Skiing in Japan
The final highlight of this winter has been skiing. I have been skiing for the past four weekend in a row. The last weekend was a three day weekend and my new buddy, Dereck, and I decided to take a trip up to one of the famed spots near us called Appi. Appi, we heard, had the most terrain, including the best lodges and some high speed chairs and gondolas. Since it was a three day weekend, we had some trouble finding a ryokan to stay at since most places seemed to be filled. Dereck and I searched and searched on the internet, but were only finding space in the high-end hotels. At school I briefly mentioned that I wanted to go to Appi for the three day weekend but was having difficulties finding a place, and suddenly Atsushi-sensei, our head teacher came to the rescue. Atsushi-sensei is an avid skier and had been to Appi many times, so he recommended a guest house that he had stayed at that was cheap and close. We found the place online and it seemed too good to be true since it was literally a five minute drive from the lifts and only $60 a night, including breakfast and dinner, and $10 off of lift tickets. One of my English teachers, Dai-sensei, was nice enough to call the place and there was one slot left! We booked immediately. Early Saturday morning Dereck and I drove up to Appi and what we were told would take 2-2.5 hours actually only took 1.5 hours! We found our ryokan, fairly easily, got our discounted ½ day tickets and had a great day of skiing. It was a beautiful blue bird day. After skiing we headed back to the ryokan for a wonderful Japanese style 5-6 course meal. This was the first ryokan I’ve stayed at where there was so much food that I couldn’t finish it all! The next two days were full days of skiing. Appi was indeed what it claimed to be. My only beef with the ski areas I have been to in Japan is in the odd stair-step way the lifts are designed. Often you have to take 3-4 little lifts to get up to the top of the ski area. Well Appi didn’t have this problem at all. Quite the contrary, Appi had 2 gondolas and one high speed lift that took you right to the top of the mountain. The other issue I have had with Japanese ski areas are that the runs are fairly narrow and there isn’t many open or back country areas. Although the runs at Appi were very long, they were indeed fairly narrow and straight down. This, coupled with the fact that it was a busy weekend and the slopes were packed created the potential for some treacherous collisions. Luckily, there were no problems of that sort. The snow here in Japan is amazing because it’s so cold, and Dereck and I found one whole area of the mountain that didn’t have as many people and some fun runs. On Sunday evening we went out to the local large hotel in the area looking for some nightlife, but there was none to be had. We headed back on Monday afternoon, tired and content, both agreeing that it was a wonderfully successful weekend.

English Camp
Every year for the past 4 or 5 years, Izumi High School, Miyagi’s biggest high school located in Sendai, has held an English Camp. This is a three day, two night camp with first year high school students. Kevin and Amanda are the two JETs working at Izumi this year and luckily Kevin is my good buddy, so he invited me and some of the other second year JETs to be staff members at this year’s English Camp. (Above: the whole crew) I jumped on the opportunity, always liking a change in my usual routine at the junior high school. I was looking forward to the camp because Kevin told me that the kids attending camp had to pay for it, so that meant these were this kids who would be excited and motivated to learn English, quite unlike some of the kids we all have in school who don’t like English at all. Indeed, Kevin was right. 95% of the kids there really tried using the English that they knew and weren’t as shy as the kids I’m used to working with at the junior high. Each of the 8 JETs at the camp was in charge of a group of 5 kids. This was way cool because we got to know our group a bit and developed a good relationship with the kids. My group was really fun. The students signed up for a variety of classes that us JETs taught. These included foreign language (non-english), music, games, culture, arts and crafts. (Above: Some of my fans watching me work out) I taught American culture with Kevin, Arabic with Julianna, and Dan and I taught the kids a rock song (Dandy Warhols- Bohemian Like You, from Portland, baby! Woop woop!) that we accompanied with two guitars. The JETs and teachers had a blast! In the evening the students got the opportunity to watch a western movie (Transformers or Finding Nemo), then went back to their rooms to write a diary entry/reflection about the day’s events that they submitted to their JET group leader each night. Reading and responding in the diaries was one of my favorite parts of the whole camp. After the oishii Japanese dinners each night, us JETs would pile into one of the rooms to talk about the day or about JET life. Casey, Dan, Kevin and I all played guitars, so both nights we enjoyed jamming and singing together. When the diaries arrived we would all take turns reading the funny or cute things that our group members had written. The final day of the camp was the speech contest and the skit contest. (Above: Dan and I teaching the kids how to ROCK!)Each group had practiced a skit at school to be presented at English Camp on the last day. These skits were based on a fairy tale, or popular movie and were often hilarious and quite entertaining. Finally, after the closing ceremony, the students were allotted about a half hour to take picture and get autographs. By this time, I had reached rockstar status at the camp, mainly because I was one of the only single guys, I was outgoing, and because I could play rock songs on the guitar. I would walk into the lunch room and 5-10 girls would shout out, “Keennny!!!” It was hilarious. Oh, did I mention there were 35 girls and 5 boys? Yeah, so that added to the rockstarness. We rode together back to the school and said our final goodbyes. (Above: Parting is such sweet sorrow...) It was one of my most rewarding and fun experiences in Japan to date, mainly because you could tell we really made a great impact on the kids. The students were given immediate feedback on their English and saw that they could do it! It worked! And that was really neat to see. Also, it was just simply a fun, natural, authentic environment for the JETs and the students to practice/teach English. There were no tests, no memorization, and there wasn’t a teacher lecturing at the front of the room while the kids have to shut up and listen. To me, this is what real teaching should look like. This was the ideal situation for English instruction and learning, yet it just felt so natural and normal. This is what I feel the English teaching environment should be like everyday. (Below: The Legends...)

Winter
It’s been a long time since I have written. Not much has been going on here. Highlights that have happened between the last time I wrote and now have been a fun trip back home to Oregon, English Camp, and a lot of skiing.

Home
Going home was a wonderful treat. I was so excited in the days leading up to going home. The first thing I was struck by being back in western world was just how big people were! Right when I arrived in Seattle I was shocked by both the physical size of people, and by how large our energy/persona was. People seemed to be big in every way, big voice, big bags, big strides, big helpings of food. I guess living in Japan I have become so used to things being much smaller, and the people being a lot quieter with their voice, and with how they carry their energy. The Japanese way of being humble has grown on me and really appeals to me. (Left: Mcennamins with some of the T-Hills Alums. Elsie Windes, second from the right, will be in the 2008 Olympics for water polo! GO Else!)

Don’t get me wrong, that was only my initial impression. It was wonderful going to my parents house and opening a stocked fridge filled with delicious food; good cheese, bread, dips, Mexican food… the list goes on. My first night home there was an water polo alumni game out at T-Hills that I participated in. I wasn’t in shape to do very well in the pool, but it was so great to see all of my old polo friends. Some of us went out to the McMinnamins Roadhouse afterwards and there I enjoyed my first Microbrew in 18 months as well as an amazing Northwest salad and a Captain Neon Burger (blue cheese and bacon). This slammin’ feast was just the first of many to come over the next two weeks.

This year, Christmas was at my cousin Joanna’s new house in Milwaukie. Seeing all my family in one place was a joyous occasion. Here are some pics from that night: (Left: Me, Moms, CK aka "New and Improved Golden Fro", and Bobs

On New Year’s Eve Pink Martini was doing a show at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, something they have (Left: Pink Martini) been doing for the past few years. Well, one of my best buddies, Charlie Bradshaw has been their tour manager for the past two years, and he scored Ben and I tickets for some great seats. The show was amazing. Pink Martini never ceases to surprise me with the blend of musical sounds from all over the world. Ben and I tried to find some action going on around downtown after the show but were a bit disappointed to find Portland rather quiet and many places were closed! Ahh Portland, some things never change! But it was a quality New Year celebration with fantastic music and the company of a good friend. Thanks Chuck and Ben!

On one of my final nights in Oregon some of my friends all got together for a great dinner at the Montage, one of Portland’s legendary dining establishments. In attendance were: Chad, Ben, Blaine, Eric, Scotty Manos and his wife and child, Jared and his wife, and Mike and Ikuko, my friends from the JET Program who had JUST moved to Portland that day. It was an amazing evening of friends, good food, good wine, and a bit of billiards. I felt honored that I had these wonderful people in my life who would come out to spend some time with me before I headed back to Japan. I hadn’t seen Scotty Manos or Jared in ages and hadn’t met their wives, so it was good seeing some old friends. (upper left: Jared, Ben, Chad, myself, Blaine, Eric= eastside biznitches!)

In all it was great to go home. I spent a little too much money and ate too much food (I gained 8 lbs!) but it was well worth it. It was useful for me in the fact that it prepared me for when I go home for good in August, and this is what I was hoping for. It got me ready for the reverse culture shock that I would experience, for the re-acclimation to the US cuisine, and gave me a good blast of friends and family, which reminded me why I wanted to go home in the first place. (Left: New residents to Portland, Mike and Iku-chan, meeting one of Portland's long-time citizens)

Here's a pic of the breakfast I was talking about. So good and healthy! Click on the pic to zoom in. See the little shrimps? They just eat those whole, and they eat the big ones whole, too! The soup was my favorite because I love clams AND miso.
One day at school I went outside and here was a tree cutting crew and I just thought it was cool. Japanese gardening style is all about manipulation and contoling the plant, topiary I guess, but in a more extreme way. Although I prefer the natural wildness of the plant, I really think Japanese gardens look so cool when they're matured.
My neighbor, Kukuchi-san is a very famous oil artist in this region, and luckily he was outside one time I was driving home and he came over and asked when I could have dinner with him and his wife and son. We had AMAZING food! As fresh as can be! His name is the same as a particular type of flower, and the yellow dish you see near him is flower is the Kikuchi flower petals that have been pickled and sweetened. They really smell like flowers as you're eating it. A meal like this would have cost around $50 in the states, easily.
Two of the teachers I work with at my school came over for yakiniku at my house. This is Dai (Big) sensei on the left and Takuya sensei on the right. All the girls say Takuya is so cute. This was my first time hosting yakiniku at my house and it was a success! Ahh the magic of meat!
Finally, just last weekend was Corrie's birthday (2nd from right). In Japan, any kind of buffet is called, "Viking" which cracks me up. This buffet put all American buffets to shame. They have: a sushi bar, make your own soba/ramen bar, salad bar, yakiniku meats to choose from (see the cooker in the middle of the table?), fried foods bar, crepe making area, cake case, ice cream case, make your own cotton candy machine, drink bar, and of course the staple steamed rice. All for one price of about $18 and you can't go wrong. Check us out, we got our money's worth. I've probably gained 10 lbs this month. Afterwards we went to bowling right across the street. Next time, Asobihodai! (all you can videogame)

November
November was an interesting month packed with a variety of activities. To start the month I was invited by one of the 3 bosses at the board of education for a sleepover at his house. Konno-san lives about 20 minutes away in a modest place out in the middle of the rice fields. He has about 5 head of cattle and a bunch of rice fields around him that he manages. When he invited me in October he told me I could bring some friends if I wanted, and with him not speaking any English and my Japanese choppy and basic at best I sent out an invitation to the local JETs around me, but alas, no takers. He picked me up at 3:00 from my house and showed me some good backroads out to his town (Semine). We dropped off my stuff and sat for a bit enjoying some coffee and sembei (rice crackers) as is custom here in Japan. Then we were off to pay a visit to a local wetland area that was currently host to a ton of migratory birds. We arrived there as the sun was beginning to set, so all the birds were cruising in from their daily exploring to share about their adventurous day, where they had found some great food, bragging about how great they looked, and calling out trying to find their best friends and snuggle buddies. The rice fields were a cacophony of sound which was very welcome to my ears since it seems there aren’t as many birds vocalizing here as much as they do around my house in Portland. Being around the wetlands made me think about my dad, Bob, and I heard him next to me identifying birds and noting behavior. He would have liked it there. Konno-san told me that 10 years before the wetlands had been rice fields and they brought back a chunk of the native land for the birds. I was very happy to hear this since it is pretty much agreed that Japan’s native wildlife and natural areas have been all but wiped out. Japan is so small and packed with so many people that every inch of land that can be cultivated for food is. The native forests have all been replaced with a monoculture of this one type of cedar tree that 60% of the population is allergic to (including me), and walking through these forests with the neighbor dog I have notice that indeed, these, too are silent with the lack of wildlife. Anyway, after the wetlands we headed to the local onsen for a bath and then back to Konno-san’s place for a feast of yakiniku (yaki=grilled, niku=meat), sake and beer. He had purchased all this food for me an my friends but, of course, it was only me so he called up some of his neighbors and they dropped by and helped us with the food. It was a grand time, and after a few beers we were all communicating with gusto! In the morning I had a horrible hangover… shouldn’t have had the few cups of sake that I did, and went for a walk to get some air. Despite my pounding headache in the barren rice fields at 6 AM, I was still able to admire the beauty of the low mist creeping through the rice fields around hugging the surrounding hills. I noticed an object in the sky and to my amazement it was a hot air balloon. At first there was only one, but soon others floated up from the mist and with the birds quacking and squaking, the cows mooing, and the dog barking at the crack of dawn in Japan, well it made for a very surreal moment that I absolutely loved. Usually with a hangover like that one I can’t eat till dinnertime, but after Konno-san’s wife insisting that I drink some clam-in-the-shell miso soup I felt amazingly better and was chowing down one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in Japan; the aforementioned soup, a grilled chunk of fresh salmon, some sushi slabs over a mound of mountain potatoes, and handful of mini shrimp over some steamed collard greens, and of course a bowl of fresh (shinmai=this year’s harvest) steamed rice and green tea. Absolutely scrumptious and healthy. After coffee, Konno-san dropped me off at home where I took a nap and read a book. I must mention that is has been the few experiences like these that haven been the richest in my time here in Japan. Hanging with the locals and doing what they do is so insightful and rewarding. I continually find myself humbled by the Japanese- not purposefully of course, but it’s my own awareness humbling my own self/ego. After these times I am reminded why I am here, and the amazing rewards of traveling. What an amazing time. Konno-san had a good time, too and wants to have me back again before I go.

Kurikoma-san 2 & 3 and then 4

Last weekend a group of us took a trip up to the local mountain, Mt. Kurikoma, or, as the Japanese would say, Kurikoma-san. This 5,500 ft mountain is only about an hour drive from my house, so about 10 of us met at my place, went to a kombini (convenience store) for some snacks and headed on up there. (Below: this was when we went tree weeks ago. Notice how it is pretty much only green.)
Let’s see, just for the record there was Liz, Corrie, Colleen, Colin, Alliya, Sarah, Heather, Jesse, Grace, and myself. Right now is the famous koyo time in Japan, or leaf viewing time, so the parking areas around the trailhead was packed with cars and people. There was a ½ mile queue for parking but we quickly snatched an open spot along the road. This was the 4th time I’ve done Kurikoma san, the last time being a few weeks back when Liz, Colin and I actually climbed it twice in one day because we tried going down another route and got down to another parking area and soon learned that we were on the other side of the mountain and there wasn’t a connecting path back to our side of the mountain! (Above: this was last weekend (Oct 13th) and you can see the change in colors... but wait till the next picture!)The guy at the snack counter said we could hire a cab for about $130, or we could take the shortest path which was to just go up and back over the top- which we did. I was ok taking a cab, but the two youngsters convinced me that it wouldn’t be a problem and they were right, it wasn’t. That was officially the first time where I thought, “Man, look at me… I AM getting old!” That mistake actually worked out for the positive because we got a spectacular sunset on our way down. Well this time around we knew right what we were doing, so loaded up and started hiking. Whereas a few weeks ago the mountain was all green, boy how things were different this time around! The trees were so colorful the hills looked like they had been splattered with paint by Jackson Pollock himself! (Above: Boo yah! Look at those colors! That's what I'm talking about!) The colors were so vibrant. Sometimes you would turn a corner and there was a super pink tree, or tangerine orange, or sunflower yellow, standing by itself like the color fairy had come along with her magic wand and said, “THIS one!” Whoosh!! We took a different trail up this time and it was a bit longer but less traveled, and I think, more beautiful. As with any mountain, it’s a crapshoot as far as the views because at any time clouds could quickly roll in and you’re out of luck, but fortunately today this didn’t happen to us. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day. The views from the top were clear and spectacular. We could see the surrounding towns, although we couldn’t figure out which one was ours. We got about ½ on the top before a big cloud covered the sun and it got very chilly rather quickly, so we headed back down. The speed demon Colin took a crew on another way down while I went back with a crew the shortest way. At the trailhead there are a couple inns, and one of them is this spectacular lodge with an incredible onsen that has large indoor and an outdoor rectangular tubs. (Below: the crew from left, Sarah, Liz, Cor-Bear, yours truly, Heather, Grace, Colin, Aliya, Colleen, Jesse)The water is the perfect soothing hot temp and overlooks the hills and road leading up to the parking area- so it’s kind of funny driving up because you see these little (because they’re far away) naked men and women up on the hill at the onsen. The water is a cloudy white opaque due to the minerals in the water. After getting out your skin feels so soft, and if you wore any silver it turns black for a couple weeks, which I find to be a rather nice change. We all thoroughly enjoyed the onsen and I still think the Japanese have the best system in the world when it comes to bathing and public baths. It seems like if there can be an onsen (hot spring) in a place, then there surely is one. They take advantage of every crack and crevice in the earth. This particular onsen is arguably one of the best I’ve ever been to in Japan and was certainly the perfect ending to the perfect day. (Below: Colleen and Grace, and some spectacular views from the top... we had a lucky day as far as the weather goes.)

Rice


It’s a beautiful fall day here in Japan. Like most of the northern hemisphere there is a crispness in the air, and in Japan, there also always seems to be a faint hint of smoke as the rice farmers clean up their now barren fields and burn the chaff and brush left over from harvest. It’s amazing to me the transformation of the rice fields: in the spring the fields are flooded with maybe an inch of water and special tractors with long, slender wheels till the mud smooth and even. (Above: In the spring right after planting... if you look closely you can see the baby rice) These same machines are then loaded with flats of two inch tall baby rice and can plant a whole rice field in half and hour. The rice is so small that you can’t really see it until you’re up close, so the flooded fields look like huge rectangular mirrors organized about the whole of Japan. If you squint just a bit and imagine the dikes as the frames, the land might look as if it is covered with massive old-fashioned windows, and maybe, just maybe you can look into them and peer into the earth itself. By late summer the fields are a vibrant green and the rice is 3 feet tall and becoming heavy with grain. The reflective pools disappeared maybe two months ago back when the rice was six inches tall or so, and now it looks like you could walk through the fields as if they were wheat. If indeed you tried this, after your first step you would find yourself suddenly pausing for two reasons: one is because, previously unknown to you, an amazing number of creatures, (mostly frogs, and therefore, snakes) are living in the field and your first step startled these creatures and caused a flurry of movement and sound, and you are now a bit worried about what other unknown (maybe dangerous?) things may be lurking underfoot. (Above: They said I learned quickly, and I thought so, too! Must be from gardening back home) The second reason is that you notice an odd, cooling sensation at your foot and you quickly discover that your leg has sunk six inches into mud…yes, the fields are still flooded with water. By late September the rice has turned a golden-green, and sometimes, on windy days, the rice is so heavy that spots in the field become flattened as if attempts at crop circles made my mentally impaired aliens. Soon, the rice begins to disappear! When I first arrived, I was startled at how quickly this happened! I would drive by fields of tall rice in the morning, but in the afternoon that same rice was gone! Cut as if shaved with a razor and the only thing remaining is stubble. Where were all the people? I thought this part was done by hand? Ahh me; the gaijin fool. Of course the harvesting was automated, too. (Above: Learning how to stack the rice in columns to dry) Another type of tractor comes and indeed literally shaves the fields. As it moves along, it ties the rice into bunches and spits them out the side. The final step is to gather the bunches of rice and dry them on long poles of wood stuck into the mud. Drying time depends on the weather but usually takes around two or three weeks. At some point these are all loaded up and taken to the local processing plant where the rice is husked, washed (from brown rice, to white rice), dried again and packaged. Yes, these days the whole process of planting and harvesting rice could be done by one person. Mostly, however, I see a man driving the machine, and a woman, often fairly old, walking behind and managing the harvested bundles; the women are always assisting the men in Japan. It’s such a simple, efficient process that it is difficult for me to imagine the days when it was all done by hand and the whole town needed to pitch in. (Above: Proud of our work) Many scholars say this “wet-rice farming” is how the famous Japanese efficiency and group mentality was established in the first place. (Also, I read that the fields were often fertilized with human waste, a.k.a. night soil, and it really smelled bad in the heat of summer.) What happened to all those workers with the arrival of automation and machines? The same thing happened in the US and in other developing countries, as well, but now that I see it firsthand here it really makes me wonder about it. When I arrived in Japan one of the things I really wanted to do was plant and harvest rice by hand and this year I got my wish. At school we have Agriculture Day and the 2nd years can choose to take a field trip to rice, tomato, or “other” produce farms. I was allowed to participate and obviously and eagerly chose rice. The staff was impressed J I had a blast walking barefoot in the mud in the spring, and harvesting in the fall. It is very labor intensive, that’s why only 15 or so students chose the rice option, but it was a wonderful experience and one of my best memories of Japan to date. The field is near my house and I would drive by and check on the rice every so often after we had planted it. (Above: finished and shaved) It has now dried for around 3 weeks and has been wrapped into 2 huge cylinders and last I saw was sitting in the field like unprocessed food J I’m sure by now it has been picked up and is at the processing plant. The teachers said we will soon get to eat that very rice, but it seems un-Japanese for them to keep our rice aside separately just for us. We’ll see. It would be great if they did. Miyagi is supposed to have some of the most delicious rice in all of Japan. If they give us some of our rice dried, I plan to take it home to my family at Christmas and I’ll add a bit of Miyagi flavor to our Christmas feast. I know I will savor every bite knowing it was planted and harvested by my very own hand.

Healthy Kids and Omiyage
(Above: School sports day 2007) Out of 240 some kids at my school, there are maybe four or five kids who you might say are a bit heavy, but there isn’t a single student that you would categorize as obese. I would argue that these results would be the same for 95% of schools in Japan. I think these statistics would be quite different for your average middle school in America. The kids work harder here, and they are required to eat the school lunch, which is wonderfully healthy and balanced. I’m always amazed at not only how hard kids work, but at how ALL the kids are in great shape and physically very healthy. This is an area where I think the US should take a page out of the Japanese book. (Below: your average American physique)I can just imagine the outrage, however, if kids were all required to eat the same school lunch, the same portions, and had to clean their plates. “What, my child can’t go back for seconds?! What if they’re still hungry?” Then you’ve been feeding them too much. The calories of the school lunch here is calculated exactly for the dietary needs of the kids at this stage in their development. And, yes, they can go back for seconds if there’s food left in the lunch tubs, but only one scoop is granted because other kids might want seconds, too. Also, snacks aren’t allowed at any time. You can only eat at lunchtime. Teachers feel guilty having snacks, and if a snack is needed, it is often quickly and discreetly eaten at a time when no one is looking, and surely when no kids are around. It is customary to bring back omiyage when teachers go on a business or leisure trip somewhere. Omiyage is a small individually wrapped gift, usually foodstuffs, that you bring back for each staff member. For example: a cookie, wafer, rice cracker, chocolate, etc. The omiyage one can find completely varies by region, and it is a good idea to try to find the specific omiyage that is popular in the region. The most famous omiyage is the Tokyo Banana, obviously from Tokyo. (Below) It has a vanilla/banana cake outside, and a delicious banana custard filling. After every weekend I find 2 or 3 individually wrapped (very important!) treat on my desk from people who actually didn’t go into school that weekend and ventured away. I rather look forward to omiyage now. Anyway, I’ve had these on my desk when a student has come to talk to me and the kids can’t take their eyes off the omiyage! The poor kiddos! (Below: school lunch ready to go in the staff room!)

Summer at Ichihasama Chugakko
Summer at Ichihasama Chugakko (Middle School) means no classes, but the kids and teachers have to report to school as usual on a daily basis. The teachers must be at school regular hours if they aren’t doing some other type of school related activity, like coaching, listening to a lecture or attending a workshop. The students all come to school anywhere from 4 to nine hours, it seems, practicing with their sports team, or preparing for sports day, which is coming up in September. This is quite different than America, where both students and teachers get 2-3 months off completely. Personally, I like that Japan has a more year round style, but still feel that they have to report to school too much. And I think the break for kids in America is too long and they either get bored, or forget what they were taught since the break is so long. SO, I think a mix of the two would be fantastic… like one month of school off in the summer, three weeks off in the spring, and three weeks in the winter, and a couple weeks in the fall sometime. This seems like it would be a good balance for the year, and there would be regular times to recharge.

Summer is a more relaxing time at school than it is at other time of the year here in Japan. Kids usually come for ½ day for sports practice then can go home or go fishing, or hang out at 7-11, like kids back home. It’s amazing because sports teams do a great job of managing and monitoring themselves here. Often the sempais (older kids) are in charge of the practice routine and are in charge of the kohais (the youngers). Sometimes the teacher will make a practice plan that the sempais use, or the teacher will get them started on a drill or concept for that day and then will head back to the teachers room while the sempais are in charge of practicing that drill or concept for the rest of the day. Almost ALL the kids in Japan are in excellent shape! They are required to do a club, which is all sports unless they do brass band. The sports clubs vary from school to school. At Ichihasama there are: boys and girls hockey, girls soft tennis, basketball, baseball, judo, girls volleyball, and boys and girls table tennis (ping pong), then of course, brass band.
(Above: Studying... slaving away with the books at my desk!)
Many ALT’s either love or hate the summer time. They, too, are required to report to school as usual, but since they don’t coach or attend any teacher activities, you can imagine that they could get rather bored at times. Jae, my predecessor forewarned me about the summer lull, and gave me some tips. So here is what I’ve been doing:

1. Study! Summer is a great time to study, and since I am taking a class in Sapporo, I’ve been studying a lot to be as ready as I can for that class. Some ALT’s don’t make an effort to study, and to me that’s a shame. I think it is important to at least try to learn some Japanese so that you can communicate a bit with the students and staff. The community really likes it too when they see you studying. It is a good gesture that you’re interested in Japan.
2. Blog or e-mail. This is what I’m doing today! There’s no better time than the summer to get your peeps at home caught up with what is going on in your life.
3. Write letters. I love giving and receiving hand-written letters. To me, letters are an extremely valuable gift from a friend… just the effort itself says, “I care about you a lot.”
4. Join a club! I’ve been joining the basketball club periodically and the kids love it. It’s a great time for them to practice their English, and also just a good time for you to develop some relationships and bond with the kids. Swimming, although not an organized sport at my school, is an activity option during the summer. I’ve been hopping in the pool in the afternoon and the kids seem to really like it when I’m there. The pool is a big 25 meter, 8 lane pool and only about 3-3.5 feet deep, but it works fine. It’s funny how the there’s a couple lane lines in the middle and the boys and girls are divided into separate sides. The girls usually hit a big beach ball around, while the boys play a standing water polo type sport and are a bit more rough and tumble. The weather has been beautiful, so it has been great to be outside in the pool… brings back memories from my polo days at Davis…. ahhh college!
4. Help out around the school. Ask some teachers if they need help with anything. Again, this is a great gesture that is a sign of good will.
5. Develop a rapport with the staff. Talk to some teachers you usually don’t talk to. Chill with Kocho or Kyoto sensei (Principal, Vice Principal).
6. Make an English bulletin board or some teaching posters for the classrooms. Or, put up some pics of your family, friends, house back home. Find ways to help the staff to get to know you better.
7. Write a newsletter for the staff. Tell about you, what you’re learning in Japan, what you want to learn, what has been fun, tough, or difficult to understand. Have a section to teach some basic English! Interview a student or teacher and include it in the newsletter. The possibilities are endess. (Above: students practicing their taiko drumming routine for sports day)
8. Relax and play an instrument. Jae, my predecessor, said she would often just sit somewhere outside or around the music room and would play guitar and talk to the kids as they came to listen. This is another wonderful way to get the kids speaking English, and to make some bonds with them.
9. Read a book or journal write. For me, summer has always been a time for reflection and rejuvenation. Journal writing and reading books are always rejuvenating activities that I look forward to in the summer. Get your mind off of the here and now with a good book, set some goals for your next year in a journal… start the fall feeling refreshed!

Sapporo
(Above: showing the locals the American Gun Show) Last Sunday I got back from a 2 week stint studying Japanese up in Sapporo, Portland’s sister city. It was nice to get away for awhile and have a different routine. Also, Sapporo is a bit cooler than my town in Miyagi, and boy has it been hot! As a matter of fact, this summer has been the hottest on record in Japan since the 40’s or so. Somewhere, Al Gore is smiling. (Above: Just one of the many beer garden areas) The trip started out with a 15 hour overnight ferry trip from Sendai. On the ferry, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter two Miyagi JET’s that I’ve always thought were super cool, Kristin and Karen. We had a great time on the ferry and had a blast together over the course of the whole two weeks. It was great meeting some new people in the class as well, and especially spending some time with some other Miyagi JET’s that I haven’t really had the opportunity to hang out with in the past. The Sapporo Beer Garden event was happening the first week that I was there. (Meetin' some of the local folk) This is similar to the beer fest in Portland, but with way less mullets, sleeveless tee-shirts, or Lucky Lab Birkenstock-wearing beer connoisseurs. This was all about sitting down on the grass or at the table with your co-workers or friends and just drinking to your heart’s delight. The only beers there were Japanese beers: Kirin, Sapporo, Asahi, Suntory, and maybe some others. (A well deserved break after class) There were plenty of fried foods to eat, as well as many a Kampai! to be bellowed (Meaning: Cheers!) I went on Tuesday and Thursday, taking Weds and Friday to recover. One night, my buddy, Dan, and I were skipping around, chatting up the locals, when suddenly we were struck with a brilliant idea!: two man karaoke! Yes! “Let’s Get Involved.” As Dan always says. Yet when 3 AM rolled around and we were stumbling out of the bar into sobering light of early morning, well it didn’t seem like such a good idea then. Haha! But it was a blast, and although class was brutally difficult the next day, we managed. We can look back on that evening with a smile and say, “Remember that night in Sapporo…ahh what fools we were… hahaha!” (exactly, Dan... ouch!)

(Above: Karaoke in full form, notice the effort veins in the neck... this is serious business) To be fair, the trip wasn’t all peaches and sunbeams. The class wasn’t all I had hoped it would be, and maybe that’s my fault for getting my expectations up. It’s just that us Miyagi people had heard so much about this class and how wonderful it was, and really, it wasn’t. Maybe there were new teachers or something, I dunno. The others felt the same way as well. But, DJB. The other downside is that the class was rather expensive, with room and board and all. I think I could have had just as good if not better instruction, at a closer location with certainly a cheaper price. Dan told me about a conversation group of university students that meet every week that he’s been doing and said is wonderful. He said it’s also a great way to meet some people, so I’m looking forward to starting that in a week or two. (Above: at the temple, people bring in their new car to be blessed by a priest/monk. "May provide outstanding gas mileage!") My one other regret about Sapporo was not taking more advantage of the middle weekend to take a trip somewhere in Hokkaido. I had the time, but to be fair, I was dirt poor this month and just didn’t have the funds. And really, I was there to study, and I really did study hard on that weekend so I’m proud of myself. The thing about studying Japanese, and I guess this is the case for all studies, is that the more you learn, the more you realize there’s so much you don’t know. Usually this is an exciting side effect of studying something new! (Above: The Sapporo Dom-u!) Yet, since my Japanese studies are most likely limited up to my time spent here in Japan (11 more months), then I kind of get a bit frustrated with that whole, “Why should I study if I’ll never learn it all and most likely will forget what I’ve learned?” But that is depressing thinking, and I respond to myself saying, “Idle hands are the devil’s work! It’s always great to set out challenging yourself to learn something new! And I feel like Lewis and Clark, or some other great frontiersman setting out boldly and bravely, chin to the wind, ready to take on anything. “Give me liberty, or give me sushi!” is my new catch phrase.

One day, my new Kyushu JET buddies, Josh, Maya invited me to a Sapporo soccer game, and that was a blast. The Japanese are so full of spirit and their cheering section is very gung-ho and also very organized. We had beers and hotdogs and joined in the fun. Sapporo’s team won with a score of 3-0.

Not too much else to say about Sapporo… I did a couple hikes around the city area that had some great views, ate famous miso ramen, and crab, and saw some movies in the theater. (Above: intensely hot day, but the view of the city was worth it.) Although it was a fun experience, it was also nice to come back to my own cute house in Miyagi. I had an interesting thought when taking the (brutally tiring) overnight train home: that my little town of Ichihasama actually felt like my home… and that felt great to be feeling that. Of course Oregon is my true home, but to be thinking, “Hey, I’ll see my cute supermarket ladies, and that old guy who walks so slowly down the street every afternoon… stuff like that. This is my Japan home, now. Interesting…