It's time to say goodbye...

It's Thursday afternoon. It's 30C in the staff room - aircon is only used in August, so everyone is left to sweat and fall asleep. This is my last day at Toyohara ES. I've only been here for one year, so not long enough to develop a true attachment to the students or staff. The kids at the schools I left last year felt like my own children - I'd seen them grow up, if only for a couple of years. I felt like I had helped some of them come out of their shell and shown others how to treat people with respect and be polite. I doubt I will have another job where the people I'm working with hang out of the window to say good morning as I walk to school. I say goodbye to Yamabe ES tomorrow.
However, leaving the schools is emotional. Part is that I will miss the students, and even some of the teachers, but partly is that I know my time in Japan is coming to an end. It's been an amazing three years. Life anywhere becomes routine after a while, but I am still fascinated by this country. I learn something new every day and the language is a constant battle. It's hard to know how well I can speak Japanese, but I can go out of an evening with my Japanese friends and speak pretty freely. How did that happen? I didn't know my konnichiwa from my karaoke when I came here, but I feel like I've given the language a fair crack.
I have very mixed feelings about leaving. I will miss many things, others not so much. I am looking forward to being back in my home country again and close to my family, but there are aspects of life in the UK that I'm not so keen to get back to.
Some people say that the world is a book, and if you don't travel, you only read one page. I'm very glad to have read the Japanese page. I may even come back and re-read it sometime.

Stinking in the rain

May and June are a funny couple of months in Japan. April is a month of great change and upheaval - it's the end of the business year, the school year, and it's when cherry blossom arrives heralding spring. By June, the blossom is long gone, changes at work lose their novelty and everyone settles into their old routines. Just to add insult to injury, June is when the rainy season hits Japan. It rains a lot in Japan, but in a different way to Scotland. Here, when it rains it pours. I think (and Google me if I'm wrong) that it's something to do with the hot air working it's way north across the sea and then hitting the mountainous chain of islands that is Japan. The moist air is forced upwards and falls as what you and I call "rain." So, at the moment it's raining a lot and it's really humid, in a two-showers-a-day type way. I drove to school the other day and when I got out my glasses steamed up, that's how humid it is. The younger students are quite sensitive to the weather - it drains their energy and it's really difficult to motivate them while they are sat bathing in their own sweat. This weather shouldn't last more than a couple of weeks though, as it moves it's way across the country just like the cherry blossom did in early spring. At least I can put off washing my car for a big longer. Every cloud...

Let's get reflective

I started this blog three-ish years ago. Stepping off the plane at Tokyo's Narita airport, everyday brought a new adventure - a new taste, a new cultural experience, a comedy anecdote, and many moments lost in translation. As my visa was stamped at immigration, I was reduced to being a child. Bear in mind that I had no previous experience of this country. This has more meaning when the country in question is Japan, as opposed to America, Australia, or Germany for example. Japan is famous around the world for having a unique culture, cuisine, etiquette and language. I couldn't use chopsticks, I had never used a squat toilet, I didn't know my karate from my karaoke and I certainly couldn't speak, read or write. This meant that your average three-year-old walking down the street could function better here than I could. It's a very humbling experience. You are completely at the mercy of other people. Even if you came to Japan for a short visit, perhaps to Tokyo and Kyoto, then you would have some understanding of my situation. However, being in those cities you are among the most cosmopolitan Japanese - you might actually find people who can help you with their stumbling English. Get on the bullet train and whizz out west for three hours, get another train for an hour and the English level drops a notch or two. I don't demand that those around me speak English - when in Rome, and all that - but being without a language to communicate in does make those first few weeks and months a struggle. It was a very steep learning curve and an amazing thing to experience It gives you a shake (the graph here gives an idea of how your emotions change during these months - note that the same process occurs on re-entry to one's home country, "reverse culture shock").
You develop a new understanding on interpersonal relationships. You discover what it is like to be in the minority. You find things you can't imagine you have been able to live without. You begin to remember the things you miss from home (curry and cereal for me - not at the same time, though (but I would probably eaten it if it had been offered up...)). You learn how to function in your new surroundings - how to buy a train ticket, how to use the ATM, how to eat (sounds strange, but lifting your bowl to your mouth to shovel food in, and slurping your noodles are the norm here and us foreigners have to learn how to do it). There are lots of don't dos in Japan, too. Don't point at people, don't pour your own drink, don't stab your food with your chopsticks, don't wear your shoes indoors, don't make eye-contact when you bow, don't forget to say "itadakimasu" before your eat and "gochisosamadeshita" when you finish, don't talk on the trains, and don't mention the war...
Japan being the oldest population in the world, there are still many people living near me who remember the war, the hardship and food shortages that followed it. They may even have relatives who died during the war. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki mean that many Japanese will view themselves as victims, and the history books in Japan often don't convey the true actions of the Imperial Army. These are wounds that take time to heal, but textbooks which run a little short of the truth certainly don't help matters. The English third grade English textbook tells the story of people living peacefully in Hiroshima. All of a sudden and for no apparent reason a large bomb falls on the city and the young girl in the story never wakes up. I am not going to justify the actions of the allied forces, it is above me to make such justifications, but a balance is required. Propaganda exists everywhere, however, and the UK is no exception. Communication is the key. Japan is very cut off from the rest of the world. Being an island and speaking it's own island, communication has several barriers to overcome. This has led to quite an ethnocentric society. Often I am asked - "what is your favourite Japanese food?" "where have you been to in Japan?" "can you use chopsticks?" "do you know sumo?" Such questions heavily outweigh questions like - "what is your hometown like?" "what sports are popular in your country?" "what did you study at University?" This naval-staring can be seen as arrogance, but I think it is more insecurity - it's the girl who is always fishing for compliments to boost her self-esteem, it's the child pulling on your shirt tails for attention. The Japanese have a misguided sense of their own uniqueness, but many of the famous Japanesey things have they origins in other countries - sushi, sumo, ramen, Buddhism, kanji, rice farming, green tea, martial arts, and my favourite - "Japanese curry". Needless to say, mentioning the origin of these items doesn't go down well... The Japanese consider themselves Japanese long before they say they are Asian. This reflects attitudes in the UK - before the EU, how many Brits would have been comfortable with they term European?
Japan has been a revelation to me. It has opened my eyes to many new experiences and taught me many new skills. I believe I am a more patient person (as much a result of teaching as living in Japan), kinder, culturally sensitive, better at communicating. I will remember the smiles of my students and their desire to have fun. I get the feeling that kids back home are more jaded than the ones I have taught here. There is still a degree of innocence among Japanese children and (without trying to sound like a dinosaur) young people do respect their elders more...
I don't want to turn this into a rant. It's more a way to fill the last 45 minutes of my day. Japan has been very good to me and I will treasure my experience and the friendships I have made. The place and it's people will always have a very special place in my heart. Visitors and short term residents almost always leave with a love for Japan. Long term residents often have a love-hate relationship with it. One explanation I have heard is that the Japanese are always kind, but rarely warm. To make a good Japanese friend takes a lot of work and time, something that sound a bit redundant to those who haven't lived here. To be invited into someone's home, for example is a major event. I have been in three Japanese homes - that's one for every year I've lived here. Longterm residents may tire of always being treated as the guest, despite the length of time they have lived here. At times, special treatment is nice, at times it can have a dividing effect - you just want to be treated like everyone else. Then there is the discrimination. Certain things are waived for you, as you are foreign and you wouldn't understand, or you don't know Japanese. Refusal from a guesthouse, not being told about events happening at school, your BOE telling you to just pay X, Y or Z without listening to the reasons why you shouldn't have to, and there is a list of assumptions as long as my arm that people make about you as a "gaijin" (outside person). These are the things that develop your patience, and I hope I never forget them.

New restaurant...well, to me at least

Russ, Luke, Daigo, Tomo, Emi, Emi's bloke and I met up for lunch today. Tomo was charged with finding a suitable establishment. She doesn't know downtown Joetsu that well, so she chose a place down near us in Arai. It turns out that they don't do lunch on Sundays, so we went over the road to a rather inconspicuous restaurant. Much to my surprise it was a great little yakiniku restaurant - one of my favourite styles of Japanese food. Yakiniku just means grilled meat. The last few weeks might be a little pricey...the food is pretty good.

Yakiniku originated from traditional Korean barbecued beef dishes brought over by immigrants to the Kansai area of Japan. Red meat isn't a staple in Japanese cuisine, so a trip to the yakiniku shop is quite a treat.

Eating meat was actually banned in Japan for many years on religious grounds, which partly explains why they eat so much seafood. Meat was only legalised in 1871 following the Meiji Restoration. The Emperor Meiji himself was publicly observed eating meat in 1873 to promote beef consumption.

At the yakiniku restaurant you order a selection of meats - beef, pork, offal, chicken, seafood, etc - and then slap it on the built-in grill on your table. You cook the meat as you go, dipping each bit in the tare sauce (my mouth is watering just thinking about it). If you drink too many beers it's easy to take your eye off the ball and your dinner will go up in smoke. Nice to discover a new restaurant just down the road, even though I've lived here for three years!

Kodo

Well, the clock is a ticking. Fifteen weeks and counting. One thing I won't get to do this year is visit the summer Earth Celebration Festival on Sado Island. I've been lucky enough to attend the last three and it's definitely one of the best experiences of my time in Japan. Have a look at this video of Kodo that I tried (and failed) to post a while back. They tour the world for 8 months of the year, so if you get the chance go and see them live.
My parents arrive next week. I'm not sure who is least prepared for this event - me, my parents or Japan...

So, yeah...

Well, it's fair to say that I sort of fell out of the old blog habit over the last 10 months. I've got another 5 months in Japan, so I might as well put together a few entries for old times sake - I know it's all going to feel like a dream once I've been at home for a few months.
How to sum up the last 10 months... Well, I'll fill you in on the last few weeks and then over the next wee while I'll chip in with the odd amusing or interesting biographical incident as the feeling takes me.
Right bang up to date - it's Friday, it's sunny, and I've got nothing planned for the weekend other than snowboarding interspersed with bouts of beer drinking. We have entered the final few weeks of boarding in Myoko - next week promises sunshine and warm temps, so the snow quality will likely drop off pretty fast. When will I get to board again? When again will I be able to buy a season pass for 60GBP? I have very much enjoyed that side of life in Yuki Guni (Snow Country).
Last weekend a group of us went to Nozawa Onsen in Nagano Prefecture. It's only about an hour over the mountains from Joetsu. Nozawa was one of the resorts used for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. The weather on Saturday was awful - thick fog, heavy snow and high winds. With the wind-chill, temps at the top were around -20C. Sitting on the lift was a test, let alone trying to navigate down the mountain with 20m visibility. Anyway, the day concluded with a trip to one of the famous public onsen (hot springs). We chose the closest one to the pension. Unsurprisingly it was jam-packed. There were only two small baths, each about 6sqm in area. We stripped down, as is the style of onsen in Japan, and proceeded to wash in preparation for going into the bath. Luke was first to go and he gracefully lowered himself in. "Ah, can't be that hot" I thought. I finished washing and plopped myself in next to Luke - it was bloomin' hot! It would have peeled the skin off a rhino! Turns out Luke had slipped and had little choice in the speed of entry. He grinned and bared it - this is a test of manhood in Japan! We sat there trying not to move in fear of causing fresh water to lap up against our bodies. After about 5 minutes my whole body was tingling. After 10 minutes I felt a searing heat on my right knee - now is a good time to leave, I thought.
This was the most rustic onsen I have ever been to. The onsen in Nozawa are free to use - you just wander around the town in a dressing gown (well, yukata-type thing) and onsen hop. Good times.
Sunday was a different affair - blue skies, deep powder and warmth! We took the gondola to the top of the mountain and then split up to do our own things. I was with Luke and Russ for most of the day. We had a great time doing a run through the trees from the Yamabiko four-man lift. It was really challenging and every run was different - you find yourself popping out at totally different points every run. I got a call from Luke's phone at one point - he had dropped it on the slope the day before and miraculously someone had found it. A white phone dropped on a foggy ski slope during a blizzard.
The views on Sunday were awesome. We could see our local mountain, Myoko-san, in the distance. The trees were covered in a winter frosting. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. Managed to get nicely sun burnt, though...
To top it all off, Russ was driving, so I could enjoy a cheeky beer during the drive home!