Frisbee Frenzy

It seems that the breaks between my journal entries are getting longer and longer. However, to be quite fair, things have been pretty mellow over here. The days have been slow and waiver between what’s left of winter and the beginnings of spring. It is nice to be in a place where I can actually take note of the change of weather. It seems that every time I look around there is some new seasonal flower or tree in bloom. The mountains (which are green over here from the lush foliage) seem to be blotched with tons of light green from new foliage. Although this past weekend was a bit nippy, the weekend before that, it was quite nice out.

The Friday of the 15th, I attended Uchinoura Junior High’s Welcome Party. I thought it was a bit expensive for the food that we got, but I had fun just the same. They had a competition between the new teachers to see who could do things like draw a zebra in less than a minute. After the dinner, we went to Uchinoura’s New Roketo – a great small karaoke bar that looks like it’s taken out of a 1970s discotheque. Here I had the opportunity to learn lots of new Japanese curse words and sing Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl with one of the History teacher.

The following morning I woke up pretty early. I decided to fetch some breakfast at the Ai Shop bakery and then eat it at the beach in front of my house. As I was sitting on the sand eating my pastries and drinking my 2-liter bottle of water, some of my students were running on the beach and called me over. It was the kendo club which met and practiced on Saturdays. I told them that I had never seen kendo and asked them if I could watch. They responded excitedly and asked me to partake in the class. I was too hung over to do anything, so I politely declined to participate and just watched. They were really excited that I could spend the morning with them and even formally addressed me as a “sensei” in their exercises. Also, after they finished battling in a match, they came up to me and the supervising teacher (separately) to ask for advice or comments on their match. I addressed them all in Japlish explaining to them that I don’t understand the rules of kendo, but I could tell they practiced very hard. After kendo, I met up with Laura, Jill, Cristina and Heather at Osaki Beach.

Last week was not marked by anything particularly special. I did go to school for the first time in the new school year, but it was only for one period each day because the teachers have to visit the students’ homes in the afternoon. On Tuesday, Cristina and I met up with Kanae, the English teacher at Kishira (that is no longer teaching there anymore). She made us quite a feast. It was definitely a nice way to spend the evening and catch up.

On Thursday, someone knocked on my front door. There were two curious 6-year-old boys that wanted to say hello and come inside. They kind of invited themselves in. In any case, Kazunari and Daisuke made themselves at home playing on my laptop and jumping on my bed. I ushered them outside so we could play soccer and they invited me to go feed the cows in the barn across from me. I finally solved the mystery of the occasional mooing. The cows were much closer than I thought – a mere 30 feet away from my front door, if that. There were about 5 older cows and three baby calfs – one of which is less than a month old.

On Friday, I was greeted upon arrival by four 6-year-olds – Kazunari once again, accompanied by Anri and twins Shiho and Naho. They let themselves inside of my house before I did. The only thing worse than two 6-year-olds wreaking havoc is four. Luckily, I found a Frisbee which I used to lure them outside. I taught them how to throw it and we had fun for some while.

Saturday we went to the nearby city of Miyakonojo with the intention of seeing a movie. Since at least one person had seen all the movies being shown, we decided to go to a “mall/department store –type thing” called Jusco. Before going there however, we did have pizza from Pizza Hut. It was expensive, but it was nice and reminded us of home. At Jusco, we bought some stuff. Since the days have been getting warmer, we bought some stuff for the summer. Laura bought a cooler, beach chair and small barbeque. Cristina and I each bought matching beach chairs to match Laura’s and some other beach favors like badminton sets and a beach ball.

Sunday (yesterday), we went to Osaki Beach. It was a bunch of us. We used our new beach chairs and played some Frisbee. It was truly lots of fun, and our beach chairs and Laura’s cooler were hits. In the evening, Cristina and I went to the Katos’ to welcome them back from Tokyo Disneyland. They came back with Kokoro and Yume who flew to Tokyo from Okinawa. Dinner was great like always. I did, however, wake up with some intense pain in my upper abdominal area. I was awake from 5:00 AM to 7:30 AM and thought I was going to die, but it passed.

Today is a Monday. A usual office Monday. Only this time, I’m really sleepy. Lucky for Cristina and I, this week is short and before we know it we will be on a ferry to Yoron to spend the next week.

Two Things

Just two quick comments... Thought 1: I am no longer in the mildly obese category (3 out of 4 with 1 being the best). I am now in the handsomely husky (overweight) category (2 out of 4). Just thought I would let all of you know since it’s such a huge achievement. Thought 2: I just sat on the toilet closest to me which I usually never do. I usually always go all the way to the other side of the arena for privacy. However, I may just deal with the spies and go from now on there. Its heated toilet seats are like a gift sent from God or like sitting on a just-made, still warm doughnut – a true blessing on a cold day like today. (Just when Cristina and I thought it was getting warm, days like today keep on coming… with mukade* I might add.)

*Note: Mukade are the most ferocious looking centipedes you will ever see. They can grow to the length of your hand and the thickness of chubby pen. They usually travel in pairs because they mate for life. Oh, and I almost forgot, they are known to kill infants and small children. The worst they can do to an adult is probably just paralyze the bitten limb for a few hours (if treated quickly).

G'day Mate!

So I have been pulling my hair for the past 2 weeks with nothing to do. I sit at my desk all day looking for anything and everything. I give myself assignments like learning about the life expectancy of ants or when turtles tend to lay their eggs. I have also begun planning my mother’s trip who will be coming the last 2 weeks in July. Cristina’s sister whose flights have already been booked is coming from mid-May to mid-June.

The only really notable thing I have done since last Sunday is beginning to train early in the mornings with the baseball team. On certain days I run the 5K with them or run to the Uchinoura mountain and climb up its 555 steps. I can definitely run the 5K faster, but I choose to stay behind with the slowest kid because I think it makes him feel better to have company now. As for the 555 steps, I stay behind with him but not by choice. I really just cant go any faster.

Friday night, Uchinoura welcomed its new teachers with a Welcome Party. For this welcome party, all the new teachers and myself were taught how to make sashimi out of a freshly caught fish. It was exciting and fun to do, but I really didn’t enjoy eating it afterward. Don’t get me wrong. I love sashimi; however, it grosses me out to know that I just got that sashimi from skinning and gutting a once living animal. The Welcome Party was fun. I was able to socialize with my two new English teachers. They seem nice and I am sure they are. I also met all the other new teachers which made for interesting conversation. The good thing about these parties is that when everyone gets drunk, everyone usually wants to converse with the foreigner and try to remember all the English they learned in school. I don’t mind because it is usually somewhat interesting. And, if I am ever in an uncomfortable situation, there is usually someone else waiting to speak with me that usually just butts in.

Saturday, Cristina made some hummus sandwiches and we headed to the cherry blossom park for some ‘hanami’ (cherry blossom watching). Hanami in Japan is very important. Everyday leading up to Hanami, the weather forecasters attempt to determine the first day of blooming. Then, once the blossoms are out, people usually go to a park and picnic, barbecue and drink while watching the blossoms with friends. Apparently however, these blossom watching picnics can get extremely out of hand. I just saw a TV show yesterday which was like ‘Cops’ where people were getting out of hand because of drinking and had to be rough-housed by police men. Lucky for us, that was not the case in Kushira. After an hour there, we were attacked by a spider and decided to leave. We then went to Kirishima Gaoka in Kanoya (the rose park) to stroll and to have some of Cristina’s favorite rose ice cream.

Sunday, we opted out of doing the 7K race because it was so far away. We went to the Osaki beach for a short while instead. Unfortunately, the day was not as beautiful as the day before. However, we enjoyed it with some combini food on a blanket in front of the crashing waves. After a couple hours there, we headed back to Cristina’s with Laura and Jill to watch 7 or 8 episodes of Desperate Housewives.

Now, what I have found to occupy my days, is planning a 8-day holiday Cristina and I want to take in September. Originally we were thinking Korea, but I don’t think that Korea merits that many days. The only place I am really interested in visiting is Seoul, and that’s probably only worth a long weekend. So, now we are thinking of Australia. We know we definitely want to do Sydney. We are still deciding between Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane for our second choice. So, if you have any suggestions, let us know.

Resurrection, Dinner and a 10K Race

Some time has passed since the last update (more than 7 days). I will try to be as concise as possible without leaving out any of the interesting details.

Saturday, March 26th, Cristina and I headed to Osa’s house where we had a great chicken fajita dinner. However, I think that the highlight of the evening was getting to dye Easter eggs…something I was never able to do during my deprived childhood (MOM!!!, just kidding, I love you). Anyway, you will be happy to know that we dyed about 40 Easter eggs after a scary spill of the hot pink dye on Osa’s white kitchen table. It entertained us into the wee hours of the night (read 1 AM). We had to get up the following morning bright and early in order to go to Easter mass.

7:00 AM Easter Sunday – I am awoken by the shrill sounds of over-excited Osa, “Peter Cottontail was here. He left his tail… He hid all the eggs. Come find all the eggs. Look! I see my Easter balloon.” Apparently while we were sleeping, Peter Cottontail (read Osa) hid all the eggs and “Easter balloons” for each of us. Have you not heard of Easter balloons? Easter balloons are what “Peter Cottontail” uses to store candy in Japan (since there are no plastic Easter eggs). Cristina and I did not want to get up, but couldn’t help it from everyone’s excitement. My Easter balloon was blue and had quite a few treats including a pack of my favorite M&M’s. By 8:20, were out the door to catch the closest Easter mass.

Easter mass was interesting to say the least. It was in Japanese, but the priest was Italian. There was a Philippine baptism. Most women were wearing white lace head covers. I missed the Our Father because no one holds hands. During Peace, every one bows as they turn 360 degrees. The Virgin Mary was usually referred to as Jesus’s ‘mama’. I know this all probably sounds a bit choppy to you, but that was exactly the impression I got from the mass.

That evening, we returned to Uchinoura for dinner at the Katos. Nozomi was there (Yu-chan’s 3-year old niece), so we hid some Easter eggs and had her find them. We (read Cristina) made them Banana’s Fosters for dessert. I am still unsure of whether or not they liked it.

Monday, I went to the Katos’ again for dinner. I played with Nozomi some more. In the afternoon, Cristina, Laura, Osa and I went to Kushira to practice on the 10K course.

Tuesday, was the same. Since I did not go to school, I spent half of the day in Kishira looking for the guy that I had to pay for the Farewell Dinner.

Wednesday, nothing happened in the office. In the evening, Cristina and I went to the gym, while Kaz and Alex swam at the gym pool. Cristina and I are really enjoying going to the gym. It is a really nice experience. I think we both feel a lot better now being so active. We hardly watch TV anymore (with the exception of 50 First Dates that Cristina has borrowed from Osa and has been obsessed with ever since). After the gym, we went over to Kaz’s for a late dinner prepared by Alex. We also enjoyed a bit of Trivial Pursuit. Since it was from Britain, some of the questions (particularly the Entertainment ones) were very difficult to answer.

Since Alex was over and had asked the previous night about Arroz con Pollo (the Cuban rice and chicken dish), Cristina decided to make it the next day. So, she spent her lunch break getting the needed ingredients. When she and I got home, we chopped up some fruits for sangria. Cristina then began to cook while I tidied up and got some flowers. We really got into it before long and made it whole Cuban night complete with music and guayaberas (traditional Cuban shirts). Laura, Kaz and Alex came over. We ate tons and had some Banana’s Fosters for dessert. After dessert we played some Trivial Pursuit again. The girls won.

Friday was April Fool’s Day. Cristina got a few people pretty bad (notably Osa and her cousin Glenn). I got some people in my office but not with anything like she was being deported from the country. I told some of my teachers that I had to leave the Jet Program for not paying my taxes. They seemed surprised and then realized it was April Fool’s. Later that evening, we went to dinner at Tomo-chan’s.

Saturday, I woke up with the mission of buying a pair of gym/basketball shorts I could use for running since mine have the tendency to slip off. Unfortunately, I only found one store with brand names like Nike and they all cost about $45. I had no idea they were so expensive. I refused to pay that much money for something I am going to sweat and workout in. So, the day of the race I ended up just pinning my old shorts to my underwear. Later that night, we invited Cristina’s tea lady and one of her English teachers over for a chicken fajita and taco dinner. It was lots of fun. The tea lady did not speak a word of English, but it was a good way to practice our Japanese.

Yesterday was the big race. Cristina and I woke up early to go register. Kaz met us at Cristina’s house before going over to Kushira. She even made some “training bands” for all of us to wear as good luck. At Kushira, we met up with Laura who was also running the race. The others were coming later since they were simply going to watch us run. Many people from my town were also there. One of my office mates’ daughter ran the 2.5K race and won the junior high school division. She was 2nd among all women. I finished the 10K in less than an hour. I am not sure of the specific time but I am hoping somewhere between 57 and 58 minutes. I was 109th. Kaz finished just over an hour and Laura came shortly after her. Cristina finished 125 in 1 hour 13 minutes. In total there were 126 people in the 10K. Kushira was hosting this as part of their cherry-blossom-watching festival. So, we celebrated our ‘victories’ by watching some cherry blossoms and enjoying a nice refreshing sno-cone. Mine was cora-flavored (read cola), Cristina’s was mango. At the festival, I also got the chance to see a miniature pony from Scotland. They are the size of large dogs. I thought it was incredible, the others were not too impressed. While I was busy gawking at the ponies, Kaz and Cristina were asked to be part of a mukade race because the rest of their team had not shown. Shana, the Osumi ALT, also joined the team. While they were busy preparing for the race, I was looking for the stand where you get to catch river eels with your bare hands. (River eels are Kushira’s thing. In Uchinoura it’s rockets and lobsters. In Higashi-Kushira, it’s poo and Lupin flowers.) Lucky for me and everyone at the stand, it was closed because all of the eels were caught. I did however see a little boy walking away with a trash bag with 3 or 4 live eels. I settled for trying to catch a fish in a dissolving wafer. However, I was crap at it. After pouting for a few seconds, the man grabbed a fish with his hands and put it in a bag and gave it to me. Bryant, the Sueyoshi ALT, did catch a fish fair and square (although mine was much better looking). We both gave our fish to Kaz who had a big tank with only one fish. She named the fish Jesse and Bryant respectively. The Uchinoura Junior High mukade teams were amazing and swept the race 1 and 2. Cristina’s impromptu team did not fair as well and were dead last. However, they had fun and that’s the important thing.

Well, that’s pretty much it for now.