Debut with the Ikata Men's Basketball Team

So we left for Yoshida Sports Arena (1 hrs away) at 9am today as we were set to play the Ozu Beers. Yeah, not Bears, BEERS. Oh, the raging alcholism in Japan. Not to mention the smoking uring half time. Totemo genki desune. We started off alright but they began to get a strangle hold on the game as they kept busting threes on us. This one guy with an iverson sleeve, he wouldn't miss. I suppose we were too lax on defense and our half court sets were frantic...not alot of crisp ball movement. I guess the credit goes to the other team for their D but still, it was tough. Final score was something along the lines of 69 to 53 I was hoping to cut the deficit to 10 by the start of the 4th quarter (as it had gotten to about 20 at half time). At one point we had cut it to 15 but never got under that. Tough day. In addition to shooters, they had a pair of big men that were sucking up rebounds and congesting the middle. Oh well. My stat line at the end of the game was fine. 8-14 FG, 2-3 FT, 1 assist, 6-8 rebounds, 18 points. Alot of my points were off put backs or drives. Wish we could have had the victory but I gotta hand it to the Beers, they made us feeling like "we didn't wanna feel like this anymore". 20th Birthday party-esque. Speaking of which, my 4th annual fantasy football draft is in an hour, good times. Cheers.

Farewell 419 Joost

Tomorrow I head back to Matsuyama for another week of Japanese class and chilling with JET people. The dynamics of the classroom are unique as we only speak Japanese...normally, back in the States, the instructor would use some English to aid us in our studies. While there are some English speakers in the class, there are many different people in the class: Australian, Belgian, Scottish, Canadian, Brazilian, Korean, Vietnamese and Argentinian. In fact, on the first day of class, I found myself seated next to a Portuguese speaker from Brazil and a Vietnamese lady. It was fascinating that I was forced to speak Japanese to get to know non Japanese people. I suppose this is how immigrants in America feel when they have to use English to communicate with so many different people. It's an interesting situation...two foreigners desperately trying to bridge the gap by formulating the most elementary sentences. While the language barrier is often frustrating, the struggle is often met with a "I know how you feel" look and nod. A sense of respect and connection is immediately formed through the mutual struggle. Though we are all from different countries and have varying professions (my Brazilian friend is a pro soccer player for the Ehime team), we all have the same goal: to survive the class so we can survive Japan. As for the Japanese people, when they see you trying your hardest to use their language, there is a sense of admiration and respect they have for your efforts. Wherever I go, the moment I use Japanese, I am met with only hospitable faces. I guess that's the power of language or the lack there of.

Outside my classroom, I am exposed to a plethora of cultures. In my apartment, I am rooming with 1 Irish, 2 Kiwis (New Zealanders) and 1 Hawaiian. It's been a fun bunch to hang out with as they're always smoking and drinking day or night. The crowded apartment reminds me of my short stay with several guys on the dragonboat team before I left for Japan. Shout out to Starcraft and Mario Bros. One night I went karaoking with a bunch of them and met a girl from South Africa and others scattered across the globe. Singing the night away to Notorious BIG "Big Poppa", "Billy Jean", "Bohemian Rhapsody", some Eminem and of course, Sir Mix Alot's "Big Butts." Good times. Another night I went to watch Harry Potter in theatres...better than the last time I went to see Harry Potter 8 years ago, where I refused to wear glasses because I did not want to look dorky around this girl. I don't remember too much of that movie. Harry Potter has gotten pretty old since my freshman year of high school.

Fun and games, learning Japanese, and watching movies, my trip to Matsuyama takes my mind off of things. You see, my family has been in the process of trying to sell my house due to financial reasons. My JET job has been a well timed blessing as it has allowed me to travel to another country, make some money and get my mind off of things. Since I'm abroad, I am almost protected by the thought of losing my home...I can create a fantasy that I am away from "home" and it'll be there when I come back...I'm just on vacation. But my mom's phone calls and the eerie discovery of my old house key are harsh reminders of reality. It pains me to think that I'll never use my house key ever again...it's absolutely useless. Everything has been cleared out of my house, all my things put in boxes and put into storage...only pictures and memories remain. I should feel fortunate as I was able to get out when I did, my poor mother is at ground 0, trying to figure out her next step. My father will move to a buddhist center but my mother is forced to stay in the States a little bit longer until the house if officially sold. Once she collects on her investment, she can finally move to India. Hard to believe, it has happened so fast that I cannot begin to process it as I sit here in my home in old Ikata-cho. I have a comfy bed, my laundry is strung all over the house and all my prized possessions are in a shoebox sized tuperwear bin. Dirty plates and clothes sprawled everywhere: yeah, this is my home. On the positive, I had my first paycheck a couple days ago...I can finally start saving money to pay off my pesky student loans. Or use it all for traveling purposes. Time will tell what I do. For now, I think I'll take a bath as the water is getting cold.

Back from Matsuyama

So I just got back from my prefectural (Ehime) orientation...met some cool people, took a Japanese class placement test and re-learned everything we learned from pre-departure orientation and Tokyo orientation. Well, this orientation provided me with more specific information and those who were involved in it worked their asses off. All and all it was a worthwhile trip to the "Big City". I'll be back again this coming up monday for a two week Japanese intensive course...sounds a bit...what's the word...intense. When I'm out of the classroom I should be able to explore the city's castle, onsen and many other attractions that undoubtedly relate to oranges in some form or another (fact: one of their baseball team's name is the "mardarin orange pirates"). Maybe buy myself a new basketball and other luxurious items that cannot be obtained in the rural countryside. And yes, I plan on indulging in overpriced Western cusine because you can't put a price on the comfort that comes with familiarity.

Aside from the bright lights and glamor of Matsuyama, life has been alright. Been fist fighting a cold and my liver seems to be betraying me as I have failed to recover from a night of drinking in Tokyo about two weeks ago. Been playing with the idea of giving up alcohol altogether but in this culture it would be hard. I am steadily getting better but it's alarming that it's taking so long. Shikataganai.

On a brighter note, I am currently trying to plan a 4 to 5 day excusion to Osaka in mid September and a journey to Cambodia and Vietnam during the Winter. While I have full intentions of saving money to pay off my loans, I will not squander my opportunity to explore this part of the world. In fact, ideally I would love to go to a couple of new countries every time there is a major break (New Zealand/Australia for spring break?). My friend Scott put it brilliantly, "You can spend your whole life working your ass off to make alot of money. Save that money, become rich and have tons of money at your disposal when you're old. But you'd have an old body, wasted your youth. I'd rather use that money to spend time with my friends and do things that are important to me in my young body." Yes this was NOT a direct quote but the paraphrase is close? In fact, my interpretation of what he said might be completely off but it still made an impact on me. I took it to heart. While I am given the opportunity I need to travel around the world and spend that time making new friends and experiences. Travel with my friends and share experiences. Of course I'll be frugal with my money, however, I'd certainly regret it if I was stingy. After all, my goal in life, at least the tangible goal I have for myself, is to travel to 100 countries. I'd rather not climb the pyramids, pose with the Easter Island statues or visit Stonehenge when I'm old. And hopefully all this travel will help me discover my goal in life...education, diplomacy, global understanding, whatever I can contribute. Through travel and meeting people, I believe I can make an impact and get one step closer to my goal.

Bah, excuse my rant, just thinking and writing. I guess that's the best type of thought, free flowing and honest. Perhaps it's not the best type of writing and reading, though. Sorry.

Anyway, I'm out of steam but I'll be sure to get photos posted and actual information about Japan posted soon. On a final note, I'm slowly immersing myself into Japanese culture. From the constant bowing to trying to be polite every moment in public, it's been good. I'm sure it'll drive me mad one day but I feel it'll make me into a better person. The Japanese are credited for alot of things: high tech gizmos, sushi and being real polite (a very short list). But they're definitely doing something right, why shouldn't people be polite to complete strangers or friends? Being at my school for a couple weeks now, I believe I've come to understand the secret. It comes from their stringent educational system that drills such behavior. Comradery, teamwork and pride in one's work is fostered in the schools;hence, I feel privileged to observe this phenomenon and play an integral role in its development. I feel my place in this is to contribute positive American values while taking in those Japanese habits that strike me as positive. Intercultural understanding and learning. I'm very curious as to how much I'll learn when school commences in September...I'll keep you posted with my findings.

1st post post 23rd birthday.

Well, I suppose it has come to this, if I want to keep in touch with everyone I knew back in the States, I need to clue them in on my life through a blog. Better than getting disconnected.

I've been in Japan for 2 weeks now, I'm finally settled in my apartment in the middle of the Ikata countryside. 2 bedroom apartment, nicely sized livingroom, kitchen, washing machine...pretty sweet. While the "middle of nowhere" aspect of it will take some getting used to, I could not have asked for a better location. You see Ikata-cho is a town on the Ehime-ken peninsula so the Japan Sea and Pacific Ocean is a short drive away. Kinda reminds me of my days in San Francisco when all I had to do was take a joy ride along Sloat Blvd to get to Great Highway, the cliffhouse and the foggy Pacific Ocean. My apartment is right behind my base junior high school so going to work takes about 1 minute by foot, the gym is right next door to the school so that's about 2 minutes away and the convenient store (Lawsons) is 3 minutes away. Perfect.

The People. They've been fantastic. My supervisor, Mr. Shiga, has done everything humanly possible to make me feel at home by running all sorts of errands with me: from helping me get internet and my alien registration card to going to the 100 yen store and helping me get a new toaster & microwave. He can't speak a word of English so it has been a challenge understanding all the big words he uses (he's a member of the board of the education so I guess he uses alot of professional language?). No matter, I get the gest of what he's saying. Jessamine, my neighbor and the CIR in the area, lives right above me. Talk about good location again. She's been very helpful as she's helped interpret everything, taken me around to firework displays and summer festivals, and helped me adjust to Japan by watching The Office and The Lord of the Rings with me. Nice way to cope with culture shock.

Everyone at the school have been hospitable too. People are always shocked when I can speak Japanese as "fluently" as I do as they always recognize a hint of my Osaka-ben (dialect). Honnma? Over the summer it is always a challenge to find things to do in the teacher's office. You see, while school does not start until September, we're still obligated to go to school to prepare lessons and what not. Unfortunately, as an ALT, I have very little to do. Some newbies opt to learn Japanese (to curry favor from fellow teachers) while others surf the net at the dismay of colleagues. I decided to help coach the middle school basketball team. In Japan teachers are obliged to participate as coaches for all the student's sports, even if they had never played it themselves. Coaching has been fun as it has helped me build a rapport with my soon to be English students. I've taught them alot: knock out, around the world, Cat & Mouse drills, passing drills (bounce and chest), rebounding (box out). It has been VERY difficult because I have had to do it all in Japanese. Maybe I should start using English...you know, that whole "killing two birds with one stone" saying, is it too cliche? I admit, I did get frustrated the other day...I don't know if it was because of the lack of hustle at the end of practice or just my own frustrations with my inability to convey my full thoughts to my kids. I want them to play the game right but it's hard when you can't even talk properly to your players. No matter, it's a two way street, I'll have to be a good student of Japanese if I wanna be better.

I love my middle schoolers but practice everyday wears on the body and mind. I needed to make some friends my own age. The answer: basketball with an adult team. Every wednesday at 7:30 there's an adult team that practices at the gym. I ran with them this past wednesday and I'd like to think I made some friends. The ages range as there are high schoolers and then there are men in their early 30s. Everyone plays hard, though, they run the court very well, cutting nicely to well timed passess. I can get used to this style of play. The captain, Yoshito, is pretty good as he uses his atheticism to penetrate the basket and hit mid range jumpers. Motoyama, a bigger fellow, has a distinct Osaka-ben accent. They both offered me to have beer after the game but I had to refuse...People in Japan drink ALOT, they seem to want to celebrate any occasion with a beer...it's crazy. You think you drink alot in college, no, Japanese people will out do you. And we're not talking young people, I'm talking about 40 year old Salarymen...they'll down 5 beers in a blink of an eye. Talk about the Kobiyashis of alcohol.

For my final thought I'll share with you all a project I'm trying to start up. I'm trying to arrange a Pen Pal with my old elementary school, Clarendon. What better way to foster cross-cultural understanding for the younger generation? I got a hold of my 5th grade teacher and he seems very excited about the project. As my school was a Japanese Bilingual school, the children will be able to write both in Japanese and English. In addition to letters, I will have them send pictures and little presents to each other. This project will be special for me as it'll let me share with my students what it was like to grow up in my CITY, my home. And I think it'll be important for the American students to understand a Japan that is not all about anime, high-tech devices and pokemon. Granted, this is part of their culture but letters to the countryside should allow them to understand a different type of Japan. My hope is that the students will keep in touch with each other and build a network amongst themselves.

Well, that's all from Ikata-cho, hope to hear from you all soon. Sayonara