Before I start on my recap of this past weekend, I want to once again reiterate my love for the Japanese, and in particular, my townsfolk.

This morning, I had barely slipped on my huge bathrobe when there was a knock at the door. I thought it may have been my neighbour passing by to drop off something school related (there are only teachers in my building). Anyhoo, it was a little obachan (grandmother) who I see walking her dog and who I play indiaka with. (Indiaka is a game similar to volleyball except the ball looks like a very small, flat volleyball with a huge shuttlecock attached to it). I played indiaka last night. Obachan had a bag in her hand and she started firing off in Japanese. I initially thought I forgot something at he gym then I caught the words nagai (long) and muffla (scarf) and realized that she was giving me a new scarf because she thought the scarf that I have was too long. Picture this: me in a huge purple bathrobe with my sleep face on standing in my doorway completely shocked. I must have said arigato gozaimasu a million times, then when I closed the door, tears immediately came to my eyes. Isn't that something??? I swear, I've never been exposed to kindness like that. And this lady is cool. She's probably around 60 and she's a great indiaka player. When I play against her, I'm like, oh crap. When I'm on her team, I'm like, oh crap. I wore my new scarf this morning. I'm still a little awestruck. I heart these people.

Well, I had another amazingly amusing/exhausting weekend. It started on Friday night when Aussie Dave came over with all the makings of chicken thai curry. The agreement was that I was to cook (I still don't know how I got suckered into that) and dinner came out really well. We watched a couple of downloaded episodes of the American Office (I watched the pilot episode last year and didn't like at all, but it has greatly improved), and my favorites Law and Order and L&O SVU. We went to bed fairly early because we had to get up at 6:00 a.m. to go to a Shogen Temple and Shogen Junior College in Minokamo City. Shogen Jr. College is a training place for Zazen monks. They go there for a period, and when they are ready, they can leave.

We were very successful in waking up and leaving the apartment on time and picking up Shiloh nearby (it was her bday - more on that later). We met up with the other trip participants and boarded our very deluxe bus and we were off. The sum up the day: it was a cultural experience. We meditate for 15 minutes three times, for a total of 45 minutes (!!) and I allowed myself to get beaten with a stick by a buddhist monk! I'm not really clear on what the meaning behind this was, but did it hurt. The monk said that he was basically channelling Buddha and maybe the beating was to beat all desire out of me and build character. It was four whaps to either side of my back while I was bent over in a sitting position. I think most of our gaijin group got whacked, but I was one of the first ones.

After our beating, we practiced the art of batik dying. What this is is writing a message or a character on a piece of cloth with melted wax. Then the cloth is dyed and out comes the character in white. I chose the kanji for dream and it came out pretty nice. While the cloth was getting died, we were allowed unrestricted access to the grounds, living quarters and sacred areas. We were told that this never happens, but for some reason, it was our lucky day. We learned a lot about self denial, discipline and spiritual strength. I'm not going to get into detail because that would seriously be too long, but it was definitely enlightening. And to top it all off, we were graced by the presence of the MOST STUNNING MAN OF ALL TIME (cue echo). Seriously, he was beautiful and every man, woman, and child would be lying if they didn't agree. You decide.

By the way, this temple/school is 700 years old and everything was impeccable. Un-freakin-believable.

After we left Shogen-ji, we went to have a delcious, Japanese-y, delectable FREE lunch nearby and we left stuffed. After that, we piled into out bus and headed to a sake brewery to discover the wonders of sake brewing. Now I know where all that good stuff comes from. We even got to sample a couple types. Then we walked over to a 200 year old hotel. The grounds were just breathtaking. Here is Shiloh and I supermodelling.

The day was absolutely wonderful and I wish I could record every single detail, but it just seems a bit too daunting right now. But I had a blast chatting and laughing with Shiloh, Dave, Christina and others. But Shiloh especially. I'm lucky to have such a cool girl as a friend. Thank goodness she lives relatively close by.

So, as I mentioned before, it was Shi's bday and the fab day continued. After we finished with our cultural experience, we hooked up with Ed and went back to Shiloh's place to get ready for the evening. Her neighbor Ryan came over and then we all headed to this fantastic buffet style restaurant for a feast. But before we dug in, we waited for the whole group to assemble. Honest to goodness, hand to God, these were some of the nicest, funniest, coolest people I've had the pleasure of eating and laughing with in a long time. Over half the guests were Canucks, and the kicker of the night is I met my predecessor - like from 7 years ago!!!! He's still in Japan! And he's Black! Like me!! When I made sure of his name and he confirmed where I lived, it clicked that this is the ALT who worked in Neo years ago! A lot has changed since he was an ALT - he used to live in a rundown house with no running water, or maybe no hot water. Whatever it was, it was bad!!! I'll say it again - I'm so lucky.

After our fantastic feast, we headed to Jungle for karaoke. It's amazing how much fun people can have singing their hearts out and being completely sober. FOR 4 HOURS! Man, did my throat hurt! But it was great. The only downside to the whole evening was getting precious little sleep because Shiloh is an awful sleep talker. She seriously yells in her sleep. LOUD. I had to push her a few times, but my sleep was wrecked. Holy shit. Everyone's got a dark side; this is hers.

On Sunday, Shiloh was ever to kind to take me shopping and her, Ed and I bought groceries then hooked up with Jeffrey to eat breakfast and then go to the new Harry Potter movie. It was a really good flick, but it was pretty dark. And I must admit, I did tear up. After dinner, we went to a couple more stores to pick up a few things, and I was so ecstatic, like falling down on my knees and praising God ecstatic when I found Quaker Oats Instant Oatmeal, and in my favorite flavour - Maple and Brown Sugar. I really need oatmeal on those cold winter mornings, and now I've found it at a place called Liquor Mountain. Can ya guess what they sell? But they also have a good selection of foreign foods and snacks. Yay!!!

Anyway, needless to say, the good times continue and I'm having so much fun. I'll soon update you on what really makes me appreciative of my time here. I think I've probably written too much. A million apologies.

Can you feel the love tonight...

Is it possible for your heart to grow to insane proportions and your soul to change in four months? Is it possible to fall in love over and over and over again, then when you think you are satiated, it happens again? Is it possible to having a deep wanting for the familiar but simultaneously embrace the alien? I recently read Dan in Japan's latest entry, and after thinking about it for a little bit, I think I'd have to answer yes to all these questions. Coming from an individualistic society and one that doesn't often demonstrate selfless acts of kindness, it is mindboggling how giving the Japanese are. Sure, I live in inaka and country folk are probably more kind than city folk, but as a whole, from what I've heard in seen from people in other prefectures, in cities, towns and villages across Japan, this behaviour seems to be indicative of the Japanese culture. I don't know what it is, but I love it.

I've been having a really great time over the last few weeks. I've been bonding with my friends, feeling really comfortable at school, getting along with my co-workers and studying Japanese. I'm so content. I'm also really looking forward to my trip to China. It's going to be awesome and I'll share that experience as well.

So here are some pics you can enjoy and you see what I've been up to:

These are from the Gifu Cultural Festival I particpated in on November 13. It was awesome and I had a lot of fun. Some of my friend came and I even got a yukata as a gift.












These pics are from Nagoya on November 25. My friends and I took my Canadian friend, Elise, there for a good time. Karaoke, walking around seemingly for hours, dancing and drinking in a tiny bar and crashing in our hotel room is an all too brief summary of the evening.

And the beautiful view of/from Gifu Castle on November 20.



I will post soon about my weather situation and what I did on the weekend. As the Japanese say, she-you!

Fuckity fuck fuck fuck!

I updated my blog majorly and then I lost it because I was doing a little experiment with my battery. FACKKKKKK!!!!!! Anyway, I'm fine, no earthquakes, it's cold, I went to Nagoya twice, got my hair braided and don't like the results, it's cold, I volunteered at a cultural fest and was given a yukata and a hand written scroll, I caught a cold, and now I'm takin a shower and heading for bed. Plus it's really cold. First frost of the snow appeared this morning. Cue the jaws music - winter's a coming!

Can't mess my Flow...

This post is dedicated to Flow; a graffiti god, a low key comedian, a novice DJ and a great friend. I came home last night to receive a package of Montreal goodness and I nearly died from happiness. Check out my booty (not that one):

Newspaper articles from my beloved Montreal Gazette, the Under Pressure 10th Anniversary magazine, flyers, a CD and a book on pitbulls written by Paul 107. Can you feel the luv??? I felt it and it made me dizzy. Thanks Flow - you're a prince among men.

Things have been going really well, though this week seemed to go at a snail's pace. Not much new - still have the same busy schedule and still loving this place. I'm trying to focus on arranging things for China, but my god, I wish I had a full day to myself. Maybe December 17...but I doubt it. Actually, there's a holiday on November 23rd. Maybe I can stay home then. Yeah, that's the ticket...

I went to an old folk's home with my san-nensei class on Wednesday and nothing says "you're gonna die!" (You must say this in an Adam Sandler's kind of voice) like being around decripit old people all day, especially Japanese old people. I'm not sure, but they may have the highest life expectancy in the world. There were four people celebrating their birthdays on the day that we came and they were all in their 90's. Some of them were in quite the state. I kept staring at a lady who looked mummified. It was fucking depressing. Shit. But on the bright side, my kids really cheered them up by talking to them, feeding them food, and playing a few songs on the okarina, a sort of flute/seashell thingy. I was in there too and had a few admirers but some people were just dumbfounded by my presence. Meh. Here are my kids:

Fack, I'm tired today. I guess it's because I got my period today (yeah, I said it. WHAT?). I've also started exercising in an effort to get rid of this excess around my waist and hips. I went jogging twice this week and was going to go again today, but it was raining so I stayed indoors. I broke out the skipping rope and skipped in the hall then I did some tae bo kicks, side kicks and roundabouts which are great for my thighs, hips and ass, then broke it all down with crunches. And I've been seriously stocking up on the veggies, especially the dark green ones (gotta kick that anemia) and saying dame! to rice. I'm serious! Ain't no half steppin'!

Shit. Japanese t.v. can be so vacuous sometimes. I won't even get started. I'm dying for some Law and Order, CSI, Seinfeld reruns, the Simpsons, Oprah and Sex and the City. Ok. Gonna stop bitching. Gonna cut up some fruit and check out possible hotels in China. Peace!

Oh, shot out to the crew's new addition - RORY!!! I love that name and I love him already!

Today was an awesome day...

I've recently come to realize that I am about 90% settled here, both physically and mentally. My apartment is inviting, clean and hospitable, but I could use a few wall hangings and a lamp to spruce up the place. I know where to go to buy food, cheap clothing and household goods and electronics, but I don't know where to go for a manicure or aesthetics. I feel comfortable enough speaking to people in Japanese, but I still get stuck in conversations. And I sometimes wake up feeling like I just want to turn on the heater and sleep until I feel like puking. With a sense of settlement comes a sense of laziness and aversion to work. I love the kids, I love the teaching environment, and once I get there, I'm super genki, but lord help me, when it's 7:10 a.m. and I can practically see my breath in my bedroom, I just want to say to hell with work. But I get up, determined not to take a personal/sick day until I'm on my deathbed. Once I have my class though, I've forgotten about the hellish first few moments of consciousness and am happy to be where I am.

Yesterday I had a half day because I had to go to a demonstration class put on by Ed and his JTE, but my classes at the JHS rocked. Everything just worked: I was entertaining, the kids were receptive and were learning, and there were lots of laughs. I had lunch with the first grade class and they almost made me snort water out of my nose due to their hilarious Hard Gay (http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/face/news/20050720p2g00m0dm024000c.html )
impersonations. It's funny because 3 months ago, I was the resident freak that really had to put in effort to get the kids to respond to me. Now, I can't get them off of me (but I love it, I really do!)

Today, I had my classes at the elementary school and they went so well. I gave the 3rd grade a lesson on actions/"I like to" and they were really excited and tried really hard. We did Halloween (don't ask) in 1st grade and we got to practice trick or treat where I was allowed to give the kids either a trick (a tickle) or a treat (pretend candy) or both. They literally would not let me leave. They formed several human walls that I had to tickle or jump my way out of. 5th grade was awesome today as we had a lesson on classroom items. The teacher taught me the Japanese word for fart (onara - polite, or he - casual) and I kept saying it throughout class, much to their delight. At the end of class, Nana, who is usually quite quiet and polite, gave me a sheet to write who my favorite band is and why - in Japanese. I said ganbarimasu - I will try my best. I thought that was pretty cool.

*************************

On Saturday, Christina and I went to Kyoto, which was nearly better than last year's trip. We went to the Imperial Palace, Ginkakuji (the Golden Pavillion) and Yasaka Shrine in Gion (Geisha district). We ate the most satisfying Indian meal at an underground restaurant and had an excellent time. We didn't get lost or encounter any problems as Kyoto is nearly foolproof (if you want any tips, let me know!) Here are some of the highlights. I'll update my Flickr accounts soon, I promise!








These two dudes cracked open their Asahis at around 9:00 in the morning. I had to have a picture. The one beside Chris seemed to favour me quite a bit. I was nervous that he would take my picture with his camera phone and put it on the internet...kinda like what I did.


















It's getting really cold in the schools. Maybe I should have picked somewhere warm to go this xmas...

For lunch today, I had curry udon, walnut bread, some baked potato fish thing, something that resembled coleslaw and a tangerine. Are they trying to get me to be fat? I've decided that I need to start jogging during the time between lunch and soji (cleaning time). I could've gone to badminton today, but it's cold outside and I'm tired. I'm going to study Japanese instead.

Tomorrow I am going to the old folk's hospital. I'm prepared non-stop yapping and a few "anato wa kirei desu. (you are very beautiful)" Should be a treat!

Famous last words...

I really, really was going to go home after the meeting, or at the very latest, right after dinner. I was going to take the train back home to my quiet village, walk home in the dark with my flashlight and enjoy my own company. I was going to take a scalding hot bath, sip a glass of red wine while listening to Morcheeba and have a good time. I was going to go to bed at a reasonable hour and spend the next day, a holiday, just stone cold chillin...However, things, as they tend to do, did not work out as planned.

On Wednesday, Gifu JETs had the mid-year conference (how could it be mid-year if we've only been here for 3 months???). It was dreadfully, mind-boggingly LAME; we were given tips on how to do our jobs and be better team teachers by people who aren't even JETs!!!???! I spent a good deal of time studying Japanese or chatting or learning new Japanese words from Shiloh (it was sooooooooo good to see her again - more later).

And the end of the day, I had to decide on whether or not I was going to go to the dinner I signed up for, and at the last minute, I decided, why not? But after dinner, I would definitely catch a ride to the train station with Jeffrey and go home. Hrrrmmmmm...

Well, after some non-sensical car pooling, I arrived at the restaurant and sat with some people I've never met before, and some people I haven't seen in a while. The dinner was tabehodai and nomihodai (all you can eat and drink), and the food was a lot better than expected. But then again, if you don't have any expectations, you can't be disappointed, right? Anyway, dinner was good, conversation was flowing and I was really enjoying myself. I got to catch up with the N. Irish cutie, Craige, who I'm kissing in the picture, meet some nice folks and have a good time joking/fooling around. But by the end of the dinner, it seemed that it was too early to go home. I was laughing too hard and when Ed said he wanted to go to karaoke and asked what I wanted to do (we were supposed to go back to our area with Jeffrey), I decided to stick around. One of the main reasons was probably because of Shiloh, the coolest Canadian (besides moi) in the whole prefecture. We hadn't seen each other since Camp Horado in August, and had been trying for weeks to get together. We had recently realized just how close we live to each other so we were trying. Anyway, this girl is funny and has some of the best stories. Ed, Shiloh and I make a pretty good team, so Tuesday was something of a reunion. I'm soooo happy that I stayed.

Ok, so here's the deal: I suck donkey balls when it comes to singing. I hate when people say "everyone can sing." It's just not fucking true. I CAN'T SING. But that's besides the point. I killed some songs during karaoke that night (see picutre at the beginning of this post), but it felt so awesome while I was doing it. It didn't matter that Ed and Shiloh can actually sing - it was just cool doing it together.

The high point of the night occured when I attempted to slip off Ed's blazer and he told me that wasn't a good idea. He turned around and opened his blazer to reveal that he had not one, but two large size glass bottles of beer he nicked from the restaurant! I couldn't stop laughing. You have to understand that Ed appears to be uppercrust - he's clean cut, he went to school with the princes, he has a high brow accent - the works. Then he starts talking shit and doing things that are so amazingly GHETTO. I love that boy.

After karaoke ended, Shiloh, Ed and I piled into her tiny car and headed back to our area. We had planned to drop Ed at his place and Shiloh and I would go to her apartment. Well, things changed at Ed's and we all ended up sleeping in his one room, typically bachelor styled apartment. No comment.

Shiloh and I shared the single bed while Ed took the futon on the floor. Shiloh and I spooned (we both listed this as one of our hobbies), but we ended up fighting in our half drunken (okay, my half) half sleeping states. Elbows to faces! Bums to bums! One on top of the other!! It was classic. Ed had to get up early to go to work on the holiday and Shiloh and I finally got our asses up at 10:00 a.m. We parted ways around 12:30 and I got home an hour later. Needless to say, I had a blast. I'm looking forward to hanging out with the both of them again (should be this Sunday for brunch!).

Today is Friday and I had only 2 classes today, but it's cool. My first class with the JHS 2nd graders was really fun. Today's lesson was accepting or declining an invitation. The skit was for K-sensei to invite me to a rock concert and I had to be all genki about it. When she told me it was her band, I did the typical Japanese "ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" You have to be here to understand how this is so pervasive. Anyway, that slayed the kids. Then the kids had to invite each other to different things in order to practice. Not to be one to stand on the sidelines, I jumped in there and asked a couple of boys out on dates. Unfortunately, I got turned down BOTH TIMES! (Am I losing my touch?). They loved it though. They were laughing so hard, they couldn't breath. At the end of the class, we sang happy birthday to one of the kids. It was a great class. I really love these kids.

Up next: Kyoto tomorrow!

By the way, these are the ladies that I have English conversation with. At the exact moment that I took this picture, the one on the left farted...We are having an early New Year's Eve party next week. Mmmm. Food. So excited.

There are so many things...

I want to write about everything I've seen, I've felt, I've smelled. The days are falling so quickly into each other and I'm struggling to keep up. Like on Sunday, I went shopping with a student and her mom and we went to one of those smoky game centres to have our photo taken in a booth. I had so much fun posing with her and then decorating our pictures on the interactive photo selector. Now I have memories of a really cool day with a really cool girl forever. Or, when I saw a family of Black people in a super cheap Winner's-type store. It was almost cliche that I saw Black people in a discount store. For a moment I thought I was back home. Or today when K-sensei made a girl cry in front of me. I hate tears from people I don't know, but this was especially bad because this girl basically just failed a test, so getting a "pep" talk from the English teacher was probably the last thing she wanted to hear.

I want to tell you that I'm getting blisters on my hands and feet from kendo practice today. I want to describe how liberating it was to scream and brandish a wooden sword. I also want to tell you how much I like my english conversation class members and what kind of treats they bring me. Or howI didn't go to badminton last night but still managed to get some treats that where distributed there. I also want to tell you how I went jogging two days in a row and how my ass muscles hurt and how much I love it.

I want to describe the emotions that went through my body when I found out that there may be a slight chance that I could be transferred to another school if I were to recontract. How my thought pattern is these days and how much I'm loving the person I am and becoming, while realizing a few important things about other people - "my, myself and I, that's all I got in the end". Or how much my Japanese is progressing and how rapidly my English is disentegrating.

I want to write about finding out that one of my sister's friends died a violent death in a club last week. How sad I am for his family and how grateful I am for mine. I sometimes feel overwhelmed with my thoughts about love, life, future, money, sex, time, hair, things, work, happiness and what the fuck it all means.

But I'm so tired. My shoulders hurt from being hunched over my computer. I should stay home this weekend, I know I should but it is looking less likely.

Eating: The New Sex...

Today I had an orgasmic experience. Some people, okay boys, believe that Japan is a heathen haven where anything goes and hedonism and self satisfaction is god. And from what I've seen, heard and experienced, there is a smattering of that, and you can usually find it hand and hand with alcohol. JETs, in particular, can be a particularly incestuous bunch. My feelings on this usually range from "vive la sexe libre!", to "shouldn't the incidence of unplanned pregnancy and STDs be much, much, much higher among JETs??", to "yes, I am enrolling at the nunnery. Now, does this chasity belt make me look fat?". It changes like the weather, but I know for certain that nothing trumps the heat between 2 people when they are in love, or in serious, serious like. But I'm digressing.

Anyway, like I was saying, I had an orgasmic experience. Ed and I ventured into the big city and a visit is not complete with Mos Burger. Ok, for those who don't know, Mos Burger is a fast food resto that has awesome burgers. My fave is the Fureshi (Fresh) burger that consists of a patty, some kind of mayo/ketchup sauce, a tomato and letture. It is usually quite delicious, but for some reason today, it was orgasmic. Ed and I were literally moaning with pleasure and rolling our eyes. It was a sight: two gaijin sitting at a table moaning and groaning over hamburgers. With conviction in my voice, I stated to Ed: (smacking of lips) "Ed, this is my new sex." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and said "Neh. " (He's a Brit-Scot). "It's better than sex." There was no argument, no further discussion; it was just so. And the best part is that there is no awkwardness, no silly post-coital stunted conversation, no fumbling. When it is done right, food is just sooo good.

Sometimes another good sex replacment is shopping and Ed and I came to the big city to check things out. I had my heart set on buying the new 30 GB ipod that plays videos and tv shows, but Yamada Denki didn't have it. Apparently, they'll only have it in about 3 weeks. I was so disappointed. I think I couldn't stop talking about how disappointed I was for about 15 minutes. We went to Takashimaya (sexy, sexy department store complete with Coach, Chanel, Burberry, the works) before Yamada and I didn't buy anything but presents and some truffles because I was going to plunk some coin on the ipod and it wasn't there. Like bad sex, shopping can also be highly unsatisfying.

Anyway, we missed the 4:00 train home and that meant (cue scary music), I had to walk home in the dark. I called Nakano-san to come pick me up, but unfortunately, he wasn't home. So I called Mel to keep me company (thanks Mel!!). Let me say this: it was fucking scary. For the majority of the 15 minute walk(!), it was pitch black. I heard rustling in the bushes and I freaked the fuck out. I kept thinking "It's only 6:30. Far too early for rapists and bears!" But I got home safe and promised myself that that wouldn't happen again.

Yesterday I went out to dinner with some peeps, thus reneging on my promise of a FULL weekend of me time. But it turned out to be quite fun. Ed, Christina, Aidan, Emily, Jeff and I hooked up at a pretty fancy, authentic, Chinese restaurant. However, the portions were ridiculously small, which caused some raucous behaviour - Ed: "fucking Chinese!!!" While he was bitching about the portion size, he failed to realize that we were in the company of not 1, not 2, but 3 Aussies of Chinese origin. Bu we had a good laugh about it later. Really.


Let's see...what else...This past Monday, I went to a farewell enkai for my pred Dave. Irregardless of the fact that he left Neo in July, the party, the food and the company were great. And hey, an all you-can-eat, all you-can-drink really is the best way to start a week.



I've received my study materials for beginner's Japanese from JET. I've been studying and practicing and surprise myself and a couple of friends with my language skills. It was unobvious to me just how much my vocab had grown but I really put it to good use today and yesterday. In fact, I had to be the interpreter a couple of times. My application of particles sucks ass, but I can generally be understood. YAY for me!!! So happy! Makes me want to keep on trucking!

I also received my re-contracting papers. Yes, the deadline is Feb. 6, but I think the JET people just want to lay the seed early to make sure we are thinking about it. Or maybe, the want us to re-contract now before the "death-month" arrives. FYI, IMO, the "death month" is February. The absolute fucking worst month of the year. I shudder to think about it. Anyway, to stay another year...I think about the things I have missed in Montreal, the little things I miss everyday, the things I will miss. I think about my loved ones and their lives and I think about my future. I think about how much I am enjoying my life here and the progress I've made and the growth I've undergone. I think about the places I want to see and the things I want to do. I think that July is closer than it seems and I think I won't be able to do everything I want to do by then. I haven't signed anything but I think my heart and head know...

I found out that I am anemic once again and I am bummed. I was hoping that my all encompassing tiredness (I've had to take cat naps in the school bathroom) was due to an overactive lifestyle, but alas it ain't. I was also informed that I have put on a couple of kilos and my fat % is over the "normal" level for me, so I gotta lose 5 pounds. I had an informative chat with the dietician and I've put on my conscious eating hat again, along with my running shoes, so it will be a matter of time before I return to my fighting weight.

Last thing: I booked my flight to China today!!!! Very excited now!!! Departing from Osaka on Dec. 23 and arriving in Beijing. Will be in Beijing on Christmas, Hong Kong on New Year's, and will fly out of Shanghai. It's 2 months away, but I'm so excited. Ahhh. To me, this is life.

Ok, this is the real last thing: This is a picture of the sky at dusk the other day. The picture itself is kind of bad, but the colours were breathtaking. God is everywhere.

Buddha says everything is going to be okay...

One of the things I like about myself is that I am resilient. I allowed myself to really feel that low so that I could get over it and move on. I cried, I sulked, I daydreamed and then I made some phone calls and sent some messages and I feel pretty much back to normal. And oh yeah, I had a kick assed weekend.

I just wrote in very great detail everything I did and even had some personal insight into myself, but then I pressed the wrong button so everything went to shit. Crap. It was good too. I don't have the time to start over so please enjoy my pics.
















Fire on the water...Saturday was the last day for cormorant fishing. It was the most romantic thing I've seen while living here. To find out what cormorant fishing is, go here: http://www.city.gifu.gifu.jp/kankou/08_eng_01.html















This is the cormorant fishing master and the ukai. The fishing demonstration was both beautiful and cruel. However, the birds are very well treated and appear very healthy.
















This is Ed and myself at Cafe Yurla. He was doing everything in his power not to smile, but to appear creepy and antagonistic. Unfortunately, he is the sweetest young man and it's always a great time when he blesses me with his presence. The woman in the background is one of the most naturally gorgeous people I've seen in Japan. Ed was gaga over her and I was enthralled so I told her how beautiful she was. She blushed and then told me how beautiful I was and how much she liked my hair. Too bad that tipping is not done in Japan because she would have received a huge pourboire from me.















This is Ed and Jeffrey hamming it up.
















After brunch, we headed to Tsutaya ("the Blockbuster of Japan", but better), where I bought Bjork, Greatest Hits; Billie Holiday, Strange Fruit; Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor (525 yen), and Norah Jones, Feels Like Home (525 yen). I had to take a picture of this because I need to show you how "urban" music is classified here. I've had several Japanese people tell me that they like "Black music", but holy cow.

Ok, I'm off to the shower then too bed. I just got back from an enkai (dinner and drinking party) and I'm bushwacked. There were about 100 courses and I ate everything and feel ready for a diet, even though I was complimented on my "beautiful body". That's one of the funny things about Japan - Japanese people won't touch you, or want to be touched by you unless they are drunk, but they will say without hesitation that your body is hot. Wakarimasen (I don't get it). Oh yes, I'm going to try traditional Japanese dancing this Friday and I hope to stay local this weekend, meaning sleeping in my own bed.

Shout out to Dan in Japan and Steph for their encouraging words. It's nice that we're all in this together and I just hope to return the favour some day.

Another shout out to Flow for sending me the link for the old skool break beats. I'm listening to it right now and it is taking me to the days of Groove Society and watching Tactical Crew do their thang on the cardboard. Ahhhh, everything was so new and shiny then...I loved it. Thanks for bringing back those memories (inadvertedly I suppose). Ohhh, shit - Rob Base, "Joy and Pain", that's the soundtrack to my life. Ohhh, damn, BBD, "Poison". "Never trust a big butt and a smile". Again, the soundtrack to my life.

Kisses.

My mea culpa...

So, I've heard from a source that my little breakdown (see last post) was apparently problematic for some people. In particular, my words about Dal were misconstrued and taken at face value. Firstly, I'd like to say that I was under duress when I poured my heart out onto my lap top and all of my thoughts probably did not come out in the most eloquent of ways. Secondly, Dal and I have one of these relationships where we can call each other the kinds of names that would probably offend most other people. And thirdly, Dal and I are more sisters than friends and I love her with my whole heart, and words such as "stoopid" and "shut up" are actually terms of endearment. So with that, I want the world to know that I love and respect Dahlia. She is the most sweet, level-headed, upstanding and mature individual on the face of the planet. I've known her since before I hit puberty and she is my cheerleader, confidante, best friend and sister from another mister. I'm not going to go into the kind of sonnet that I said at her wedding, THE ONE THAT MADE EVERYONE CRY, but I just wanted to set the record straight. I have nothing but love for this fine Trini princess. We are different patterns cut from the same cloth and I love my girl.

(Disclaimer: This rant may have been brought on by the lethal mixture of homesickness and PMS).

Kisses.

It finally happened to me. You read about it, you wonder about it, and when it finally hits, you recognize it. It has hit me how much I miss my friends and family. I broke down and I cried, and I cried and I cried some more. When I thought it was over, more tears came. My sobs filled my bedroom and I have never wanted someone to hold me so badly. The deluge went on until my head ached and my sinuses were congested. I miss talking to Shauna during commercials between American Idol. I miss talking to Ayanna several times a day at work. I miss conference calling the both of them. I miss calling Dahlia "bitch" and "stupid" and telling her to shut up. I miss having discussions/arguments/philosophical musings with Cheryl. I miss discussing things pragmatically with Jenn and then dishing about our latest hot boi. I miss making plans with my friends to see the latest movie/going to a new resto/heading out for a cinq a sept/going shopping and taking jaunts down to Ogilvy's to look at stuff we'd never buy. I miss arguing with my sisters and doing Tae Bo in the morning with my mom and Lisa. I miss my uncle telling me to "shaddup!" I miss having Bridget calling me and whining about her boy situation and then me consoling her. These women in my life mean so much to me and they are irreplaceable. Great people will come into my life and they will be awesome additions, but my hometown peeps are the greatest...I love each and everyone of you...

All these emotions is futher compounded by the news that my pred. (who has become my best friend in Gifu) will be moving away. I am so crushed. I'm going to miss him more than I can articulate right now...

Sleep is calling me. It helps me to forget.

One of my students said I looked like Michael Jackson today…

Due to the language barrier, I didn’t ask him if he meant Michael Jackson circa Jackson 5, Michael Jackson circa Off the Wall, or Michael Jackson circa child molestation trial. For my sanity and self-esteem, I am going to assume that he compared me to MJ because we are (were) both Black and because they don’t know of any other Black woman to compare me too. But Beyonce would have been nice…

I’ve opted to rock a new hairstyle for a little while in an attempt to give my hair a break from all the combing and brushing. Though I love this style, I was hesitant to do it because I knew I’d receive a lot of attention. From kocho-sensei exclaiming “BIG CHANGE!!” to yon-nensei gakusei (4th graders) petting my hair, yesterday and today were hair focused. We’ll see what happens when I rock da braids!

My weekend in Takamatsu, Kagawa-ken, on the island of Shikoku was a blast. Mel was the hostess with the mostess and we had a great time drinking, eating, talking, laughing and gossiping. On Saturday, she a threw a birthday house party and about a billion people came over, and about a million slept over. At the end of the night, I had to put together a makeshift “bed” on the kitchen floor because I was too slow in claiming a space. Ok, maybe not too slow, but definitely preoccupied…



I got to put a lot of faces to the names and they were all great people. Shout outs to: Jim, Teresa, Jeremy, Liz, Grant, Erica and Dee! (That weird looking instrument in the pic is called a pianaka and Jeremy took great pleasure in playing it to Liz as she prayed to the porcelain god).

I even got to try the prefecture-famous udon noodles. They were tasty and carb-irific! I also had Indian food not once, but twice. I had chicken tikka masala both times (at different restaurants), and Spice Kingdom (?) was the clear winner for me.

On Sunday, we took a long walk around town and she brought me to the harbour where we looked out into the sea and the surrounding islands. It was so beautiful that I actually started to tear up. It was a combination of the natural beauty and a sense of peace I have inside me. I wish I could just bottle up the sights, sounds and smells and ship it to all of you back home. I guess you are just going to have to visit me to check it out for yourselves.

I had a great time on "The Rock", and missed Melissa-san the next day, but I will go back soon and rock the place again!

Mel and I also got info about China and she actually booked her ticket. I still have to confirm my schedule with my schools but if everything works out, I will be departing on December 23. Mel and I will be spending Christmas in Beijing and New Year’s in Shanghai and possibly a few days in Hong Kong. I’m so looking forward to it.

Autumn has definitely come to Neo and some of the trees are changing colours. Today was an absolutely gorgeous day: fluffy white clouds, crisp blue skies, a brilliant sun, and just a hint of wind. It’s the perfect time to fall in love or to be in love. **Sigh** Too bad that won’t be happening anytime soon. Don’t worry, I’ll post some pics soon. Unfortunately, along with the beautiful weather, autumn also brings along some unwelcome visitors, i.e. the dreaded mukade:

It was honestly disgusting, but I handled myself well. I got up and ran to the kitchen in one swift move and got a plastic container. After I trapped it, I did what any other blogger would have done: I photographed it. After the shoot, I found some cardboard paper and swiftly flushed it down the toilet. FACK! I hope I never see one of those again. Not only are they poisonous, their bites hurt like a mofo.

Oh yeah, I tried kendo today. It was fun and I worked up a sweat, but my forearms will be sore tomorrow. This is in addition to the sore thigh muscles I received from a game on Saturday night and trying to kick a suspended volleyball above my head. What can I say? Pain turns me on!

Oh, and Swel, I will mail you your 5 yen right away for guessing CB4 correctly. Sorry Dan, you were too slow.

Shenehneh – hope that everything is going well with Jr. I will call you this weekend!

Kisses.

Pocari sweat...

...is the shit! Ok, it doesn't sound very good, and admittedly the first time isn't the greatest, but it cures what ails ya! For those who don't know (and that would be almost everyone), it is a lightly flavoured ion supply drink. After a few hours of running around with the kiddies, it revitalizes you and keeps you going for the next few hours. It has dug me out of physical slumps much better than chocolate ever could!

Speaking of the kiddies, today was an awesome day at the shogakko (elementary school). What I really like about shogakko is that it is really challenging to think of fresh ways to teach things, challenge the children's minds and ensure that they are having a great time learning a new language. Yesterday, I spent about 3 hours putting together bingo cards on my computer(the topic was fruits) and nearly an hour laminating them this morning. I cursed my way through it, but it paid off when the kids went APE SHIT over it. And all I have to say is FRUIT BASKET is manna from Heaven. At the end of the day, I'm usually very satisfied with what I've put together, and the kids are happy, so I must be doing something right!

Today I sent an S.O.S. message to Black people all over Japan - my hair needs help! It's falling out en masse, more so than usual, and it's probably due to the fact that my life has COMPLETELY CHANGED (Montreal Mel concurs). On top of that, I don't have access to a hair salon that specializes in African-American hair, so that is undoubtedly stressing me out more. I'm thinking about going back to braids because it will just make my life easier and keep my hair in check. I got a hit from a chick who lives in Hyogo, which is about 2 hours away from me. It is nearly the same distance as Tokyo but a heck of a lot cheaper. Yeah, I know 2 hours seems ridiculous to travel for hair maintanence, but I'M BLACK Y'ALL, I'M BLACK Y'ALL, I'M BLACKER THAN BLACK AND I'M BLACK Y'ALL! (5 yen to the first person who identifies that line!)

I just had tacos and a salad for dinner. Tacos? In Japan??? Hey, I have to keep it real. I saw the taco kit in a supermarket and I got so excited. I didn't find cheese, however, but the tacos were really good. A nice change from all the tofu and stirfrys and fish everything I've been eating!

Ok, I have to get myself together because I am going to visit Mel in Kagawa-ken tomorrow, and she's got a full weekend planned! So excited.

Updatcha latah!

BTW, WTF, Katie Holmes is pregnant!!??! Has the world stopped using birth control?? Her and Tom Cruise, or collectively, TomKat, make me sick!!!

Time flying...

I've been meaning to update this blog for the past week, but it's been just crazy here in persimmon land. I guess the only thing I can do is share the highlights...

I played some kick ass games at badminton last Tuesday night, and I think this improvement can be attributed to the fact that Yamamoto-san gave me a new racket. We were making chit chat before playing and I mentioned that his daughter, Miho, was a good student. One of the wiseguys was like "Honto (Really)??!!!), and I said yes. It must have touched Yamamoto-san because he ended up giving me a racket. The racket I had borrowed from the JHS was really heavy, but I didn't realize it until I ot my new and improved model. I think I should go around complimenting students to their parents more often! (SIDEBAR - Most of the kids are fantastic so this wouldn't be problem).

I almost started crying at the elementary school the other day in response to the tears of one of my students. I had paired up the kids to play a vocab day and it was supposed to be competitive. The first few teams did really well, but when I got to the next team, they couldn't name most of the words. I noticed that one of the girls had shiny eyes, and I thought that it was a little strange until I realized that she was crying. You have to understand that this is my most difficult class and I try really hard to motivate some of the kids while keeping the overly genki ones under control. On top of that, I have to drag the homeroom teacher into the lessons and get him to participate. All the kids are great, but they have very little discipline. With that being said, the preparation for the class, the stress during the class, and the crying girl nearly put me over the edge. Luckily, it was my first class in the morning, so my day greatly improved after it was over.

On Friday, I went to Tokoro-sensei's house for the weekend and attended my first ever sake party with him and his wife. It was amazing. There were about 7 different brands of sake and an amazing bento with so much food. Thankfully, there was also water so I didn't get too soused. And, in true Kaki-in-Japan fashion, my presence created THE STIR and I was quite popular. On top of that, I had a few obvious admirers and two requests to model for some paintings. (Hmmm, I'll tell my people to contact your people, ne?)


On Saturday, after trying to get over my upset stomach by eating an awesome breakfast, T-sensei, Yoshie-san,his wife, and I went to Mino City, which is famous for its washi (Japanese style paper) and a light festival. We went to several washi shops but I couldn't afford anything I truly liked, so I bought baked goods from a bakery instead. It's been so long since I've indulged and it smelled so good that I had no choice but to cave.




After Mino City, Yoshie-san and I went to the video store to get a DVD and I ended up buying 7 (!) used videos. They ranged from 12O-380 yen. How could I resist??? And we rented The Interpreter with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, which ended up being really good. For dinner, we had a traditional dinner where we made our own onigiri (rice, fish and veggies wrapped in seaweed paper). I couldn't stop eating and I unded up staying up all night from a horribly upset stomach. But I had to get up early because Yoshie-san and I had to get ready to go to Gifu City. We met her friend and we were on our way. We went to an outdoor flea market where I purchased a totally-not-me-but-fun-anyway shirt for 450 yen (you can bargain in Japan, yo!) and we watched a parade. We shared many jokes and chilled out Yoshie-san's friend's parent's house. After that, we made our way back to the Tokoro household, but not before I dropped a fat wad of cash at the grocery store.


The Tokoros are really awesome people and I feel like they are my Japanese parents. Yoshie-san speaks really good English and we have a good time talking about marriage, movie stars and my goals. She calls me when she needs help with English and Tokoro-sensei updates me on their dogs. They are really good people. And a little ghetto too: we went to a Honda dealership to test drive a car, but they later told me that they were not interested in buying the car - only in receiving the free remote controlled car! Tokoro-sensei was really stoked with it and spent the duration of The Interpreter putting it together. HOT.

I had a bit of a rough day at the JHS yesterday and so did my pred. David, so he came over and we bitched and moaned and he may end up quitting (he is a private ALT). If he leaves, I'll be crushed because he's one of three people whom I consider close friends in my prefecture, and he lives the closest to me and we talk/text ALL THE TIME. He used to work at my schools so he knows everybody and is just an all around great guy. Anyway, I'm being insanely selfish, and I told him so, but I am trying to convince him to just hang in there.

And there you have it. It's Tuesday again, so I'll be going to badminton tonight. I will be heading off to Shikoku island, Kagawa prefecture to see Mel in 3 days (can't wait!!!).

BTW, the picture at the top of this post is for a bakery!!! It is called Faushon (Fashion) and had the most expensive shit. 1800 yen for jam - WTF???

I'm so knackered...

but for good reason - today was a great day! I got out of bed on time this morning, and just attacked the day. I got to school 30 minutes early because I knew I had to prepare for my second period 3rd grade class. The lesson of the day was the name of buildings, e.g. hospital, school, etc. Due to the lack of suitable resources online, I took it upon myself to take my own photos, plus I thought the kids would get a kick out of seeing local buildings. Taking the photos were easy, but printing them was very difficult. After about 45 minutes of trying by myself on 2 computers, I finally made headway on Microsoft Photo Editior. Keep in mind that the Windows environment is entirely in Japanese, and since I'm not that proficient in Editor, I had to try a few things, but it finally worked. I was a couple of minutes late for class, but the sensei was impressed by my flicks. And the kids loved them too because I got a whole lot of "ehhhhhhhhh!" when I showed them, especially when I pointed out my apartment! But this class had one downside - an eight legged downside! There was a huge spider crawling on the ceiling, which freaked me and the kids out. We did the hokey pokey to warm up, but everyone, including me, kept looking up. God, it was a fast son of a bitch. I'm not a spider expert by any stretch of the imagination, but it looked like a brown recluse to me. I don't think they're poisonous (the sensei concurred), but I think their bites are painful, and THEY ARE HUGE!

Ok, here are a few buildings in my neighborhood:

One of my fave restaurants.



My apartment - I live on the 3rd floor

My post office - I'm lucky that one of the workers speaks fairly decent English!

The next period was a lesson on fruits for the ichinensei (1st graders). They were enthusiastic, as always, and we played a couple of games and the lesson just flew by! The sensei is an amazing team teacher and I feel that we are both working together for the common interest of the children. She's a dream, and such a lovely woman. She always chats me up and tells me what a good job I'm doing. We take breaks together and she's always giving me little treats or a sports drink. Today she brought me persimmons. I've only had a persimmon once, so it should be a treat!

After my class was done, I asked her what she was teaching next. When she told me it was Japanese, I told her I'd be right back! I got my notebook and she gave me a textbook and I had a seat next to Anika-chan. The kids were so impressed and so happy and kept saying "Tsugoi!" (Awesome!) One girl, who is especially bright, screamed "gambarre kudasai!" (please try your best!) and they also kept saying "arigato". Today we learned numbers and counting and it is damn hard. I think there are 5 different ways to express numbers. I think I'll only need to learn two, but I gave my best effort anyway. I practiced the numbers in hiragana and kanji, and the kids were hella impressed. So was I, since the only hiragana I know are the syllables for my name and I've never touched kanji. I've borrowed the text to study hiragana because it has stroke pattern, so I expect to learn it fairly quickly.

When that class was over, the sensei invited me to eat lunch with her class. Normally, the whole school congregates in the cafetaria for kushokku (school lunch), but the lunch providers had a holiday so all the teachers ordered a bento (which was delicious). I did so gladly and the kids were just so happy and yappy and I had to sit in the middle of the class to make all of them happy. What I hope they realized is that they made me really happy as well.

My last class was with the gonensei (5th grade) who are older, but still cool. They've really warmed up to me, which makes me happy. And their sensei is a trip. We had a blast, and I stayed past my time to teach some of them common items in English.

I also had a bit of time to prepare for Thursday's lessons and do some research on my trip to Takamatsu (Kagawa-ken) to visit Mel next weekend. It looks like I have to choose between taking a very expensive but very fast shinkansen ride, taking the JR train part way then taking a ferry, or taking the JR train part way then take a bus. I'm looking at a potential price difference of nearly 200$, but I may be willing to pay for the convenience.

Anyway, tonight is badminton, say I gotta eat and jet.

Peace!