OK, Enough is Enough

OK, whichever divine being is sending me those bats can stop now! I got 2 more bats today. It's going to suck my blood and I'm going to have to teach night classes. I'm not ready for that!

A bat sent from above

So last night, I had a really crappy day. I quit my brass band. As much as I love the arts, it really was a lot of work. So I felt terrible letting down about 30 people.

There were many reasons I quit. Another big one, is that I wasn't really making any new friends out of the experience. Everybody is really shy and it's hard to communicate to people when they're shy. So I considered it failure too.

So I sat in bed surrounded in my gloom wondering, "WHY am I Japan?!" I really wanted to go home last night. I wanted to go back where it was easy to communicate with people andpeople didn't view me as stupid.

After a rough day at work, I relaxed in my bed, surfing the internet. I look at my light fixture and I find out there's a bat sleeping on it! I ran out of my room, not screaming cause I was afraid I'd wake it up and all hell would break loose.

I knocked on my upstairs neighbor's door to see if I could get somebody to take care of this. She must've talked to about 5,000 other people before we got an old lady to come over. She came over witha partner and she had two giant nets with her...after explaining the problem and taking her to the bat, we finally got it out of my warm room and out into the freezing rain.

After looking back at this, I can't help but to think that this was serendipity. Somebody or something knew I was having troubles in the Land of Sunshine, so they sent this fuckin' bat to my room to brighten my day and bring a little laughter into my life. A chance to meet my neighbors, and use my poor Japanese to communicate with them, and have fun! So...don't worry. The kid is alright!

Abashiri Halloween Party

About less than a week ago, I helped my friend James out for a Halloween party. It was a lot of fun. TONS of kids...made some of them cry in the haunted house even.

Afterwards, we went for Nepalese food. It wasn't Italian food like I thought (Naples, Italy)...so I was surprised to see that everything was covered in curry other than marinara sauce. (MAN! I miss good Italian food! I miss it more than Mexican food.) But it was delicious, very delicious.

The next day, James woke me up and a group of us went for a morning walk to the local McDonald's. The food tastes just like home, nothing too special (fat and calories...lol). Then we did some cleaning at the Echo Centre. THEN! The beach!

The beach was GREAT! Other than us, there was NOBODY there! The water was glassy, there was good weather, and there was beach glass. The biggest trip for me was the strange foliage. There were no palm trees, but there was some sort of beachy grass and lots of deciduous trees. I described it as an "alien landscape."

OH! And we also ate at an Italian restaurant, and good Italian food at that. It was very good. Actually reminded me a bit of Italy. I thought it was a pretty fancy meal...and it only cost us about 1,200 yen ($12), I think.

So that's it for this blog. For all my California friends reading this, know that I'm always thinking about you guys, and I'm very concerned for your well-being. Be safe, and don't do anything too stupid. lol

Mata Ochi

So today, I taught my Halloween lesson at Mata Ochi Elementary school. Probably my second favorite school thus far. I gave them all costumes to wear during the lesson, and they thought that they had to give them back to me. I told them that they were a present from me, they were like, "YATTA! THANK YOU!" And they started to run around the room with joy. Geez, you should've been there. They were SO happy! Then I gave them their second gift which was a goody bag. Same reaction. Jumping around...yattas. I have enough warm fuzzies to last me the rest of my JET experience.

So, I learned that my job isn't necessarily to teach them English. My job really is about internationalization, and maybe at most...get them excited about English. Which, by the way, I know I'm doing.

I always hear them muttering some new English word that I taught them, or repeat a line from their English play that they are performing this Saturday: Look at my vest! Look at my vest! (or) String Cheese! String Cheese!

I love my job. I'm going to go to their English play this weekend. Unlike most JETs, it's not required of me, but I want to. They like me...they really like me!

Also, today was my last time teaching at the school. The teachers told me that when I returned next year, two of my students will be going to Nakashibetsu Junior High. It was a somber moment, cause it reminded me that everybody has to grow up sometime. But that's OK, cause I teach at Nakashibetsu Junior High too...and I will get to see them again!

Weekend in Monbetsu

So this weekend, I went to visit my man, Steve, in Monbetsu. I had a lot of fun. We saw a taiko group from Sodo. Apparently, they are VERY famous. It was a great show...powerful music and a great performance. Not just banging on drums, there were dances, some acting, and a little comedy. I had a lot of fun.

Afterwards, we went to an izakaya and we had some Japanese tempura. It was my first time eating tempura in Japan. It was very good, and the miso soup was great. It wasn't incredibly salty like most miso soups I've had, but it still had a lot of flavor. We also had fried scallops, but they weren't as good as the tempura.

Then we went to a karaoke bar. I drank my favorite, melon soda float and a wine. We sang a bunch of great songs too. We had some Avril Lavigne, Backstreet Boys, Little Mermaid, RENT, Celine Dion, and of course, Hilary Duff. You can't have a proper karaoke session without Hilary Duff!

The next day, we went to Okhotsk Tower and had ramen. I tried a Hokkaido origial, milk ramen. It wasn't that bad. I would actually order it again! I still prefer my miso ramen with corn and extra cha shiu, but it was a treat. I recommend milk ramen to anybody that comes up here!

Next Steve and I went to the seal hospital. This was actually the highlight of my trip. The seals didn't look too sick; they definitly looked happy.

Next to the hospital was this horrible looking statue. Very scary...and not too far down the road, they have a giant crab claw statue. Very realistic, it looks like it will come to life. I don't have any pictures of the crab claw, because it really does look that frightening...and I don't want to visit the crab claw alone (You think I'm joking...I'm not).

I'll visit Steve again, so maybe next time I'll get him to take me to the giant crab claw.

So You Had a Bad Day...You're Taking One Down...

Oh God...I just had the worst day in Japan, EVER! I had my physical examination today. It involved the worst thing man invented...the needle. I had to give a blood sample. And worst thing, is that I didn't get a cookie at the end.

I don't know how Japan does things (well, I do now), but in America...you get a cookie afterwards. Now, my friends tell me that you have to give copious amounts of blood, or at least give more than a sample, but you had to see this vial. It was HUGE! I could've parked my car inside it if they let me.

I don't mind the x-ray, eye test, the taking off of my shirt, or even the mass urine testing, but did they really have to prick me that kilometer long needle?! So now until next year, I gotta find a way to avoid the blood test. Thanks for reading my bitch of the day. Until next time!

Later Days!

Soccer and the Japanese Erykah Badu

Yesterday, I participated in a 100人 soccer tournament. It was very interesting. It wasn't even really soccer...but I was OK with that. It's better that way. Basically, it was running around with kids in a field chasing a soft rubbery ball. I didn't get to play much...I basically sat around and taught kids how to whistle with blades of grass. I had a lot of fun. Afterwards, we were treated to free milk curry and milk. I KNOW! FREE FOOD!

That night, Emma and I went to an African drums concert. It was very cultural and energetic. There was a lot of good drums going on, but the highlight wasn't just the music. There was a Japanese women wearing a very African dress complete with a African headress. I was in love. For some reason she went through a wardrobe change in the middle of the show which means that somewhere in the building was her dress. I wanted to steal it, but Emma stopped me. I don't know why though...I would've let her borrow it on the weekends.

Afterwards, we went to her house to watch Youtube. We watched "Dancing with the Stars" with Scary Spice and "Victoria Beckham Comes to America" with Posh Spice. I miss them.

Birthday

So today is my birthday. And it was great because I got to celebrate it in Japan First off, Kaiyo Elementary School celebrated it with me. Sato-san baked me a cake...and just like last time it was totally hand made. But this cake was really good...the strawberries were really sweet and it was super moist...and so much love baked in!!! SO MUCH! They kids and teachers sang me a song...it was great.

Afterwards...we flew paper airplanes in the gym. And at Kaiyo...you don't just fly kami hikouki. You bat them down with giant fans and nets. Take a look at the photos above. On of the reasons I love this school so much is because they do the most bizarre things. First the somen slide, and now the kami hikouki bat-down!

OH...I almost forgot...before all of this, we had a marathon. It was fun...I was asked if I wanted to volunteer. So I paricipated in the 3km race with 5th and 6th graders. I needed the excercise. I had a lot of fun...I just kept pace with Naoya, one of my students, so it was OK.

So now, I just returned from a grown up party. Some drinking was definitly done. I love my eikawa...they're so cool. First off, they made me okonomiyaki, my FAVORITE Japanese food of all time! Then they gave me some awesome gifts. I got an onsen kit complete with charcoal soap, a sponge, some water balloons, and a water gun. (It's an inside joke...I mentioned if I should bring a water gun or balloons to an onsen) I applaud them for creativity. I also got a classic Mickey Mouse mug and a Shiretoko T-shirt. My high school JTE gave me the T-shirt...I told him that in America, Americans love kanji and they think it's really cool (which it is) so many Americans like to get souveniers or even tatoos of kanji. I got a T-shirt...and I definitly think it's cool. But he advises me not to wear it in Japan cause people will look at me weird.

3 day weekends!

JESUS! I had a fun packed 3-day weekend. I spent it with some Brit JETS. They kept making fun of my American accent. Funny that. They were really good at imitating American accents...but I can't do a British accent worth shit.

So Friday, we spent our day at Safeway, not a convenient store...a bar. They had some DJs there and I got to get some clubbing in. It felt so good to get my groove on again. They played everything Japanese: rock, pop, hip hop. There was also one set of American rock. Mostly everything was dance-able.

The next day, we went to Shibetsu for the Salmon Festival. There was a lot of salmon! Salmon hearts, salmon on a stick, fried salmon, ikura (salmon eggs)...you name it. Me and the mates went to the bridge to see the salmon in the river. It was very sombering...because I learned after the salmon lay their eggs...they begin to die. They travel all the way from CA to die in Japan, just to make sure the foundation of the next generation of salmon is settled.

OH! There was also something called the Salmon Dash. It looks like a lot of fun, but a bit barbaric. So, the unlike salmon that didn't get to lay their eggs, they get snatched up and put into a man made wading pool. Then when the race begins, the racers run to the pull grab one of the salmon then run back to the start of the race then placed in a bag where they suffocate to death. Sometimes they are dropped or dragged on the ground in the process. But apart from that...it does look like fun.

Later that day, we went to Betsukai to watch a Japanese rock concert. Nobody famous...but a fun time was had by all and we got to see some cool Japanese fashion.

The next day, me and the ladies went to the Betsukai "zoo." They had every farm animal imaginable and some monkeys. It was very entertaining. I really enjoyed the bunnies.

Afterwards, we went back to Nakashibetsu and ate at Monkichi for some okonomiyaki and monjayaki. Mmmm! Then we went to go bowling. I loved it! Nobody was good, so we were at the same level. And unlike in America, we kept cheering for each other. Usually, me and the mates at home would try to get into each other's head and psyche each other out. Every time somebody was up we were like, "Go Andy! Come on Zov...you can do it! Show us how's it done girl! WHOO!" It was so positive and uplifting. Usually, I leave a bowling game feeling like crap...but I came in 3 out of 4...and everybody felt like a winner! We then went upstairs and played video games in the arcade. And today...I'm knackered.