My beautiful 'Etnies' have survived: Uni, Camp America, Inter-railing in Europe, Thailand, Japan. But, are these shoes made for climbing?
That's right, tomorrow night I'm finally conquering Mt Fuji. Although there's a slight chance of a thunderstorm, it's the last time I'll be able to try before the summer climbing season ends.
Wish me luck.
Oh, and if my shoes do finally give up on me, it's a very decent place for them to retire.
The much-hyped typhoon has finally hit:
It's pouring down, a flash of lightning every 20 seconds and thunder that both shakes the building and rolls on forever. Exciting.
Ittai! Ittai! = Ow! Ow!
I just sent Jody an e-mail, but she'll probably read it before I sent it!? Even though she only just left?!
I don't understand. My head hurts. Don' think I'll be solving the Poincaré conjecture any time soon.
In Summer 2002, I managed to miss the big New York blackout.
I was in New York at the time.
In Summer 2006, I managed to miss the big Tokyo blackout.
And guess what?
Is this a skill? A feat of magic and mystery?
Quick cultural lesson:
O-Bon is a Japanese Buddhist festival to honour the recently departed spirits of ancestors; although it is now more popular as an excuse for a family reunion and is also famous for its 'circle-style' group dance. Although not an official holiday, most companies close for the festival, which is held from August 13th -15th, and people travel to their hometowns. Travel is expensive and roads are jammed. Fantastically for me, NOVA is very quiet during this time, because it is believed that ancestors return to their families house for those three days and the families must stay in and pray.
Quick poilitical lesson:
So Yasukuni Shrine (where that HUGE gate is) isn't as dull as it appeared. In fact, it causes one of Japan's biggest international controversies.
Although originally constructed in 1869 to commemorate and mourn the victims of wars - the place name literally meaning 'peaceful nation shrine' - it also houses 1,068 foreigners convicted of war crimes after WWII; 14 of which were convicted of Class A war crimes. Every year, Prime Minister Koizumi visits the shrine around this time of year and, each time, it sparks protests from China and South Korea who want the war criminals separated and moved to another location.
Some of my students believe it is the PM's honour and duty to respect the Japanese buried there, but others believe it is foolish to spark problems with their Asian neighbours. An excellent and detailed explanation of the above is easily reached by clicking this blog's title.
This year, on 15th August, the PM visited Yasukuni Shrine - the first time he's done so on O-Bon and the anniversary of Japan's official surrender in WWII.
I hear it made the news overseas. What does the media back home make of it?
First of all, I'm sorry for the amount of msn's/email's I've missed or haven't replied to yet. It's been a crazy week, as I'll explain. I will reply as soon as I can. Secondly, maybe this isn't the most exciting story in the world and, as I've been watching 'Alias'* recently, I'll make it more exciting by using a typical Alias-style narrative:
3pm Today:
The train pulled into the airport and I got butterflies in my stomach. I guess Jody's were bigger.
4 Days Ago:
The packing began but Jody, bless her, is what can easily and simply be described as a scattered mess**. Over the two years she's been here Jody accumulated thousands and thousands of items also known as junk. A self-proclaimed hoarder, she wanted to ship everything home to Canada, which was never going to happen. I spent the last 4 nights with her (and Rebekah, when she was free) binning everything. It was a struggle, and most of the time was spent convincing her that she could buy most of the things she wanted back home: 4000 pens, a box of 200 cotton buds and ridiculous quantities of every everyday items you can imagine. She was planning on shipping 100 books home - and that number's not an exaggeration - I think I got it down to 20. Most of the time, Jody sat around not doing much while I filled up bin-bag after bin-bag and she had panic attacks about going home.
Cutting a long story short, she didn't book her flight until 3 days before her departure, didn't pay her taxes until this morning, and expected me and Rebekah to sort out everything she's left behind and ship it to her. But I promised I'd go with her to the airport; for moral support AND to help with her bags.
Last Night:
About 10 of us went out to Karaoke to say goodbye to Jody. It was fun although strange that it would be the last time. We stayed up chatting and playing cards 'til 4am.
This Morning:
Absolutely knackered, but knowing I still had a lot to sort out, I got up early and finished the last of her packing. Excluding the two suitcases, her carry-on luggage was about as much as I brought with me to Japan - she wanted to take a holdall bigger than Sue*** as one of her carry-ons. I told her that no way was I going to bring anything home with me; whatever she couldn't get on the plane was going in a bin. Crying, panic attacks, and freak-outs ensued.
1 Month Ago:
Jody got a job teaching in Naples.
4 Months Ago:
The first Bell Wistarian I met was Jody. She spent my first day here showing me around, helping me register at the Ward Office, and introducing me to Sushi (and Natto, bleurgh).
4pm Today:
The check-in staff weren't too sure about her amount of luggage and she would have to see what security said at the metal detectores, but it wouldn't be my problem by that point. Jody was checked in and I gave her one last hug. I'm sure I'll meet up with her in Europe, but it seems like a long way off until then. She cried a lot, maybe I cried a little.
Back in Tsunashima now. It feels a little bit emptier. A little bit lighter. But change is to be embraced. Bless her and her hystrionics.
*Thanks again, Andrew.
**She'll never read this so no need to skirt around the truth.
***Last name Suitcase, for those not in the know
(A lesson on guessing movies. One student is trying to describe Star Wars:)
Student 1: What is it about?
Student 2: Fighting in space.
Student 1: Oh! Is there a black man in it!?
Phil: What do you do on weekends?
Student: I enjoy my girlfriend.
Phil: Umm... in English that sounds rude.
Student: Why?
Phil: Oh, well can you think of another way to say it?
Student: I enjoy playing with my girlfriend.
Phil: Anyway, on with the lesson.
So no students or staff knew what "Toyoko Line" stood for. However, they did tell me a few more interesting origins of names:
Toshiba - Tokyo Shibaura Denki
(Shibaura being a place in Tokyo and Denki meaning "electric")
Sony -
a hybrid of the Latin word Sonus (sonic/sound), the English word Sunny, and Japanese slang for Whiz-kid.
Vodafone - Voice Data Tele(ph)one
Nissan - Nippon Sangyo
(Japan Industries)
NHK* - Nippon Housou Kyoukai
(Japan Broadcasting Company)
*The equivalent of the BBC
A man-to-man lesson about 'cooking':
Phil: Imagine your ingredients are eggs, ham, cheese, onions and peppers. What could you make?
The student thinks long and hard...
Student: Boiled eggs.
So everyday I ride the Toyoko Line to and from work. It's taken over 4 months to 'get' the name. As the main line between Tokyo and Yokohama, it's a combination of their names.
Well, this entry's title is clever at least.
During my last weekend, I went back down to Kamakura, where the big Buddha is. I’d had only one day weekends since Thailand because of shift swaps so, on my first proper weekend in a month, I wanted to get out of the city. Plus, there was one temple in particular I hadn’t yet seen.
Hasedera Temple is definitely on the tour of Kamakura if anyone visits. Built on the side of a hill, it is a revered temple, the 4th of the 33 holy places in the Kanto region of Japan.
At the bottom is a lake with massive goldfish. Oh Sushi and Sashimi.
At the next level is Jizo-dou hall, surrounded by small figures which represent the souls of aborted or stillborn children.
The principal image in Hasedera is the 11-headed Kanzeon Bosatsu, at 9.18 metres high. It has 11 heads above the main head, each has a different expression to show that the deity listens to all kinds of wishes from every type of person. Unfortunately, you can’t take photos so here’s one from the temple’s website (an ancient temple having a website is peculiar, no?!)
The coolest thing was the Kyozou (sutra archive) which has a central bookrack, where important Buddhist sutras (you can see them all in the pics) are kept. You can rotate it, and this is said to bring the same wisdom and merit as reading all of the sutras. Sounds like the easy option. I took it.
At the bottom of the temple was a cave, which was extremely low and dark. I was brave, but water kept dripping on me and I thought it was spiders so I didn’t stay long. It was a bit Indiana Jones-like because in the centre of the cave is a Buddha statue – I think if you pick it up: boulders, arrows, spikes…
I went back to Daibutsu because, well, it was a five minute walk and it’s truly amazing. Here’s a different angle of him, and these are his shoes – whoah!
Before heading home (short trip, but I felt better for it) I walked around Kamakura for a little bit. A woman approached me and asked where I was from. She had a camera so I thought she was making small-talk and then ask to take a picture for her and her 3 small children. But she asks me if I can pose in a picture. I’m sweaty and look a mess but said yes anyway. However, it wasn’t just one picture; I had to pose with each child in turn. And the father wanted it to be perfect; I had to crouch lower, or get closer… After the photos the mother wanted the children to practice their English, although they were much happier running around and throwing stones at each other. Then she continued to tell me all about them.
Most people in Tokyo have seen Gaijin and it isn’t so much of a strange sighting to them. However, this family were from rural Japan, and seeing a Westerner is a big deal to them. I thought it was funny that there were all these incredible temples, shrines and statues surrounding us but they wanted a photo of someone who ‘comes from the same country as David Beckham’.
Anyway, here’s a few more random pics from Hasedera - a "green and grey" theme:
At about 6:30 tonight, the most incredible phenomenon happened - the sky glowed. Everything was reddish-pink for ten minutes. The sky looked like a backdrop from a Hollywood movie. Absolutely beautiful.
Unfortunately, in Japan this means that a typhoon is on its way, so Fuji is literally taking a rain-check.
Tis the season for insects here in Nihon. Cockroaches and mosquitoes are everywhere, and now a new enemy has appeared. Tonight, there was a huge hornet type thing above our door. It had what looked to be about a ten centimeter tail/stinger. The photo was taken behind my door so is blurry (and doesn't give the size justice), but you can see the stinger thing. I'd like to say I was brave and strolled past it, but as I said - it had a TEN CENTIMETER STINGER!
Still, the night was redeemed with (as I've crowned) "Monday McBeal Madness" which meant my night was magnificent for me. Mmm, the letter M is so kind to me.
I listen to iPhil a lot around Japan, and it has been a little blessing to me. Here are my three favourite lyrics. If anyone can name the artist and song title without cheating, I will send you a prize, wherever you are in the world. Guesses must be accompanied with a lyric of your choosing:
1.
Something 'bout the way the hair falls on your face
I love the shape you take while crawling towards the pillow-case
You tell me where to go and though I might leave to find it
I'll never let your head hit the bed without my hand behind it
2.
I know you depend on me like a young thing would to a guardian
I know you sexualise me like a young thing would and I think I like it
3.
I wish for a choir of angels
I wish for a second chance
I wish for an opportunity to have said something simple like 'don't leave'
For the life of me, I can't tell:
is it 'train of thought' or 'chain of thought'?
Both sound right.
I was explaining different swimming techniques to a group of students (they all know butterfly, as it has the same name here) but when I said 'breast-stroke' I started laughing. I'd never thought of it like that before. What a funny name.
The most beautiful (Japanese) girl in the world?
Yesterday, I did a help shift in a different branch in Tokyo. One of my students was absolutely gorgeous, but a few years too old for me. Japanese girls are extremely pretty but this one was perfect.
Well, that was me sharing. Anyone else?
Phil and a really stupid Student are discussing the issue of persuading when asking to borrow something:
Phil: So, do you understand 'persuade' now? You keep asking and giving reasons until the person says 'yes'.
Student: Yes.
Phil: Ok, let's practice. Persuade me to lend you my watch:
Student: Can I borrow your watch?
Phil: No.
Student: Persuade.
Phil bursts out laughing at the thought of this magical word which automatically makes someone lend an item.
