Dartboard

My first week back at school was great. I taught a grand total of two classes this week and spent the rest of the time catching up with co-workers, studying Japanese and filling out various tax forms and applications. Tuesday started with an opening ceremony in the gym and a long morning cleaning. Remember that in Japan, students clean the school everyday, but they also do the deep cleaning (like waxing the floor, raking leaves or weeding, and washing windows inside and out). Tuesday I witnessed the floor waxing and was quite impressed with their efficiency and team-work. This is one of the best things I’ve observed about Japanese schools: collaboration.

In my last entry I complained a little about the cold weather and how central heating is underrated, but I didn't quite realize how serious the situation is. I don’t know how much of Japan is this way—I’ve heard everything from all of Japan to just Kyushu to just the islands—but I can you for sure that on this island schools do not have heat. And I can also tell you how incredibly unfair I think it is. The classrooms are freezing. When I teach I can see my breath, students fingers can’t grip their pencils because they’re so frozen, and the girls are wearing skirts!! The teacher’s room, the front office and the career center all have kerosene heaters which the teachers rush to after class, but the students just shiver all day long. I want to explain that in America it’s illegal for public schools to go without heat in the winter. If the boiler breaks, school is canceled. I believe that your education cannot start before you basic needs like food, shelter and warmth are met. How can your brain be functioning when your body is busy surviving? The only answers I get are lack of funding and “Japanese students are tough.”

Despite what the students have to go through, I am very happy at Nakagoto and I’ve decided to recontract for my second year. Although I assumed I’d be staying in Japan for more than a year even before I left Oregon I didn’t really know until I got here and experienced everything. The recontracting deadline is Feb 7th and I’ve informed everyone of my intent to recontract. This means that my supervisor, Hatakeyama-sensei will be leaving before me, which we both agreed will be so weird. On a separate note, the kocho-sensei (principal) has invited me and Koichiro to his house for dinner next week. He seems to sincerely care about my well-being here in Japan and also wants to take me fishing when it warms up a bit. I love going down to his office to have chats during free periods—he is always so kind.

This week I also got a new kotatsu buton. It’s a huge comforter and matching rug for my living room table. Because I already have such a big kotatsu, this futon takes up the entire living room, but the school bought it for me and it’s so wonderful to have. It’s a nice floral print good for winter, warm reds and dark greens. I wish I could show you a picture of this set-up but I left my camera in America for repairs and don’t expect it back for another four weeks or so. Therefore my blog will probably be photo-less for the next few weeks unless I can get pictures from the other JETs.

Friday was my first opportunity to go back to karate, but I decided not to go. I know… gasp! But I was just feeling like it was too cold to be running around barefoot on the cold wood gym floor. I will definitely go Tuesday and next Friday (because I have to get my certificate for passing the next level) and because our next test is in March—not a lot of time to practice and I want my purple belt!!! My alternative plans: I went up to Yuka’s place in Arikawa in hopes of seeing her town’s festival—boys going door-to-door with drums and playing for …good luck or something. While I was too late to see the drumming I got to sit under a kotatsu eating Hokka Hokka Tai (Japanese fast food so you know it’s fried) and catching up with the girls. A great evening.

Okay, the most exciting news I have saved for last. As you know, since Midori-chan has left us—May she rest in peace—I’ve been looking for a new mode of transportation. Well, not only have I found a suitable replacement, but I have purchased him. His name is Kuro kuma-kun, which means Black Bear, and he is a Jimny jeep. While Midori was a rather modest car, Kuro kuma is the complete opposite. He comes fully loaded with 4-wheel drive, a turbo engine, CD player, MD player and police scanner (which I haven’t figured out how to work yet). It’s a manual transmission which has been great to drive, great big tires for off-roading (which on this island means no more than a few construction areas with gravel), big yellow high-beams on the front grill and a spare tire on the back.

Kuro kuma-kun and me—love at first sight. (Thanks for the pictures, Peter!)

So yes, he is still a 2-door Japanese vehicle that fits in all the small spaces, but he’s still very manly and certainly unique. All for the bargain price of 16 man ($1,600). I was lucky to find him buried in the back of a car lot in Kamigoto and after a test drive I was determined to have him. There was another small blue car available for the same price—much more practical as it had four doors and an easy, accessible back seat, but there was no stereo at all and more importantly looks like every other small car on this island. I made the heart purchase instead of the head purchase and after driving him over 100 km over the island today with Peter and Catherine I know I’ve made the right decision.

Today on our drive we got some beautiful views of the island. Here the sun breaks though the clouds and spills over the ocean.

Me trying not to look like I’m freezing my buns off. Good thing I have my mom’s hand-made scarf with me!

We were all shocked to see a mountain goat near the northern end of the island. And it’s true… one pair of legs is longer than the other!

Tonight I was thinking about my vacation which comes up end of April, beginning of May and I’m thinking about going on a Habitat for Humanity trip to Bangladesh. It’s just a possibility right now, as a lot depends on how much vacation time I’ll have left by then, but I’d love to help with the tsunami reparation efforts somehow. I’ll keep you updated on this idea.

And triathlon training begins Monday. Yes, I’m still planning on doing the whole triathlon in June and it’s 20 weeks to game day! I found some training logs online and now that I’ve got a car (to get me to the pool) a bike and healthy legs there’s nothing stopping me—except the realization that I’m crazy to try this. If by Friday I’ve done my first five days of training I’ll be… only 1/20th of the way there… Oh god, what am I thinking…

My eyes won’t keep me up anymore. All my love,
Sierra

Well, I am safely back in Japan again. It’s good to be home. I had some trouble sleeping while in Oregon—going to bed really late and sometimes waking up really early. I assume it was adjusting to the time difference, but once I got back to my own apartment I slept so well I wonder if it’s just my own futon I missed… even that horrid bean pillow I have to sleep with!!

The trip back home was okay, but really long. During my second flight to Fukuoka I was pretty exhausted and couldn’t imagine the taxi to the port, the overnight ferry ride to my island and the 45-minute car ride I still had to take to get to my apartment. Luckily I was able to sleep a lot on the ferry and Catherine drove us back down to Narao in her car. *Thank you Catherine!*

These past two days have been great. I’ve just done my unpacking, rested and figured out the best system to stay warm in my apartment. Yeah, all that bragging I did back home about living on a tropical island has come back to bite me in the butt. It’s not tropical. It was 37º when I arrived and was snowing (although not sticking) on the car ride home. It’s was snowing pretty hard earlier today too, but nothing stuck. So my apartment is freezing. My electric heater which helped a bit before I left has no power against these temperatures. I’m using four different heating apparatuses and am still not very warm: the electric heater (which is expensive so I try to use sparingly), a halogen heat lamp for my upper body, a heating pad to sit on when the tatami mats are cold, and a kotatsu (heated table to sit under) for my legs. I’ve put up the sliding doors in my apartment to close off the living room because heating one room is easier than heating three. I dread going to the bathroom and sitting on the freezing toilet seat! Central heating is a luxury that I don’t want to go without in my own home!

School starts tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to seeing all my co-workers and students again. Tonight I have to organize all my souvenirs and gifts for everyone because I can’t show up empty handed. Besides the fact that I do want to give presents to those people who have been really kind to me, I have a cultural obligation to do it. Yesterday Catherine and I were hanging out at the onsen and we ran into the cake shop owner. I don’t know him, but Catherine has been to the shop a few times and so he held out his hands and said, “Omiyage” (basically, “What did you bring me?”). She doesn’t even know him that well! He may have been joking, but there may have been some truth to it as well.

I also have some bad news to share with many of you who knew my ex-boyfriend, Harald. As you may already know, his mother died of cancer just under a year ago, and I went to Norway to visit him in February. Well, he and his father have been living in Norway since she died and his father took her passing extremely hard. José, his father, was also diagnosed with lung cancer and had one lung removed last year. He never improved and had a minor heart attack and stroke just before the new year. Yesterday, early Sunday morning, José also passed away. Harald is an only child so while he has some relatives in the area, he has no immediate family and lives alone. I’m really worried about his well-being while going through this devastating and unfair situation. If you would like to send him your support (even if you did not know him he would appreciate knowing your thoughts are with him) please write me and I’ll give you his address. We all need reassurance in hard times like these.

In Memory of Jose Pernas. Summer 2001

Thank you to everyone who sent me Christmas cards and letters to Japan this holiday. My mailbox was overflowing with fun correspondence when I got back and it just made Japan feel even more like home.

Best wishes for 2005,
Love, Sierra