'Tis the season...

...for sharing and caring.

My multi-talented-not-so-little-anymore brother is not content just being a freshman at U of A, so he has taken up t-shirt design. He has submitted a design to Threadless.com and could potentially win cool prizes and have his shirt printed if it gets enough votes. Should you need something to distract you from finals or whatever else you are doing, go and vote! And take a look at some of the other t-shirts. Christmahannukwanzakah is just around the corner, and there is no such thing as someone with too many t-shirts!



Why should I vote for a kid I don't even know, you ask? Well if you are reading this, you probably know me, his older sister and I am hoping this is just the beginning of a very lucrative design career for him so that he can take care of me in my old age. Thanks for your support!

"Do you play sex?" and other Jr High tales

This post is dedicated to Hannah, who probably doesn't even need to read it because she's heard all of the stories already.

I've spent six days at my junior high school in the last two weeks, which is the same number of days I spent there for the whole month of October. As opposed to the two weeks I spent there in September, in these last two weeks the students, especially the 8th grade boys, have really started to open up to me, which has led to many questions like the one above. While I can hardly get them to tell me their favorite color or what they ate for breakfast in class, the sentences they come up with outside of class tell me that they are not just learning English at school.

The "Do you play sex?" question came last month from one of the 7th graders, which is unusual, because I can't even get some of them to say hello to me in the hall. The conversation started out with him asking me the question "Do you play baseball?" and I said no. The he got this mischevious grin and asked "Do you play sex?" It caught me a bit off guard, but it didn't matter what my response was, because the questioner and his friends were laughing and no longer listening. It was just a preview of what was to come.

The following is a sampling of this week's questions:

"Will you kiss me?" and when that didn't work, "May I kiss you?"

"What's 'nudo'?"

"What cup?"

The "what's 'nudo'?" question came in the middle of class, and I answered that it meant "no clothes." Once that sunk in, another kid said rather loudly, "I want to be 'nudo'!" The classroom teacher, who is one of my favorite people to teach with, didn't miss a beat. She merely looked him in the eye and said "dozo" which is like "go ahead." He shut up rather quickly.

On Wednesday, the kids had a reading test, so English class ran over. The next class was PE, and in Japan, the boys and girls change together in their homeroom classroom. [This would cause quite the scandal in America, but I guess here they are used it? Or it's more likely that this is the way it has always been done, and it can't be changed now?] So I hadn't left the room yet, when Kosei, the first boy to ask me if I would kiss him called my name. I looked up, and there he was in the back of the room with his shirt unbuttoned pounding his chest like Tarzan, saying something like, "Body! Nice body!" Kosei is 14, but could probably pass for 10.

Wonderous things must happen in between the 8th and 9th grades. The 9th grade boys are more serious and have yet to ask me suggestive questions. Today I helped five of them practice for an English interview test they are all taking this Sunday. They are given a short passage that goes along with a picture, and have 20 seconds to read it to themselves and look at the picture before they must read it out loud and answer the questions I ask them. They did surprisingly well on the one about baseball (surprise, surprise) but choked on the passage about snow festivals. They were all trying really hard though; it was very endearing. One kid didn't really understand the questions and kept saying "Pardon? Pardon?" and two others were very careful to thank me before leaving the room. So polite!

The students at my junior high are fun and very involved. Almost everyone belongs to a school club, whether it be sports, art or band. At the end of October was "Culture Day," an annual event which is comprised mostly of singing, an art show, a small science fair, a play and band performance. While having young adolescents going through puberty sing is perhaps not the brightest idea out there, they did a pretty good job, and I was very impressed with their focus. They worked really hard in the weeks leading up to it, practicing before and during school.

Here's a video of one of the 9th grade classes:

So multiply that by several hours. It was a long day. Every homeroom class had their own pianist to accompany them, which I thought was incredible until it was later explained to me that when the teachers sit down to make the class rosters, they usually start with the list of the kids who can play the piano, and then split them up accordingly. Sneaky.

I'll end with a picture of the brass band. I think there is only one boy in the whole band, and I think he plays the tuba. The band is very friendly when I stop by their practices and they play nice, genki songs, like medelies from American Graffiti and Pirates of the Caribbean. The drummer, Mai, is a huge Beatles and Queen fan, which I think is pretty funny.

Guest 287: "Mitsui Greenland is a really good value"

This post is dedicated to Andrew, and anyone else who has ever played Roller Coaster Tycoon.


Mitsui Greenland, an amusement park located about 90 minutes away from Kurume in Kumamoto-ken is Roller Coaster Tycoon come to life. Most of the rides/attractions are almost identical to those in the game, (cable cars, mini train, go carts, log flume ride, haunted mansion, swinging ship...really the resemblance was uncanny,) although there were a few at the park that I don't remember seeing in the game, the most notable was the "Super Twister," (which I unfortunately don't have a good picture of. More about it later.)



Park Entrance.


The swinging ship, which was manned by a hilarous man who added comentary the whole ride. "Tanoshii, tanoshii" in a deadpan voice everytime the ship swung back and forth. "Fun, fun."




Most of the park from the ferris wheel:


I don't know the exact number of roller coasters at the park, but we rode every one except for the Shuttle Loop, which was closed for repairs. Some were old, some were new, some I liked, some I didn't. Among the older ones was a the green, dinosaur one pictured above. We sat in a train and were whipped around and sent up and down hills. Fairly straightforward, but since it was one of the older ones, it made a lot of scary noises, upping the thrill factor. It was also one of the longer ones. Among the less thrilling was one that had suspended cars which were painted like orca whales. There were no big drops, and compared to the suspended one where your legs hung free beneath you, it was unbelieveably tame. Another one I didn't like was the one where you stood up. The restraining devices really squashed the boob area and at one point, my feet left the platform, which was a bit too scary.


My favorite was the "Super Twister." Jamie and I rode it twice in a row, because there was no line, and it was just that much fun. You sit in a car, which is shot backwards, then flipped vertically so you are lying on your back looking at the sky. Then begins the terrifying ascent straight up. At the top, you are plunged face first down a steep hill, then a slightly less steep hill and into a series of twists which turn you upside down and then right back up. The car then stops, whipping you forward. Then the platform drops down and sends you backwards through more twists into the station. It was soooo much fun! And the ascent was really terrifying, even the second time through.


Another one I liked was called "Spin Mouse" and was small, but packed a big punch. As one might guess, the cars spun around. And happened to be painted like mice.

The "Black Hole Coaster" sounded promising but turned out to be the biggest joke of them all. It was one of the few rides we actually had to wait in line for, and the waiting area was reminiscent of Space Mountain at Disneyland, so I was expecting 45 seconds of darkened terror, but instead we got a good laugh. The coaster itself was pretty small. The "building," that enclosed it was more like a roof and some side panels that let in a lot of light, and the "stars" were literally Christmas lights which helped illuminate the track and the black tarp that separated the different rooms. The just before the train returned to the station, we passed a waterfall that was open to the outside. Weird. I guess at just $35 a ticket, they aren't making enough money to improve the whole ride at once, so they started with the waiting area, and scraped by the best they could with the rest of it...


There are some more pictures on the website below, which has mucho mas informacion about the rides at Mitsui Greenland. And what I thought was called the "Super Twister" is really the Megaton. There's a picture about half way down, as well as a picture of "Spin Mouse"

http://www.bannister.org/coasters/parks/mitsui_greenland.htm

Another view from the ferris wheel below. Note the creepy, creepy building on the hill. It was a really odd building that served as the haunted mansion. Jamie and I didn't think that it had always been the haunted mansion, but it was so oddly shaped, we couldn't imagine what it had been used for in the past. Unlike the Disney Haunted Mansion, this one was not filled with cute, good natured ghosts. Instead it was filled with disturbing animatronic dismembered bodies and old toilets with stuff jumping out of them. Lots of red lighting and fans too. Pretty low rent in that sense, but we got out of there fast anyway.

And to finish on a bright note, the bathrooms had the most amusing signs labeling them. Even more so because the toilets I used were the squatty kind, so there was to be no sitting regardless of gender.

Food Frenzy Numero Dos

I just finished dinner, and food is fresh in my mind (although there are few times when it is not,) so there could hardly be a better time for me to recall all of the things I've been eating recently.

Starting with the most recent:



Tonight, I was feeling very lazy. Who doesn't on a Friday? Since no one was readily available to go out, and there will be lots of that this weekend, I sucked it up and went into my kitchen. The main requirement for tonight's meal was that it be hot. The fact that it turned out pretty darn delicious as well was an added bonus. Campbell's cream of mushroom soup (from Costco), fresh carrots, some potatoes and the end of a bag of frozen fried rice that has been in my freezer for a long time. Add some pepper, and you're good to go. I delivered some of the left overs to a sickly neighbor, and I am already looking forward to eating my leftovers the next cold evening I am home.

Another treat this week has been bagels from Bagel & Bagel in Fukuoka. They claim to be New York style bagels, but because they are the best/only bagels within an hour (maybe more) by train, I will let them live with this delusion. I doubt there are many bagel stores in NY that sell "edamame and soy-milk" bagels. Or more than one variety of sesame...oh well. They make excellent breakfast, as well they should for more than $2 a pop. I bought 6 on Monday; in additions to some standards like "everything," and "onion," I bought "cranberry," "maple-raisin," "chocolate" and the monthly special "mocha and white chocolate chip."


If you are looking for Japanese food, scroll past the next two pictures. The next picture is of dinner from last night. Since there's another trip to Costco coming up the end of the this month, I decided it was past time to unearth the last package of tortillas from the freezer and eat them up, so I would have room for more. So this week, I've eaten a quesadilla, two burritos and one PB&J tortilla for a snack (its really good, less dry-stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth than a traditional PB&J, especially one made using the thick slabs of sponge the Japanese pass off as bread) I think that leaves me with 5 more tortillas to eat in the next two weeks. I'd better pace myself. Anyway, the burrito was a success. I'd like to credit my years at the The Coop for helping me perfect my "burrito in a jiffy" skills.

1) Heat beans in microwave to warm.
2) Add cheese, return to microwave until melted.
3) Warm tortilla in frying pan.
4) Wrap hot bean and cheese goodness in tortilla. Add salsa*
5) Place wrapped burrito flap side down in warm frying pan. Let heat seal burrito shut. Turn over to achieve heavenly crispyness on both sides.
6) Eat and be thankful for globalization.


*My local grocery store, the "Tomato" on the Kamitsu Bypass, actually stocks decent salsa. It's kind of all by itself on the shelf, and I have no idea what Japanese people would eat it with, but I am sure glad it is there!

One thing I really miss about college is the artery-clogging brunch ready and waiting for me every Saturday and Sunday a few yards away from my warm bed. Most Japanese people just eat rice and miso soup for breakfast, maybe mixing it up occasionally with a piece of toast, and during the week, cereal or toast usually suffices for me. But on the weekends, when I can sleep in, and get up around 10, I am much hungrier and really wish there were some pre-made scrambled eggs and hash browns waiting for me. Alas there are not, but I have done as best as I can on my own. Which usually involves me thinking about how much I want an omlette for a good 40 minutes before I actually go to the kitchen and begin making one. But when I do, its oh so amazing. The one pictured below was especially tasty, maybe becuase I ate it sitting in the patch of sun on my kitchen floor, with a cup of cocoa and the Sunday comics from a few weeks back, lovingly sent to me by my mom. Not a bad Saturday morning, that's for sure.

I don't always eat American food, I swear! A few weeks ago, some other JETs and I went to a cute yakitori restaurant in Yanagawa. There were two employees, a woman who served the rice and drinks, plus took out the things on sticks that were ordered and lined them up by the grill for the man to grill. Our group of 6 took up almost the whole bar. While we sat there, this is what we saw:

That big white pile is salt for seasoning the meat. You can order all sorts of stuff, from the tame--like chicken, beef, and pork; to the more unexpected--chicken meatballs, hot dogs and fried tofu; to the borderline gross--whole fish stuffed with fish eggs. The most unusual thing I tried were mushrooms wrapped in bacon. It looked like a squid and was kinda hard to eat. The mushrooms were really chewy which precluded taking a small bite. So to avoid having the whole thing fall apart, I stuck it all in my mouth and chewed for a long time. Good thing it tasted good.

Speaking of tasting good...as I may have gleefully mentioned before the Japanese love desserts like cakes and crepes. I really had no idea, but I am so glad. Last weekend, I spent Sunday at Mitsui Greenland, an amusement park a little more than an hour away. There were several places to eat within the park, and many of them served crepes. After buying myself a Choco-Banana one from a small place near the back of the park, we stumbled upon the mother of all crepe places back towards the front. Their display case is shown below. The had kiwi, banana, pudding, cheesecake, berry and brownie varieties! Just looking at the picture makes me happy. Mmmmmmmmmm.

It only took me 3 and 1/2 months, but I finally went to keiten-zushi. I was really looking forward to it, but was a bit disappointed. I am not sure exactly what I was expecting, but it was still entertaining to watch the various things go by on the conveyor belt and watch the chef torch the eel rolls in the kitchen in the middle. None of the sushi was really amazing, and I avoided anything that looked really slimy or still had eyes. In addition to the sushi, there were some desserts and fried foods going around. Allison and I were there for about an hour, and we watched the same french fries complete with mini American flag stuck on top go around about 12 times. Made me wonder a bit about how long some of the sushi had been going around...but no harm done. I am still alive and kickin' two weeks later.

To stay or not to stay?

With just three months under my belt, it may seem a bit early for me to be contemplating this, but the recontracting papers are already on my desk at the Board of Education. I don't have to make my decision until February, which means I have three more months in which to ponder. Or three more months where my answer to the above question will change depending on the day, maybe even the hour of the day. Perhaps I should start to keep a tally...the "stay" days on one side, the "July can't come soon enough" days on the other, then in February see which side has more marks. Perhaps, but somehow I think I have better things to do with my time...

Like read the NY Times. (What did people do before the Internet? I really mean it) Which brings me to the real reason for this entry--sharing another article with you. This one isn't about Japan, but talks about green cities, and the way mayors across the US are stepping up in the fight against climate change by promoting city re-development projects that are pedestrian and public transit centered as well as insisting that their cities adhere to the Kyoto Protocol. (Hmmm this sounds familiar...oh yeah, thesis!)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/us/03mayors.html?ex=1351828800&en=8ce6d9b9967ba7ed&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Good article, and good news for someone who wants to persue this sort of thing as a career. Even if that time is still a few years down the road.