A Little Glimpse

Well, there's not a whole lot to go into this post.  I have a brief story, and then I will unload some basic pictures that, until now, I have failed to take.  First, the story: last weekend, I spent a night out in the city.  I just got my paycheck (we are paid once a month, so this is a really big deal) and I was ready to blow some of it.  It started in a bar where many JETs were participating in a pub quiz.  I arrived too late because I was at work until about 6, talking to students and helping them correct essays in preparation for college entrance examinations.  This is an interesting note: American students fear the SATs but have some succor in knowing that the score is not the only factor in their ability to attend college.  Imagine if the SATs were, in fact, the only thing that mattered.  You are now a Japanese high school student.  They take one test, and if I'm not mistaken, they only get one shot at it, and this is done for each school they apply to.  To be fair, the test is more comprehensive than the SATs and is designed by individual schools.  So, there is an interview involved that is similar to ours; but the thought of everything falling on one day is daunting.  Anyway, I was sipping on a nice, stupidly priced Belgian beer and spectating the pub quiz before another JET and I decided to head out for some karaoke with a pair of Japanese women who teach English.  On the way to the place, one of the women decided to make me try on her hat, which was one of those fuzzy round semi-orbs that plops over your head and has two fuzzy balls hanging from it.  I don't have a picture yet.  Everyone thought, for some reason, that it looked good on me.  So in the street, we began the Japanese pasttime of a cell phone photo shoot.  In keeping with my personality, I failed to smile for any pictures and instead made weird, pretending-to-be-but-completely-aware-that-its-not-sexy faces.  Despite the hat and faces, I would contest that I was pretty well-dressed.  So, potentially because of that and definitely because of the nature of the scene, two foreigners posing with Japanese women for pictures, another Japanese couple approached.

"Will you take a picture with me?" the boy asked in perfect Japanese.

"Yes," I answered in perfect Japanese.

We took two pictures.  Several other people now started crowding around, asking who I was and if I was some celebrity.  I did not have the presence of mind to say yes, so the moment quickly dissipated.  That was my first ever feeling of celebrity, and I dealt with it gracefully.  Now, back to daily life.  Here's some pictures of the school that I go to four days a week.

1: A view of my desk while it is covered with exams to be graded.

2: The view from my desk, looking at the door to the principal's office and the communal sink to the left of it where teachers brush their teeth after lunch.

3: The teachers' office at a very empty moment.

4: This is the "Seminar House", a building with a small teachers' office and a couple study rooms for after school.

5: The main building where my desk and most of the second and third grader classes are.

6: The entrance gate to the school grounds.

7: My beast of a moped, Shannon.

8: The parking shelter for the first and second grade students' mopeds.  I used to park Shannon here.  You cannot run your moped on school grounds, probably because of the noise.  So, it is a bit of a hassle to walk it all the way to the shelter.  However, I now have a special spot reserved for me right next to the main building.  And by special spot, I mean a spot that was made solely because we need more room in the shelter for incoming students.

9: They also need to keep their bicycles dry; this is where they do it.

10: Rakes against a bush; see next picture.

11: It's warm enough for some things to start blooming.  Also, on the right, you can vaguely make out a sign saying "2-4".  This is a class number; each class is assigned a part of school grounds to maintain during cleaning time, which is after lunch.

12: A hallway on the third floor of the main building where third graders have their class.  "Third graders" means "third year high school students".  Posted outside of each classroom is a room number sign.  The visible one is for the first class of third grade.  The classes stick together all through the day and stay in the same room.  The teachers move to them, in much the opposite fashion of that in America.

13: A typical classroom.  Typical in that it is incredibly quiet.  These kids are horribly silent sometimes.

Later, America!

I recently heard a troubling story from a student.  She wanted to learn about World War II, so she interviewed her grandmother, who lived through it.  I do not know whether the incident involved Americans in any way, and the student didn't gather enough details for me to write much.  Still, apparently her grandmother was running away from some kind of disaster and saw a horse that had been struck in its leg, I believe, by an arrow.  The actually essay described it as "a burning horse", and I was convinced that the student meant to say "a burning house".  She explained that no, arrows and horses were both plentiful even then.  If I am not mistaken, the arrows were used in flaming form, and the horse was affected by this.  Whether it was burned or incinerated, I'm not sure, but it's eerie to imagine.  This reminded me a bit of PETA, which has been up to its usual antics recently.  I'm an animal lover, and I support many of their campaigns, such as the fight against animal abuse in fast food production.  However, the stigma of PETA being a bunch of semi-insane, excessive activists is, I think, fully warranted.  They do things that just don't make sense.  For example, there are reports (which PETA spokespeople deny) that members have threateningly contacted people involved in the recent brutal chimpanzee attack.  Another example?  Diego Luna, an actor from Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights, appears in an advertisement that is a nice homage to Bob Barker.  In order to help control the pet population, we should spay and neuter our animals.  However, the main wording is this: "Animals need to have safe sex, too!"  Well, first of all, that's simplifying things a bit, isn't it?  They're worried about procreation, but "safe sex" connotes a lot more, especially the avoidance of disease transmission.  Next, "safe sex" usually means sex with some kind of protection, and if I'm not mistaken, most animals that are spayed or neutered simply cease to have sex altogether.  Oh well, I can't always agree with you, PETA, not while your methodology is so strange.

Anyway, I'm getting a bit more down-to-earth of late, and so along with basic videos (working on efficient uploads), I'll have some pictures of the realities of everyday life here.  You know, just to get a feel of the nature, the architecture, and so on.  I took your requests from the last post to heart and I appreciate them.  I will see if I can record myself in a lesson sometime.  The weekend is coming up, so I should have some more stories after that.  There may be some interesting trips in the works.  Bye, America!

Japanese Life is Still Life

And I don't mean that in the artistic sense.  It has occurred to me recently that I've abandoned my initial intent for this blog in the name of trying to connect myself back to American politics.  It felt nice to follow the news and feel that I have a tangible tie to the current American mindset, but the fact of the matter is that I'm an American but I'm simply not living an American life right now.  And, moreover, nobody likely wants to read my singular opinion that just piles on top of the heaps of rhetoric that are around now.  I've got more interesting things to say. 

Recently, I've been experimenting with my new, wonderful video camera.  The HD videos look great, and I am researching the best way to upload these videos for you in a time-efficient way.  This means that the pictures are far fewer than they used to be; I also don't have many photo opportunities that seem worthwhile.  However, I could probably take photos of the street, the gym, or anything to give a general picture of my surroundings, not just the breathtaking sights I visit.  How does that sound?  I can do that.  You can Google beautiful pictures.  But I am the connection you have to everyday life in Kagoshima, so I should help out on that front.

So, though I've been busy at work and the gym lately, I do have some stories to share.  Most of them are quirky facets of everyday life that I forgot to share until now.  First, I find it interesting that almost every Japanese worker immediately brushes his teeth upon finishing lunch.  It's a healthy practice, no doubt, but they tend to do it in a very public way.  For example, the teacher's office here features two communal sinks into which people can spit, and most people will migrate over after sitting at their desks and brushing.  I'm fairly sure that I've spotted a few people who brush without any kind of paste, and one man finishes his session with grotesquely obnoxious hocking.  It's just an odd phenomenon, and a number of people find it strange that I don't brush my teeth.  Difference in everyday life create interesting situations, and for this reason, I have to hope that I am a positive representation of America.  People who know no other Americans tend to assume that I am the apotheosis of the West.  Normal things I do quickly become perceived tokens of American lifestyle, and such perceptions are often reflected back against me.  I have been asked numerous times if I own a gun or if I eat, perhaps, an extra meal to slake my insatiable American appetite.  This last assumption is not entirely unfair; the amount of fluids most people take in is appalling to me.  Westerners, comparatively, drink a ton.

Let's flip it around!  How many of our stereotypes ("images", in the words of Japanese (yes, they use the English)) are typically true?  I won't comment on some of them, but a lot of them hold fairly well.  Are people here typically shorter?  Yes, but not to the extent that they likely used to be.  This may, in part, be due to diet and lifestyle change.  Are they usually thin?  Yes, and this is undoubtedly due to diet and lifestyle.  Are they poor drivers?  This is wholly subjective, but from my perspective, yes.  I have been a licensed driver for only a few months, but there are habits that I spot that are just unsafe; to be fair, being a Japanese driver seems to imply that you are aware of the following threats and take measures to avoid them.  First, stopping on the side of the road to make a phone call, check a map, or just about anything is fine, even if the shoulder on the road is about a foot wide.  If you throw your hazard lights on, you can force drivers behind you to avoid you by driving into oncoming traffic.  Maybe it's better not to drive while on the phone, but it's unsavory to come around a curve and find a truck waiting for you.  This is especially dangerous when, like me, you drive a moped and are required by law to keep within a meter of the shoulder and must make serious effort to avoid the car.  Also, I have had to slam my brakes too many times because a car comes to a sudden stop and turns without using the signal.  Oh well, that's life.

For the most part, the ways in which life is significantly different here are generally pleasant.  People tend to be very kind, and while it is sometimes difficult to interpret people's true intentions or feelings (due to masked language and the antecedent cultural compulsion to avoid confrontation), I feel that these relationships are typically genuine.  People are either impressed, relieved, or appreciative of my ability to communicate in their language, and this makes many people eager to converse.  Everyday interactions are made complex by a delicate interchange of expectations.  Most foreigners in Japan have distinct interest in the country, and the opposite is often true.  I occasionally get what I interpret as xenophobic stares, but there's often a lot going on in people's minds before they open their mouths to speak.  Imagine being in a supermarket and seeing an Asian or Hispanic person who looks terribly confused.  You may feel compelled to help them, but you will probably hesitate and wonder about a possible language barrier.  That feeling is magnified a great deal here.  The Japanese in Tokyo deal with tourists all the time and have no reason to expect that any foreigner will be apt at communicating in Japanese.  In Kyushu, the outsiders are few and far between, so it's a bit more clear why we're here and plausible to assume that we can communicate.  Many people introduce themselves to me and immediately know what my job is solely based on my location in the isolated countryside.  These introductions are not uncommon, as many people are interested in learning a bit about foreign countries.  And I may be one of the few chances they have for learning in a direct way.

There's more to say!  I have more stories and will post the things I think may be interesting.  In the meantime, what do you want?  What do you want to SEE?  What do you want to HEAR?  Stories and pictures are much easier to post if you ask.  See you next time, America.

Chris