i'm pretty scared. this large white lady ran into my back with her luggage cart when i stopped to go through the ticket turn-style, no apology or anything. what's weird is that i automatically apologized in japanese. this other lady in line for checking in had three kids that were just running all over the place and screaming.
i'm beginning to feel incredibly intimidated, and i'm still in narita airport. i've been thinking a lot about how to conduct simple transactions back in america, and i'm a little foggy on a most of the details. for instance, i don't remember if i have to tell everyone that i don't need a bag, or if that's even an acceptable statement there. how would i say that? i got so used to saying it in japanese before i even reached the counter, maybe i just didn't notice when i'd say it in the states. i have this wierd feeling that i'll try to interact with people when i get there, and instead just quiver and pee my pants.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
young, attractive british adventurer seeks soul/first mate
check this dude out:
http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/63/recycled-catamaran/
building a cat out of plastic bottles and sailing across the pacific, which i think is pretty sweet. stories like this fortify my belief that the world is educating itself on the folly of grotesque consumption patterns. if i wasn't already living the dream, i'd head to san fran and help a brotha out.
in extremely related news (for those out of the loop), anne is planning to produce no waste during the month of july. yet another brilliant source of inspiration for the rest of us.
http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/63/recycled-catamaran/
building a cat out of plastic bottles and sailing across the pacific, which i think is pretty sweet. stories like this fortify my belief that the world is educating itself on the folly of grotesque consumption patterns. if i wasn't already living the dream, i'd head to san fran and help a brotha out.
in extremely related news (for those out of the loop), anne is planning to produce no waste during the month of july. yet another brilliant source of inspiration for the rest of us.
Monday, June 22, 2009
net fishin' ol' okie
we went to okayama with the english speaking society from anne's university on saturday. the purpose of the trip was fishing followed by barbecue. i heard we were fishing with nets, which i've never really done. i was all thinking like traditional japanese fisherman style, tossing hand nets into the gentle breeze and hoping to land a fish or two to sustain daily hunger. my imagination of the experience was only slightly off the mark.
we got to the beach and split up into two teams. there were some fishermen there with a boat and a huge friggin' net, probably 200 meters long or so. on either end of said net was a 2" diameter rope, likened to those popular in the ol' war tug. the boat dropped one end of the net on the sand and laid the rest in a sweeping semi-circle out into the sea. after the other end was laid about 1000' feet down the beach, the teams went to work hauling in everything unlucky enough to be alive in the area. i do mean everything. sting rays, cephalopods, and 4" fish were among the spoils. although not quite as traditional an experience as i pictured, it was quite fun.
one of the larger hauls
we got to the beach and split up into two teams. there were some fishermen there with a boat and a huge friggin' net, probably 200 meters long or so. on either end of said net was a 2" diameter rope, likened to those popular in the ol' war tug. the boat dropped one end of the net on the sand and laid the rest in a sweeping semi-circle out into the sea. after the other end was laid about 1000' feet down the beach, the teams went to work hauling in everything unlucky enough to be alive in the area. i do mean everything. sting rays, cephalopods, and 4" fish were among the spoils. although not quite as traditional an experience as i pictured, it was quite fun.
one of the larger hauls
team 1 fishing.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
big mountain
'sup y'all's'uns.
last weekend we took a cruise out to dai sen (big mountain). this is a volcano on the west coast of japan, damn nigh the inland sea. known as "ol' dicey" to the locals, it surely was a beautiful sight. rippin through the middle of japan i noticed some serious countryside for the first time. really nice! nothing but conifer covered mountains and real small farming villages (and the highway we were on). turns out that cedar and pine don't cover the land naturally, the timber industry planted the whole lot. the dice master is a pretty pop ski resort. we even passed a few chain up areas.
teaching kids is going a lot better, mostly due to two things. 1) i have fewer classes, and 2) i've actually been preparing ahead of time. i'm sure all you teachers out there know the feeling of having 35 minutes left in class and no more activities. to avoid that nasty action, anne says 'tis best to bring way more stuff to do than you have time for. been working quite well. i've also noticed that when i stand in front of kids with flash cards, they prefer to run around the room and smack each other in the head. when i show a video of some other chump with flashcards on my computer, it's attentions galore! technological advancements baby. whoo!
so, ummm, let's see....... how's some photes?
ye ole montana cafe. it's kind of like a home away from home, 'cept they're a bit to keen on showcasing desserts rather than taxidermic prowess. more dead animals, less frosted pastries, that's what lil' mikey always says.
it really is quite big, no?
me n' anne, about to kick the ass of one of the better lunches i've experienced.
the sole water crane.
it is up high in a tree.
when will it eat fish?
i (foreground) gotta tell ya, i just loved daisen (background)!
shotty video of this really, really angry japanese man perched on top of a parked van armed with quite possibly the loudest PA system ever. alls i could understand were words like "japan", "japanese", "america", and "american". kept distance, and later confirmed that he was probably a member of some extremist anti-states political party. you can see him in the very bottom center of the video. i stood across the street and shot from the hip, so as not to cause any trouble.
last weekend we took a cruise out to dai sen (big mountain). this is a volcano on the west coast of japan, damn nigh the inland sea. known as "ol' dicey" to the locals, it surely was a beautiful sight. rippin through the middle of japan i noticed some serious countryside for the first time. really nice! nothing but conifer covered mountains and real small farming villages (and the highway we were on). turns out that cedar and pine don't cover the land naturally, the timber industry planted the whole lot. the dice master is a pretty pop ski resort. we even passed a few chain up areas.
teaching kids is going a lot better, mostly due to two things. 1) i have fewer classes, and 2) i've actually been preparing ahead of time. i'm sure all you teachers out there know the feeling of having 35 minutes left in class and no more activities. to avoid that nasty action, anne says 'tis best to bring way more stuff to do than you have time for. been working quite well. i've also noticed that when i stand in front of kids with flash cards, they prefer to run around the room and smack each other in the head. when i show a video of some other chump with flashcards on my computer, it's attentions galore! technological advancements baby. whoo!
so, ummm, let's see....... how's some photes?
ye ole montana cafe. it's kind of like a home away from home, 'cept they're a bit to keen on showcasing desserts rather than taxidermic prowess. more dead animals, less frosted pastries, that's what lil' mikey always says.
it really is quite big, no?
me n' anne, about to kick the ass of one of the better lunches i've experienced.
the sole water crane.it is up high in a tree.
when will it eat fish?
i (foreground) gotta tell ya, i just loved daisen (background)!shotty video of this really, really angry japanese man perched on top of a parked van armed with quite possibly the loudest PA system ever. alls i could understand were words like "japan", "japanese", "america", and "american". kept distance, and later confirmed that he was probably a member of some extremist anti-states political party. you can see him in the very bottom center of the video. i stood across the street and shot from the hip, so as not to cause any trouble.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Dr. Egon Spengler and the J-Beej
adolescent males worldwide piss people off all the time. it's just sort of what they're born to do. no different here, except it's much harder to take any of them seriously. while japan has many faces, many styles, today i'd like to discuss two of those adopted by this precarious demographic (or at least how i've stereotyped them).
many of young men here resemble what in america would sometimes mistaken for an extremely intelligent, oddly badass ghost expert. they are generally japanese enough to be polite to strangers and dorky enough to be friendly to foreigners. i like these types of dudes. neither intrusive nor intimidating.
another (and probably the most popular) style involves extending, dying, and teasing the hair, whilst shaving off the brows and revving the vespa as loud as possible all the time. most of these dudes look like chicks (at least from behind) and are considered serious hard asses. it's really quite funny, and maybe even less intimidating than the former. being in osaka is like being on MTV circa 1986.
i had a brief encounter last weekend when i accidentally kicked an atomic warhead into the middle of a trio of browless jovies sitting on the ground. "sorry" i said. douche bags waited until i was about 10 feet away from them before throwing at me.
this blog post is going nowhere. i really just wanted to photoshop jbj's brows off. here're some photes!!
went hiking last weekend. came across this wierd ampitheatre upon emerging from the woodsies.
extremely clear that day. from the map in the foreground, you can infer that the range of visibility is 20+ km.
looking north on suma beach, supposedly the str8 up hot shit in the sumatime. get it?
options. useful when you only want a couple small sips.
many of young men here resemble what in america would sometimes mistaken for an extremely intelligent, oddly badass ghost expert. they are generally japanese enough to be polite to strangers and dorky enough to be friendly to foreigners. i like these types of dudes. neither intrusive nor intimidating.
another (and probably the most popular) style involves extending, dying, and teasing the hair, whilst shaving off the brows and revving the vespa as loud as possible all the time. most of these dudes look like chicks (at least from behind) and are considered serious hard asses. it's really quite funny, and maybe even less intimidating than the former. being in osaka is like being on MTV circa 1986.i had a brief encounter last weekend when i accidentally kicked an atomic warhead into the middle of a trio of browless jovies sitting on the ground. "sorry" i said. douche bags waited until i was about 10 feet away from them before throwing at me.
this blog post is going nowhere. i really just wanted to photoshop jbj's brows off. here're some photes!!
went hiking last weekend. came across this wierd ampitheatre upon emerging from the woodsies.
extremely clear that day. from the map in the foreground, you can infer that the range of visibility is 20+ km.
looking north on suma beach, supposedly the str8 up hot shit in the sumatime. get it?
options. useful when you only want a couple small sips.Tuesday, June 2, 2009
stabbing myself in the eyeballs repeatedly with a rusty ol' salt shaker
teaching children has quickly become my least favorite thing to do in the world. it basically all the elements that i hate about life combined with all the things that i suck at nestled into a box of skills that i lack. lemme break it down:
1. social energy. this is something that i lack completely. for example, if i'm out at a bar and don't know anyone to talk to, it's much easier for me just to go home than meet new people. little tiny japanese babies, on the other hand, seem to enjoy simply climbing out of the windows* and giving each other bloody noses*.
2. discipline. i've always felt that if i wanted to tell kids how to do things, i'd just have a pair or two myself. as it stands, i'm still figuring life out, and i think that makes me unqualified to tell other people how to do things. if you can't teach your children how to sit still in a chair, then clearly they aren't ready to learn english.
3. assholes. i don't like them, and try to avoid interacting with them. regardless of age.
4. humor. i've been known to whip out some hella-wit on occasion whilst kickin' it old school adult-stylie, but it seems nearly impossible for ol' monotonous mikey to get laughs out of the young japanese.
5. respect. i'm not going to reach into your pocket and try to take your money*, and i expect the same courtesy from you. somewhere along the line english teachers have instilled the idea that we're all just kids ourselves, and we love to run around screaming and not paying attention to anything! whoo! english time!
6. second guesses. i leave each class trying to reassure myself that i don't actually hate children, i'm just not cut out to teach them things.
this is written in complete frustration, and hopefully it's one of those silly post-skis that i'll look back on and be like "man, i can't believe that i was once so bad at teaching children." at the very least, i'm confident that i'll look back on it after this month and be like "man, i'm glad that i'm never teaching children again. ever."
*actual occurences (over the past two days).
1. social energy. this is something that i lack completely. for example, if i'm out at a bar and don't know anyone to talk to, it's much easier for me just to go home than meet new people. little tiny japanese babies, on the other hand, seem to enjoy simply climbing out of the windows* and giving each other bloody noses*.
2. discipline. i've always felt that if i wanted to tell kids how to do things, i'd just have a pair or two myself. as it stands, i'm still figuring life out, and i think that makes me unqualified to tell other people how to do things. if you can't teach your children how to sit still in a chair, then clearly they aren't ready to learn english.
3. assholes. i don't like them, and try to avoid interacting with them. regardless of age.
4. humor. i've been known to whip out some hella-wit on occasion whilst kickin' it old school adult-stylie, but it seems nearly impossible for ol' monotonous mikey to get laughs out of the young japanese.
5. respect. i'm not going to reach into your pocket and try to take your money*, and i expect the same courtesy from you. somewhere along the line english teachers have instilled the idea that we're all just kids ourselves, and we love to run around screaming and not paying attention to anything! whoo! english time!
6. second guesses. i leave each class trying to reassure myself that i don't actually hate children, i'm just not cut out to teach them things.
this is written in complete frustration, and hopefully it's one of those silly post-skis that i'll look back on and be like "man, i can't believe that i was once so bad at teaching children." at the very least, i'm confident that i'll look back on it after this month and be like "man, i'm glad that i'm never teaching children again. ever."
*actual occurences (over the past two days).
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