has long been banned, was just a video. We didn't actually see it, so it's hard to say what it actually was.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB-xZjWIhYvQgfQeBmLMRStw6kIQmSytjnd_s8dJzIikTkATw5rPeMIDVIUNN95r_9E6F2Cl0ATZvcXtrMOpzmydcE6rgIKNlUXZU2pKcwYLxrSg4cZwu3S21WItXvdlU8B_T4tPuGME/s1600/IMG_3839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwB-xZjWIhYvQgfQeBmLMRStw6kIQmSytjnd_s8dJzIikTkATw5rPeMIDVIUNN95r_9E6F2Cl0ATZvcXtrMOpzmydcE6rgIKNlUXZU2pKcwYLxrSg4cZwu3S21WItXvdlU8B_T4tPuGME/s200/IMG_3839.JPG" width="133" /></a>One very amusing moment for us was passing a sign board for the entrance of a college, but behind it was only a playground. This is funny because in Japan students work really hard to get in to college, but once they are there, they can relax and take it easy. <br />
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Day 6: Our last day on the islands. We took the car up to the Shuri Castle. This palace was burned down, rebuilt and renovated countless times, but it was still pretty cool. We watched a video of a renovation and it seemed pretty hard work; I can't imagine having to build, paint and decorate that place without modern technology.<br />
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Finally, we stocked up on souvenirs and hit the road back to Omura. It was a fun filled trip. <br />
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<br />audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-68160396365805923382012-09-16T17:59:00.001+09:002012-09-16T17:59:13.840+09:00Takoyaki PartyFollowing the gyoza party, I had a <i>takoyaki</i> party with some other friends. This time, instead of dumplings we made <i>takoyaki </i>(literally grilled octopus, but it's more of a clump of dough with a small piece of octopus in the middle). Since I'm not the biggest fan of octopus, we used wieners instead, which were delicious! <br />
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At the end we played "Russian roulette." We put kimchee in one, peanut butter in another, and mustard in another. Then we mixed them up with normal ones and took turns eating. It was fun. I lucked out with a normal one, but I tasted the kimchee, it was great! audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-43414051255642356452012-09-16T17:40:00.001+09:002012-09-16T17:40:18.781+09:00Gyoza PartyLast week, I had a couple of Japanese friends over and we made gyoza. Well, they made the stuffing, I just stuffed and sealed the pouches. You can buy the gyoza skin in the supermarket, so it as all pretty easy.<br />
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My friends also brought some pizza stuff so we made pizza gyoza. Their version of pizza gyoza was not what I had in mind though. When they suggested it, I was thinking "pizza roll", but they just made them flat. While those were delicious, my specially made pizza roll style was perfect. It was no pizza roll, as I didn't have real pepperoni, cheese or grease, it was delicious. audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-72340313565011844632012-09-16T17:31:00.001+09:002012-09-16T17:31:01.225+09:00Termites Termites- in Japanese, 白蟻、or white ant.<br />
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I had termites! One day I was vacuuming and found this really weird dirt-like crud under a floor chair (see below). It was gross and weird. Thankfully, the same day the apartment maintenance guys were next door and came to take a look. They took one glance and instantly knew- termites.<br />
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They pulled up the tatami and thousands of little termites were crawling around eating my floor! They were quickly cleaned up, medicine was put in and the tatami mats were put back. That was that. No tent. No fumigation. So far so good, no more termites. audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-91757804786832015522012-06-18T23:01:00.002+09:002012-06-18T23:01:31.574+09:00Mold Update 2012(One funny thing about Japan is that people love to talk about the weather. I think it's contagious. I am writing this retrospectively, as I found myself half way through this post about mold and I've spent the first 3 paragraphs talking only about the weather.)<br />
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I know you guys are all dying to hear about my mold situation this year. Tsuyu (rainy season) "officially" kicked off June 7th, but until this past weekend it was pretty mild. I've been writing the weather down on my calendar everyday, specifically to mark the days I saw the sun. There's been no sun since Thursday, but really, that's not so bad. This time last year, we were pushing 2 weeks.<br />
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But it finally feels like tsuyu and the on and off downpours since Friday have laid to rest my worry that all the new ALTs would think I was wimp, having complained and warned them about rainy season earlier in the year. I was even doubting myself for those first two weeks of June. It also hasn't been as hot and although there is a typhoon coming later this week, the temperature is forecast in the low to mid 20s. Not too bad, even a little chilly if you ask me.<br />
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The only issue with this late/slow start to tsuyu is the idea that it might last later into July. Last year there was a few days break just before my birthday when the sun was shining and the sky was blue, and it looked like the rain was gone for good, only for it to come back for another week. As usual, I'm hoping for no rain on my birthday, especially because I plan to be laying on a beautiful beach on Iki island, but we'll see. <br />
<br />
Now on to the real issue, the mold. I've taken precautions this year, setting out my vapor-sucker-boxes all over the house, with multiple in all the rooms. Occasionally I turn on the "dry" function on my air conditioners if it feels especially humid. So far so good (knock on wood). I'm keeping a sharp eye out to hopefully get it before it gets out of hand, but fingers crossed it doesn't start at all.<br />
<br />
My friend told me she did an internet search for "fight mold in rainy season japan" and found herself unknowingly reading my blog post from last year. Kind of funny, kind of cool. I hope it helped her.audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-37854767378497416662012-05-21T22:14:00.001+09:002012-05-21T22:14:44.329+09:00My Big Modeling Debut in the Fashion World<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KN0JuG5FTBOf_INBzuo0ghfrj7SReLgdO8uNpZeGBZZjEEjHKVwiNaE5lvWuFfnu_chf8O9GNC-sIcP9il2qE6cGX3snGE75wRzmFmTczXDEhqNCQOH5Qku8_B1uRFJDDl0DBod9WZ4/s1600/IMG_0404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KN0JuG5FTBOf_INBzuo0ghfrj7SReLgdO8uNpZeGBZZjEEjHKVwiNaE5lvWuFfnu_chf8O9GNC-sIcP9il2qE6cGX3snGE75wRzmFmTczXDEhqNCQOH5Qku8_B1uRFJDDl0DBod9WZ4/s320/IMG_0404.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During the rehearsal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Okay, so maybe it wasn't a big debut and I don't know if you can count kimono as being in the "fashion world," but I did model.<br />
<br />
I know a family who owns a kimono shop and school in Omura. Ladies take classes to learn how to dress themselves (beginner) and others (intermediate) in kimono. Last weekend each level had tests and one of the test-takers for the intermediate test needed a model, so the family called on me. I don't really know why, they know plenty of people (really, this is probably the most well-connected family in Omura), but they asked for me. Regardless of the reason, how could I turn it down? <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTGpBWU1FxTToQ0Ha-tKKfQAuRvuWiWsy-pmpkLb56d9JJ4c76U_qOoTnwn21bFe2Us9HWObJXRoGU_h4YxaA0lG8OFdqafJCmjDNELXqwOp4xupvKeeR149XKoCONcSM3I1K0fTXNzo/s1600/IMG_0403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTGpBWU1FxTToQ0Ha-tKKfQAuRvuWiWsy-pmpkLb56d9JJ4c76U_qOoTnwn21bFe2Us9HWObJXRoGU_h4YxaA0lG8OFdqafJCmjDNELXqwOp4xupvKeeR149XKoCONcSM3I1K0fTXNzo/s320/IMG_0403.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my friend who also modeled</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sunday morning, despite my fever (I caught a cold, I made it through all of winter and it's dreadful flu season unscathed, but I catch a cold in May, go figure), I went to the school. First I got my hair done. They teased it and poofed it, used gel and hairspray. I really had no idea what to expect before I looked in the mirror, but it turned out pretty cool. Next came my make-up, just some eye shadow, eye liner, blush and lipstick. I also put on my brown contacts I got in Korea. (I also got green and blue, but brown is supposed to make my eyes look bigger, so I thought that would be fun. It was.)<br />
<br />
Finally came the kimono. There are so many layers and elements to kimono, it's pretty cool, but also seems kind of tiresome. The kimono was a very traditional Japanese-y print. It was beautiful! The knot in the back was really cool too, looks hard to do.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4SbugtMAT5DNC00TL9VBP-48SQdeqclxZjfUnor0w_QZ0-ffJlybpnZB3Pdg3VCd67Ljw6qj0jeeSyE-wloy-7XWhm99mmTEQ2rHyco3aRa2UgmrQNzZOFbkGxcwgkon7KSifvvC1Wg/s1600/IMG_0400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4SbugtMAT5DNC00TL9VBP-48SQdeqclxZjfUnor0w_QZ0-ffJlybpnZB3Pdg3VCd67Ljw6qj0jeeSyE-wloy-7XWhm99mmTEQ2rHyco3aRa2UgmrQNzZOFbkGxcwgkon7KSifvvC1Wg/s320/IMG_0400.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of my Japanese friends and also<br />the daughters of the shop owners</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Finally came the modeling. I had to walk on a stage, pose, go right, pose, turn and show the back, repeat on the left side and one last pose in the middle before retuning to the back. It was pretty nerve wracking and I thinks it's safe to say I was not the most graceful model of the bunch (5 girls) and that's being generous. But that's okay! They weren't judging me, just the kimono. <br />
<br />
It was really like being on Project Runway. After everyone went individually, they brought everyone out and the test-takers were asked to comment on their work and then answered questions from the judges. We were also asked to make some comments, I said it was fun. My Japanese is not so hot when I'm sick, my brain can't handle it I think, so I kept it simple.<br />
<br />
While the judges tallied scores, some of the teachers at the school competed (for fun) in <i>obi </i>(sash) tying race. It was really cool and very impressive.<br />
<br />
My team didn't win and I don't actually know if the lady who dressed me passed, but I assume she did because I looked great!<br />
It would be cool to do it again next year and maybe I'll take a class or two. It would be fun to know how to tie <i>obi</i> and such. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB4SbugtMAT5DNC00TL9VBP-48SQdeqclxZjfUnor0w_QZ0-ffJlybpnZB3Pdg3VCd67Ljw6qj0jeeSyE-wloy-7XWhm99mmTEQ2rHyco3aRa2UgmrQNzZOFbkGxcwgkon7KSifvvC1Wg/s1600/IMG_0400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOD-JcYenRO7gVYO7tGkLBeKUC-cVkPI90AdtJnZ63jFdgRuTj_j5xeTaQixltrx6lFnWlLHZ3Uj76wstLnZPJ4dJTxNGDxw1A6o3ZT7TY6-4KtMxi4FVSv4WHJoT-HrHoVcEPlcGbgA/s1600/IMG_0401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOD-JcYenRO7gVYO7tGkLBeKUC-cVkPI90AdtJnZ63jFdgRuTj_j5xeTaQixltrx6lFnWlLHZ3Uj76wstLnZPJ4dJTxNGDxw1A6o3ZT7TY6-4KtMxi4FVSv4WHJoT-HrHoVcEPlcGbgA/s320/IMG_0401.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of the boy ALTs modeled yukata (summer kimono),<br />but it wasn't part of the competition.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-45098137493930705862012-05-17T22:17:00.000+09:002012-05-17T22:25:29.766+09:00Tennis Shoes and Spicy FoodAt the beginning of May in Japan there is a series of holidays within a few days of each other, April 29th- Showa Day, May 3rd- Constitutional Memorial Day, May 4th- Greenery Day and May 5th- Children's Day. As these are all public holidays, there is no work or school, so the first week of May usually only has one or two non-holiday days. This week has been coined "Golden Week" and is a popular time to travel in Japan. Taking advantage of the 9 day holiday (only taking 2 days of annual leave), and to avoid the crowds of traveling in Japan, I headed to Korea with the other ALT at my junior high school. <br />
<br />
I LOVE KOREA.<br />
<br />
Instead of going into details of the sights and sounds, I thought I'd share some things I observed about Korea that liked. First of all, the clothing styles. Granted styles change with time, there's a huge difference between Korean and Japanese styles, which might not just be clothes deep. In Japan, most girls dress in frills, skirts and dresses, and they wear high-heels all the time (I've seen them while hiking and at snowboard rental shops). Boys too, tend to dress up; you'll rarely see a man wearing just a plain t-shirt and shorts, for example; button up shirts and pointy shoes seem to be the norm. This is fine, I have no problem with the way they dress, these are just observations. In Korea however, everyone wears tennis shoes. That's just an easy way of saying that the fashion is much more relaxed; more my style. I was much more comfortable in my t-shirts and jeans. I'm not saying they don't dress up, there were plenty of girls in heels and dresses out on the town on Saturday night, but for the most part, it was relaxed.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aHB3JtjAp6LjbRBrfLd0482pGwwjTCepvBpLB-hT1KZ34Y19t31WqHRYXsKJPE2kNn9d0DN34ubNeqY26vfsrgvUx1duEPh2JB8DyL-HHxES7ZyzsalPG2bDGodUDHGuicU8UNnxQOo/s1600/IMG_0345+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aHB3JtjAp6LjbRBrfLd0482pGwwjTCepvBpLB-hT1KZ34Y19t31WqHRYXsKJPE2kNn9d0DN34ubNeqY26vfsrgvUx1duEPh2JB8DyL-HHxES7ZyzsalPG2bDGodUDHGuicU8UNnxQOo/s320/IMG_0345+1.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matching outfits, and still not as "matchy-matchy"<br />as others. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But back to the tennis shoes, because this could be a whole topic of it's own. There were shoes of every color imaginable. You could see a grandma walking down the road wearing hot pink sneakers, next to her grandson wearing neon green and blue shoes of his own, and still, you'll see another gaudy pair of kicks on the next person that walks by. It was fun! Another interesting aspect of Korean sneakers is that couples wear the same pair of sneakers, while often time in different colors. I thought this was a fluke at first, but the more time I spent there, the more it became apparent, couples wear matching shoes. I asked some people about this and they said it's actually toned down a lot from a couple years ago when couples would wear the same outfit (I did see this a couple times, but it was usually just matching shirts). Assuming this was a custom the girlfriends force upon the boyfriends, I asked a Korean guy what he thought about couple-matching. In short, he was shocked that I thought it was weird. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQuqWmyVS_fB5KfdyTvufFruErFq2FuSW0ai6iF-UGf1vWylgZpslPJfX7G2z8osYDZFui2TGI9klLZTi4fG9I3alUmFUoOY6N8k9gbe_0CC1Xs-hAyZZTVjHp4K08_9GQpn-NLQWSBI/s1600/IMG_0347+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQuqWmyVS_fB5KfdyTvufFruErFq2FuSW0ai6iF-UGf1vWylgZpslPJfX7G2z8osYDZFui2TGI9klLZTi4fG9I3alUmFUoOY6N8k9gbe_0CC1Xs-hAyZZTVjHp4K08_9GQpn-NLQWSBI/s320/IMG_0347+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same shoes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I think the difference in fashion can be compared to comfort. Korean people seem more comfortable and more confident, not just in their choice of outfits. For example, speaking English. If an obvious foreigner (i.e. me) goes up to a Japanese person and asks them if they speak English, they will usually say "no." Most people in Japan took English class for at least 3, if not 6+ years. They are surrounded by it, they can usually read it and if they try, even ones who haven't thought about it in years can spit out enough vocabulary to make a point. But they don't try. In Korea, given the same situation, the answer would usually be "yes." Sometimes, they might not really be able to say much, but it's enough to get by. The key here is that, even if they aren't good at it, they are confident enough to try. False confidence, perhaps, but not in a bad way. This is just one example. (Note: The general level of English in Korea is far higher than in Japan, but still, they use it.) <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukibHQXKBK1eSvvba-1MEj_w6y9IYhIvbpIGrzAGV0jAZpoEKaYex173VJzIwJ7mZ9YfkyznfHJ3VTXvx21Bvg6wOa3ccGe9l4Aw9FHK1LyI5KERyvst9skjezDcNbkQHO1-3OqSgkjU/s1600/IMG_0493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukibHQXKBK1eSvvba-1MEj_w6y9IYhIvbpIGrzAGV0jAZpoEKaYex173VJzIwJ7mZ9YfkyznfHJ3VTXvx21Bvg6wOa3ccGe9l4Aw9FHK1LyI5KERyvst9skjezDcNbkQHO1-3OqSgkjU/s320/IMG_0493.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bulgogi and all the usual trimmings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Moving on, the next reason I love Korea: spicy food. YUM! The food was delicious. I don't think I had a meal I didn't like. I actually don't know the name of a lot of what I ate, but I must say my favorite was the barbequed chicken. I used to hate spicy food, but then I moved to Japan. I may have mentioned this in my post about Taiwan, but Japanese food isn't spicy at all. I loved the way my mouth burned when I ate some foods in Korea. It's a feeling I didn't appreciate until it was gone.<br />
<br />
Next reason, the people are so nice (maybe not the shop owners...). I talked with some Americans who are currently living in Korea, but had visited Japan and they disagreed with me. However, Niki and I quite often found ourselves in situations where people went out of their way to help us, for no real reason. People would come up and
try to talk to us, not necessarily in English either. This doesn't really happen in Japan, at least not in Nagasaki.<br />
<br />
<br />
Next reason, everything is cheap. Clothes and accessories are SO cheap. I bought a pair of prescription glasses and sunglasses for about $70 total. Food is dirt cheap. Transportation is practically free compared to Japan. We took the Korean high speed train for a fraction of the price of riding the Japanese <i>Shinkansen.</i><br />
<br />
Finally, 4D movies. I really don't know why more countries haven't adopted this, it seems like something America would eat up. For less than the price of a regular movie in America or Japan, you can watch movies in 4D in Korea (and a handful of other countries). What's 4D? It's a movie that is not only in 3D, but has added sensations. Your chair moves, there are massage like features that push you from behind, they'll blow air or water at you when it suits the plot of the movie. It's really something. Definitely worth a try if you go to Korea. I saw "The Avengers" there, which was, for some reason, released at least a week before it was released in the US. (On a sidenote, I didn't think it was as great as the rest of the world seems to think it was.) <br />
<br />
Some other notable features of Korea:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZXoBhtkD3DCRyxicGdNUocd0tMEhLpLf-SEA7FxBdzjPmdNJ-X8SfhuNRDm_KuhTfuyx8lZiGEe_L-mdu-CMIhc46ZIrQVemJNGno8heDobstqcSwyASDqOXlYQezKtAMfi5Gx35W_XI/s1600/IMG_0300+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZXoBhtkD3DCRyxicGdNUocd0tMEhLpLf-SEA7FxBdzjPmdNJ-X8SfhuNRDm_KuhTfuyx8lZiGEe_L-mdu-CMIhc46ZIrQVemJNGno8heDobstqcSwyASDqOXlYQezKtAMfi5Gx35W_XI/s320/IMG_0300+1.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the DMZ, notice the water is from a mountain spring <br />withing the 4 mile wide DMZ. Yum! <br /> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
-More western brand stores and restaurants- much more influenced by western culture than Japan<br />
-DVD theaters, where you can rent a DVD and watch it in a small "home-theater" type room, with couches, surround sound and big screens. It's like a Japanese karaoke room, but with movies and more comfortable.<br />
-Hangul- it's really easy to learn to read, I learned all the characters' sounds on a 2-hour bus ride.<br />
-DMZ- probably just a tourist trap, but still pretty cool. I got to walk into a tunnel that North Korea was caught digging through the DMZ. Almost made it to the South. -Men must serve 21-26 months in the army, navy or air force. There were
always men in uniform walking around. We noticed they often carried one
shopping bag, which we found odd. It turns out, they aren't supplied
with a small "day-pack," so if they go out on leave, they use shopping
bags to carry their change of clothes, toiletries, etc. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4u4VsdJD69mef4S8PzBRrd5lbSDOsMltcz4NPBKbMfpLl-mYSm1a0sgVjiOM3FbdpyowZkr5dDaDrc2g1FLy8WGzOXOJev5JpTYx8ED2Ie6mstxSI1tj5rhkkci_Hc3NcQC5YO6WWcHc/s1600/IMG_0289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4u4VsdJD69mef4S8PzBRrd5lbSDOsMltcz4NPBKbMfpLl-mYSm1a0sgVjiOM3FbdpyowZkr5dDaDrc2g1FLy8WGzOXOJev5JpTYx8ED2Ie6mstxSI1tj5rhkkci_Hc3NcQC5YO6WWcHc/s320/IMG_0289.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We caught the changing of the guards at one of the palaces. He was so tall!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqr0wau9cMkQCwUNcVS_xvFx76G0E1LKNCIuItxjDsyuj5QmrqHvBTzl2OME_8baNsmJuMVPKM4MEd85Uvm-LRidKCSwpfmWsXF6UmdFZPqYVr3NpUcPP-wiXZQwe3EWTnVMDPCMNnKc/s1600/IMG_0479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqr0wau9cMkQCwUNcVS_xvFx76G0E1LKNCIuItxjDsyuj5QmrqHvBTzl2OME_8baNsmJuMVPKM4MEd85Uvm-LRidKCSwpfmWsXF6UmdFZPqYVr3NpUcPP-wiXZQwe3EWTnVMDPCMNnKc/s320/IMG_0479.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One night we stayed in this traditional mud hut in a preserved village<br />
where around 200 people still live. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7MWo8LGruFKenoMe_5QB41rRLIkDxApmb7a9cQ_ITapAOEe79MZBOIb283qZ2ZqkouAaumoTp1IxELXAq_wSLQ9srlZxtsesT8AL0m7-vxie7MAe67a66WhIh5EjXwZ8MyeuE39acx6I/s1600/IMG_0464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7MWo8LGruFKenoMe_5QB41rRLIkDxApmb7a9cQ_ITapAOEe79MZBOIb283qZ2ZqkouAaumoTp1IxELXAq_wSLQ9srlZxtsesT8AL0m7-vxie7MAe67a66WhIh5EjXwZ8MyeuE39acx6I/s320/IMG_0464.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also in the preserved village, this is a church. I think the neon cross might be a recent addition.</td></tr>
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<br />audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-87297511309011438542012-04-23T22:29:00.000+09:002012-04-23T22:46:28.784+09:00Singin' and Dancin'This is a little late, but last October I participated in my junior high school's annual band/choir performance. With three other teachers and 4 third-year students, I performed the song Maru Maru Mori Mori, which gained fame last summer as the end song to a drama called <i>Marumo no Okite</i>. The drama is about a man who has suddenly has to raise his niece and nephew (I've never seen it). The end song features these kids (around 7 years old) doing this cute song and dance. They became hugely famous and were on talk shows everyday. This is the original <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWV_rx5PYD4">Maru Maru Mori Mori</a> .<br />
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I practiced endlessly to learn the words and the dance. I practiced the dance every night before bed and would listen exclusively to this song when I went running. It took a week or two, and I think my friends got pretty sick of the song since I would be practicing it constantly. In the end, I knew the words better than the Japanese teachers and I had 97% of the dance down. As for the costume, first-grade elementary students always were these bright yelllow hats, and all elementary students use the leather backpacks, <i>randoseru</i>, and my cheeks are rosy. I uploaded the <a href="http://vimeo.com/40851311">video</a>, but I password protected it because it has my students in it. The password is just my name.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/40851311?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/40851311">Maru Maru Mori Mori</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user5037354">drizz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-9789226519842694972012-04-18T23:19:00.002+09:002012-04-18T23:21:39.142+09:00台湾 TaiwanSorry for the delay, I have been quite busy since I've come back from Taiwan. Thankfully, I took notes about my journey, so I could remember all the exciting/strange/great things that I saw or experienced. This is going to be long, be prepared. For associated pictures, look <a href="http://flic.kr/s/aHsjyX2v5w">here</a>. <br />
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<u>Day 1</u><br />
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After a bus ride to Fukuoka (I really should have made reservations, there was almost not enough room for me!), I get to the airport, check-in and receive a Hello Kitty boarding pass. I was flying with EVA, an new Taiwanese airline. I was quite amused by the boarding pass, but little did I know that the whole plane would be Hello Kitty. The outside of the plane, the pillows, the animation on the TV's idle screen, the carrot and fishcake in my meal, my silverware. There was so much Hello Kitty, I was surprised that the flight attendants weren't wearing cat ears! <u> </u><br />
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My first stop in Taiwan was Taichung. I took a 2 hour bus there for equates to about 600 yen. The 2 hour bus ride I took in Japan the same morning was 2400 yen. Quite a difference! I liked Taiwan already.<br />
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This was my first time traveling alone. By this point, so far, so good. My hostel was a little strange though. The office was on the street, but the room was in an apartment building across the street. The room had 3 sets of bunk beds, but was otherwise a normal apartment. Since there was no one else staying in my room, so for 2 days I didn't meet or talk to anyone from the hostel. <br />
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The first night I walked around in the famous night market that was just down the street. There were food stands everywhere and people were walking around eating and shopping. It was quite different than Japan. It had the feel of a Japanese summer festival, but more lively, more crowded, more shopping and it happens every night of the year, not every so often in the summer. There are markets like this all over Taiwan. I ate most of my dinners at markets like these. As for dinner, I ate a flaky sticky pepper bun cooked in a funny kiln like oven, some <i>takoyaki</i> but with shrimp instead of octopus, dimsum <i>shumai, </i>lime black tea, and grapefruit green tea. It was all delicious, but I don't know the name of anything!<br />
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Interesting sightings: Everyone rides scooters; there are scooters everywhere! They seem to have their own road rules, because they would just zip around wherever and whenever they wanted, it seemed. The oddest thing I saw though was how many people took their dogs around on their scooters. <br />
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<u>Day 2</u><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wunwu Temple</td></tr>
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For my first full day<u> </u>I headed to Sun Moon Lake. I decided to bike around the lake, so I rented a bike and headed off. It was a really nice day, about 22 C/ 71 F. I made some pit stops along the way to look at a temple, a pagoda, a walkway where I was supposed to be able to see frogs (didn't), a gondola ride, lunch at an aboriginal restaurant and at a small park to touch the water. It was a really nice area, I liked it a lot. When I got back to the bike rental place 5 or so hours later, they took my picture and gave me a certificate for biking the 30 km around the lake. Apparently people don't really do that very often. It was fun, but I was tired.<br />
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For dinner I returned to the night market near my hostel. My food for the day: Dried pork and egg wrap, pork and rice with a fried egg (the aboriginal food), li hing tea (I think it was li hing, I tasted it and was very surprised, it took me a minute to figure it out, but after a few more sips I realized what it was. Reminded me of all my Hawaiian friends), apple flavored milk with rose petals, milk tea served in a black plastic bag with a rubber band to attach it to your wrist, guava. I also stood in line at this place that seemed really famous because it always had a ridiculously long line. I can't accurately explain what I ate, I'm not really sure myself. From what I can figure out, it was a sausage inside a grilled rice-sausage with some toppings. It sounds crazy, I know... I don't think it was worth the long line and communication trouble.<br />
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<u>Day 3</u><br />
At this point I was feeling kinda lonely, especially at night. But off to my next destination, Kenting- a beach paradise in south Taiwan. I took the high-speed train (also significantly less expensive than in Japan) and a bus to get there. My hostel, a surf hostel, seemed pretty laid back, but the person at reception wasn't the friendliest person I've ever met. I spent the rest of the day swimming and reading. The wind was very strong though, so the waves were huge and sand blew all over me while I was reading. When evening came I walked to the downtown area and walked through the night market. <u> </u>By this time I was really lonely and almost regretting traveling alone. But when I returned to the hostel, the owner was there and he was so friendly and invited me to sit on the patio with some other guests. It was a lot of fun. Most of the guests/workers were Taiwanese and didn't speak much English, but we got by. There were also two Japanese guests and a German one, so I could talk to them.<br />
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Food for the day: Thai curry, mabodofu, chicken feet and pig's blood (pudding?)!<br />
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<u>Day 4</u><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6g0C9vuWMYMjHKXx8XD7vglgwHTcuKyATqOodcot5nmRkV4xbUMVSbPu8eHG8egofHcqgSBqryZHF8Sa9RYlTZmJYojrEacUz4zxdjnUvsGCHNCjFT87C8sD6AabOyraarItqDB653I/s1600/IMG_9497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6g0C9vuWMYMjHKXx8XD7vglgwHTcuKyATqOodcot5nmRkV4xbUMVSbPu8eHG8egofHcqgSBqryZHF8Sa9RYlTZmJYojrEacUz4zxdjnUvsGCHNCjFT87C8sD6AabOyraarItqDB653I/s320/IMG_9497.JPG" width="320" /></a>My hostel offers really cheap surf lessons, so I had one scheduled for the afternoon. In the morning, I borrowed a bicycle from the hostel and biked to this other beach some of the guests recommended. It was beautiful! It was a hot day (29 C/ 84 F), so the bike ride wasn't particularly easy, but it made the water even better. This beach had a drop off really near the beach, so it got deep really fast. This made the waves big and the white water really strong. I ran into one of the Japanese guests there, but while we were swimming he, as he put it, "almost drowned" and I "saved him." I think he got tired and was having trouble swimming in, so he started panicking. I didn't really do anything, I think I told him to hold his breath when a wave was coming and swam in next to him. He made me out as a hero though when he was telling people at the hostel what happened.<br />
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Then I had my surf lesson. It was a lot of fun and I stood up every time. I went one time in Hawaii many years ago and in Japan last September. While it wasn't completely foreign to me, it was good to have a proper lesson and some help. The instructor spoke good English and he was really cool. Then I watched a lot of other surfers for awhile, they were great!<br />
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For dinner that night, I had Taiwanese hot pot (it was kind of flavorless) and some ice cream. I got this little wooden frog statue, that when you strike his back with a little wood stick, it makes a frog-like sound. It's pretty neat. They had other animals too.<br />
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Despite the beauty of the beach, one thing I did notice (maybe I've been in Japan too long) was the amount of litter on the beach. It really wasn't <i>that</i> much, but I did take a plastic bag out of the water at one point. <br />
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<u>Day 5</u><br />
My plan for this day was to wake up really early and head to my next destination, Hualien- on the east coast. It was going to be about a 5 hour journey, so I wanted to get an early start. That was before I was reunited with hot weather, sunshine and the beach. I did wake up early, but only to go to the beach and take an early morning nap, listening to the waves, then one last dip in the ocean. I didn't end up leaving until noon!<br />
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My journey to Hualien pretty smooth. The train I wanted to board was full (the man at the ticket counter called someone who spoke English, in order to communicate this to me), so I got on the next one an hour later, adding more time to the journey. Not a total loss though, as I spent that hour at a really cool cafe across the street with free wifi.<br />
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By the time I got to my hostel it was around 6 and I was hungry, but the hostel owner informed me of an aboriginal dance show at 7 in the downtown area. So I headed over there. The show was fun and at the end the dancers came into the crowd and asked for volunteers to dance. Why not? I went up on stage, but found myself the only person over 7 years old. At the last second a foreign student in the crowd joined me on stage, I think he felt sorry for me. Little did I know, a guest from my hostel was in the crowd and took pictures and video of my dance performance. No interesting food today.<br />
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<u>Day 6</u> (The Hike)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_ZXrkgZYB__munTumy6d4CKAUttyGnzM1-pSarAxhyKOPFYu6ao5amor7lYAn10G2qfHj9SXaTpidRdSd7QUMe3s8ExWxSxRXCJfAQHlQj_Cm0QO4l-vLPX2I8gSwZ8cB36cprzJ_Qc/s1600/IMG_9695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_ZXrkgZYB__munTumy6d4CKAUttyGnzM1-pSarAxhyKOPFYu6ao5amor7lYAn10G2qfHj9SXaTpidRdSd7QUMe3s8ExWxSxRXCJfAQHlQj_Cm0QO4l-vLPX2I8gSwZ8cB36cprzJ_Qc/s320/IMG_9695.JPG" width="240" /></a>Like most days of my trip, I had an early start, and thank goodness or the day could've gone sour. I made my way to the first of the handful of hikes that the hostel-owner recommended. Shakadang Trail. It was beautiful. The water was the bluest-blue I've ever seen water be. I heard from another hiker that it was from the marble that made up the gorge. Not only was it blue, but it was crystal clear as well. I was dying to get in and swim but you weren't even supposed to go down near the water. (I did at one point, but only to take a picture. I touched the water though, it was pretty chilly.)<br />
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This scenic walk was about 4 km and took a little over an hour. I was going to walk back the way I came, what most, sane people do, but I stumbled upon a trail head. The sign said it was only about 6 km, but pretty difficult. Only 6 km, not bad right? I can do that in less than 2 hours, no problem. Boy was I wrong! The trail went straight up, leveled off for a bit and then straight down. It was indeed a difficult hike and I got really tired. At one point, I arrived at an intersection, I had two options to go down the mountain. I chose the wrong one! It went down all right, but I came to a station of the ropeway, and from there I couldn't find the trail again, so I had to go back about 1 km straight uphill to go down the other trail. What a hassle! The other trail had about 2,000 stairs (maybe even more and I'm not even exaggerating. I would count from time to time and I counted up to at least 600.) By the time I got to the bottom, it was 6 hours from when I started the "scenic walk," which means that measly 6km hike, took over 4 hours! It was worth it though. The view from the top was amazing! I cam across a rooster at one point. When he cawed, it echoed through the valley. It was really neat. <br />
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Despite most of my morning being taken up by one hike, I still had time to see another place and somehow mustered the energy to go to Swallow Grotto. This was also very beautiful.<br />
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I finished off the night with some Taiwanese<i> shabu-shabu</i> some students from my hostel. One boy got crocodile meat and I made mine super spicy. I had to take advantage of the availability of spicy food while I still could, since it is severely lacking in Japan.<br />
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<u>Day 7</u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLDiUZ-k2Wi2t-J5KfMs3tpGEKspb-RadKwQyXoK9RuMfINjtK7j_2uwRemZ5dEn1Q-IOJ9DGKsDaSITMnscW4cpOACbYAlqwQCEmEoKIuZT8K2IRKn-zDeTyOnZvy5mmDeyI2d3cmpM/s1600/IMG_9960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjLDiUZ-k2Wi2t-J5KfMs3tpGEKspb-RadKwQyXoK9RuMfINjtK7j_2uwRemZ5dEn1Q-IOJ9DGKsDaSITMnscW4cpOACbYAlqwQCEmEoKIuZT8K2IRKn-zDeTyOnZvy5mmDeyI2d3cmpM/s320/IMG_9960.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Very early in the morning I headed to Taipei by train. My plan for the day was to head to Jinguashi, an old mining town, and Jiufen, a famous shopping area. While in line to take the bus to Jinguashi, I came upon two Asian people speaking English to each other. One turned out to be a girl from Yokohama, who is studying English in college. The other was a boy (and his sister) from Busan, Korea, very close to Kyushu. They were headed to the same places, so we joined forces for the day. Just our luck, the Gold Mine Museum in Jiguashi was closed; the only day in a month it is closed! We still had a good time though. There was a nice path and we got to see some gold mine relics at least. There was also a temple, a giant statue, the remnants of a fort and a beautiful view of the gold-tinged sea, from the runoff of the gold mines.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpbERG7AWSI8xhjGl38-jb5VDzzJiLMHlnwTfm6A7dXznb7BqqK3hfHDT5ViPA-T2uz2XUkUfjvJGCP0rKekR1tJOzyvA2SGUt_NTFzV78HVIdOlk3-j_S2JZwpCedbwA1q60SB0gNS0/s1600/IMG_9989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpbERG7AWSI8xhjGl38-jb5VDzzJiLMHlnwTfm6A7dXznb7BqqK3hfHDT5ViPA-T2uz2XUkUfjvJGCP0rKekR1tJOzyvA2SGUt_NTFzV78HVIdOlk3-j_S2JZwpCedbwA1q60SB0gNS0/s320/IMG_9989.JPG" width="240" /></a>Our next stop was a place just a few minutes down the road called Jiufen. While being famous before, it really claimed fame with the Japanese animated film <i>Spirited Away</i> by Hayao Miyazaki. (The Japanese title is <i>Sen to Chihiro Kamikakushi</i>). The steep shopping streets of Jiufen, with it's red lanterns, was replicated in the film. Needless to say, if it wasn't before, Jiufen became really popular with Japanese tourists. My students loved the picture I took and could recognize what film I was talking about almost instantly.<br />
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Interesting foods: Japanese bread stick (which was new for me <i>and </i>the Japanese girl...), peanut butter ice cream sandwiched between pancakes, a peanut brittle crepe and Korean food for dinner.<br />
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Random item: There is a game show on Taiwanese TV where college students (who are required to take 1( or 2) years of English) are tested on their English ability on national TV. It was pretty funny.<br />
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<u>LAST DAY, DAY 8 </u><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW_j2A-f8gSv0TasR5h0SgYJ84RjUFiJrCumLwyChWgpyO2npgbZXajh8ZZlYU3pNdj2Q39LgPB07ue02eUVdgEhIpVifodWDcb8ZYrXi19JAvAKYS1vJvD58vsHP-uuDsNKWa1MlpG1Y/s1600/IMG_0241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW_j2A-f8gSv0TasR5h0SgYJ84RjUFiJrCumLwyChWgpyO2npgbZXajh8ZZlYU3pNdj2Q39LgPB07ue02eUVdgEhIpVifodWDcb8ZYrXi19JAvAKYS1vJvD58vsHP-uuDsNKWa1MlpG1Y/s320/IMG_0241.JPG" width="320" /></a>For my final day, I planned on doing all the Taipei sites. There are a lot, but two Taiwanese girls I met helped me decided what was really worth seeing. Bright and early, my first stop was the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and National Theater and Concert Hall. Before getting there though, I bought a rice ball. It was much different than Japanese rice balls, <i>onigiri</i>, in pretty much every way. It was about twice the size, the rice was purple and it was filled with... I don't really know what, but it was delicious. The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial was pretty cool too. Worth a visit, but I didn't need to spend too much time there.<br />
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My next stop was Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taiwan, with the fastest elevator in the world. Somehow, within the 15 minutes I was on the subway between the memorial hall and the stop for Taipei 101, the weather went from beautiful and calm, to overcast and very very windy. When I got to Taipei 101, they informed me I wouldn't be able to go on the outdoor observation deck and I wouldn't be able to see much, so did I really want to spend the ~$15 to ride the world's fastest elevator and not see anything? The thought crossed my mind, I mean, it's the fastest elevator in the world... but I decided against. Instead, I had lunch. I kept seeing these pizza cones all over Taiwan, so I finally bought one. I knew before I bought it that it probably wouldn't be delicious, but I had to try it. It was about as expected, but cone-shaped.<br />
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Next on my list was to ride the Mao Kong gondola, but due to the weather, I assumed it would be closed so I went to the National Palace museum instead. The museum was pretty nice, but very crowded. I saw this little kid trying to go through an automatic door, but he was too short to set the sensor off, so it wouldn't open. It was funny, but I walked over and opened it for him. At one point, I bumped into a Japanese tour group, so I stood in the back and listened to the tour guide talking about some old furniture. I understood most of it and could laugh at the jokes, but there was an old man who could not figure out why I was standing there and I don't think the thought even passed through his head that I could understand Japanese.<br />
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I was a little worried that the poor weather would ruin my second to last stop in Taiwan, Tamsui. It is known for it's beautiful sunsets and as a good place to buy souvenirs. Luckily, just as I was leaving the museum, the weather turned for the better. After buying some <i>omiyage</i> for friends and my schools, I walked along a boardwalk, watching the sunset. It was a nice sunset until the sun disappeared behind clouds.<br />
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Last stop, Shilin Night Market, the biggest and most famous night market in Taipei. I went with one of the Taiwanese girls I met, so she was able to give me the low-down on different foods and vendors. First we ate some Chinese food, the two most popular, most Taiwanese dishes, apparently. One was mincemeat on rice and one was an "oyster omelet" but I think we had shrimp, not oyster. Next, we ate some tofu hot-pot, to-go- it came in a plastic bag and was super spicy. Delicious! Finally, we ate a giant piece of fried chicken. The line at this stand was so long, and the place was famous because of how giant the fried chicken is; it was bigger than my face. For dessert we had some <i>yakimochi</i>, fried mochi and fruit ( guava, Taiwanese apple and dragonfruit (no flavor!)). It was a great time.<br />
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The next morning, I set off for the airport at 4am (the vendors from the night market were still cleaning up). I had a pretty wonderful time in Taiwan. I met a lot of cool people, I saw a lot of neat things and I survived a week traveling alone. It wasn't so bad! <br />
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<br />audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com1Taiwan23.69781 120.96051519.997603 115.906804 27.398017 126.01422600000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-24869589306621176662012-03-26T02:16:00.001+09:002012-03-26T02:16:17.167+09:00House picturesI've been so busy lately! This week I will be going to Taiwan, so I had a lot of planning to do! There will most definitely be a post about that, but I thought I would post the long-overdue pictures of my furnished house:<br />
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Coming soon: Taiwan, new host family, graduation and.... new member of the family? meow!audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-47813266346670999482012-03-05T21:27:00.001+09:002012-03-05T21:27:09.516+09:003 Hour Go-Kart Endurance RaceYes, you read that correctly. This past Sunday (and actually, one time in July as well), I got to participate in a 3- hour go-kart race. It's not quite as extreme as it sounds though, but just as fun.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaLVkcPiXUgPMz1TnJ1I5nfthTYyznhpVV6LcgN7yMm2dg-rUXium-llVosCKHyAD88j8gYM4l0nXh-zpyxOPmSgKw8ulxjr14gWeQ11gZrJedRn7HO__1K_xM4sWXg43h9Sow64uFQw/s1600/64133_10150590865127253_593032252_9021218_1768415035_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJaLVkcPiXUgPMz1TnJ1I5nfthTYyznhpVV6LcgN7yMm2dg-rUXium-llVosCKHyAD88j8gYM4l0nXh-zpyxOPmSgKw8ulxjr14gWeQ11gZrJedRn7HO__1K_xM4sWXg43h9Sow64uFQw/s320/64133_10150590865127253_593032252_9021218_1768415035_n.jpg" width="239" /></a>Omura has a go-kart circuit, a really nice track where you can race pretty much anytime. The track itself is really fun to drive on, with hairpin turns, other turns with names I don't know and a couple straightaways where you can really put the pedal to the metal and gun it.<br />
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I've never been to the course on a normal day, only for these special events. There is a group that tours go-kart tracks in Kyushu with endurance karts, which I assume means they have bigger (kerosene) gas tanks and don't go quite as fast as the normal ones. So about twice a year, they come to Omura. <br />
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When I said it wasn't as extreme as it sounds, what I meant is that I didn't do the whole 3 hours myself; it's a relay team. In July my team only had 4 people, so I drove about 45 minutes. This time around we had 7 people, so we all only got 2 x 12 minute goes. But I won <i>janken</i> (rock paper scissors) and got to do an extra few minutes at the end of the first session.<br />
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In July, there were a lot of complaints about some karts being faster than others, so halfway through this time around, we had to switch karts to try to even the playing field. Not that it would make any difference for us though, we didn't expect to, or even really desire to win. We were just out there for fun. Most of the other teams were decked out in racing uniforms and gear, very professional looking. Some even had matching jackets! We were no match. And low and behold, we didn't measure up. On the plus side, we didn't get last this time! We got 13th out of 14 teams.<br />
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As far as driving itself goes, I was a little hesitant at first, but by the end of my second round, I was going around some turns without braking. I did spin out once or twice, but it was fun. I wasn't going as fast as last time though, it was rainy so the ground was wet, so it was a little slippery. I also got really dirty from the water and dirt splashing up. <br />
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It was very fun, and I look forward to doing it again.audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-82475638908383346062012-02-09T16:44:00.001+09:002012-02-09T16:45:52.139+09:00Oops!Yesterday... I lost my wallet. I don't know what happened! One minute I had it, the next I couldn't pay for dinner! Apparently, I dropped somewhere near the station. Good thing I live in the land revered for it's reputation of getting-things-back-if-you-lose-them. <br />
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This morning I received three missed calls from the local koban (police box). They had my wallet! All I had to do was drive down to the main police station and claim it. They had taken everything out and made me check it all, making sure everything was there before I took it (because I know to the 1 yen how much I had in there right? I at least knew how many bills I had...). I was amused that they didn't take out the few dimes and pennies and earrings I had in there and make me check those too. After filling out a short form, I was back in action.<br />
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It's a good thing I wasn't without it long, because technically, it's illegal for me to walk around without my Alien Registration card. <br />
<br />audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-28722843224795840672012-02-08T22:05:00.000+09:002012-02-08T22:05:09.239+09:00Omura Swim MeetLast weekend I spent my Sunday much as I spent countless Sundays in my life, at a swim meet. There was a swim meet at the local pool, where my school's club team was competing. This was the first time I've seen them race since I started working with them in the summer.<br />
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I was expecting it to be a swim meet only for junior high schools in Omura, so when I saw bus-fulls of elementary school kids I thought I mistook the day of meet. I was indeed mistaken, but not about the day; the meet included local club teams and high schools as well. It turned out to take a lot longer that I had anticipated, lasting over 6 hours! <br />
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The swim meet was pretty much the same as any one I've swam in, but there were some differences:<br />
<ul>
<li> In Japanese fashion, there was an opening and closing ceremony with some speeches. </li>
<li>Officials wore blue, not white. </li>
<li>There were also a ton of Officials. For a meet of this level in the US, we might have had 3 or 4 officials. There were at least 6 or 7 watching the pool at all times. </li>
<li>Everyone had to be in a staging area well before their event. This is something we only do for the little kids in the US. </li>
<li>There were no touch-pads (not that surprisingly), and there was only one "pickle," or button to stop the electric timing system, and no watches or scoreboard. </li>
<li>Parents weren't allowed on deck, they were restricted to the upstairs viewing windows and to peering in through windows from the bitter cold outside. This made sense though, since the pool and deck is really small there. </li>
<li>Before every race the name and school/club of every swimmer was announced (I don't think we would do this at a meet of this level at home). That swimmer then had to bow to the pool. This took a long time, every heat. I calculated that they could have saved at least 30 minutes if they didn't do it. </li>
<li>After racing, the swimmer bows to the pool and to the timer. </li>
<li>You're not allowed to get up to the edge of the pool to cheer (but my school had some fun cheers that we yelled out if one our members was swimming, but we might have been the only team that cheered). </li>
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It was a lot of fun to go to a swim meet again. Maybe the next one, I'll be the one swimming! (Probably not, but that would be nice.)audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-62460995036506388242012-01-29T19:56:00.002+09:002012-01-29T19:56:37.891+09:00Fukuoka Auto ShowThis weekend I went to the Fukuoka Auto Show with some friends. I got to sit on the most powerful motorcycle in the world (Kawasaki ZX-14) and in an army vehicle of some kind. It was pretty much like any other auto show I've been to, just a little smaller and more cramped. There was a small room showcasing alternative fuel powered vehicles, which was pretty interesting. I saw a scooter made by this college team that runs on ethanol and/or old beer. <br />
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<br />audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-47402385240824668282012-01-25T16:57:00.001+09:002012-01-26T08:13:20.993+09:00Ouch! Snowboarding.<br />
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Last weekend I went on a road trip to a skiing spot in Shimane prefecture (north of Hiroshima). To say the least, it hurt a lot. But, it was really really fun and I can't wait to do it again.<br />
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We left Nagasaki around midnight on Friday and drove for 6 hours. We took an hour nap in the parking lot waiting for the rental shop to open and then dove in. To our disappointment we happened to choose Family Day and Ladies' Day, so there were a lot of people there, namely a lot of families. On the plus side, I got a free soft drink for being a lady. <br />
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It took me awhile to get the hang of snowboarding. I started out learning with my friend, but I decided to go out on my own for awhile and just practiced over and over and finally I started getting it. By the end of the first day I had improved a lot. However, this process did not come painlessly. In fact, by the end of the day I had a very sore butt, sore knees and a swollen hand from all the falling and sliding I'd done. But the pain was worth it and I was excited to get on the slopes again the next day. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvQYdmDtRctgK2tdsPgbDNqZuFboRIIOHriDAZF5Hzye5XgVMloVBec2N8jqukQVQMvWcNvi69fX3ffR_iJdbPbSAK8SNfoO0Vnfxbmk9clKvGM1CprMwL6oBgZ0UlJNFYB0B-bBpFdMo/s1600/338044_10100197181328992_16108740_43242484_1106920996_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvQYdmDtRctgK2tdsPgbDNqZuFboRIIOHriDAZF5Hzye5XgVMloVBec2N8jqukQVQMvWcNvi69fX3ffR_iJdbPbSAK8SNfoO0Vnfxbmk9clKvGM1CprMwL6oBgZ0UlJNFYB0B-bBpFdMo/s320/338044_10100197181328992_16108740_43242484_1106920996_o.jpg" width="320" /></a>The weather the next day was not quite as pleasant, although there were far fewer people. It was very foggy, snowy and cold, so I was a little hesitant and didn't really like going down the hill without being able to see much, so I wasn't too eager to try many new things. I did get a little better and was much more comfortable. However after a few hard falls (since I was going faster now, I was falling faster, which hurts more!) on the same spot on my hip and bum, I decided I needed to take it a little easy.<br />
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It was so much fun! There are spots closer to Nagasaki, but I hear they aren't as good. So we'll see when I get to go again.<br />
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On another note, we have been getting quite a bit of snow in Omura lately. Today, it snowed for a good few hours and even stuck to the ground for a bit. The snowflakes were huge! It was fun to play in it with my elementary school kids, but boy was it cold! I'm not a fan of being able to see my breath in the hallway! I haven't left my house with less than 5 layers (3 being jackets!) in a long time. I don't understand how some of my students can run around in shorts and a thin a jacket, they're crazy!<br />
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Usually the snow doesn't stick for long, but a few years ago they had about 6 inches, so maybe we'll get some of that this year too.audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-76785061208440346722012-01-18T21:23:00.000+09:002012-01-18T21:24:51.271+09:00Horses, Yards and MayonnaiseAs you know, I spent 18 wonderful days in the US over the holidays. Seeing that I was with most of you for the majority of my time there, I am not going to recount it.<br />
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I did, however, have to tell some 500 odd students about it. I can't say it was really an exciting vacation, not to say it wasn't fun. But really, sitting at home with my family watching three seasons of the IT Crowd is not exactly something my students want to hear about. While preparing my lesson about my vacation, I was saved by my foresight of taking pictures of pretty normal things in America that I thought might interest or even blow-the-minds-of my students. And blow their minds I did.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgRW0WR7WUEjgKwggVK3y127C4TzIGwqNVMmgvs1q9UDjTUG9imDUp6WeM84g_S7LwZz6Ywzb9VT63AnNnx5dLW_IdtobXhX-8DdYA-VeliFBet3zKAx018QRfY2P7eE3NqPRCxP0CcI/s1600/IMG_8777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgRW0WR7WUEjgKwggVK3y127C4TzIGwqNVMmgvs1q9UDjTUG9imDUp6WeM84g_S7LwZz6Ywzb9VT63AnNnx5dLW_IdtobXhX-8DdYA-VeliFBet3zKAx018QRfY2P7eE3NqPRCxP0CcI/s320/IMG_8777.JPG" width="320" /></a>While I have told them all that we keep a horse (now horses), it was probably a year and a half ago that they heard it, so they all forgot. In preparation of the first photo, I asked them if they remembered what kind of pets we had, mentioning that two are "very big animals". They most often shouted out "lion," "elephant," and for some reason, "snake." So, as with the response I got the first time around, seeing this photo of me riding Festus made jaws drop and kids start yelling "okanemochi" (rich person).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuhDFwOBDWQzCbhu69ntSK7Jcrj2I1vWX_Oe_bA0c2fc-I3afK_Qd50RSbheaNmTppFCvwih2lh4nBVQ2TQMXamZhwbeSKovyPZ5slPT2HVlc6aBQb6_VunsBXXxA-jFReyiIsAcl9AY/s1600/IMG_8808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuhDFwOBDWQzCbhu69ntSK7Jcrj2I1vWX_Oe_bA0c2fc-I3afK_Qd50RSbheaNmTppFCvwih2lh4nBVQ2TQMXamZhwbeSKovyPZ5slPT2HVlc6aBQb6_VunsBXXxA-jFReyiIsAcl9AY/s320/IMG_8808.JPG" width="320" /></a>I didn't expect to get quite the explosive reaction as I did for the next jaw-dropper. I pulled out a picture of this play-set that was in someone's backyard in Ann Arbor. My students spend a lot of time at school and at parks; they don't have yards to play in, so when it's time to play outside it's on the dirt "field" and the jungle gym at school. Every time I showed this picture I had to restate several times that this was in fact not in a park, but in someone's yard. They couldn't believe it and again the "okanemochi"'s rang out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOMmTbo0UeS7nbKJYnaiaccQYdqHUdDph6mMBmDtbiztK7wOYSVufJxBD6XCu3aeISPRQ2AB5tQ1lEoMQGDj6w4-yzLafK_XQAHA74cjhDzXYUHMBZl0Vj6mOI0j_ZENP71j1WXV1-ZU/s1600/IMG_8815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOMmTbo0UeS7nbKJYnaiaccQYdqHUdDph6mMBmDtbiztK7wOYSVufJxBD6XCu3aeISPRQ2AB5tQ1lEoMQGDj6w4-yzLafK_XQAHA74cjhDzXYUHMBZl0Vj6mOI0j_ZENP71j1WXV1-ZU/s320/IMG_8815.JPG" width="320" /></a> The funniest picture for me to show was this picture of the mayonnaise selection at Hiller's. Mayonnaise in Japan is not really like the stuff at home. With only a single producer (maybe?), Kewpi (read Q-P), it comes in a squeeze bottle, more like ketchup, it's a little more sour and it's used as anything from a salad dressing to a pizza topping. I asked my students to raise their hand if they liked mayonnaise and surprisingly usually only a handful would, but, regardless, it's a national staple. So then I dropped the bomb shell. I'd point to every row and repeat "mayonnaise". In unison the entire class (and often times the teachers) would exclaim, in the oh so Japanese way, "eeeeeeeeeh?!" I got similar, but not quite as impressive reactions for the Oreo selection and the bread aisle. <br />
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It's funny how such simple things in one culture is mind-boggling in another.<br />
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I also showed them one dollar bills. To my surprise, kids as young as 4th grade would start spewing the current exchange rate and talking about Freemasons (the latter of which I can only postulate that they learned from the movie National Treasure). I still have no idea why so many of them knew the exchange rate.audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-45109761209521881212011-10-30T14:53:00.001+09:002011-10-30T14:53:15.194+09:00Happy Halloween!If you didn't know already, Halloween is my favorite holiday. Halloween in Japan, while not non-existent, lacks the substance and creativity of Halloween in the US. There is no trick-or-treating, no American candy (which I find to be far superior), few costumes and most kids don't really understand it. So, I teach extraordinary Halloween lessons. This year, I made 3 girls cry from fear/ disgust.<br />
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The first part of the lesson was just introducing Halloween words, then we moved into the serious stuff. <br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">First, I got very serious and told them that I had cut off
the fingers and skin, and took out hearts, brains and eyeballs of last
year's bad students- then to make sure the current students would be
good, I made everyone touch said items. </span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><br /></span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">I prepared 5 bags of said items:</span><br />
<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Eyes= pickled quail eggs (better than grapes because they pop if you squeeze too hard). <br /> Brains= konnyaku (<a href="http://www.kki.yamanashi.ac.jp/%7Et04kg014/konnyaku.gif" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.kki.yamanashi.a</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>c.jp/~t04kg014/konnyaku.gi</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>f</a>). <br /> Skin: katsuo bushi (sliced, dried bonito). <br /> Heart: one day peeled tomatoes, the next day canned peaches.<br /> Fingers: Chikuwa <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Chikuwa.jpg" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://upload.wikimedia.or</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>g/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/C</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>hikuwa.jpg</a></span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">After feeling everything and getting thoroughly grossed out the students guessed what each item actually was. It so fun! </span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">At school, I dressed up as a black cat, but for the annual ALT Halloween party, I dressed up as a mummy. The party which </span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">is hosted in my town at a campsite, is really fun because for all the ALTs and friends not from the US or Canada, it is a special treat because they didn't have Halloween growing up. Almost everyone gets really into it, with great, often homemade, costumes. The winner this year was Muammar Gaddafi, although there was a great Mr. T, trio of Wizard of OZ characters, and the three blind mice.</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">For my costume, I went to the "dollar store" and bought A LOT of gauze and wrapped myself up from head to toe. I wrapped over some leggings and a sweatshirt to ensure warmth! People really liked it. The only problem was that my face got really itchy after a few hours! </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02BoYtvRqBxBDUjLr109Roj9RT1TvjssOAu3di1G-LpD2xR1-vT3SbUEXWgVRqIdnQykib7SYkRvYdZ1vvTS-tYLndjZxNmifWxnCGqHGVZ_OTYDakynppgWBx2b5LjlRsOOU5BcVzj8/s1600/375318_10150337364117541_636637540_8465258_106515137_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02BoYtvRqBxBDUjLr109Roj9RT1TvjssOAu3di1G-LpD2xR1-vT3SbUEXWgVRqIdnQykib7SYkRvYdZ1vvTS-tYLndjZxNmifWxnCGqHGVZ_OTYDakynppgWBx2b5LjlRsOOU5BcVzj8/s320/375318_10150337364117541_636637540_8465258_106515137_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. T and Gaddafi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiOjP43pR44pL5UUIiFJQ3kA513lnTth5QDS_T9sRj8Whf8sLAKYxJQ8CQV5sDpwHs_NJCR0iKqy9t-VtTL0fe8qMOmLdd76miYvweHU2-ByFlfJ1rQ17bBp6od23knUm2k1F7ZWclkQ/s1600/294417_2315065229434_1033530011_32577770_1714157108_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuiOjP43pR44pL5UUIiFJQ3kA513lnTth5QDS_T9sRj8Whf8sLAKYxJQ8CQV5sDpwHs_NJCR0iKqy9t-VtTL0fe8qMOmLdd76miYvweHU2-ByFlfJ1rQ17bBp6od23knUm2k1F7ZWclkQ/s320/294417_2315065229434_1033530011_32577770_1714157108_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wizard of OZ</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15xZkD64Ro6xT0neJknw7WfTOxX-eCWllSTWxozvQbgpp77zWoKDwXpEdKcXCk2xlN4iw5P1Gn5bUh0VsAzMklQBEeKsFC32qzyscP8We2wskHZbcLqogbvXmZrMwIeLgl41_YCgPJTY/s1600/375114_10150337363747541_636637540_8465241_449946199_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15xZkD64Ro6xT0neJknw7WfTOxX-eCWllSTWxozvQbgpp77zWoKDwXpEdKcXCk2xlN4iw5P1Gn5bUh0VsAzMklQBEeKsFC32qzyscP8We2wskHZbcLqogbvXmZrMwIeLgl41_YCgPJTY/s320/375114_10150337363747541_636637540_8465241_449946199_n.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mummy!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-24553542624003773892011-10-30T14:15:00.003+09:002011-10-30T18:44:22.783+09:00Jean Clawed Van Frog and the Disappearers<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTppeiXYxxUl-b8hQy52q3-sJNnsnBsKcrLCOjdjLQzo7VmfbO1itIX9K329HWGXO7ElBYH-xxTSNLp23zPrtOa2A-npHwcXf-nzFkIORwWBqkyAdVMLuQ81ffL4FOPN8EXXrjdERhWw/s1600/IMG_8675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQTppeiXYxxUl-b8hQy52q3-sJNnsnBsKcrLCOjdjLQzo7VmfbO1itIX9K329HWGXO7ElBYH-xxTSNLp23zPrtOa2A-npHwcXf-nzFkIORwWBqkyAdVMLuQ81ffL4FOPN8EXXrjdERhWw/s200/IMG_8675.JPG" width="200" /></a>Last weekend I got myself an aquarium and some new friends. Picking who and what would come home with me was very stressful. I wanted fish, but I also wanted frogs and I also wanted a sea crustacean, but there was no way they could all live together. I finally decided on 3 frogs and 5 mini- shrimp. The frogs are African Clawed frogs, two white, one black. The black one I named Hot Rod, but I couldn't decide on names for the white ones for a few days.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXIAvBdReQy0glCYpmPV2JEqjbW3Fbwxx3iJbWha_C7Q4fMeuXOvVZg0afWHXWpn4gjeOWi1Ad1QNulBFsAd97ek7L2IVIo1mecbf-WybfzKbmjS9D3Bdkommx8FKcjSkEmdVfW9bZuE/s1600/IMG_8669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXIAvBdReQy0glCYpmPV2JEqjbW3Fbwxx3iJbWha_C7Q4fMeuXOvVZg0afWHXWpn4gjeOWi1Ad1QNulBFsAd97ek7L2IVIo1mecbf-WybfzKbmjS9D3Bdkommx8FKcjSkEmdVfW9bZuE/s200/IMG_8669.JPG" width="200" /></a>Unfortunately, the next day one of the shrimp was dead. As sad as I was, I took him out of the tank with chopsticks. I thought the worst was over, but then...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZZxrO46KhOTW7T4qxgDH-O4ThykC9FEJx5O78GVlWGo8-q2SD8XfpTwEwD2329YHYAERuv6NZAEnPBhzxXNbaN58ZbLmfWHdbmCjI3DxENWERfh0PEhkaOYbcUiSSM6jMdldxiMEsag/s1600/IMG_8673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZZxrO46KhOTW7T4qxgDH-O4ThykC9FEJx5O78GVlWGo8-q2SD8XfpTwEwD2329YHYAERuv6NZAEnPBhzxXNbaN58ZbLmfWHdbmCjI3DxENWERfh0PEhkaOYbcUiSSM6jMdldxiMEsag/s200/IMG_8673.JPG" width="150" /></a>When I got home one night, after being away for only a few hours, one white frog and one shrimp were gone. Not dead, gone. They were nowhere in the tank. I checked the filter, I checked around the tank (despite having a lid, who knows what these guys can do?) NO LUCK! They disappeared. Either they got buried under the dirt and have yet (a week later) to float up, or they were eaten by the other frog.<br />
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Still no signs of them but thankfully none others have gone missing. <br />
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The other day I decided on the name for the other white frog, Jean Clawed Van Frog-get it? He's a clawed frog.<br />
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<br />audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2383071881895865790.post-77552714087597207232011-10-16T23:15:00.002+09:002011-10-16T23:15:50.019+09:00Oh Noh!This weekend I attended a free Noh performance in Shimabara (the southern peninsula of Nagasaki prefecture). Noh is a very traditional classical drama. This particular production was supposed to be outdoors, lit only with bonfires surrounding the stage, known as Takigi O-noh. However, due to the rain, it was moved into an indoor location.<br />
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So, as you know, where most people have problems falling asleep, I have problems staying awake. It's not hard to imagine what happened; dark, warm, incomprehensible....as hard as I fought my eyes would not cooperate. Unfortunately I was dozing in and out for the first 4 plays and was out cold for most of the final (and apparently, best) one. <br />
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I did see some of it though. The night started out with some short performances by a children's noh group which was really cute. They also were the main actors in one of the 5 primary plays about a fisherman. <br />
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Two of the plays had live music with drums and flutes, which was... interesting. At points I questioned whether it was music or just noise, but it was cool nonetheless. <br />
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The final play, about demons and ghosts, featured special masks used in noh. Depending on the angle the actor positions his head, the expression on the mask changes. I didn't actually see this (sleeping) and didn't learn about it until after. So maybe, if I ever see it again, I'll keep my eye out (and open) for it.<br />
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Noh actors manipulate their voices in such a way that makes singing/speaking sound pretty goofy and they used very classical Japanese, so even Japanese people had a hard time understanding. <br />
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All in all, I'm glad I had this opportunity to see it and I am pretty annoyed I couldn't stay awake. However, not sure if I'd go out of my way to see it again.<br />
<br />audreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428802545099956604noreply@blogger.com0