Aikido Enbutaikai

Well! Looks like I have a lot of videos displayed on Youtube, and even more buried in my Unlisted section.

Here's one that I ran across just now of our Aikido demonstration back in October. I had to keep it unlisted so that it wouldn't dwarf Gangnam Style's popularity right away. The action is just too intense. 

Not only is it a demonstration of a traditional Japanese martial art, but it's also a perfect example of Japanese ceremonies. Announcing, bowing, giving everyone a turn, bowing some more, and an absolutely infinite supply of patience from the audience. There were about two hours of demonstrations like this from all the different schools in the prefecture. From age 3 to 80 (or so it looked!), everyone was about to show off what they've been learning to a friendly, supportive crowd. 

At the end we got to watch the Master go at it with all the other school heads. Here's a video of him beating up our teacher, and here's a choreographed fight to finish it up with. Watching him made me see where they got the idea for Yoda. Also, on the last video, note how much time he spends contemplating the Japanese flag before bowing. All in all, pretty cool event. :)

Just Thinkin'

Just some recent thoughts, in no particular order.

When making my students' final exams, I have all the power!
    It's fun to know that I won't be taking it. Hah!

Fruit might as well be another variety of candy. It's so delicious!
    I've been eating mikan, or mandarin oranges like crazy these days. About 24 per week.

Beauty is one thing, but many a plain face looks beautiful when there's a smile on the lips and life in the eyes.
   Interview tests have given me plenty of time to reflect on my students' faces. I've always thought the energetic kids were extra cute (they are!), but there's nothing that different in their physical makeup. What really makes them stand out is the energy that bubbles out from within.

My bed is the bomb.
  It's all winterized now, which means a fuzzy-wuzzy sheet on the bottom, thick fuzzy blanket as the top 'sheet', a down comforter, and another comforter on top of that. Every night I climb into bed with my rice bag and get smothered by the weight of warmth. I love it!

I'll be home for Christmas!!!!!!
  If ever my thoughts wander these days, it's to this. Only two weeks away! "What do you miss most about America?" someone asked me, and it's definitely the people. Japan is very livable, but there is no substitute for the sweet faces of people I've known all my life. Until those reunions, though, I have a lot to finish up around here!

Sunny Saturday

It's been a good day!

This is my 5th top now with no completed ones. >.<

In the morning I finished my latest quilt top and rolled around in my ever-increasing supply of pretty fabric.

Then I got a call from Nody. We're having a lasagna night this Monday with a couple other teachers from school, so went on a mission to find the ingredients. YouMe Town, our fancy new mall, has a foreign import store with plenty of cheese varieties. That's where we started, gawking at the high prices while enjoying our free coffee, mango, and nut samples. Rather than buying huge amounts of the spendy Ricotta and Cottage cheese, we determined to make it ourselves!

But to make cheese you need a cheesecloth. Which happens to be headachingly difficult to find in Japan (just pretend YouMe Town represents all of Japan). After searching the grocery and home goods store with no luck, finally settled on 100yen gauze from the drugstore!

We had some Napolitan spaghetti for a late lunch. I made her do the unthinkable in eating unpeeled persimmons. Gasp! Although she claimed that her teeth are hard enough to knaw on walls, she still complained about the hard peel the whole time.

Then came the cheesemaking.

Can you guess which kind this'll be?

I never knew milk could smell so delicious.

We used a mixture of English and Japanese recipes, then let them sit in their warm, whey-y goodness for a couple hours while we went out on a walk!

Look, the sun is setting! 

The toilet paper is always nicely folded after she leaves.

(it took me about 5 minutes to recreate this scene on my own)

Post Script!

Everything turned out great. I may not be making it again anytime soon, but at least I know I can. : )

Tada!

Creative Japanese Inventions, 2

This is the other half of my students' work. More fun ensues. 

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Name: Eyewasher, ELHH (Eye-Lotion-Hitting-Helper), Glasses with Flask, Megusuri Sniper, Perfect, Eyewash Glassess 

"First, when you think that you can't put eyewash in your eye exactly, this product will help you. Second, how to use is only wear this product like normal grasses. Then, you can't miss! Eyewash goes into your eyes without floating. Your daughters, sons, husband or wife are crazy for you! Price is ... 980 yen! Ah?... expensive? Hah ... Ok. 490yen!" 

"I recommend this thing, "MEGUSURI SNIPER". With it, you can put a drop of an eyewash into your eyes without fail. First, wear this item. Second, put drops of eyewash into this item. That's all you have to do. How easy! It is reasonable. The price is 100yen, and spare parts are all 15yen each." 

Name: Sasumata, The Machine to Sleep, A Strong Man Under Jaw

"This is "A strong man under a jaw". When you are on the train and are very sleepy, but there is no seat you sit down, you use this product. First, bring this product into the train. Second, put it under your face and put you can sleep standing. The price of this product is 500 yen. If you buy this product within a week, you can get a cushion under a jaw." 

"I recommend you this product. This is the machine to sleep! When you cannot sit down in the train, it is hard for you to sleep in the situation, but it can assist you to sleep easily and comfortably. How to use it is only this. It is easy to use it. We can have ten sizes of it so if you are fat or thin, we can prepare one for you. The price of it is 10,000yen. Call "120-102-0035". Let's buy it!" 

Name: Cleaning Baby Clothes, The Baby Cleaner, Floor Cleaner, Useful Cleaner, Hai-hai Mop, Baby Mop

"This is new type of baby clothes. When you clothe your baby in this wear he cleans floor, so you don't have to clean by yourself. Thanks to it, you can save your time. When the clothes get dirty, please wash and you can use it again. Its price is just $4.98. Please take care of your baby when using. If your baby eats it, it's bad for your baby's health."

"This is the baby cleaner. I recommend you this product. First, if you use this product, you can save a lot of time. For example, when you are busy doing a lot of work, you have only to leave the baby alone to clean your room. Second, the baby might feel this work challenging when the baby is praised by the baby's parents. That's why you should buy the baby cleaner if you have a lot of work to do, and love your child."

Creative Japanese Inventions, 1

Today some papers appeared on my desk. "Can you correct these by Thursday?" The assignment was to advertise one of these 6 weird Japanese inventions and sell it to a customer. We customers don't know what it is or how to use it, so they have to explain. It's these kinds of things that make me love being an ALT. 

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Name: Hanakamikun, A Toilet Paper, Mr. Noseman, Anwhere Paper, Always With You, No More a Runny Nose

"You can use this product by carrying out the following procedure. First of all, put on your head. Next, when you want to blow your nose, you use as you like. Advantages of it is you can use easily whenever you want to use. After that it is not trouble because it is on your head. Lastly, it is large enough. A pocket tissue runs out in a short time, but it is a large oblong chest. So I recommend this product. If you use it, you may be a popular person because of the funny appearance."

"Do you have an experience that you want to blow your nose but you have no tissue paper? Then this commodity is of great help. What's this? This is a "Hanakamikun". If you set it on your head, you can use tissue paper whenever and wherever you want to blow your nose; during the meeting, on the train, and even during the test!It usually costs 20 dollars, but today, you can buy it for only 10 dollars. Get it right now! Thank you for hearing me."

Name: Mane of Lion, Ramen Hat, Eating Without Trouble, SHIFF

"First, hook this to your forehead and your chin. After that, eat noodles like ramen with putting on the SHIFF. It prevents being splashed with soup. So you can eat noodles without soiling your hair, and your clothes! The price of the SHIFF is 100 yen. And now, if you affix a SHIFF's prize seal to a letter and enter the prize contest, you may win ten thousand yen!"

"It are children that the products are used. When you shampoo your child's hair, please get your child put on this on the head, and shampoo won't enter child's eye. Also, if your child put on the hat, your child can transform himself into lion! This hat makes your bathing fan. Please buy this product."

Name: An Electric Fan, Cool Bringer, Ramen Cooler, Huu Huu Machine, Winds of Angel

"You may have burned your mouth with hot ramen. This is a good news! This machine is called "ramen cooler" and cools ramen. How to use it? It's easy. First make ramen (or go to ramen stand). Second, turn on this machine and hang it on your wrist. Lastly, enjoy ramen. This machine cools ramen by blowing over ramen. We sell this for 1000 dollers! Very low price! There must be no choice but to buy it." 

"If you feel hot, please switch it on, and you will feel cool! I'll show you how to use this product. First, set it on desk or flat floor. Then, switch it on, and change the direction of it so that you get cool wind. Cool Bringer has strong power to turn blades, though it is small. So you can bring it anywhere. The price of it is 1,980 yen. If you buy it in 3 hours, we can allow you a 10% discount. Let's buy it now and spend cool days!

"It's called electric fan. It is nice to enjoy uttering " A A A ... " in front of electric fan. If you don't have something to do during your summer vacation, you can enjoy by yourself. So electric fan is the most useful in consumer home electronics. Do you wanna buy the electric fan, don't you?"

The Happy[est?] Day

Let me tell you about one of the happiest days of my life. Bust first, I'll give some background to the story. 

In high school, I was a really busy student. I took honors classes, had club activities, and did volunteer work outside of school. 

It was overwhelming on most days, and I could never get enough sleep.

Although I liked my life, I couldn't wait for high school to be over. There were so many days that I longed for graudation day so I could be free from all the schoolwork. 

Finally, after 4 years, the day came! I went to school in the morning for the ceremony rehearsal, and hung out with my friends all day. We wandered the school, and told stories about old times.

Then, it was time. I dressed in the black gown and marched into the gym with everyone. All my family was there in the audience. When they called my name, I walked on stage to get my diploma. With the music playing in the background, I shook hands with the principal and got a hug from the guidance counselor.

Afterward we had a reception with cake and drinks, chatting with all the people who had helped my through the years.

When I got home, I reflected on the beautiful night. High school was great after all! And now I was free from homework, free from tests, and could enjoy myself. That is . . . 

. . .until college started 3 months later!

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This is just an example story I made for one of my English classes. They're supposed to make a story about one of their superlative (most ________)  days and draw pictures to go with the narration. I can't wait to see what they come up with!

Autumn Arrived

In all my teacherly garb.

It's fall! Today is the official first day, but it's been sneaking in all week. To celebrate, I haven't taken my towel to school in a week. I switched from shorts to pajama pants. Even whipped out a comforter to replace my wispy summer blanket.

This is my favorite season, and I plan to make the most of it. We're looking at a pretty busy October up ahead. With preparation for English Day at school and chalk full weekends, I wonder when I'll ever get the time to do laundry again! I'm hoping to go rafting, visit Kyoto and/or Hiroshima for the autumn leaves (and sightseeing, of course!), participate in a big Aikido event, go to Culture Day at my tech school, and camp out on a mountain to see the sunrise. Weather may dictate the likelihood of each event, but I'm sure at least some will come to pass.

What are your plans for this fall? Let's enjoying!

Night after a typhoon last week. 

Turning Japanese

I'm young and impressionable. Here's a random list of the ways Japan is affecting me.
I know I've been in Japan for too long when...

• I throw up a "V" sign for every picture without a second thought
• I squat to pick things up from the floor rather than bend over
• I nod and say "un,un" throughout the length of someone's speaking to me
• I get shocked at people in American movies for driving on the right side of the road
• I eat meals at my coffee table even though I have a normal table in the kitchen
• I expect to get candy on White Day
• I brush my teeth at lunchtime
• I worry that people will feel uncomfortable overhearing my business in the bathroom because I don't flush to cover the sound
• I never go out in public with shoulders exposed
• I look forward to hearing other foreigners speak in Japanese just to hear their accents
• While on trips, I worry over who to bring omiyage back for
• I eat natto voluntarily
• I bow while talking on the phone
• I add random emoticons to my texts
• I think all bikes should have baskets on them
• I think of a "sandwhich" as a "sand" or "sando"
• I marvel at the deliciousness of soft cookies
• I can eat a whole fish or octopus without too much trouble
• When in public, I try to brush my hair on the sly
• When I see a guy and a girl alone together, I think they must be dating
• I say "karaoke" and "karate" in the Japanese way
• I can do seiza (sitting on knees) for 20 minutes effortlessly, 30 with determination
• I don't expect soap or papertowels in public bathrooms
• I no longer have to convert from military time
• I forget about American holidays like Labor Day, President's Day, etc.
• I introduce myself as Rosheru Homuzu
• I talk about the importance of replenishing ions and electrolytes

I could go on and on. Enjoy your Americanness! 

One Fine Day

Is it sad of me to do so much alone? You could say so, but I think what's worse is sitting at home pouting about it instead of going out and doing things anyway.

Here's another video of a recent trip to the beach.

I'm getting paid for this?

1,000 handprints, from everyone in the school.

I have to go to work this weekend.

But you know what? I can't wait!  I've actually been looking forward to this for the past month.

Now you're probably imagining me sitting at a desk, grading tests, cutting out hundreds of karuta cards, or digging through my desk in hopes of forgotten sweets. If this were any time other than the start of 2nd semester, then yes, that's what I'd be doing on a weekend at school.

But this is the Culture Festival.

Just one of the 4 main corridors with Shops and exhibitions.

It's an all school event that students spend the whole first week of school preparing for. Each class plans its own theme - Olympics, Haunted House, Maid Cafe, Marriage Power (for their recently married teacher). This involves decorating their classrooms and finding some kind of food to sell. Students have been coming through the teacher's room all week selling their tickets, so now I'm all set for fish & chips, shoe cream, ice cream, parfait, fried squid, potato wedges, maccha at the tea ceremony, fried chicken, and taiyaki, a kind of fish shaped dessert. Aside from all the good eats, each club will exhibit their fine work, student bands will put on a rock concert, and we get to see all 27 classes do their own choreographed dances spread out over the next couple days. Everyone in the community is invited, too, so students' parents, siblings, and friends from other schools are welcome to walk through and peruse the stalls, tour the school, etc.

The teachers said they didn't sell as many as usual this year.

Wafu Parfait. Don't be fooled by the Brazilian flag. Red beans, mochi, kinako,
and green tea ice cream are definitely Japanese style.

Greg checking out his Oppai ice cream. 

Already ate the fish, but here're the chips.

Served by Sado (tea ceremony) Club in their yukata.

Awww. 

So this week they've had classes in the mornings, and the afternoons have been devoted to making decorations and practicing their dances. As I've wandered the halls chatting with new students every day, I keep marveling over the fact that this is part of my job, and that I'm getting paid just to be there and hang out, eating delicious food!

All in all, the Culture Fest was a big hit this year. Could it really be my last one? I've begun to hope not...

Dessert Date

"Let's go out for dessert!" Subin suggested. You know I'm always down for that. 

I got a Sudachi roll cake, the flavor of Tokushima.

Subin and her husband Derek, posing in front of the Pacific ocean. Not a bad view, eh?

We chatted close to 3 hours, enjoying the company, dessert, and ice cold water while watching people play in the ocean just outside.

Vidz

What's with all these videos lately? My hard drive is full of all this random footage from car rides, bike rides, animals, scenic panoramas, and secret shots of people talking or eating. I've been collecting them for years, always with the idea of putting them into music videos, but through college I never really had the time. Finally, though, I've come to a place with free time in abundance, and can splice some of these scraps into watchability. Putting music to the moments and setting them side by side with each other seems to bring a sort of magic quality to ordinary life. It's like seeing my life in a movie, realizing how precious and exciting it all is.

After making almost 10 different ones, it's getting to be a pretty simple process. If the videos are all from one event and in the same folder, it only takes about 2 hours to come out with something satisfactory, and another 45 to save and upload it. Other times it can take up to 5 if I have to spend a lot of time hunting down files in my bajillion folders, editing the music, or restarting after unsaved crashes (fiiinally starting to learn my lesson there).

Overall, though, it's a pretty easy formula. I either start with a song idea or a group of videos, then search for the other to accompany it. Open up Windows Movie Maker and drag-drop the files I wanna use. Start right off by plopping the music into the Audio Bar, then play around with putting in the videos, muting them from the get-go. With this you just have to start from the beginning and work forward, making sure each part is exactly how it should be before adding in the next. Otherwise it will mess up all the timing to go back and change things. The best part of basing it around music means that there are obvious places to cut to the next clip without making it seem like a jumbled mess. I make liberal use of the fades and Speed Ups, and try to make sure there is some kind of movement in each part. Rewatch from the beginning a few times throughout the process, play around with transitions, add credits at end, and wala!

I don't presume to say I'm any pro at amateur music videos, but it is a fun little hobby. Perhaps if I were better at talking behind the camera like Nic or Mom, you'd get some real sound and commentary. As it is, though, I hope you enjoy my little projects! :)

Here is my latest one from the Tsushima Festival in Kagawa. More info in the dropdown under the video.

Nagoya

A couple weeks ago I set out on a two day trip to Nagoya! The last time I'd been there was over the Spring Break trip in April. That time we didn't explore the city at all, but just stayed overnight at a hotspring place. When I went back, though, I did get to revisit the same Yoshinoya that we ate at 4 months ago, one drizzly spring morning. It was just as crowded as ever, and equally hard to find within the maze of that underground shopping mall.

Seats about 30, no joke. 

This time I met a friend from the U of M who's been studying abroad there all year. I caught him just 2 weeks before he flies back to MN! So he showed me around the city. We went to the Higashiyama Zoo, where they had elephants, speckled deer, bears, penguins, and all those good zoo-y animals. It was kind of sad to see many of the small, undecorated cages that the animals were in. But what can you expect from only a $5 entrance fee?

Everyone was just beat from the heat. If animals were to sweat, they'd all need a giant sweat-towel to roll around in every few minutes. I could've gone for one too. Throughout the time in Nagoya, the weather hovered around 100 and the humidity barely below that (or so it felt). I must have employed a good many vending machine operators in efforts to stay hydrated. I also  scandalized poor Huckさん at all the restaurants in my demands for frequent water refills.

"Do I really have to be in the picture?"

After the zoo we walked around Sakae, a fancy shopping area, mainly window shopping. One of my goals was to try some Meibutsu, or regional food famous from Nagoya. For this I tried エビ天, or Fried Shrimp with a delicious horseradish dipping sauce. The next day I went for Anko (red bean) toast, and had a so-so conbini sandwich with the famous Misokatsu (breaded pork with miso sauce).

Really diggin' this. Needs whipped cream on top, though.

Headed back to my hostel pretty early and chatted with everyone there in the common room. It had some really creative paintings all over, and cozy bunkbeds in the dorm.

The next day we tromped through more outdoor malls in search of the elusive ankotoasto, then went to an aquarium on the Port. The dolphin show was really stunning. Although everything there made me all the more desperate to go swimming, at least they splashed us a good deal when they swam by.

The dolphins were extra genki after meeting me. 

That evening we train-ed out to Gifu, a nearby city, for their famous fireworks show. It started around 7:30 and didn't finish til 9, with 30,000 fireworks squeezed in between. It felt like an iconic Japanese summer to sit out on the grassy riverbank surrounded by people in yukata eating festival food as the lights exploded overhead. When they finished, the entire city seemed to move like a wave in the direction of the train station.

I made it back just in time to catch my 11pm bus back to Tokushima. Believe it or not, there were very few people traveling back to the countryside on a Saturday night, so I got 2 seats to myself and managed a good 6 hours of sleep. It may have just been my exhaustion from a day well spent, but I like to think it was due to my polished skill of finding sleeping positions on public transport. Those daily commutes and  Greyhound rides back in the states weren't for nothing!

Anyway, despite the heat, it was a good time. Here's a music video of the trip, starting with the busride there.

Home?

I may not be faintingly homesick, but I sure do miss home. Especially after going through old videos and seeing the faces of some of these awesome people.

*Fixed the green line by changing to DV-avi :)

Google Maps!

Who knew it could take such precious photos?

One of the other teachers was cruising around Japan this afternoon on Satellite view, so I thought I'd check out home.

I can name all the junk sitting around in the yard. And is that Nic's new car in the driveway?

Then took a trip up north to the cabin at Brainerd. You can see our dock left in, despite it being.. fall?

And finally over to friend's places. Look at how crisp the right two are!

My heart hasn't raced so much over Google Maps since a year ago when I was looking up my new city here in Japan.

My apartment is the blurry white blob on the bottom left, with the old Yoshino river just to the north.