Again With the Camera Phone

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Originally uploaded by nekocon.

I think that with the advent of cell phone cameras the self-portrait as we know it is changed forever. I really enjoy playing with mine, and I get the only pics of myself I have ever liked. And, i can erase all the ones I don't like. :)

Naptime

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Originally uploaded by nekocon.

I feel so emo ...

I Love My Camera Phone!

I Love My Camera Phone!
Originally uploaded by nekocon.

Another random picture. My students tell me all the time that my eyes are really cool. It's nice to hear! :)

The Japanese are Staid (part 1)

I know that sounds a little crazy. I mean, come on, it's Japan! Sony, Toyota, ummmm, well you know better than I do all the differnt brands that are out there. All kinds of technical stuff comes from Japan. But ask yourself this, how much of it is technological innovation? And how much of it is just a design that the companies here have taken and improved upon? I read in some guide book or another that the J used to take European inventions and copy them out exactely, even down to the design flaws like faulty wagon screws, for years and years. It took them a long time to have the group confidence to correct what they could see themselves was wrong.

I find this very interesting about these people. In some ways, ok in most, the Japanese society is very rigid. THere are defined roles for everything and everyone. Each specific social situation has a long code of rules, regulations, and behaviors that must be adheared to in order not to give offence. Back in the Tokugawa era (think samurais and ninjas people)this was such a feudal society that you could be executed just for giving some minor offence to your superiors. That's why the greetings for entering rooms or houses usually translates to 'I've commited a rudeness' or 'I will commit a rudeness.' You have to apologise before you go in because you certain to screw something up before you leave.

This rigid societal structure infused a healthy respect for tradition and prior example (I know there is a phrase I want to use by my English is going). The J have a hard time breaking out of their learned behavior. What has been for so many years remains the case in most places. Case in point, it took 2,000 years (well, however long they've been here) of civilization for the public schools to get air conditioning installed. Even the new schools were built without it until recently. We still don't have central heating and the corridors are not climate controlled.

So a lot of times you don't see the biggest, best, or newest things around. Some people have them, and we've all seen the J tourists with about a million cameras and gadgets strewn accross their work vests. But think about this: they're always with a Japanese-only tour group that eats Japanese-friendly food and gives the Japanese-style experience to the participants. What seems new and shiny on the outside is often just a trumped up version of the older model. I am looking forward to learning more about the Japanese business model to see if this rings true on that level.

Things I Like in Japan

1. Work- I can't always say I love my job, but who can? Granted I actually work fewer hours than is really decent, but still, when I work I mostly enjoy it. I like my coworkers and my kids. Everyone here has a great attitude and is pretty laid back. We don't always understand each other, and we certainly don't always do our homework, but I feel like I have formed a good relationship with the people here. Next: to start applying myself more and to be more friendly. One year left! Gotta make the best of it ...

2. My Gym- I belong to a great gym, it's part of a chain of COSPA (comfortable sports space) stores in the Kansai area. I pay about $90 American for this place, but it does allow me to go anytime I want. The fee includes all the facilities, all the classes, the pool, and the shower/public bath area. I can take a sauna session and rinse off in freezing water, or hang out naked in the hot-tub type area. I really do love my gym. It also functions as my social club during the week. If I hit the timing correctly I see 5-7 of the forign people who live in my area. Along with some extremely attractive Japanese guys-yes they are short but damn are they fine. Also there's the older guy who wears a neon orange T-shirt that is printed with *Run Around Naked*. I love it, love it!

3. Osaka- Do you ever wonder why Tokyo is always the city that gets destroyed in the Godzilla/Gundam/Disaster movies? Some people will pontificate that it is due to Tokyo being the capitol. Some will also add that during WWII Tokyo was completely destroyed and that has imprinted itself on the Japanese psyche. They tie these two things together and try to come up with something ultimate and deep. But the truth is that Tokyo kind of has a rep for being a cold, fast place to live. It gets destroyed because no one would miss it. Osaka, on the other paw, is a fabulous town full of jovial people and excellent local and international tastes. It may be a concrete hunk of junk in some places, but there is no city in the world I would rather call home.

4. Mt. Kongo- this is thus far my favorite place to hike. Some of the favoritism is pretty arbitrary: Kongo is pretty close and fairly easy to reach from my apartment. I loved Kamikochi because it was some of the only unspoiled scenery I've seen in Japan, but the sheer unreachability of it really puts it low on the list. Kongo isn't always pretty, it is another victem of the excess public funds stemming from the bubble economy. There is way too much concrete on the paths and the top seems a little too furnished and settled. But the comfortable hominess lends it a certain civilized charm, and the visitor's center on top reminds me of my youth spend in the National Parks. Thus Kongo will always hold a special place in my heart.

5. My School's Cafeteria- although this has ceased to be the pleasure it once was, you can still get a good sized meal for relatively cheap. The Japanese-style curry is sweet, which I like. The set lunches for the teachers are also really tasty.

6. Judo- I started this recently at my school. They needed another girl, so I've become the mascot. Recently the girl student who recruited me has stopped comming, so I pity the boys that are teaching me to throw (and fall). Matoba Sensei is good to me though, so I'm not going to dissappoint him in our quest for my black belt.

7. Shamisen- I hate practicing instruments, at least I do sometimes. I am terribly ADD about somethings, and finding time to practice is one of them. But I always enjoy the actual lessons that I take. Playing Shamisen puts me in touch with a part of Japan that seems secret and special. Most of the young people these days can't do what I do there.

8. J-Boys-not all the time, and not all the boys, but a good number of them manage to be really hot. And the ones that work out at my gym are finefinefiiiiiine.

9. Japanese- it's a great language and I am going to kick it's ass in December, as soon as I can overcome my inertia.

10. I am sure there are a lot of things to write about, but I can't think of anything specific right now. Stay tuned for further updates. Oh, and sorry about Saturday ... :)

My Place is a Good Place

One of my favorite things about living where I do is how convenient it is to everything. Withing walking distance I have a drugstore, a supermarket, a 24-hour 99 yen store that also sells alchohol, a convenience store where I can pay my bills, a recycle shop (where I bought my brother's sword), and a couple good looking restaurants. Within biking distance I have three train stations, my gym, a shopping center that includes a department store and a mall-type area, a video rental place, and a Japanese style covered shopping street complete with local produce vendors. I am about 30 minutes from the city proper, and 45 minutes- 1 hour away from the two major entertainment districts of the city.

I also live about ten minutes from school. Technically, I am supposed to take the long way around. The only direct way runs through a small farm patch owned and worked by some local farmers. There is a dirt road that runs through it that they open to the community, but my students are not supposed to ride their bikes through it. That much traffic would damage the silty soil and cause it to erode more quickly than it does. But i really like this road, so I park my bike outside of the farm near the chain link fence. It takes five minutes to bike their from my apartment. Then, I walk through the field to my school, and that also takes about five minutes. Comming and going to school are sometimes the best parts of my day. The early(ish) dawn hours are nice, the quality of light is mellow and sweet. And after Judo in the evenings, especially during the long days we have now, it is extremely pleasent to be surrounded by nature. There is no where in America you could do something like this.

Saturday Night

Hi guys. If I lost you on Saturday night I am truely, truely sorry. I hope you guys had a good time! As of now I am on tequila probation.

Blah!

Post Judo on the couch.

Sunday Night Fever

Well, not a fever, but I am still kicking my cold. Could use a shower too.

Golden Week

Ah Golden Week, that glorious first week in May where we have three holidays in a row followed by a day of work and another weekend. Usually you get a friday off, have a weekend, and then get the next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off. Most employers will give Monday and Friday off as well so that their workers can spend a whole week with their families. Not in the public school system though. Lucky me, I had Friday off but had to work Saturday. In compensation though, I did get Monday off. Thus I had five days of uninterrupted bliss-it was grand.

Last year I went to Thailand with Jenny for about 10 days. We got tickets for under 50,000 yen- that's under $500 to you Americans tuning in to this blog from abroad. It was great, we stopped over in Hong Kong and spent 9 days in Bankok, Sukkotai, Chaing Mai, and on the road. I recommend Thailand to you, it's a great place and I am sure the people could use the business down in the southern regions. Just stay away from the boarder with Malasia, their is religious strife, guerilla war fare, and a strange separatist movement. Other than that, Tailand is a blast. (Try the Green Curry)

This year, I stayed home. I have no more days of leave, owing to my long winter break and my trip to England. And the prices of tickets sky rocket if you have to leave Japan during GW itself. I wanted to head to Singapore, but it would have meant taking a 70,000 yen hit. Since I spent exorbitent amounts of money in England two months ago I decided to give my bank account a rest.

This year I did a variety of different things while at home. I went clubbing on Saturday (met a nice man too, hope he calls), and spent most of Sunday recovering and reading the news online. Monday I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. How does such a small space get so dirty? I must have talent, but I did scrub my shower and my floors. Truely I was motivated!

On Tuesday I went to Kyoto with mark and his girlfriend to see a fairly creepy exhibit of human bodies. They were preserved (plasticised) and then dissected in various ways, allowing people to see the inner workings. I thought I would gag, but I did okay. It was actually fairly interesting. Later that evening I went to dinner with a few friends and went book shopping. A good day all around.

Wednesday was recovery day, I was still pretty sick, and movie night. I made tacos, sliced vegetables, and made guacamole. 5 people came over and they all brought alchohol. I had two bottles of 1000 yen (well, 1300ish) sparkling wine, two bottles of regular wine, and I bought my favorite Diet Beer too. We also had Kalua, Bailys, Tequila, Plum Wine (Umeshyu), Shou Chu (grain liquor), Chu Hi (assorted flavors), and fresh lemons. We didn't watch too many movies, and everyone crashed out around three, but it was a good time. I did spend the rest of Thursday recovering though. But I did spend three hours reading the news. I also saw Matt Drudge's CNN appearance via download. Drudge seems like a good guy.

All in all I had a great time. I was worried that staying home would pale in comparison to going abroad, but I feel like I got to know my friends a little better last week. It was good to spend time with so many different people.

S-L-O-W-L-Y

I have learned the virtue of slowlyness since comming to Japan. The most obvious and least metaphorical place is in my Shamisen lessons. We recently had our "Happyo Kai", or "Salon Kai", which was basically a miniconcert where everyone in the group played what they had been working on. I played two songs: Kojou no Tsuki (something's moon) and Matsu no Midori (private? green). While practicing both I was continuously reminded to go s-l-o-w-l-y by my teacher. In music as well as in life I have always been a rusher.

I always go too fast. Sometimes it's okay because I don't miss anything. Sometimes, however, I miss important details and end up stumbling because of my haste. Japan is teaching me that the old adages are true. Nothing good comes easily. Nothing worthwile is quick. Taking your time is what makes things so worthwhile. That's why you can be content with your single beer during Yakiniku, the tiny size of Japanese desserts, and why you can appreciate the fresh feeling of your neighborhood after an evening rainstomr. You take your time, you linger, and in doing so you soak up so much more of life that is worthwhile.

I feel like this time in Japan is truely a gift. I have a great job where I have almost total creative control. My coworkers are all well educated and friendly (and sometimes a little too friendly...), my students can be apathetic-but for the most part I really enjoy being with them, and in general I have time at work to watch the people and the landscape of our school. In high school I learned the importance of acheivement, and I fought for that in a fast, neverending battle to prop up my adolescent self esteem. In college I lost my sense of self and spent a lot of time rushing from one thing to the next, trying to find it again. I always thought what I wanted was a fast track career that would win me a lot of approval and where I would be too busy to worry about much. But now, now I understand taking my time. Now I can take it easy and not feel the pressing guilt of unmet obligations. This is one of the things I will always remember, and I will take this away with me when I leave. After all, what's the hurry?

In Kyoto for Golden Week

Red Rubber Ball is a very avant garde cafe in Sanjyo. Very cool-I reccomend!

Mysterious

I take pics when I have too much free time.

In Breif

Today was another beautiful Monday off. I earned this one as I actually had Saturday class this week. Next week I will be teaching four hours alone. My co teacher has a test ... hmmm ... we'll see how that goes.

Today I reformatted my hard drive and scrubbed my floors. There is a lot in common between those two chorse, I promise. I also played the violin for a while. It's nice to be on good terms with both my instruments. I went to the gym tonight and ran twice, and felt great both times. This was a first and I am pleased. Also talked to a few of my Japanese friends while I was there. It's really a social outing everytime. I wonder if I should wear lipstick the next time ...

I went clubbing Saturday night. I subsequently missed Sunday Judo, but it was worth it. Grand Cafe Osaka is a fabulous place to go, as is Bar Isn't It Umeda. I met a gorgeous half-Japanese half-French engineer (for toyota!). I seem to meet a lot of engineers in this country. Frankly, I find that suprising.

Tomorrow I am going to Kyoto with some JETs and their Japense Friends/SOs. We are going to see dead bodies. They have been plasticised, or so I hear. I don't know how much of that I will be able to handle. Mark is writing it up for the Osaka JET newsletter. Go him, I will likely barf.

That's all for now. Golden Week is shaping up to be great! And I am really quite pleased with my floors ...

YAY!!!