sayonara, JET life. konnichiwa new adventures.
tomorrow marks the end of a chapter. its been a wild ride as a pseudo english teacher, but come tomorrow im getting off this roller coaster for good. this past year has been eye opening to say the least. i discovered many things about myself i never knew before, like how i dont like teaching english, living in a small remote town, or living in a house without a flush toilet and with an outdoor shower. but i want to stress that not all of it was negative. in fact, i feel that i accomplished everything i came here to do.

__three goals__
one year ago i arrived in kihoku with three specific goals in mind:

  • 1. learn how to not hate kids,
  • 2. learn some japanese, and
  • 3. explore the hell out of japan.
im happy to admit that i feel good about my progress so far.

as for the not hating kids thing, i mainly wanted to learn how to deal with them; i wanted to learn how to interact with them and see things from their perspective. and though i still dont like some of the kids ive spent the last year or so teaching, at least ive learned how to not automatically hate all of them.

ive been told that im progressing quite well with my japanese ability, but i personally feel that theres still a lot of room for improvement. A LOT. out off my three goals, i feel like this was my weakest accomplishment.

and as for the traveling and exploring goal, i thing i pretty much nailed it. ive amazed all of the teachers i worked with everyday with stories of seeing temples, castles, and beaches near and far. i feel very lucky to have had the opportunities to travel so much. exploring japan was a blast! some of the teachers have even told me that they think i saw more in the year i lived here than they saw their entire lives; i didnt disagree with them.

__the next chapter__
so now that this adventure is over, what comes next? i miss my friends back in america and i feel that this distance is definitely straining things, but i just cant quite come back yet. i feel that there are still a couple more adventures to have in japan before i can return without regrets.

tomorrow ill leave this small town filled with old people and spiders and head for my next adventure. after a couple of quick visits with some boston and vegas friends who now live in japan, ill head north to okazaki city (岡崎市) where i plan to study japanese for a couple months. theres a non-profit japanese language school there called yamasa that offers short but intense language programs, and i look forward to learning japanese in a more formal setting.

after studying japanese for 2 or 3 months i plan to move to tokyo (東京) where one of three things will happen:

  • a. i get deported because of work visa issues,
  • b. i run out of money and have to leave, or
  • c. i find a software developer job and happily work there for about a year before leaving japan.
this means that no matter which option actually pans out, i only intend on living in japan for at most one more year before moving on and trying something new.

as i close this first section of my third life, i look forward to the upcoming challenges and self exploration. tonight ill fall asleep one last time in my old centipede-infested house. come tomorrow, may the next adventure begin.
Friday, July 29, 2011 | Category: | 0 comments

okinawa (沖縄): beautiful, sunny, and rude
the beaches in okinawa (沖縄) were some of the prettiest things ive ever seen. the water was clear and warm. the sand was soft and white. the coral was colorful, the weather was sunny, the girls were beautiful. ah, 'twas truly an awesome trip.

aragusuku beach, miyakojima (宮古島の新城ビーチ)
snorkeling at aragusuku beach, miyakojima (宮古島の新城ビーチ)
i stayed on a small southern island called miyakojima (宮古島) for three days. even though there was a typhoon fast approaching japan, i braved the strong waves and snorkeled in the crystal-clear waters at aragusuku beach (新城ビーチ). the next day i went to maehama beach (前浜ビーチ), which could very well be the nicest beach ive ever seen. its pristine white sand stretched out for what seemed like miles into the horizon. after swimming and tanning (tanning? pssh, more like burning) for a bit, i went to a small nearby island called kurima (来間島) where i climbed the stairs to the top of a watch tower and gazed at the beautiful shoreline below.

underwater pic of the coral reef at aragusuku (新城ビーチ)
maehama beach, okinawa (沖縄の前浜ビーチ)
next, i spent a day and a half on the main island, okinawa hontou (沖縄本島). i spent my time there checking out an average japanese castle and a sweet aquarium with whale sharks and manta rays.

a whale shark and his friends at an aquarium in okinawa
an okinawan sunset from the shores of miyakojima (宮古島)
for all of the beauty that okinawa had to offer, it also had a really crappy side to it. because of the heavy american military presence that still exists there, it has quite a different feel from mainland japan. the people in okinawa were much less friendly than im used to, either because our rude american customs have rubbed off on them or because there are more anti-westerners due to the many US bases. though the people in miyakojima were nicer, they were upsettingly open about selling sex to tourists (almost as much as amsterdams red light district). when the sun went down it seemed like every block had girls standing outside wearing too much makeup and fake smiles, eager to hike up their skirts whenever i walked by.

kurima island, okinawa (沖縄の来間島)
outside of the rudeness and sex-peddling, okinawa was an awesome place to spend a week in the sun. im glad i went, and i hope i can visit it again someday.
Monday, July 25, 2011 | Category: | 0 comments

deja vu. color me stoked.
these last two weeks have felt eerily familiar. it was almost a year ago when i first came to kihoku (紀北), wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. the first couple of weeks were spent living out of a suitcase and not knowing what to expect for the upcoming year. i spent that time tirelessly introducing myself to the 50 or 60 new coworkers i met. i was also fretting over writing a decent introductory speech to give to the teachers and students when summer vacation ended. when the time came, i was escorted to various school gymnasiums and asked to give said speech in front of the entire school in nervous and broken japanese (full disclosure: they didnt ask for nervous and broken japanese, i just sort of added that on my own). next came the hours of stress planning my all-important first lessons of the year (priority #1: trick the kids into thinking i know what im doing and that im totally awesome at it).

there was so much excitement in the air too. the kids were excited to find out how many bad things they can say/do to the new foreigner before hed get mad. the teachers were excited to see how little work theyd have to do now that the new "team teacher" had arrived. and i was stoked to start my third life in a foreign land speaking a language i didnt understand and doing a job i didnt know how to do.

but soon enough, things calmed down. as the days flew by everything just sort of fell into place and became somewhat normal (with heavy emphasis on the "somewhat").

now that my JET year is [finally] coming to an end, im getting daily visions of deja vu from last year. once again, im close to living out of a suitcase while pondering what to expect for the upcoming year. im spending too much time planning all-important final lessons (priority #1: trick the kids into forgetting how many times i screwed up and instead, to remember how awesome i was). once again im fretting over writing speeches - but this time theyre to say goodbye instead of hello. im getting whisked off to the very same gymnasiums from last year to give my goodbye speeches in front of the whole school (though the speeches are using more complex grammar and vocabulary, let me assure you that they are still delivered in nervous and broken japanese). and instead of teachers asking me where im from, they ask me where im going.

and ooohhh, is the excitement back! kids are stoked to be getting out of their non-air-conditioned schools for summer vacation, teachers are looking forward to a much needed break from the kids, and im excited to enjoy as much of this life i can before i move on to bigger and better things.

the year really has gone full circle, making me feel like im almost back where i started. one things for sure though: this constant deja vu will definitely be coming to an end in less than 3 weeks. color me stoked.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 | Category: | 3 comments

attack of the kancho (カンチョー)
they trick you with their cute smiling faces. they lure you in with their small size and innocent appearance. "kujira sensei," they might say in excitement as they run towards you. they fool you into a false sense of security with their bright cheerful banter. as many as 20 kids at a time may try to hug you, cling to you, and climb you. they break through your defenses with their adorable smiles and genuine laughter. "wow, these kids really like me," you might think to yourself as they start pushing their way closer. you may find it harder to move as they begin swarming around you like an angry hive of cute 6 year old bees. they trick you into believing that theres no problem with the fact that you cant move your arms or legs anymore..

..and thats when they attack!!

in any group of japanese elementary school kids you can find at least one boy or girl who wants nothing more in the world than to give their foreign language teacher a kancho (カンチョー). kancho, for those lucky souls who are unaware, is the act of putting your hands together with the index and middle finger from each hand sticking straight out (thats a total of 4 fingers, mind you), and trying to thrust said fingers into someones butt. in any other country, this would probably be considered sexual harassment and would be followed by just punishment and/or scolding. in japan, however, kanchos are totally normal and acceptable acts that kids do to each other AND THEIR TEACHERS.

a real statue somewhere in japan
ive had kids try to kancho me in front of teachers. ive had kids try to kancho me during class. ive even had kids try to kancho me during ceremonies in front of the entire school and their parents. oddly enough, i feel like the weird one for being the only adult who gives them dirty looks and tells them to stop. fortunately, most kids are much too slow, dumb, or obvious about their intentions to be successful. a quick block, sidestep, or turn of the body is all thats usually necessary to defend oneself from such evil games.

but oh, much like the menacing raptors, theyve learned that its better to hunt in packs. with 20 cute children hugging you and telling you how much they like both you and your english lessons, its impossible to stop the one or two jerks from accomplishing this malicious deed.
fortunately, 6 year olds are much too weak to push through the pants and get their fingers close to anything they shouldnt. but its still shocking, awkward, and terrible nonetheless. the worst part is when the teachers see it happen, they see you dont like it, they realize you cant scold the students because you dont speak japanese, and they do nothing to stop or prevent it.

oh japan, with your very socially acceptable kid-on-adult butt-probing, you never cease to amaze me with just how weird you can be.
Thursday, July 07, 2011 | Category: | 5 comments