The Japanese know how to have fun

I guess I can't really compare how the British or Chinese teacher/company parties go, but one thing is for sure, and that's the Japanese really know how to make it a hell of a night.


On Friday night, I was cordially invited to one of my visiting school's "thanks for the hard work / thanks and farewell Mr Singaporean JET / let's work hard for the upcoming National Schools Sports Tournament" party. It was in this wonderful Japanese-Fusion-esque restaurant, in a private room for all 25 of us with our own bar, a fabulous set menu and all-you-can-drink. There was conversation and laughter and jokes and drinks and food for a good 2 hours, and more importantly great company. Some of these teachers really know how to get the party going. There was not a dull moment. I also love the unspoken 'what happens in a party stays at a party' policy. Nothing said or happened is to be talked about again. Everyone comes to work the next (working) day as if nothing happened the previous night.



Anyway, with the sake and beer continuously flowing (which, is actually drunk in tower-fuls - suitably named 'Ta-wa bi-ru'), a few of the teachers got up and did a sort of ritual chant/traditional cheering routine to cheer everyone on for the Tournament, for Mr Singapore and his future, and for the school in general to 'gambare'.

This party was definitely one-of-a-kind. And I love how each Japanese party is sort of similar but also quite different. I don't believe that any other culture out there does their parties like the Japanese do. Maybe it's something in the water? Maybe its something in the sake....

On Blogging, Travelling, School Lunches and Religious Freedom

From now on I do hope to post a bit more frequently...although it must be understood that 10 months in, I've settled in for quite a while now, those initial new 'Japan discoveries' have now become the norm.

And life has become pretty regular, except for the occasional travels - well, I say occasional, but actually I just realised I've been travelling pretty much every month since the JET-ing began..

- August - well, arrived Tokyo and setting foot in
- September - Sendai Jazz Festival in Sendai, Miyagi
- October - Lots of festivals around Fukushima; shopping trip in Tokyo; and the Gifu & Toyama Bus Tour
- November - Okutama JCF Retreat; Nikko, Tochigi; Tokyo DisneySea
- December - Hong Kong
- January - Sapporo, Hokkaido
- February - Aizu, Fukushima
- March - Tokyo; Nagano JCF Retreat; Osaka
- April - Kobe; Kyoto; Tokyo (yes, again)
- May - Okinawa


On a different note, when I saw what was served for lunch at school today, my first thought was that the guys who decided today's main dish, side dish, carbs and dessert obviously didn't talk to each other today...

We get school lunches delivered to school everyday by a school catering company. Usually the school lunch consists of: Milk, Main dish or soup, side dish, the carbs and dessert (erm actually the term 'dessert' is debatable as we sometimes get cheese or a packet of nuts & small dried fishies...so probably the term 'after-lunch snack' would be more appropriate..?)

Anyway, TODAY'S lunch consisted of: Milk, soft noodles, soupy Japanese curry, 2 takoyakis ('octopus balls') and yogurt. It's as if they picked each item out of many in catagorised hats. The school lunch company made absolutely no effort in giving thought to the combination whatsoever. Don't get me wrong - I wasn't mad, not at all. It was just really amusing. Although sometimes we do get some truly indigestible matter. A friend once commented on how school lunch soups are probably made: write down a bunch of foods on pieces of paper, put them in a hat, pick 3 or 4 out, then serve it in your own urine. I myself probably wouldn't've put it in such a way, although it does make you think...

....that I should be grateful that I have lunch at all.

I had also recently just realised, after being in Japan for nearly 10 months and teaching for 9 of those, that Japanese public schools don't have religious education. I shared my revelation with the trainee intern teacher sitting next to me, and she said it was because the government is not allowed to intervene in terms of anything religious, because religion is a sensitive issue, and people have the freedom to make their own choice.

I see it, however, not as freedom, but as a great limitation to freedom. It seems people are deprived of information to be free to make a rational choice based on facts. They are bound by a shallow 'religious' culture that surrounds them - on the surface all the festivals and shrines and temples make Japan seem deeply rooted in Buddhism and Shintoism, but underneath that superficial culturally colourful coat the real religion is of materialism, of keeping one's face (or dignity), of advancement and constant renewal, but also of a strong herd-culture. On the other hand, "many long-held traditional beliefs and values seem to be crumbling. Never, in Japan's recent history, have there been so many brutal crimes being committed as now. It is also reported that over 30,000 people commit suicide annually." (RBC Ministries)

I haven't really talked to any of the kids about religion, or how much they know about different belief systems. I don't expect them to know a lot. Even the reasons behind religious public holidays in Japan are not taught to children "because if they say so it will be interpreted as having to do with a particular denomination". I'm not saying indoctrinate the kids with certain religion(s), but there's not even a gateway for exploration and investigation, or even just a window to expand their worldviews and open up their minds to other cultures and beliefs and mindsets.

I sometimes feel the kids here are so bound up in chains of all sorts. They need freedom!

"Explain to us a God of love and so on and so forth...."

I got up from my business meeting, went to the telephone and my utterly crushed and broken wife on the phone said, "Wilfred, I had just wakened up to see our 9-month-old baby dead in her crib."...There was silence. I asked my wife, "Are you telling me the truth?" And she just sobbed her heart out.

As I was sitting in that train, heading back home immediately, I was an angry man. Two rather vociferous atheists ironically sitting beside me started to ridicule this other man next to them who was reading the Bible, attacking him of a God who had no concern for this world and the victims were so often children and so on...They asked him to explain to them a God of love and so on and so forth. I thought to myself, "yeah fella, go on, let's hear you answer that." He muttered and he stuttered and he stammered and did his best in this duel with this two against one, trying to keep up with their intellect.

But out of a flash, in all of my anger, with my eyes filled with tears, unknown to anyone of them, I looked to these two men and I said,

"Gentlemen, you want to know what kind of a God loves you?

I'll tell you.

He gave his son.

To die.

On a cross.

For you.

That's the kind of God who loves you."


- Wilfred Hawsons

Golden Times

I think I might just have to quite my job, go back to Okinawa, find an Okinawan husband and live there...

....at least that was what I thought when we left the beautiful tropics of Okinawa.

There was a national 5-day weekend from 2nd to 6th May - or 'Golden Week' - for the most of Japan. Most Japanese go traveling or go back to their hometowns to visit the 'rents and family. Friend and I went to Okinawa [possibly the most popular place Japanese people like to travel to during Golden Week] for 3 nights, from Friday to Monday.

Okinawa is a string of islands way down in the south of Japan - its not even close to the mainland. The main island of Okinawa ('Honto') was a 2 and a half hour flight from Tokyo. Okinawa is closer to Taiwan and China than mainland Japan. There's also a big U.S. military base there. All these factors combined makes Okinawa a very different prefecture to the rest of Japan. At least that's what I heard before I got there.

And it was quite true indeed. It certainly felt very tropical island-esque; a bit like Hawaii or south Thailand, except without the obnoxious western tourists, pick-pockets and hard-selling money-grabbing hawkers. It's mainly a tourist attraction for the Japanese. And I'd rather hope it stays that way. (Oh how hypocritical of me...)

We stayed on Honto, in Naha - sort of the city centre of the island, in this guest house - which was basically a normal house with a couple of rooms available to rent. Very simple, but the host was very nice - offering airport pick-up, tea and biscuits etc. The only thing a little creepy about it was that it was supposed to be a guest house for women only - but the host was a middle-aged man who apparently has a Philippina wife, except we never saw or heard her....




1. 国際通り　Kokusai-dori - 'International Boulevard'
The first night we explored the only thing that was of like the must-see tourist trap in Naha - a big long street lined with shops and restaurants and bars and the occasional street-performer (Street performers here almost always involve comedy-value and they talk and make jokes more than perform their special skills like juggling fire-batons or what-not. 'Twas entertaining, still). Having said that ("tourist trap") we ended up coming here every night for dinner.

2. Okinawa Soba
Soba (buckwheat noodles) is supposed to be a must-eat in Okinawa. It's basically a little thicker than normal Japanese soba, topped with a few chunks of pork-belly. Tasted fab but not so good for the abs.





3. Shuri Castle & Nakagusuku Castle ruins
So our first full-day (ie Saturday) was delegated as 'culture day'. We took the monorail to our first culture site - Shuri Castle - architecturally an interesting blend of Chinese and Japanese tradition. In fact, it was almost completely destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 so what we actually saw was a recontruction on the original site based on photos, historical records and memory. Anyway, it was at a nice high-ish point of the area and so it overlooked half of the city and over to the Sea of Japan.

On the way to our 2nd 'culture site', we stumbled across this little cafe (cafes here are so inconspicuous...wouldn't have noticed it if the street wasn't that quiet and if we weren't hungry as hell). It was run by one woman and had 3 chairs and a lunch menu of 2 options - the yakiniku lunch set or the tempura lunch set. All delicately home-made on the spot. 700 yen for starters, mains, dessert. and drink - WIN!

Nakagusuku castle ruins - a UNESCO World Heritage Site (loads of them in Japan!) - REALLY looked like it had been bombed the guts out of it.

I think if it weren't for the sun and heat of the day the place would've seemed a bit depressing, maybe a little eerie, but also somewhat refreshing from all the traditional temples and shrines blanketed across Japan. It was also very green as a forest was practically growing in and around it.

We ventured back to the city centre by bus, got told off for not having change for the bus, dragged our feet (energised by rice balls and chocolate) to the little 'beach' near the city centre, watched little children frolick in the surprisingly cold water and chatted to some Okinawan locals.


4. Snorkeling
I've never snorkeled before and OH my days it was probably one of the best experiences ever. We woke up to another beautiful sunny day at 6 in the morning, got picked up by the marine club guy at 7:30, got suited up and decked out and trained up for an amazing adventure. The water was cold but the wet-suits helped ease the chill-factor. After being told how not to drink or breath in sea water etc, we ventured out about 200 metres or so (actually I have no idea), whilst gazing underwater at the beautiful coral, spotting colourful little schools of various types of fish, starfish, sea snakes...it was absolutely fascinating. I was in awe of such creation, as well as of such a graceful and delicate God the Creator. No words can describe that kind of feeling. It was so peaceful, so chilled out....I felt like I wasn't merely looking but I was almost part of them. Ah to be a mermaid........


5. Sunset Beach
After snorkeling, we spent the rest of the day volleyballing, soccer, swimming and roasting on Sunset Beach. There was also a trio of 2 youngish Japanese lads and a middle-aged-looking perfect Japanese speaking American who happened to be practicing traditional Okinawan music on what looked like an Okinawan Shamisen (I think its called a Sanshin - somewhat like a 3-stringed banjo). It was golden just sitting in a free concert of traditional music, raspy old-Japanese-man-esque-singing, guitar, sanshin, the waves and sound of children in the background, under a blue sky, looking out into a crystal clear blue ocean......

After terrorising enough people with our beach ball and abominally bad soccer skills, we retired for the famed Okinawan BLUE SEAL ICE CREAM, made some like-minded ice-cream-loving friends (not pictured), and was treated to dinner back at the city centre, followed by drinks where M and her friend R joined us. We didn't actually see the sunset at the sunset beach...

**

Leaving Okinawa was certainly not a fun moment. Okinawa is definitely one of those places that require more than one visit, especially when there are other islands to terrorise, other coral reefs to be in awe at, and other beautiful beaches to roast on...

What's your creed?

I heard two poems within 2 minutes of each other the other day on Stuart McAllister's talk on The Mission: Effective Communication on my iPod.

Poem #1

Death Lib

The liberating thing about death

Is in its fairness to women

its acceptance of blacks,

its special consideration

for the sick.

And I like the way

that children aren't excluded,

homosexuals are welcomed,

and militants aren't banned.

Con men can't con it

Thieves can't nick it

Bullies can't scare it

Magicians can't trick it.

Boxers can't punch it

Nor critics dismiss it

Don't knows can't not know

The lazy can't miss it.

Governments can't ban it

Or the army defuse it

Judges can't jail it

Lawyers can't sue it.

Capitalists can't bribe it

Socialists can't share it

Terrorists can't jump it

The Third World aren't spared it.

Scientists can't quell it

Nor can they disprove it

Doctors can't cure it

Surgeons can't move it.

Einstein can't halve it

Guevera can't free it

The thing about dead

Is we're all gonna be it.

Steve Turner, "Up to Date" (Sevenoaks UK: Hodder and Staughton Ltd. 1987), pp 72-73

Poem # 2

Creed

We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin.
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don't hurt anyone,
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before during
and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy's OK
We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything's getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated.
You can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there's something in horoscopes,
UFO's and bent spoons;
Jesus was a good man just like Buddha
Mohammed and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher although we think
his good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same,
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of
creation sin heaven hell God and salvation.

We believe that after death comes The Nothing
because when you ask the dead what happens
they say Nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied,
then it's compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps Hitler, Stalin and Genghis Khan.

We believe in Masters and Johnson.
What's selected is average.
What's average is normal.
What's normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between
warfare and bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors
and the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.
It's only his behaviour that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth
that is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust. History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
excepting the truth that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds.

Steve Turner

Kansai-tastic

The Kansai trip with mum was almost a month ago, but it was definitely one of the highlights of this year so far. I took a week off school during the school's spring vacation and trekked down and around the beautiful, delicious, fascinating southwest Japan. I have wanted to come to this part of the country even before I got to Japan, and it was nothing short of what I had expected.

Shinking

It was the first time I ever took the bullet train (Shinkansen n., 'to shink' v.) and it was really fast. We weren't even on the fastest train, and took 3 hours from Tokyo to Osaka, whereas if one took a local train it would've taken 9-10 hours including all the stops and changeovers etc.




Special Kansai food #1 - Okonomiyaki
(which literally translates as fry the stuff you like)

It's sometimes referred to a Japanese pancake, or pizza, minus the bread, tomatoes, cheese, pepperonis, olives....
It's basically a big mish mash of flour, egg, meat, shrimp, sometimes leek, sometimes noodles, with toppings and cooking style varying slightly depending on region. So we had to have okonomiyaki as we were in Kansai. It was surprisingly salty. And my clothes still smelled the morning after we had it for dinner. Still nice though.

Special Kansai food #2 - Takoyaki

or Octobus balls! No not the reproductive sort, but a mish mash of little bits of octopus, pickled ginger, rice crispies, scallion, held together in a ball shaped by batter, cooked in little half-ball shaped grill plates, topped with this sweet/sour brown sauce and thin fish flakes that move about in the steam. I did get a little sick from too much of these octopus balls last summer when all the japanese festivals were going on, but again, had to have it. So we did, and shared a fresh piping hot plate sitting in front of Osaka Castle, under a blue sky, with cherry blossoms starting to bloom, kids running around and cute little puppies being carried around by big middle aged balding men.

Food - everything else

I can seriously go on and on about food......it was such a tongue-tantilising trip. Super soft 'fuwa-fuwa' cheese cake; Kobe beef, niku-maki (a 'meat wrap' - ie a rice ball wrapped around by meat'), yaki-soba, japanese topping-tastic curry, Yudofu (literally boiled tofu...I'm still not sure what's so special about it), tofu-burger, sushi, grilled things on a skewer (chicken, corn, wings...), UCC Coffee, tea with gold flakes (actually that was horrible)...

Osaka

First stop. We spent the first night squishing through the streets around Dotonbori with the saturday night crowd. A deep-fried manju, niku-yaki, 2 new pairs of earrings, photo with Mr. Dotonbori (right), bathing in the sights and sounds of a big bustling city all came together and equalled succes.

We hit the Osaka Castle the next morning, and I met up with a friend who used to be an exchange student at Warwick, and did some shopping. I had been telling her I'd visit Osaka for 8 months.

Highlight - Sacchan!

Kobe

Kobe the city itself was clean, beautiful and easy. We only did Kobe as a day trip, but we managed to fit quite a lot in thanks to those at the tourism board that were clever enough to create the City Loop Bus. We did the earthquake memorial park, Kobe beef (!!!), some shrine, shopping, a Japanese-paper art museum (actually more like a shop....and yes that was mum's idea), Kitano Meister Garden - this was a really cute, oldish-style building, with lots of little cake/chocolate/souvenir/crafts/coffee shops.

We spent the night in this place just outside of Kobe called Arima Onsen, in a Ryokan - traditional Japanese-style inn. We were very warmly welcomed and attended to - it was probably quite expensive...I wouldn't know 'cause mum paid for everything (WIN!); got dressed in yukatas; sat for a 13-course dinner; and slept on a futon in a tatami hotel room. Breakfast was about 10 courses. We then spent the rest of the day walking around the town - very touristy but again very cute. At one point I came across a sort of free public foot-bath, and sat down next to old grannies and dipped my feet in scorching hot water. I didn't even need a towel as the steam evaporated pretty quickly off my feet. I may have killed several million cells in my feet then.

Highlight - Kobe beeeeeeef.

Kyoto

Third and final stop. Kyoto was old and sweet. Even the hotel that we were in was in one of those typical narrow old streets where the creaky wooden gates in front of Japanese style houses are on. Kinkaku-ji (shrine), Ginkaku-ji, kiyomizudera (temple), Gion - where I saw a real geisha (I think), cherry blossoms lit up along the river at night. And even walking around those little Kyoto streets was calming. You'd occasionally come across a man dressed in Japanese clothing and sandles standing next to the cutest of shops or cafes, girls dressed in kimonos, with cherry blossoms floating around in the air...

Highlight - Cherry blossoms along Tetsugaku-dori

After two days of temples and shrines the third day was devoted entirely to shopping and making our way back up North to my territory of Iwaki, Fukushima. It was nice to be home. I took us to a local sushi restaurant, and just chilled out for the weekend. Mum went back to Tokyo for a night after 2 nights in Iwaki, and home.

We managed pretty well with my Japanese and our clear goals of what we wanted to do and see in those areas. I'm definitely going to try to visit some of those places again. It was too beautiful to take it all in at once.

Daily bread

At a church service a few weeks ago, the speaker spoke on Matthew 6:9-15, The Lords Prayer, with particular focus on the line 'Give us today our daily bread' (v11).

My mind wandered off for a few moments (as it always does, especially 'cause its quite tiring when trying to understand the Japanese as well as listen to Anniken sensei's English translation at the same time...).. it wandered over to Africa, picturing starving children who hardly even get a weekly bread, no clean water, minimalist living...

..my mind pondered over the reality of such a great gap in wealth and need between us (who have the privilege of even being able to read) and those who have literally, nothing. my mind got stuck on why I have so much, and I'm storing up so much, whereas so many others have nothing. 1 in 2 children live in poverty...! 1 in 7 have no access to health services. 1 in 5 have no clean water. 1 in 3 are without adequate shelter...(reference)

..my mind wandered across a spectrum of names of organisations, such as Christian Aid, Tearfund, Peace Corps...

..my mind then wandered over to a possibility of serving people with organisations like the above mentioned...it pondered over options of whether to simply support financially, or to actually go places and serve personally...

...my mind wandered back to the sermon, but was still thinking about what I was thinking about during that short wandering. And it has stuck with me since. I still haven't decided on anything. But I know something has to be done. Hmm.