....but winter definitely is not! It's so cold! Especially when compared to Thailand and Laos, where the whether was warm warm warm! And then muggy. And then hot. And usually sunny. And a little cool at night. But mostly warm. I miss the warmth...
So here's a brief synopsis of the trip. Krista and I left on December 22nd, and spent that whole day traveling. We took a 6am taxi to the 7am bus to the 10am flight, which included 2 layovers and 3 meals, then in Bangkok we took a 7pm taxi to the 8pm overnight bus and arrived in Phuket, Thailand at 8 am on January 9 and our trip was over.
Well, that's what it feels like now, but really we were in Phuket (pronounced Pooh-ket, not Foo-ket and definitely not the other option you're thinking of) for about a week. We picked it so we could go diving! Krista's been a certified scuba diver for some time now, but I'd only done a tandem dive (someone adjusted all my equipment for me, I just floated underwater) a few months before in Tanegashima in Japan. So I went to get my Open Water certification and Krista went to get her Advanced Open Water. I spent the first half-day in the pool, going over the basics like how to clear water from a flooded mask and take it on and off underwater and how to use your partners alternate air source and how to make a slow emergency ascent, etc. Some of them are quite unnerving, like breathing without a mask on. The pool was part of a resort about 5 minutes from our diving center (a place called Rumblefish Adventures) and by 10am it was PACKED with scuba instructors and students. There was a larger Korean group of about 6 people, and I heard French and Russian as well as a couple other Americans practicing similar skills. I was lucky - I was Chris's only student. Then we ordered lunch and he made me tread water in the pool for 10 minutes while we waited for the food. One of the skills you need to become a certified diver. That and a swim test. I basically floated in the deep end trying to avoid the other divers, who were like sharks under the water.
Then we did some dives on the beach. Krista came out with us. We saw a cuddle fish and a lionfish and many other fish I couldn't name. I was surprised at how quickly time went underwater. 45 minutes felt like 10 by the time we surfaced. Waddling in and out of the water with equipment on was a little odd. We did two more dives from the same beach the next day, while getting trained in various skills. Krista learned some compass skills, we both had buoyancy tests. Mine was a 30 second hover and hers was for 1 minute. Then she got to try some other buoyancy games, and I tried as well, but it was quite hard. One was to float above the surface of the sand with only one finger from each hand touching. When you breathe in and out, you move up and down, and the idea is to make it look like one-finger push-ups. If you inhale for too long, your fingers lift up off the sand and it ruins the effect. It's much harder than it sounds.
The next day we had a boat trip, with an overnight stay to an outer island planned. It was our instructor's favorite place to dive. As luck would have it, a storm from the Philippines(?) brought some big waves and swells our way and the trip was cancelled. The boat was rocking a little too hard so we had to turn back after about 40 minutes. So that day we chilled in the sun on the beach, and I started reading the series Krista brought, Game of Thrones. I was enthralled by the end of the day, so I kept reading them throughout the trip and have them still. Krista finished all 3 books (a total of nearly 3,000 pages!!!) and I'm almost done with the second. There are 5 total in the series I hear.
So the next day we went on a boat trip, and prayed for good visibility, but to no avail. Our dive site was Rachayai and it was a decent dive spot, though you could tell the water was a bit murky and the storm brought in lots of little jellyfish. My mask sprung a leak, but I didn't find out til I was in the water preparing to descend. Chris traded masks with me and spent the dive constantly clearing the mask. The next day we took another boat trip out to Shark Point and Anemone Reef, and those sights were Gorgeous! But again the water was murky, so the effect wasn't nearly as wonderful as it normally is this time of year. My dive instructor says I very nearly ran my knee into a sea urchin. I also ended up using my air much more quickly on that dive and so had to share a tank with the instructor in order to prolong the dive for Krista's sake. It was uncomfortable, but I'm glad we did because we swam past beautifully colored reefs surrounded by a wall of fish, spotted a well-hidden sea-horse and were practically attacked by a cuddle fish. On the boat trips, it finally dawned on me how much more comfortable it is to be under the water diving than on the surface preparing to dive, or loading on and off the boat.
Being under water feels like flying. And it's tempting to want to just swim around doing flips, except that you learn in the dive course that exerting yourself underwater is a Really Bad Idea. With so many divers, I found myself worrying about stepping on someone, or swimming up into someone. Suddenly there's a whole 'nother dimension of travel to worry about - on land you never worry about someone bumping you from below... usually. It's also easy to get lost without reference points, or lose track of your depth without a dive computer. Everything is completely different. And full of wonder.
Next we went to Laos! We hopped an overnight bus to Bangkok for the flight. I wrote down an account of sorts of our time in Laos - on scratch paper since I didn't bring a journal. It was really interesting stuff. Hopefully within the next few days I'll get that typed up. Our time in Laos was VERY different from our time in Phuket. But I'll get to that soon. I think there's also a whole entry to be made comparing these countries to Japan and also to Guatemala. Many people commented on how odd it was to have a tropical Christmas, but in that way it was like being in Guatemala, which reminds me of family, and so it felt very much like Christmas, in a small way.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Friday, December 30, 2011
A Winter Vacation
As the end of this semester approached, I found a lot of Japanese people asking me if I would go home for Christmas. It seems like the logical thing to do and in all likelihood, this will be the last Christmas I spend so far from family for a good while. Christmas season is just not the same without.
But that said, I should mention what I am doing. What could possobly have led me to decide not to go home? Well, the answer is:proximity to southeast Asia. I'm not sure why but the call of Thailand and scuba diving and exploring a new part of the world has been growing for some time, so when Krista and Mary mentioned they wanted to do such a trip,I as more than ready.
Unfortunately,Mary wound up in the hospital(a flare-up of a previously existing condition) and had to cancel. So its been just me and Krista making our way. I'll write more soon,but for now I'll just say that I have had some amazing experiences so far and a surprising number of de ja vous moments!
But that said, I should mention what I am doing. What could possobly have led me to decide not to go home? Well, the answer is:proximity to southeast Asia. I'm not sure why but the call of Thailand and scuba diving and exploring a new part of the world has been growing for some time, so when Krista and Mary mentioned they wanted to do such a trip,I as more than ready.
Unfortunately,Mary wound up in the hospital(a flare-up of a previously existing condition) and had to cancel. So its been just me and Krista making our way. I'll write more soon,but for now I'll just say that I have had some amazing experiences so far and a surprising number of de ja vous moments!
Monday, September 26, 2011
End of the Shit Saga
At long last!!! I have a license!!! Since my car accident, I had had in my possession a cursed can of black coffee. This can had been in my car, ready for me to drink whenever I felt too sleepy on the road. I neglected to drink that coffee, and crashed as a result of sleepiness! Irony! So the coffee survived the crash and sat in my fridge, and it was suggested that only when that coffee was drunk would I be rid of my curse. So I drank it. AND EVERYTHING WORKED OUT! Almost miraculously, I might add!
1) The letter my boss wrote must have been enough. They didn't even ask us about it. They just accepted all the paperwork as it was.
2) The paper test was no problem. (It's usually not, but knowing my luck, I was worried nonetheless). It was 10 true/false questions, with picture illustrations, and translated into only slightly awkward English.
3) I passed the practical driving test on the 2nd try! Most foreigners I've talked to who have taken the test have had to take it 3 times. Sometimes even 5 times. I did it in two! Came in Wednesday, had license on Friday.
4) My boss was thankful to have a relaxing day away from the office. She took me out to lunch both days, telling me to just worry about the cost of the test.
5) The VERY NEXT DAY it started raining (tail end of a typhoon). If I hadn't gotten my license, I would have been biking to my elementary schools for their Sports Days. The next Tuesday was rainy as well, when I might have had to bike to work again. The whole 3 weeks that I biked to school, the weather was perfect! Maybe a little hot, but fortunately dry.
How lucky was that?! That coffee really was cursed, I guess.
While the car accident was a rather unfortunate event in and of itself, it just so happened to lead to a number of happier things. For one thing, my social life didn't disappear. Rather, asking for help and favors from others led to some happy times. I asked a fellow teacher for some help gift-shopping, and she ended up taking me out with her family for the day!
But perhaps the biggest plus to come out of it was Yusuke. My appointment with the license center was about one week after my accident, on a Thursday. It just so happened that he was off work that day, so I asked him for a ride. I could have asked my boss - it would have been considered part of her work day, but I didn't want to bother her so much, since she'd been handling my car accident paperwork. Besides, Yusuke was a good friend, and I felt I needed a friend to help me face trying to get a license one week after totaling my car.
So he went with me, and witnessed the first stage of the License Fiasco. He did his best to translate for me, then he listened patiently while I ranted for half an hour. We grabbed lunch, and the next day he called to offer to give me a ride to the license center again if I needed it, offering to take a day off work if necessary. That was the sign of affection I needed. The next time I saw him, about two weeks later, I asked him out, and we've been together since.
You've probably guessed by now that Yusuke is Japanese. He is 26. He drives a motorcycle. He works with pigs (big agricultural area around here). He smokes and dyes his hair. He plays the guitar. He loves karaoke. And every day that he spends with me, he becomes less Japanese. His English is quite good, due to his hanging out with foreigners the past 3 years. But like me, he understands far more than he is comfortable speaking, so I often speak in English and he in Japanese, but it works out just fine.
Are you surprised? Yea, me too. On paper, he doesn't sound like my type. But everyone who knows him well agrees: his outer appearance does not match his personality. Suffice to say that we get along really well and that I'm lucky to have him.
1) The letter my boss wrote must have been enough. They didn't even ask us about it. They just accepted all the paperwork as it was.
2) The paper test was no problem. (It's usually not, but knowing my luck, I was worried nonetheless). It was 10 true/false questions, with picture illustrations, and translated into only slightly awkward English.
3) I passed the practical driving test on the 2nd try! Most foreigners I've talked to who have taken the test have had to take it 3 times. Sometimes even 5 times. I did it in two! Came in Wednesday, had license on Friday.
4) My boss was thankful to have a relaxing day away from the office. She took me out to lunch both days, telling me to just worry about the cost of the test.
5) The VERY NEXT DAY it started raining (tail end of a typhoon). If I hadn't gotten my license, I would have been biking to my elementary schools for their Sports Days. The next Tuesday was rainy as well, when I might have had to bike to work again. The whole 3 weeks that I biked to school, the weather was perfect! Maybe a little hot, but fortunately dry.
How lucky was that?! That coffee really was cursed, I guess.
While the car accident was a rather unfortunate event in and of itself, it just so happened to lead to a number of happier things. For one thing, my social life didn't disappear. Rather, asking for help and favors from others led to some happy times. I asked a fellow teacher for some help gift-shopping, and she ended up taking me out with her family for the day!
But perhaps the biggest plus to come out of it was Yusuke. My appointment with the license center was about one week after my accident, on a Thursday. It just so happened that he was off work that day, so I asked him for a ride. I could have asked my boss - it would have been considered part of her work day, but I didn't want to bother her so much, since she'd been handling my car accident paperwork. Besides, Yusuke was a good friend, and I felt I needed a friend to help me face trying to get a license one week after totaling my car.
So he went with me, and witnessed the first stage of the License Fiasco. He did his best to translate for me, then he listened patiently while I ranted for half an hour. We grabbed lunch, and the next day he called to offer to give me a ride to the license center again if I needed it, offering to take a day off work if necessary. That was the sign of affection I needed. The next time I saw him, about two weeks later, I asked him out, and we've been together since.
You've probably guessed by now that Yusuke is Japanese. He is 26. He drives a motorcycle. He works with pigs (big agricultural area around here). He smokes and dyes his hair. He plays the guitar. He loves karaoke. And every day that he spends with me, he becomes less Japanese. His English is quite good, due to his hanging out with foreigners the past 3 years. But like me, he understands far more than he is comfortable speaking, so I often speak in English and he in Japanese, but it works out just fine.
Are you surprised? Yea, me too. On paper, he doesn't sound like my type. But everyone who knows him well agrees: his outer appearance does not match his personality. Suffice to say that we get along really well and that I'm lucky to have him.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
A Black Hole
So I realize that I've been a little AWOL on this blog, and there's a reason for that. Whether it was the Evil Eye, a debt to Karma, or just plain Bad Luck, I've just been having a soul-crushingly awful summer. So much so that I didn't want to relive it be blogging about it, even though the act of writing about it may have been a cathartic experience. So the blog sort of has this Black Hole in it, starting right around the time of my car accident. Allow me to put things into perspective.
In my head, I have this impression that this ought to be a blog about my encounters with Japanese culture, and therefore be a more Japan-and-Rebeca centric blog. But it's not really about Japan, is it? It's about me being in Japan, living in Japan. It has definitely taken a few odd turns, my life in Japan, that are largely unrelated to Japanese culture and more to do with bad luck. But I will talk about them now because dealing with these things in Japan has been quite the [frustrating] experience.
This summer has been full of really wonderful, fun, thrilling, exciting, happy things as well. But every day that I stopped to have some fun felt like a brief pause before returning to the doom and gloom of Things as Usual. Kinda like a big field of crap punctuated by the occasional bouquet of flowers. The flowers are absolutely gorgeous, but it's hard to ignore all the crap on the ground.
On June 26th, I fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed my car into a tree at 3 am. My friend and I emerged uninjured, about 10 minutes away from my house, and the car wasn't going anywhere. A very kind Japanese guy stopped to help us out. It was lightly raining and Kudo san was nice enough to call and talk to the police for us, and even stayed to help during the whole 2 hour process of towing the car and talking to the police. The really nice thing about not being able to speak the language is that I barely had to do a thing. I signed a paper here and there, I paid the bill, and I had to hang my head in shame, but all the paperwork was taken care of for me. It's like being a kid again.
The repairs on my car would have cost more than I originally paid for the car, so I decided to junk it and find another one. Fortunately, a lot of other JETs were selling their cars for cheap because they would be leaving Japan in August. I made an offer on one, but the guy needed it to move his stuff through the end of July. Meanwhile, I scraped by, renting a car for two weeks, borrowing the office car for work, and going to Europe for two weeks. I managed, and when I got back, I had a car of my own.
However, my international driver's permit expired in July. So in July I had a license, but no car. In August, I had a car but no license. This was not my plan, obviously. I had gone to the driving license center in June to apply to get my Texas license converted to a Japanese license. But there was a hitch. If you are a patient person willing to hear my paperwork woes, I will detail them below. However, you can also imagine that field of crap as it might have been in the beginning - just a small pile perhaps. Now if you imagine it growing bigger and more putrid and more idiotic every day for a month: that's exactly what this whole license-obtaining process has been like. So now you don't even have to read the description below :D
It's still like that today, in fact! I remain unlicensed and this is why. In April, I renewed my Texas license online, because it would expire in October and within 1 year of expiration, you are allowed to renew your license online, if you went in person the last time. So I did this, thinking it would be a good idea to be preemptive. I had this license mailed to my Texas address. It never arrived. This was the start of all my woes. Had I not done this, I might have been licensed ages ago. Meanwhile, I was putting together my paperwork to obtain a Japanese driver license. I obtained a copy of my driver record (which, by the way, is called a Status Record, in order to further confuse us all) that showed how long I had been licensed. I needed to show that I had been licensed for at least 3 months before I came to Japan, and that I had been living in the U.S. for that much time. But the license I had in my wallet showed was issued one month before I came to Japan - it was a replacement for the license I lost over spring break. But the driver record also showed that my most recent license was issued on April 9, 2011 and would expire in October, 2017. That's right - it showed the data for my renewed license lost somewhere in Texas. For Japanese officials trying to verify my status as a licensed driver, I can understand why this was confusing. So I thought, "OK, no problem. All I have to do is get my license shipped again." So I called the Texas Department of Public Safety at 11pm on a weeknight, or 9am on a weekday in Texas, was put on hold for 30 minutes, then managed to explain my situation. They said they would mail my license to Japan, probably a 4 week wait, but if I wanted it shipped faster, I would have to set up a FedEx account and they would charge me through that. So I tried to do it online. FedEx Japan would only accept a Japanese credit card. Didn't have one. FedEx in the U.S. needed a credit card with an American address - my credit card showed my Japanese address. I finally found a different credit card that worked and called DPS only to find that my license was already being shipped. That was around July 15. I went to Europe and came back hoping to find my license in my mailbox. It was August 6th and it had not arrived. So I called them and asked them to reprint and resend my license, this time by FedEx. It arrived 4 days later, and cost me $75. I didn't care, I just wanted to finish this. But would you believe...the dates on this Shiny, New, Up-to-Date license did not match my status record. The record still shows, to this day, the renewal issue date of April 9, while the license I received shows an August 5 issue date (the expiration date is the same though). Mothereffingsonofa$#*%# So I asked my boss to call the license center and explain things and see if this was ok. It's not really ok, but they might accept a letter of explanation. Maybe. IN ADDITION, they have a problem with my original license issue date. In May, 2003 I qualified for a license - I had passed both the written and practical tests. However, I was only 15 years old on that date, and on the questionnaire I was given at the Japanese license center, I told them that I held a driving permit, or a restricted license, until I was 16 years old, when I received a real license. Now the center needs proof that I was given a real license when I turned 16, a process that is automatic and proof of which I have no idea how to obtain. My appointment to go to the center is next Wednesday, September 14. I have no idea how this will turn out. This is a most unfortunate turn of events. You can see that if just one of many things were different, none of this would have happened. If I had saved my old licenses (from when I was 16 onward); if I hadn't lost my license over spring break; if I hadn't renewed my license in April, if that license hadn't been lost in the mail. All these ifs. All these tiny circumstances that could have prevented all, or half of this. It's a perfect storm of bureaucratic insidiousness. And I just want it to finish already.
Meanwhile, my computer and kindle have both broken and been fixed. I've had several unhappy mix-ups with the post office along the way, though, trying to use Amazon's postage to return the broken kindle. They also seemed to have some problem with a money transfer, so I may have some more things to figure out.
But as crappy as all this has been, I have managed to get a boyfriend out of all of this. But he deserves his own entry, so I'll save the details for next time.
In my head, I have this impression that this ought to be a blog about my encounters with Japanese culture, and therefore be a more Japan-and-Rebeca centric blog. But it's not really about Japan, is it? It's about me being in Japan, living in Japan. It has definitely taken a few odd turns, my life in Japan, that are largely unrelated to Japanese culture and more to do with bad luck. But I will talk about them now because dealing with these things in Japan has been quite the [frustrating] experience.
This summer has been full of really wonderful, fun, thrilling, exciting, happy things as well. But every day that I stopped to have some fun felt like a brief pause before returning to the doom and gloom of Things as Usual. Kinda like a big field of crap punctuated by the occasional bouquet of flowers. The flowers are absolutely gorgeous, but it's hard to ignore all the crap on the ground.
On June 26th, I fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed my car into a tree at 3 am. My friend and I emerged uninjured, about 10 minutes away from my house, and the car wasn't going anywhere. A very kind Japanese guy stopped to help us out. It was lightly raining and Kudo san was nice enough to call and talk to the police for us, and even stayed to help during the whole 2 hour process of towing the car and talking to the police. The really nice thing about not being able to speak the language is that I barely had to do a thing. I signed a paper here and there, I paid the bill, and I had to hang my head in shame, but all the paperwork was taken care of for me. It's like being a kid again.
The repairs on my car would have cost more than I originally paid for the car, so I decided to junk it and find another one. Fortunately, a lot of other JETs were selling their cars for cheap because they would be leaving Japan in August. I made an offer on one, but the guy needed it to move his stuff through the end of July. Meanwhile, I scraped by, renting a car for two weeks, borrowing the office car for work, and going to Europe for two weeks. I managed, and when I got back, I had a car of my own.
However, my international driver's permit expired in July. So in July I had a license, but no car. In August, I had a car but no license. This was not my plan, obviously. I had gone to the driving license center in June to apply to get my Texas license converted to a Japanese license. But there was a hitch. If you are a patient person willing to hear my paperwork woes, I will detail them below. However, you can also imagine that field of crap as it might have been in the beginning - just a small pile perhaps. Now if you imagine it growing bigger and more putrid and more idiotic every day for a month: that's exactly what this whole license-obtaining process has been like. So now you don't even have to read the description below :D
It's still like that today, in fact! I remain unlicensed and this is why. In April, I renewed my Texas license online, because it would expire in October and within 1 year of expiration, you are allowed to renew your license online, if you went in person the last time. So I did this, thinking it would be a good idea to be preemptive. I had this license mailed to my Texas address. It never arrived. This was the start of all my woes. Had I not done this, I might have been licensed ages ago. Meanwhile, I was putting together my paperwork to obtain a Japanese driver license. I obtained a copy of my driver record (which, by the way, is called a Status Record, in order to further confuse us all) that showed how long I had been licensed. I needed to show that I had been licensed for at least 3 months before I came to Japan, and that I had been living in the U.S. for that much time. But the license I had in my wallet showed was issued one month before I came to Japan - it was a replacement for the license I lost over spring break. But the driver record also showed that my most recent license was issued on April 9, 2011 and would expire in October, 2017. That's right - it showed the data for my renewed license lost somewhere in Texas. For Japanese officials trying to verify my status as a licensed driver, I can understand why this was confusing. So I thought, "OK, no problem. All I have to do is get my license shipped again." So I called the Texas Department of Public Safety at 11pm on a weeknight, or 9am on a weekday in Texas, was put on hold for 30 minutes, then managed to explain my situation. They said they would mail my license to Japan, probably a 4 week wait, but if I wanted it shipped faster, I would have to set up a FedEx account and they would charge me through that. So I tried to do it online. FedEx Japan would only accept a Japanese credit card. Didn't have one. FedEx in the U.S. needed a credit card with an American address - my credit card showed my Japanese address. I finally found a different credit card that worked and called DPS only to find that my license was already being shipped. That was around July 15. I went to Europe and came back hoping to find my license in my mailbox. It was August 6th and it had not arrived. So I called them and asked them to reprint and resend my license, this time by FedEx. It arrived 4 days later, and cost me $75. I didn't care, I just wanted to finish this. But would you believe...the dates on this Shiny, New, Up-to-Date license did not match my status record. The record still shows, to this day, the renewal issue date of April 9, while the license I received shows an August 5 issue date (the expiration date is the same though). Mothereffingsonofa$#*%# So I asked my boss to call the license center and explain things and see if this was ok. It's not really ok, but they might accept a letter of explanation. Maybe. IN ADDITION, they have a problem with my original license issue date. In May, 2003 I qualified for a license - I had passed both the written and practical tests. However, I was only 15 years old on that date, and on the questionnaire I was given at the Japanese license center, I told them that I held a driving permit, or a restricted license, until I was 16 years old, when I received a real license. Now the center needs proof that I was given a real license when I turned 16, a process that is automatic and proof of which I have no idea how to obtain. My appointment to go to the center is next Wednesday, September 14. I have no idea how this will turn out. This is a most unfortunate turn of events. You can see that if just one of many things were different, none of this would have happened. If I had saved my old licenses (from when I was 16 onward); if I hadn't lost my license over spring break; if I hadn't renewed my license in April, if that license hadn't been lost in the mail. All these ifs. All these tiny circumstances that could have prevented all, or half of this. It's a perfect storm of bureaucratic insidiousness. And I just want it to finish already.
Meanwhile, my computer and kindle have both broken and been fixed. I've had several unhappy mix-ups with the post office along the way, though, trying to use Amazon's postage to return the broken kindle. They also seemed to have some problem with a money transfer, so I may have some more things to figure out.
But as crappy as all this has been, I have managed to get a boyfriend out of all of this. But he deserves his own entry, so I'll save the details for next time.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Origami Convention in Tokyo
How can I describe how incredibly awesome it was to be surrounded by many of the worlds BEST origami artists for nearly two days? When I arrived at Tokyo University ready to sign in for the convention, bumbling about asking for help in my jarbled Japanglish, little did I realize that virtually every volunteer I spoke to was an origami genius. I noticed a lot of children present, and assumed that the more complex models would be out of their reach, little knowing that many of them could fold cleaner, faster, and more-complicated models than I could hope to achieve.
When I finally had my bearings, I noticed a group of foreigners in one corner of the auditorium, and recognized a few of them from the MIT origami meetings I'd been to. Yep, you heard right. Since Harvard lacked it's own origami club, when I heard that MIT had one I made an effort to go to several meetings my senior year. Here's their website, in case you're curious. I had hoped I might see some of them there. So I made my way over and joined their group.
Let me tell you, doing origami alone and doing origami in company are two vastly different experiences. For one, you can see how other people got started with origami and how they've improved and who influences them. A few people I talked to seemed surprised that I had picked up origami largely on my own, and gotten to where I am now. There are apparently some stereotypes about who folds origami better, and one guy readily admitted that Japanese origami enthusiasts are much better folders on average than Americans. Their folds are neater, they fold faster, and they seem to know their way around a piece of paper just a little better. A model that took 3 hours to teach, with 50% of the class finishing in America, took 2 hours in Japan, with some students finishing in 1 hour. And in Japan, 15 out of 30 or so of these students were under the age of 15. Here's the model they were folding. That's from one square sheet of paper with no cuts. Below is a picture of a miniature version someone folded. It's next to my watch, to give you an idea of dimension.
So white people in general have a reputation for not being particularly accurate or good folders. So when I met one of the special guests, whose models were being featured at the convention, he assumed I was probably an amateur, ok-ish folder. He told me so later, when I entered his class late (forgot to set my alarm), caught up, and apparently managed to make a much neater model than half of the, mostly, Japanese class. Interesting assumption, great compliment, to have my folds admired by the teacher. I sat next to two Japanese ladies who were also impressed by my folds, though I think one of them was much better than I was. It was nice, because I was able to actually converse a little with them in Japanese!
One of the most incredible aspects of origami folding, I think, is some artists' ability to manipulate the two-sided nature of the paper, an aspect known as color changing. A classic example of this is a panda made from one square of paper, colored white one side and black on the other. Folding to get the colors in the right place is a tricky thing, although sometimes depending on the position of the paper, it's surprisingly simple. I'm actually a huge fan of well-done color changing.
On the left is a samurai warrior dude. From one sheet of paper, red on one side, white on the other, Brian Chan folded this. His work is phenomenal, and he's one of the Amazing Artists I've met and sort of gawked at in awe of his sheer genius. I mean, look at the sword! That shit takes serious tallent!
Below is a chimpanzee, with nipples no less, folded by Roman Diaz, and Uruguayan origamist who has quite a knack for color changing, in my opinion. Several of his models were on display at the convention .
When I finally had my bearings, I noticed a group of foreigners in one corner of the auditorium, and recognized a few of them from the MIT origami meetings I'd been to. Yep, you heard right. Since Harvard lacked it's own origami club, when I heard that MIT had one I made an effort to go to several meetings my senior year. Here's their website, in case you're curious. I had hoped I might see some of them there. So I made my way over and joined their group.
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| Here I am folding with a couple of the MIT girls. In the background, wearing a brown t-shirt with a splash of green, is Robert Lang. It took some control on my part not to run up and ask for his autograph. I did go to his lecture, though. |
Let me tell you, doing origami alone and doing origami in company are two vastly different experiences. For one, you can see how other people got started with origami and how they've improved and who influences them. A few people I talked to seemed surprised that I had picked up origami largely on my own, and gotten to where I am now. There are apparently some stereotypes about who folds origami better, and one guy readily admitted that Japanese origami enthusiasts are much better folders on average than Americans. Their folds are neater, they fold faster, and they seem to know their way around a piece of paper just a little better. A model that took 3 hours to teach, with 50% of the class finishing in America, took 2 hours in Japan, with some students finishing in 1 hour. And in Japan, 15 out of 30 or so of these students were under the age of 15. Here's the model they were folding. That's from one square sheet of paper with no cuts. Below is a picture of a miniature version someone folded. It's next to my watch, to give you an idea of dimension.
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| I thought my polar bear was kinda cute at that size, but the Nazgul was ridiculous. Tiny and incredibly well-done. |
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| The two Japanese ladies I was folding with. On the table is the star we were working on. |
One of the most incredible aspects of origami folding, I think, is some artists' ability to manipulate the two-sided nature of the paper, an aspect known as color changing. A classic example of this is a panda made from one square of paper, colored white one side and black on the other. Folding to get the colors in the right place is a tricky thing, although sometimes depending on the position of the paper, it's surprisingly simple. I'm actually a huge fan of well-done color changing.
On the left is a samurai warrior dude. From one sheet of paper, red on one side, white on the other, Brian Chan folded this. His work is phenomenal, and he's one of the Amazing Artists I've met and sort of gawked at in awe of his sheer genius. I mean, look at the sword! That shit takes serious tallent!
Below is a chimpanzee, with nipples no less, folded by Roman Diaz, and Uruguayan origamist who has quite a knack for color changing, in my opinion. Several of his models were on display at the convention .
The weekend flew by! I left the convention early on the second day to catch a flight back to Kumamoto, and now I'm at work once more. The new JETs have arrived and I will meet many of them tonight and tomorrow at orientation. I'm giving a workshop on Learning Japanese, so I'll be giving suggestions to the newcomers on how to approach the Japanese language. I'm presenting with a guy who's Japanese is super advanced, so we make a perfect team. He majored in the Japanese language before he came, and I knew the word "konnichiwa" before I came. That seems like a long time ago...
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Acclimation
I've grown accustomed to a lot of things since I came here: speaking less and with more gestures, a check-mark means a wrong answer, bowing, and removing your shoes indoors. I can't even name most of them because I don't think about them anymore. So at times I seem to almost fit in, to have been assimilated into the routine of Japanese life. But ultimately, I'm always reminded of how incredibly foreign I am.
It's always a frustrating moment, when I forget to remove my indoor shoes to enter a room designated as cleaner (the carpeted music room) or dirtier (the bathroom, for which there are special bathroom slippers). When I go out to eat and people do a double take. When every teacher is assigned a task for Sports Day and no one even so much as acknowledges my presence in the matter.
Don't get me wrong - this is part of what fascinates and challenges me. I'm being tested on my ability to understand the language and culture in the most immediate and relevant manner possible on a daily basis. Of course, everyone has their limitations, and I can't be 100% mindful of every situation and its nuances, and I have my own routines and habits that are hard to break, even for the sake of fitting in. What makes this situation particularly challenging is the attitude of the Japanese people. I think there is a strong tendency among Japanese people to see foreigners as "foreign". Even I have that tendency - it's hard to think of someone becoming Japanese in the way someone can become American. But then, America is a land of immigrants and diversity is part of our identity, whereas uniformity seems to be a significant part of the Japanese identity.
This is where working with kids comes in to save the day. Just when I've had enough of this special treatment, treat-you-different, can't-communicate-very-well crap from the adults, the kids swoop in to save the day. Tag, jump rope, soccer, tickling, don't-let-the-ball-touch-you, and look-over-there-so-i-can-take-your-dessert games transcend linguistic and cultural boundaries. Kids don't treat you any different just because you're foreign. Well, they might at first, and they're allowed to because they're still making observations about the world in general, but ultimately they're just gouging how much fun you are. And so kids are my relief from the barriers and boundaries set up by the rest of Japanese society. As much I want to be able to understand everything they say to me, I don't have to. And they're not discouraged by it. It's a win/win situation!
In other news, it's the Rainy Season. As of last week, there will be mostly rain and cloudy skies until mid-July. So far, it hasn't bothered me. I rather like the rain when the weather is warm, but there's no guarantee I won't go crazy after another week of this.
And the fireflies have come out to play! Apparently they only congregate near areas with clean water, so most towns and villages have known spots for sighting them. It seems to be a big deal to the Japanese. I think it's a reverence for nature that is rooted within the culture (consider the nature-based haiku and Shinto-ism, which builds shrines on sites of exceptional natural beauty and the cherry-blossom-viewing tradition). I found out about them from some people at kendo practice. I couldn't understand the word "hotaru" ("firefly") so they began gesturing at their butts. Literally a group of 4 adults and children was dancing around gesturing at their butts, and no one thought to indicate that we were talking about an insect. Needless to say it took several minutes for me to figure this out, during which time I had great fun watching them. And yes, when I went to see them, they were very pretty indeed.
It's always a frustrating moment, when I forget to remove my indoor shoes to enter a room designated as cleaner (the carpeted music room) or dirtier (the bathroom, for which there are special bathroom slippers). When I go out to eat and people do a double take. When every teacher is assigned a task for Sports Day and no one even so much as acknowledges my presence in the matter.
Don't get me wrong - this is part of what fascinates and challenges me. I'm being tested on my ability to understand the language and culture in the most immediate and relevant manner possible on a daily basis. Of course, everyone has their limitations, and I can't be 100% mindful of every situation and its nuances, and I have my own routines and habits that are hard to break, even for the sake of fitting in. What makes this situation particularly challenging is the attitude of the Japanese people. I think there is a strong tendency among Japanese people to see foreigners as "foreign". Even I have that tendency - it's hard to think of someone becoming Japanese in the way someone can become American. But then, America is a land of immigrants and diversity is part of our identity, whereas uniformity seems to be a significant part of the Japanese identity.
This is where working with kids comes in to save the day. Just when I've had enough of this special treatment, treat-you-different, can't-communicate-very-well crap from the adults, the kids swoop in to save the day. Tag, jump rope, soccer, tickling, don't-let-the-ball-touch-you, and look-over-there-so-i-can-take-your-dessert games transcend linguistic and cultural boundaries. Kids don't treat you any different just because you're foreign. Well, they might at first, and they're allowed to because they're still making observations about the world in general, but ultimately they're just gouging how much fun you are. And so kids are my relief from the barriers and boundaries set up by the rest of Japanese society. As much I want to be able to understand everything they say to me, I don't have to. And they're not discouraged by it. It's a win/win situation!
In other news, it's the Rainy Season. As of last week, there will be mostly rain and cloudy skies until mid-July. So far, it hasn't bothered me. I rather like the rain when the weather is warm, but there's no guarantee I won't go crazy after another week of this.
And the fireflies have come out to play! Apparently they only congregate near areas with clean water, so most towns and villages have known spots for sighting them. It seems to be a big deal to the Japanese. I think it's a reverence for nature that is rooted within the culture (consider the nature-based haiku and Shinto-ism, which builds shrines on sites of exceptional natural beauty and the cherry-blossom-viewing tradition). I found out about them from some people at kendo practice. I couldn't understand the word "hotaru" ("firefly") so they began gesturing at their butts. Literally a group of 4 adults and children was dancing around gesturing at their butts, and no one thought to indicate that we were talking about an insect. Needless to say it took several minutes for me to figure this out, during which time I had great fun watching them. And yes, when I went to see them, they were very pretty indeed.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
A Hard-hitter
Early in the year, I offered the students the chance to write me a letter whenever they wanted, and I would reply to them. I got quite a few those first few months, but it's been a while since I got my last letter, so I was surprised when to get one today. The letters have usually been along the lines of "what singers do you like?" or "how many brothers/sisters do you have?" or questions about studying English. So I was understandably surprised when I read this:
Dear Rebeca,
I have questions. I heard Osama bin Laden killed by American on TV. I can't understand why American did it. I think we can't lost demonstration and war even if they killed him. However, many Americans were pleased. Why?? How do you think about him?
I'm interested in international problem now. I'm thinking why are there war and demonstration in the world and what can I do to lost them.
I have questions. I heard Osama bin Laden killed by American on TV. I can't understand why American did it. I think we can't lost demonstration and war even if they killed him. However, many Americans were pleased. Why?? How do you think about him?
I'm interested in international problem now. I'm thinking why are there war and demonstration in the world and what can I do to lost them.
From ~.
Wow. So I found myself writing a letter today explaining the events of 9/11 and our subsequent obsession with Osama bin Laden in as succinct a way as possible. My student is smart, so I didn't limit my English too much in order to give her a challenge. I'm going to include my response here, in part because it's the most critically I've thought about these events so far, and also because maybe some of you have some thoughts on how you would interpret/explain Americans' reactions to bin Laden's death if you were asked.
Dear ~,
Those are some very interesting and difficult questions. I will do my best to answer them.
Osama bin Laden was America's #1 enemy. He was the leader of a terrorist group called "al Qaeda". On September 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacked the United States. They used two airplanes to destroy the World Trade Center Towers. These were two of the tallest buildings in New York City.
More than 2,500 people were killed that day. I remember where I was when it happened. I was 13 years old, in junior high school. I was in the library waiting to give a presentation. At 9:00 AM, the teacher stopped the class and turned on the TV. We all watched the two towers fall. It was a terrible event, similar to the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in Japan. But this wasn't nature. This was man-made.
After the attack, al Qaeda made a video. In it, Osama bin Laden said he was glad. He said he planned the attack. he said that he hated America. So America has been looking for Osama bin Laden for almost 10 years. When we killed him, Americans were pleased because we were angry with him.
But you have a good point. It's not right to enjoy killing another person. I think Americans are worried and scared. Osama bin Laden's death is a symbol of hope. It makes us feel strong and in control. But really, we have a lot of problems. It's easier to focus on one evil man than it is to think about all our problems.
I hope I answered some of your questions. I'm so glad you're asking these questions. It is important to learn about the world. I was your age when I became interested in international problems.
If you have more questions, you can ask me anytime. You are an amazing student and I hope you will continue to challenge yourself.
Your friend,
Rebeca
It hardly seems enough. I know I left out a lot of things, and I've probably misspelled something and my memory may be inaccurate on some points. Maybe the letter is too long, or the English too complicated and she will get discouraged. I sincerely hope this isn't the case, though, because this is a critical moment, where a student reaches out to a teacher to explain the world, and I want to provide an answer that is both adequate and accessible. An answer that is simple enough for her to understand, but complicated enough to make her want to ask more questions.
It's tough work, this teaching thing. One minute, it's all fun and games, the next it's asking me to evaluate and explain my world views. One minute I feel unnecessary, and the next, people want me to be in 3 places at once. One minute I'm playing tag and the next I'm on the phone giving someone my t-shirt size. I just re-read my Statement of Purpose that I wrote for my JET application. Not my best work, but still surprisingly relevant. Maybe sometime I'll put that up here. Until then, consider the letters above. I'd love to hear your thoughts, and maybe even your version of the letter. Think about it.
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