The middle of the school year has just passed; I finished second trimester midterms at one school and have begun the second of two semesters at the other two schools. The year is progressing reasonably well as both I and the students settle into our routines and become more familiar with one another. The easier this job gets, the less logical it seems for me to move home next year. It’s also sad to realize that as I get closer to my students the time I have left with them gets shorter and shorter. Still, I can’t deny that part of me will be incredibly relieved when my immediate future no longer involves performing in front of a classroom full of kids. This job has been a huge challenge for me, and while I’m satisfied to know that I am capable of doing it, I still feel that ultimately I am better suited for more solitary work.
All three of my schools have good and bad points, and even within individual schools every class is different. What follows is a long break down of my work week for the curious.
On Tuesdays I teach conversation lessons to classes of about forty students, with a Japanese English teacher in the room with me to assist. The school is about an hour from my home station (making for an hour and a half commute one way when you include walking), but I don’t have to be at school until just before second period and I can leave once I’ve finished preparations for the following week (around 4:30; sometimes earlier and sometimes later). I teach four sixty-five minute lessons.
This last Tuesday was really great. The material I teach is designed to supplement the students’ regular English textbook. For awhile the regular English classes were behind the planned curriculum, which left me with a lot of blank stares and slowed the lessons down significantly. Apparently they’ve caught up, however; recently I’ve been able to elicit answers from my students with efficiency and enthusiasm. As the year progresses and we all get a feel for the general flow of lessons, the pace has quickened and I think we all feel a little more relaxed. Since the lessons at my Tuesday school are longer than other schools (65 minutes rather than 50), we often use the last fifteen minutes of class for a game. Last week’s game was the best yet: I put them in groups of six or seven students and had one student in each group stand up. I then asked a question, and the first group to raise a hand and answer the question with correct grammar got a point. If they made a mistake, another group would get to try. When the question was answered, the students sat down and another student from each group stood up. Not only was it great to see how excited they were – competition gets them going – but it was pretty incredible to hear the kind of sentences they could form on-the-spot after only a few months of English class. Of course there are some students who are bored or don’t care or just don’t get it, but the average student at my Tuesday school is positive about English and reasonably good at it. These girls first formally learned the English alphabet six months ago and now they are saying things like, “I have a pen and two erasers in my pencil case,” and memorizing speeches. That may not sound impressive, but coming from the public school system, and knowing how hesitant Japanese students are to make mistakes, let me tell you: it is – and I’m excited to be a part of it.
Fridays are similar to Tuesdays in that I teach the same material (designed by my company to supplement their regular English textbook) and the school is far from home. The commute is nearly two and a half hours one way, and I teach five fifty-minute lessons. Again, I don’t have to be at school until just before second period and I can leave once I’ve finished preparations for the following week (usually around 5:00). Still, with the commute, five classes, and giving private lessons at lunch and after school, it makes for a long day. I often leave feeling like a shell of myself; dehydrated, hair and clothes coated in chalk, and everything that went wrong throughout the day echoing in my head. One of my lessons is a full class of about forty students and the other four lessons are divided classes; around twenty students. I teach alone, and as the year progresses many of the students seem less interested and more willing to test my limits. Again, every class is different – some participate in the tasks diligently, and some talk over my lessons. I’m learning how to be a disciplinarian, but it feels like they are simultaneously becoming less attentive to authority – these two trends balance each other out for an ultimate result of no real change. I know that what I need to do is engage them more, but this is hard to do when the material overwhelms them. I am behind on my planned curriculum, but their regular teacher is even farther behind, so the material I present to them is all brand new, and as such often goes over their heads. They get bored and tune out, and I find myself using Japanese all too often to check that they know the meanings of words. This week we are going to take a break from the regular worksheets and play some Halloween games. Hopefully after that they’ll be caught up in their regular English classes and the lessons will flow more smoothly. There have been days when I left that school feeling exhilarated, when I felt like I’d done my job effectively and we had fun in the process. All the energy and effort compounds and feel like I’m flying. Recently, though, the exhaustion seems to outweigh the sense of accomplishment. There’s nothing to do but keep trying, right?
My other three working days – Monday, Thursday, and Friday – are at a third school, twelve minutes from my home station by train (about a forty-five minute one way commute). I am required to be at school from 8:20 until 5:05, regardless of whether or not there are classes that day. I teach half of three regular conversation classes (about twenty students – another teacher takes the other half) on my own. The text we use is very straightforward – a series of dialogues with substitutions – and every lesson is basically the same. The classes flow well and the students are mostly well-behaved and attentive. The material, however, often leaves something to be desired; I don’t feel like I’m challenging them enough, though I do try.
In addition to these lessons, which meet once a week, I teach a class of eighteen “returnee” students four periods a week. The students in this class have hugely varying levels of experience in foreign schools overseas; it’s difficult to design lessons that can equally involve a girl who lived in Texas for eleven of her thirteen years and a girl who was in Thailand for two years. The variation in levels compounded with the general awkwardness of being twelve and thirteen years old can make group activities a little difficult. Another problem I’m dealing with is my own inexperience. This is my first (and only?) year teaching on my own, writing tests, designing a curriculum, and generally being in control of the class and responsible for discipline. However – perhaps precisely because it is such a challenge, and also partly because I get to see them so much more often than my other students – the returnee class is my favorite. I read their journals every week – I hear stories about their families, pets, vacations, club activities, and even boyfriends. And I see the results of my lessons in their test scores and homework assignments. Again, I’m seeing these girls grow and it feels really great to be a part of that.
All of the students I’ve mentioned thus far are in their first year of junior high school (seventh grade in the American system), and all girls. On Saturdays I also teach two elective classes, both two hours long. The first is for returnee elementary school students (aged 9 to 11) who are considering joining the returnee junior high school program in the future. Again, the variance in their English abilities poses some difficulty, but it’s a good group of girls and we have a lot of fun. I try to mix speaking and writing activities with a lot of games, and I think we’ve developed a nice pace and a good group dynamic. To be honest, I’m not much of a “kid person,” (teaching full days of elementary school classes once a week last year killed me) but these girls are a nice change of pace from the seventh graders – just remembering the difference between my own experiences in seventh and fifth grade is enough to illustrate why. They’re not as afraid to make mistakes as the older girls, and they tend to be more open and energetic. They’re also pretty damn cute.
My other Saturday elective class is a conversation class with third year junior high students (ninth graders) in the afternoon. Since it’s an elective course they’re not required to come, which means I have a different number of students every week – I’d say the average is around twelve. We do a lot of different speaking activities, play some games, and watch movies about once a term. Again, having a different age group is a nice change of pace, and I feel like I can relate to these girls more than my other students. Two girls in particular come to chat with me between classes sometimes, and I always look forward to seeing them.
Fall term is always the longest, and it’s half over. Then it will be winter break, and then spring term will fly by. Soon after, I’ll be traveling again – this time through Southeast and East Asia. I might come back to Japan for a short while after that, but I expect to be back in Portland by late next summer. I don’t know what comes next – I just know that I need to be home for awhile, closer to my family and the place I came from.
The world has never felt more like my oyster. Life is really good.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
taiwan tales: part 2
(refer to previous post for part 1.)
day 5
august 2nd
saturday
i got up just in time to miss the first (8:40) bus to taroko gorge, and instead took the next one at 10:50. at the bus stop i made friends with lyla from arizona, and later in the two hour ride with the kids (andy from oregon city and adam from illinois) sitting behind us. upon arrival at the gorge we were shocked to see that the water was gray -- it was incredibly unnatural looking, like a river of wet concrete. (i later heard this was just sediment and mud dredged up by the recent typhoon, and that the water should clear after about a week.) lyla and i spent the afternoon hiking around the gorgeous gorge, though the trails were much easier than we expected. we talked a lot; it's funny how easy it is sometimes to be open with a stranger you'll never see again. while we were waiting for the last bus the boys reappeared: we chatted the entire two hour ride as the bus driver took turns at breakneck speeds, presumably trying to make up for getting behind schedule by arguing with the ladies at the gorge about produce deliveries. back in hualien, the four of us went to a night market where we ate the famous local xiao lung bao (a kind of pot sticker) and had a feast of shaved ice desserts with beans, taro, tapioca, mango. we browsed the street vendors' wares for awhile and noted that the local sidewalks, benches, and even signposts were made of marble supplied from the gorge. adam was coming down with a cold so the boys headed back to their hotel and lyla came back to my hostel with me for a quick "margarita" from the bar there (really more like a tequila martini, if such a thing exists) before saying goodbye. after she left i talked with the other kids at the hostel for a little while before bed. you meet a lot of interesting people in hostels.
day 6
august 3rd
sunday
following the advice of the hostel owner, i took a train to fangliao---rather than going to kaohsiung, which is what the guidebooks say to do---to transfer to a bus bound for the southern coastal town of kending (also spelled kenting). there were some kids (american english teachers in seoul) i'd seen at the taipei hostel in the same train car with the same plan, and it worked out to be almost as cheap to take a taxi, so we did. none of us had hostel/hotel reservations; we clumsily asked the driver--whose teeth were stained brown from chewing betel nut-- to drop us off in a central place. i didn't have enough money to pay for a room with cash, so i walked down the street price shopping and asking hotels if they took credit cards. soon they were passing word down the street that the white girl needed a place that took cards and within a few minutes a man came out of a shop and offered me a room for NT$700 per night -- about twice the cost of a stay in a hostel, but still only about US$20. i was excited to find that the room was almost as big my apartment in japan (around 200 square feet), but with less furniture. after settling into my spacious new digs i headed over to one of the many seven elevens in town for some food. and here we enter the worst night of the trip: not having used it in seven months, i'd forgotten the PIN number for my american ATM/debit card, and convenience stores do not take credit cards in taiwan. when i asked the clerk about this, she suggested i talk to the girl selling shirts from a stand out front because she spoke a little english. that girl then called her sister, who spoke better english, and she suggested i buy an international phone card and call my bank. i didn't have enough money for the phone card, but the super awesome shirt-selling girl loaned me NT$100. i called the bank and they told me they couldn't release my PIN number to me unless it was the same as the PIN number for my previous card, which it was, but their system was down so they told me to call back in an hour. i was very hungry and a little hysterical at this point, and the girls outside could see this. i told them i had some japanese money, but kending is a small town -- i didn't know if there was a bank and even if i found one it wouldn't be open until morning. the girls made a couple phone calls, apparently to find out what the current exchange rate was, and exchanged 4000 yen (about $40) for me -- at a better rate than i got at the airport! (i later realized i probably could have tried exchanging my money at one of the big fancy hotels.) i thanked them repeatedly, got some more food, and went back to my room. when i called the bank back later they told me all they could confirm was that my PIN number was the same as the old one, but they couldn't actually see the number. i tried guessing my PIN at the ATM again, and it ate the card. there was a phone attached to the ATM and the clerk put me on the phone with the taiwanese bank affiliated with the ATM, who, after about fifteen minutes finally told me there was nothing they could do. i went back to my room feeling defeated, watched the discovery channel, and went to sleep early.
day 7
august 4th
monday
i set my alarm for sunrise but it was pouring out so i waited for the rain to lighten up up before going out. i wandered around town trailing a threesome of scavenging stray dogs and then went walking along the highway looking for a nice beach. an hour down the road i found myself in the middle of a torrential downpour, glad i'd brought my rain jacket. after a couple hours of being completely drenched i finally went back to my room for a nap. a little later i went for another walk in the drizzle and then watched some bad TV--a novel experience. eventually the rain finally stopped enough to consider swimming, so i went down to caesar cove beach, where i ran into the kids from the taxi (stacey and matt). the waves were great, and i was glad for a couple hours of free entertainment and conversation. after a shower i got dinner from one of the street vendors -- fried tofu, green beans, mushrooms, and chewy rice pig's blood pudding i also tried fresh coconut juice, which was surprisingly bland. stacey and matt invited me out but having realized i had to make $130 last for the rest of the trip--including lodging and trainfare back around the island--i declined. being suddenly really worried about money was a good experience, though. i don't regret it at all, though i do feel pretty dumb about having forgotten my PIN number.
day 8
august 5th
tuesday
i was pretty eager to get out of rainy kending and into historic tainan. having scouted out the bus stop on one of my many, many walks around kending i headed confidently over there in the morning. i was soon approached by several different people wanting to take me in taxis or privately owned buses, but i waited for the regular, cheaper one. the driver was really friendly and we had a clumsy chat involving lots of gestures and laughs. after arriving in kaohsiung a couple hours later i tried exchanging my last 10,000 yen at the post office bank and was redirected to a proper bank, where the staff spoke perfect english. as i was waiting for the two o'clock train to tainan a nice australian girl sat down next to me and struck up a conversation. at the age of twenty-four, sally has traveled to every continent but africa--she met her english boyfriend whilst backpacking through siberia. i asked her if she knew of any hostels in the area and she suggested i just stay with her and joël. after the train arrived in tainan sally put my backpack on her scooter and gave me directions to her apartment. (she only had one helmet so i couldn't ride with her.) as i was walking toward her place i realized a stranger had just taken off with most of my belongings and it hadn't occurred to me to be worried. of course it hadn't; sally is awesome! she lugged my pack up five flights of stairs in the august heat, dropped it off, and came back to find me, searching the street for me from a parking meridian. i bought us some mango ice and we went to her place, where sally supplied me with some important maps and information. then i headed out and called my host sister's husband to find out about meeting him for dinner. i killed some time walking through tainan park, which was full of chatting old men, and then ian picked me up at tainan station at 5:30. we went to their house to get yukie and their son elvin (baby ethan stayed home with grandma) and then to an outdoor food market for dinner. i watched a man skin a live snake and then ate it in soup with ginger. it was actually pretty flavorless, like overcooked chicken. the restaurant had apparently just recently stopped serving snake's blood, but i tried some snake liquor (the variety that was not distilled with a snake's penis in it), which tasted like chinese medicine. we hit up another place for some more food, including "coffin bread" -- a strange mix of savory and sweet flavors on toast. we then headed to the big night market where i ran into sally and joël, and i went home with them. we talked over taiwan beer and then joël tested out a demo english lesson on sally and me.
day 9
august 6th
wednesday
on her way to work sally gave me a ride on her scooter to the train station, where i checked my bag, and then dropped me off at the eternal golden castle. i walked from there along the canal, through lin mo-niang park to anping fort and the old tait & co. merchant house. tainan is an old port city with a lot of history, and the house had models of aboriginal, chinese, and dutch homes with detailed signs in english describing the lifestyles that took place in those homes. next door was the "tree house"--an old house that's been overrun by banyan trees. the light and shadows were gorgeous, and i lingered for a long time, taking way too many pictures. after that i went looking for the bus. in my wandering i found an old cemetery, witnessed some old men belting out mid afternoon karaoke, and got a sunburn. i finally caught the #14 just as it was about to pull away and watched the street signs from the window, following along with my map. i got off near the confucius temple and spent about an hour there. next: window shopping on jhongshan road, noodles from a street stall, and pearl milk tea while waiting for the 5:32 train to taipei. i checked into my hostel just after ten and then went out to my last night market, on huaxi street. i found a place with a written menu, and ordered one of the few things i could read on it--fried rice with sheep's meat. satisfied, i spent a couple of my few remaining dollars on some souvenirs and went back to the hostel. some people i'd met in my previous stay there came home and we stayed up late talking. dan gave me some good tips on free education; he's studying chinese in taipei and gets a stipend for living expenses. i'm considering doing the same in a couple of years if i haven't found anything better to do with myself. languages are fun.
day 10
august 7th
thursday
i got up at 9, packed, finished the book i'd borrowed from the hostel so i could leave it there, caught the bus from the nearby sheraton hotel to the airport, bought some pineapple cakes for a friend, and flew back to narita. despite my not speaking any chinese, despite the debit card fiasco, and despite the rainy beaches, the trip was a great success. i tried new and strange foods, traveled all the way around the island, saw a huge variety of scenery (big cities and small towns, mountains, ocean, temples, really old buildings, the tallest building in the world, a street lined with bird shops...) and met all kinds of interesting, helpful, and kind people. and the whole trip, including $500 airfare, was less than a thousand dollars.
day 5
august 2nd
saturday
i got up just in time to miss the first (8:40) bus to taroko gorge, and instead took the next one at 10:50. at the bus stop i made friends with lyla from arizona, and later in the two hour ride with the kids (andy from oregon city and adam from illinois) sitting behind us. upon arrival at the gorge we were shocked to see that the water was gray -- it was incredibly unnatural looking, like a river of wet concrete. (i later heard this was just sediment and mud dredged up by the recent typhoon, and that the water should clear after about a week.) lyla and i spent the afternoon hiking around the gorgeous gorge, though the trails were much easier than we expected. we talked a lot; it's funny how easy it is sometimes to be open with a stranger you'll never see again. while we were waiting for the last bus the boys reappeared: we chatted the entire two hour ride as the bus driver took turns at breakneck speeds, presumably trying to make up for getting behind schedule by arguing with the ladies at the gorge about produce deliveries. back in hualien, the four of us went to a night market where we ate the famous local xiao lung bao (a kind of pot sticker) and had a feast of shaved ice desserts with beans, taro, tapioca, mango. we browsed the street vendors' wares for awhile and noted that the local sidewalks, benches, and even signposts were made of marble supplied from the gorge. adam was coming down with a cold so the boys headed back to their hotel and lyla came back to my hostel with me for a quick "margarita" from the bar there (really more like a tequila martini, if such a thing exists) before saying goodbye. after she left i talked with the other kids at the hostel for a little while before bed. you meet a lot of interesting people in hostels.
day 6
august 3rd
sunday
following the advice of the hostel owner, i took a train to fangliao---rather than going to kaohsiung, which is what the guidebooks say to do---to transfer to a bus bound for the southern coastal town of kending (also spelled kenting). there were some kids (american english teachers in seoul) i'd seen at the taipei hostel in the same train car with the same plan, and it worked out to be almost as cheap to take a taxi, so we did. none of us had hostel/hotel reservations; we clumsily asked the driver--whose teeth were stained brown from chewing betel nut-- to drop us off in a central place. i didn't have enough money to pay for a room with cash, so i walked down the street price shopping and asking hotels if they took credit cards. soon they were passing word down the street that the white girl needed a place that took cards and within a few minutes a man came out of a shop and offered me a room for NT$700 per night -- about twice the cost of a stay in a hostel, but still only about US$20. i was excited to find that the room was almost as big my apartment in japan (around 200 square feet), but with less furniture. after settling into my spacious new digs i headed over to one of the many seven elevens in town for some food. and here we enter the worst night of the trip: not having used it in seven months, i'd forgotten the PIN number for my american ATM/debit card, and convenience stores do not take credit cards in taiwan. when i asked the clerk about this, she suggested i talk to the girl selling shirts from a stand out front because she spoke a little english. that girl then called her sister, who spoke better english, and she suggested i buy an international phone card and call my bank. i didn't have enough money for the phone card, but the super awesome shirt-selling girl loaned me NT$100. i called the bank and they told me they couldn't release my PIN number to me unless it was the same as the PIN number for my previous card, which it was, but their system was down so they told me to call back in an hour. i was very hungry and a little hysterical at this point, and the girls outside could see this. i told them i had some japanese money, but kending is a small town -- i didn't know if there was a bank and even if i found one it wouldn't be open until morning. the girls made a couple phone calls, apparently to find out what the current exchange rate was, and exchanged 4000 yen (about $40) for me -- at a better rate than i got at the airport! (i later realized i probably could have tried exchanging my money at one of the big fancy hotels.) i thanked them repeatedly, got some more food, and went back to my room. when i called the bank back later they told me all they could confirm was that my PIN number was the same as the old one, but they couldn't actually see the number. i tried guessing my PIN at the ATM again, and it ate the card. there was a phone attached to the ATM and the clerk put me on the phone with the taiwanese bank affiliated with the ATM, who, after about fifteen minutes finally told me there was nothing they could do. i went back to my room feeling defeated, watched the discovery channel, and went to sleep early.
day 7
august 4th
monday
i set my alarm for sunrise but it was pouring out so i waited for the rain to lighten up up before going out. i wandered around town trailing a threesome of scavenging stray dogs and then went walking along the highway looking for a nice beach. an hour down the road i found myself in the middle of a torrential downpour, glad i'd brought my rain jacket. after a couple hours of being completely drenched i finally went back to my room for a nap. a little later i went for another walk in the drizzle and then watched some bad TV--a novel experience. eventually the rain finally stopped enough to consider swimming, so i went down to caesar cove beach, where i ran into the kids from the taxi (stacey and matt). the waves were great, and i was glad for a couple hours of free entertainment and conversation. after a shower i got dinner from one of the street vendors -- fried tofu, green beans, mushrooms, and chewy rice pig's blood pudding i also tried fresh coconut juice, which was surprisingly bland. stacey and matt invited me out but having realized i had to make $130 last for the rest of the trip--including lodging and trainfare back around the island--i declined. being suddenly really worried about money was a good experience, though. i don't regret it at all, though i do feel pretty dumb about having forgotten my PIN number.
day 8
august 5th
tuesday
i was pretty eager to get out of rainy kending and into historic tainan. having scouted out the bus stop on one of my many, many walks around kending i headed confidently over there in the morning. i was soon approached by several different people wanting to take me in taxis or privately owned buses, but i waited for the regular, cheaper one. the driver was really friendly and we had a clumsy chat involving lots of gestures and laughs. after arriving in kaohsiung a couple hours later i tried exchanging my last 10,000 yen at the post office bank and was redirected to a proper bank, where the staff spoke perfect english. as i was waiting for the two o'clock train to tainan a nice australian girl sat down next to me and struck up a conversation. at the age of twenty-four, sally has traveled to every continent but africa--she met her english boyfriend whilst backpacking through siberia. i asked her if she knew of any hostels in the area and she suggested i just stay with her and joël. after the train arrived in tainan sally put my backpack on her scooter and gave me directions to her apartment. (she only had one helmet so i couldn't ride with her.) as i was walking toward her place i realized a stranger had just taken off with most of my belongings and it hadn't occurred to me to be worried. of course it hadn't; sally is awesome! she lugged my pack up five flights of stairs in the august heat, dropped it off, and came back to find me, searching the street for me from a parking meridian. i bought us some mango ice and we went to her place, where sally supplied me with some important maps and information. then i headed out and called my host sister's husband to find out about meeting him for dinner. i killed some time walking through tainan park, which was full of chatting old men, and then ian picked me up at tainan station at 5:30. we went to their house to get yukie and their son elvin (baby ethan stayed home with grandma) and then to an outdoor food market for dinner. i watched a man skin a live snake and then ate it in soup with ginger. it was actually pretty flavorless, like overcooked chicken. the restaurant had apparently just recently stopped serving snake's blood, but i tried some snake liquor (the variety that was not distilled with a snake's penis in it), which tasted like chinese medicine. we hit up another place for some more food, including "coffin bread" -- a strange mix of savory and sweet flavors on toast. we then headed to the big night market where i ran into sally and joël, and i went home with them. we talked over taiwan beer and then joël tested out a demo english lesson on sally and me.
day 9
august 6th
wednesday
on her way to work sally gave me a ride on her scooter to the train station, where i checked my bag, and then dropped me off at the eternal golden castle. i walked from there along the canal, through lin mo-niang park to anping fort and the old tait & co. merchant house. tainan is an old port city with a lot of history, and the house had models of aboriginal, chinese, and dutch homes with detailed signs in english describing the lifestyles that took place in those homes. next door was the "tree house"--an old house that's been overrun by banyan trees. the light and shadows were gorgeous, and i lingered for a long time, taking way too many pictures. after that i went looking for the bus. in my wandering i found an old cemetery, witnessed some old men belting out mid afternoon karaoke, and got a sunburn. i finally caught the #14 just as it was about to pull away and watched the street signs from the window, following along with my map. i got off near the confucius temple and spent about an hour there. next: window shopping on jhongshan road, noodles from a street stall, and pearl milk tea while waiting for the 5:32 train to taipei. i checked into my hostel just after ten and then went out to my last night market, on huaxi street. i found a place with a written menu, and ordered one of the few things i could read on it--fried rice with sheep's meat. satisfied, i spent a couple of my few remaining dollars on some souvenirs and went back to the hostel. some people i'd met in my previous stay there came home and we stayed up late talking. dan gave me some good tips on free education; he's studying chinese in taipei and gets a stipend for living expenses. i'm considering doing the same in a couple of years if i haven't found anything better to do with myself. languages are fun.
day 10
august 7th
thursday
i got up at 9, packed, finished the book i'd borrowed from the hostel so i could leave it there, caught the bus from the nearby sheraton hotel to the airport, bought some pineapple cakes for a friend, and flew back to narita. despite my not speaking any chinese, despite the debit card fiasco, and despite the rainy beaches, the trip was a great success. i tried new and strange foods, traveled all the way around the island, saw a huge variety of scenery (big cities and small towns, mountains, ocean, temples, really old buildings, the tallest building in the world, a street lined with bird shops...) and met all kinds of interesting, helpful, and kind people. and the whole trip, including $500 airfare, was less than a thousand dollars.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
taiwan tales: part 1
i just got back from ten (mostly) lovely days in taiwan. let me tell you about them.
day 1
july 29th
tuesday
i arrived at taiwan taoyuan international airport at 4:50 PM -- my flight was delayed by about 30 minutes due to storms. the bus to the hostel took much longer than expected, and i finally arrived a little after 7. my friend joe and his friend charlotte [taiwanese, lives in osaka] were waiting when i arrived. we headed out to meet up with another of joe's friends, rex, and his girfriend (tsaipeI? her name was wonderfully similar to the city we were in). i'm not sure where we were, but we wandered around a shopping district, had some food from the stalls and went for beers at a really relaxed bar. it had big wood tables, colorful walls decorated with local artists' paintings, and hip college kids in t-shirts and big glasses -- not the kind of place you'd find in japan. after our beers, joe and charlotte and i went to the shihlin night market for fresh fruit juice (watermelon, papaya, and kiwi respectively) and some more snacks. back at the hostel we hung out on the roof until the mosquitoes chased us off, chatted with a couple of the other residents in the living room, and then gradually headed to our beds -- i was the last. joe left for vietnam early in the morning.
day 2
july 30th
wednesday
i woke up at 9ish and walked from the hostel to taipei station. along the way, i happened across the national taiwan museum, which among other things houses specimens of the extinct formosa tiger and a very cool old map. then to longshan temple, which was both gorgeous and indescribable. i felt much like i did at saint peter's basicila in rome - filled with a peace and reverance that i didn't know i was capable of feeling. i lingered for awhile, watching the worshipers come and go, thinking. after that i wandered around for a couple hours and passed a street lined with pet stores. taiwan is known for its birds, and these vendors had all kinds. baby fluffy turkey-looking things tufted moss green and concrete grey. parrots in bright primary colors. cages upon cages upon cages of birds i didn't know the names for. i continued wandering until i came a cross a street parade: high school kids in pink t-shirts pushing decorated carts and carrying dancing paper dragons. then i (eventually) found a metro station and headed to city hall station, from which i climbed the (dark, empty, slightly creepy) hills above the taipei 101 building at dusk. (thanks to joe for the tip.) i next made my way to the 101 building itself: the tallest building in the world, with the fastest elevators and full of symbolism. after that i headed to shihlin market again for starfruit juice, cheap noodles, and a new pair of sandals. i returned to the hostel exhausted, but was reinvigorated by the sudden appearance of numerous japanese guests, who were celebrating a birthday. stayed up way too late.
day 3
july 31st
thursday
at about 11, i took the metro one stop to taipei station and boarded city bus #260 for yangmingshan, an hour north of taipei. from the visitor's center i took another bus and got off at the first place that looked promising -- a sulfur spring midway up mount cising. on the picnic benches there i had some instant rice porridge and iced coffee, and chatted with fellow visitors -- matthew from beijing (originally france) and gary (taiwanese). then i wandered around the park, took in the views of the city and ocean below, and climbed the path along the sulfur springs to the peak of the mountain. the weather was fickle, and as a result the clouds and mist incredible. there were butterflies, cicadas, birds, tiny purple flowers, trees strong against the wind, and so much green. i wished i'd brought a tape recorder to supplement my camera. after pausing for ten minutes or so at the top, i descended a different, longer route. i then caught the bus in a loop around the mountain. the driver took the curves with speedy expertise and the elementary school kids standing in the aisles were holding on tight and yelling "whee" around corners. i headed back to taipei station and got a sticky bun, some fish balls on sticks, and a jelly filled juice drink from 7-11. (seven eleven, by the way, is everywhere in taiwan.) back at the hostel a newly arrived guest (luka, an italian who works in navigation and spends most of the year traveling the world on ships) chatted me up and we decided to go exploring together. we didn't find the pub we were looking for, but we did have some great fruit and did a lot of walking. over bibimbap and chu-hai he politely asked if he could join me on my trip southeastward the following day. i politely told him i was happy to go alone. we missed the last train back by less than a minute and the taxi driver had a hell of a time understanding my pronunciation, but eventually we got home. i slept very quickly, and very well.
day 4
august 1st
friday
i stowed my backpack in a locker at taipei station and then went to the national palace museum. it takes its name from the fact that most of the exhibits there came from beijing's forbidden city -- and it doesn't disappoint in either its thoroughness or historical range. it was my chinese art history book come to life: so much intricacy, history, and beauty. bronzes, scrolls, carved sandalwood, and oh, the porcelain! lovely. i followed up the museum visit with a late lunch at a vegetarian restaurant near shihlin station. taiwanese fake meat is yummy! then i caught a 5:10 train along the southeast coast at sunset, to hualien. three hours later i was wandering around a small town with no sidewalks looking for my hostel. a lot of people stared at the crazy white girl in the short skirt with a huge backpack strapped to her back and another smaller one on her front. after a couple wrong turns, i checked into my hostel, had a shower, and headed off to the night market (go down the street and turn left at the third seven eleven) for dinner. to give you an idea of how hot it was: i picked up a beer at the convenience store on the way back and it was lukewarm ten minutes later. back at the hostel i talked with some kids who teach english in taichung, and went to sleep.
day 1
july 29th
tuesday
i arrived at taiwan taoyuan international airport at 4:50 PM -- my flight was delayed by about 30 minutes due to storms. the bus to the hostel took much longer than expected, and i finally arrived a little after 7. my friend joe and his friend charlotte [taiwanese, lives in osaka] were waiting when i arrived. we headed out to meet up with another of joe's friends, rex, and his girfriend (tsaipeI? her name was wonderfully similar to the city we were in). i'm not sure where we were, but we wandered around a shopping district, had some food from the stalls and went for beers at a really relaxed bar. it had big wood tables, colorful walls decorated with local artists' paintings, and hip college kids in t-shirts and big glasses -- not the kind of place you'd find in japan. after our beers, joe and charlotte and i went to the shihlin night market for fresh fruit juice (watermelon, papaya, and kiwi respectively) and some more snacks. back at the hostel we hung out on the roof until the mosquitoes chased us off, chatted with a couple of the other residents in the living room, and then gradually headed to our beds -- i was the last. joe left for vietnam early in the morning.
day 2
july 30th
wednesday
i woke up at 9ish and walked from the hostel to taipei station. along the way, i happened across the national taiwan museum, which among other things houses specimens of the extinct formosa tiger and a very cool old map. then to longshan temple, which was both gorgeous and indescribable. i felt much like i did at saint peter's basicila in rome - filled with a peace and reverance that i didn't know i was capable of feeling. i lingered for awhile, watching the worshipers come and go, thinking. after that i wandered around for a couple hours and passed a street lined with pet stores. taiwan is known for its birds, and these vendors had all kinds. baby fluffy turkey-looking things tufted moss green and concrete grey. parrots in bright primary colors. cages upon cages upon cages of birds i didn't know the names for. i continued wandering until i came a cross a street parade: high school kids in pink t-shirts pushing decorated carts and carrying dancing paper dragons. then i (eventually) found a metro station and headed to city hall station, from which i climbed the (dark, empty, slightly creepy) hills above the taipei 101 building at dusk. (thanks to joe for the tip.) i next made my way to the 101 building itself: the tallest building in the world, with the fastest elevators and full of symbolism. after that i headed to shihlin market again for starfruit juice, cheap noodles, and a new pair of sandals. i returned to the hostel exhausted, but was reinvigorated by the sudden appearance of numerous japanese guests, who were celebrating a birthday. stayed up way too late.
day 3
july 31st
thursday
at about 11, i took the metro one stop to taipei station and boarded city bus #260 for yangmingshan, an hour north of taipei. from the visitor's center i took another bus and got off at the first place that looked promising -- a sulfur spring midway up mount cising. on the picnic benches there i had some instant rice porridge and iced coffee, and chatted with fellow visitors -- matthew from beijing (originally france) and gary (taiwanese). then i wandered around the park, took in the views of the city and ocean below, and climbed the path along the sulfur springs to the peak of the mountain. the weather was fickle, and as a result the clouds and mist incredible. there were butterflies, cicadas, birds, tiny purple flowers, trees strong against the wind, and so much green. i wished i'd brought a tape recorder to supplement my camera. after pausing for ten minutes or so at the top, i descended a different, longer route. i then caught the bus in a loop around the mountain. the driver took the curves with speedy expertise and the elementary school kids standing in the aisles were holding on tight and yelling "whee" around corners. i headed back to taipei station and got a sticky bun, some fish balls on sticks, and a jelly filled juice drink from 7-11. (seven eleven, by the way, is everywhere in taiwan.) back at the hostel a newly arrived guest (luka, an italian who works in navigation and spends most of the year traveling the world on ships) chatted me up and we decided to go exploring together. we didn't find the pub we were looking for, but we did have some great fruit and did a lot of walking. over bibimbap and chu-hai he politely asked if he could join me on my trip southeastward the following day. i politely told him i was happy to go alone. we missed the last train back by less than a minute and the taxi driver had a hell of a time understanding my pronunciation, but eventually we got home. i slept very quickly, and very well.
day 4
august 1st
friday
i stowed my backpack in a locker at taipei station and then went to the national palace museum. it takes its name from the fact that most of the exhibits there came from beijing's forbidden city -- and it doesn't disappoint in either its thoroughness or historical range. it was my chinese art history book come to life: so much intricacy, history, and beauty. bronzes, scrolls, carved sandalwood, and oh, the porcelain! lovely. i followed up the museum visit with a late lunch at a vegetarian restaurant near shihlin station. taiwanese fake meat is yummy! then i caught a 5:10 train along the southeast coast at sunset, to hualien. three hours later i was wandering around a small town with no sidewalks looking for my hostel. a lot of people stared at the crazy white girl in the short skirt with a huge backpack strapped to her back and another smaller one on her front. after a couple wrong turns, i checked into my hostel, had a shower, and headed off to the night market (go down the street and turn left at the third seven eleven) for dinner. to give you an idea of how hot it was: i picked up a beer at the convenience store on the way back and it was lukewarm ten minutes later. back at the hostel i talked with some kids who teach english in taichung, and went to sleep.
Friday, August 08, 2008
富士山
here are a few photos from mount fuji, as promised.
many people buy wooden climbing sticks and get them branded at the mountain huts along the way to the summit. you can rent a mat to sleep on for 5000 yen, and some places will let you sit inside if you order food or a drink -- but they won't hesitate to kick you out when there's a line and you've been there plenty long enough to consume your order.
headlamps of the climbers below, taken from the red torii (gate) at the end of the trail.
just before the sun showed itself.
climbers coming up the descending path.
sunrise.
daytime.
descending. i imagine this is what the surface of the moon looks like.
return to life.
many people buy wooden climbing sticks and get them branded at the mountain huts along the way to the summit. you can rent a mat to sleep on for 5000 yen, and some places will let you sit inside if you order food or a drink -- but they won't hesitate to kick you out when there's a line and you've been there plenty long enough to consume your order.
headlamps of the climbers below, taken from the red torii (gate) at the end of the trail.
just before the sun showed itself.
climbers coming up the descending path.
sunrise.
daytime.
descending. i imagine this is what the surface of the moon looks like.
return to life.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
mount fuji climb report
since moving to tokyo at the end of march i've been going hiking every two or three weeks in anticipation of climbing mount fuji this summer. i did it -- on july fifteenth, a little after 4 a.m., i reached the summit. here's my climb report:
the bus departs from shinjuku at 4:50 p.m. there's a rainstorm en route and i realize that although i have rain gear, my shoes are probably not waterproof. fortunately, the sky clears quickly: typically moody mountain weather. i try to nap on the bus in preparation for the long trek ahead, but i can't sleep. perhaps my subconscious is trying to ask my conscious what the hell we've gotten ourself into.
the bus arrives at kawaguchiko fifth station, 2,305 meters up, a little after 7 p.m. the sun is setting and there's a soft breeze. i down a can of liquid courage (er, black coffee), throw on my new windbreaker/rainjacket, and chat with a young korean couple and a group of three approaching-middle-age american guys at the store. one of the american guys has done this before, so i (tentatively, at least) join their group. we start climbing at 7:35. i quickly fall behind, but catch up to them at the first 6th station, where we realize we took the harder path. we get maps (the store had run out) and start off again. when hiking it always takes me an hour or two to adjust and straighten out my breathing, and this time is no different: it's slow going. i lose them again. later on i run into two finnish guys and another group of three american guys, all around my age, and all in fairly similar physical condition. we continue along at about the same pace, the finnish guys taking longer breaks but walking faster. soon the terrain changes from upward slope to solid rock, and everyone pulls gloves out of their backpacks. finally, at one of the huts we're told that most of the exhausting rock climbing is over, and we all sigh in relief. at break points we share snacks -- dried fruit, chocolate, nuts -- and it doesn't sit well in my stomach. i feel a little shaky and my head is hurting from the altitude. two of the americans drop out around the 8th station a little after midnight, electing to stay in a mountain hut and get a good night's sleep rather than plow on. the remaining american guy and i push forward, not willing to pay 5000 yen to take a nap, and -- more importantly -- not wanting to miss the sunrise. my head feels better after awhile. it's getting progressively colder and we add layers as we go. to avoid hitting the peak before sunrise, we take a long break in a hut between the old and new 8th stations. we chat with an austrian family and an airforce girl from tennessee until the hut owner kicks us out to make room for more. we eventually find ourselves behind a climbing group, and the trail is pretty congested at times. just before the top is another stint of rock climbing. i notice a few people look like they might collapse from exhaustion, but none of them do. there is a soft streak in the sky that gradually spreads out and turns from whitish grey to pinkish red. behind us are little dots of light formed by climbers' headlamps and ahead is the little gate marking the end of the ascent. there are cheers as people walk under the red torii, and a few high fives as well. finally at the top (finally!), we wander around dazedly and take some photos. the finns are there, too, and we congratulate each other before going into a hut to huddle around some coals and drink hot tea. i venture out for some more photos when the sun finally comes up above the horizon, but then my fingers go numb and so i head back to the hut. i realize i haven't brought enough layers (at this point i'm wearing ski socks, jeans, rain pants, a tank top, t-shirt, sweatshirt, and windbreaker, wool hat, and fingerless bike gloves) and now that i'm not moving, i'm shaking from the cold. my new friend offers me a clif bar and i think maybe i'm hungry, so i eat it. it's too cold to take a nap and my climbing buddy looks pretty miserable too, so we decide to head back down. i've had some knee trouble on recent hikes so i tell him to go on ahead of me if i'm slow -- which i am. i walk very carefully to protect my knees, going sideways about half of the time. it takes longer, but it doesn't hurt as much, and i try to think of it as a bonus work out. i'm getting warmer but my stomach continues to protest the altitude, and i stop and put my head between my knees a few times. my forehead feels flushed and i realize what's about to happen -- i run a little off the trail and the clif bar makes an ungraceful exit from whence it came. after that i feel quite a bit better, and continue along without incident -- aside from a pause to check with some nice middle-aged japanese men about the correct descending path to kawaguchiko. the trail continues, monotonous rock and sand until finally little dots of green start to appear on the martian terrain and the sand gives way to soil, solid underfoot. at a few points the trail goes uphill instead of down -- a surprisingly welcome change. the scenery begins to change too (trees!) and, encouraged, i find myself picking up speed. between the sixth and fifth stations are a lot of climbers just heading out, and i greet them with a cheerful good morning. i chat with a guy from hong kong who had asked me if i was okay when my head was between my knees four kilometers up; he's surprised i've caught up with him. a chinese woman and her daughter, full of morning sunshine just-off-the-bus freshness run up to me with their cameras and gesture that they'd like to take pictures with me. they repeat "xie xie," a few times, and then we go off in opposite directions. i feel like i'm dreaming. a little later, i chat a little with a guy from laos and his tour partner from thailand, and they assure me december is a wonderful time to visit their countries. we say goodbye to one another when we (finally!) arrive at the fifth station around ten. the americans i started out with are sprawled on the ground in the sun, resting. i buy bus tickets and a souvenir, and sit down next to the equally exhausted finnish guys to wait for the first (eleven o'clock) bus. this bus is much more crowded than the one we took up, and the seats don't recline as far, but we're all too exhausted to care. next to me is a french college kid and i give him advice about what to see before he heads home in a few days. soon we're all passed out and drooling, and then we're in shinjuku! home sweet tokyo.
i did it. i climbed mount fuji!
i'm glad i went alone, too, because i didn't have to worry about forcing anyone to adjust to my pace, or adjusting my pace to anyone else's. i met plenty of good company on the way. though i can't deny it would have been nice to have shared the experience with someone close to me -- that wasn't really an option. this way i can feel tough and independent.
they say only a fool climbs fuji twice. if that's true, i know quite a few fools -- and i might be one of them. if i'm in japan during climbing season again, i might do it. it was a challenge, but a doable one. things i'd do differently the second time: bring more clothes, eat less on the trail, buy a souvenir at the top, and possibly invest in one of those oxygen can things or even an inhaler. and you know, i might even consider starting from the very bottom -- though i'd definitely stay in a hut partway up if i went that route.
my legs are actually less sore than they were when i did a much shorter climb a few months ago. (so far, anyway.) i'm glad i trained. i'm not an athletic person, but my body will pull through if i push it. my father once told me (in gentler words) that thinking of myself as weak was a cop out, a recipe for failure, and that i could do a lot more than i knew if i just tried. he was right. thanks, dad.
(photos soon to follow)
the bus departs from shinjuku at 4:50 p.m. there's a rainstorm en route and i realize that although i have rain gear, my shoes are probably not waterproof. fortunately, the sky clears quickly: typically moody mountain weather. i try to nap on the bus in preparation for the long trek ahead, but i can't sleep. perhaps my subconscious is trying to ask my conscious what the hell we've gotten ourself into.
the bus arrives at kawaguchiko fifth station, 2,305 meters up, a little after 7 p.m. the sun is setting and there's a soft breeze. i down a can of liquid courage (er, black coffee), throw on my new windbreaker/rainjacket, and chat with a young korean couple and a group of three approaching-middle-age american guys at the store. one of the american guys has done this before, so i (tentatively, at least) join their group. we start climbing at 7:35. i quickly fall behind, but catch up to them at the first 6th station, where we realize we took the harder path. we get maps (the store had run out) and start off again. when hiking it always takes me an hour or two to adjust and straighten out my breathing, and this time is no different: it's slow going. i lose them again. later on i run into two finnish guys and another group of three american guys, all around my age, and all in fairly similar physical condition. we continue along at about the same pace, the finnish guys taking longer breaks but walking faster. soon the terrain changes from upward slope to solid rock, and everyone pulls gloves out of their backpacks. finally, at one of the huts we're told that most of the exhausting rock climbing is over, and we all sigh in relief. at break points we share snacks -- dried fruit, chocolate, nuts -- and it doesn't sit well in my stomach. i feel a little shaky and my head is hurting from the altitude. two of the americans drop out around the 8th station a little after midnight, electing to stay in a mountain hut and get a good night's sleep rather than plow on. the remaining american guy and i push forward, not willing to pay 5000 yen to take a nap, and -- more importantly -- not wanting to miss the sunrise. my head feels better after awhile. it's getting progressively colder and we add layers as we go. to avoid hitting the peak before sunrise, we take a long break in a hut between the old and new 8th stations. we chat with an austrian family and an airforce girl from tennessee until the hut owner kicks us out to make room for more. we eventually find ourselves behind a climbing group, and the trail is pretty congested at times. just before the top is another stint of rock climbing. i notice a few people look like they might collapse from exhaustion, but none of them do. there is a soft streak in the sky that gradually spreads out and turns from whitish grey to pinkish red. behind us are little dots of light formed by climbers' headlamps and ahead is the little gate marking the end of the ascent. there are cheers as people walk under the red torii, and a few high fives as well. finally at the top (finally!), we wander around dazedly and take some photos. the finns are there, too, and we congratulate each other before going into a hut to huddle around some coals and drink hot tea. i venture out for some more photos when the sun finally comes up above the horizon, but then my fingers go numb and so i head back to the hut. i realize i haven't brought enough layers (at this point i'm wearing ski socks, jeans, rain pants, a tank top, t-shirt, sweatshirt, and windbreaker, wool hat, and fingerless bike gloves) and now that i'm not moving, i'm shaking from the cold. my new friend offers me a clif bar and i think maybe i'm hungry, so i eat it. it's too cold to take a nap and my climbing buddy looks pretty miserable too, so we decide to head back down. i've had some knee trouble on recent hikes so i tell him to go on ahead of me if i'm slow -- which i am. i walk very carefully to protect my knees, going sideways about half of the time. it takes longer, but it doesn't hurt as much, and i try to think of it as a bonus work out. i'm getting warmer but my stomach continues to protest the altitude, and i stop and put my head between my knees a few times. my forehead feels flushed and i realize what's about to happen -- i run a little off the trail and the clif bar makes an ungraceful exit from whence it came. after that i feel quite a bit better, and continue along without incident -- aside from a pause to check with some nice middle-aged japanese men about the correct descending path to kawaguchiko. the trail continues, monotonous rock and sand until finally little dots of green start to appear on the martian terrain and the sand gives way to soil, solid underfoot. at a few points the trail goes uphill instead of down -- a surprisingly welcome change. the scenery begins to change too (trees!) and, encouraged, i find myself picking up speed. between the sixth and fifth stations are a lot of climbers just heading out, and i greet them with a cheerful good morning. i chat with a guy from hong kong who had asked me if i was okay when my head was between my knees four kilometers up; he's surprised i've caught up with him. a chinese woman and her daughter, full of morning sunshine just-off-the-bus freshness run up to me with their cameras and gesture that they'd like to take pictures with me. they repeat "xie xie," a few times, and then we go off in opposite directions. i feel like i'm dreaming. a little later, i chat a little with a guy from laos and his tour partner from thailand, and they assure me december is a wonderful time to visit their countries. we say goodbye to one another when we (finally!) arrive at the fifth station around ten. the americans i started out with are sprawled on the ground in the sun, resting. i buy bus tickets and a souvenir, and sit down next to the equally exhausted finnish guys to wait for the first (eleven o'clock) bus. this bus is much more crowded than the one we took up, and the seats don't recline as far, but we're all too exhausted to care. next to me is a french college kid and i give him advice about what to see before he heads home in a few days. soon we're all passed out and drooling, and then we're in shinjuku! home sweet tokyo.
i did it. i climbed mount fuji!
i'm glad i went alone, too, because i didn't have to worry about forcing anyone to adjust to my pace, or adjusting my pace to anyone else's. i met plenty of good company on the way. though i can't deny it would have been nice to have shared the experience with someone close to me -- that wasn't really an option. this way i can feel tough and independent.
they say only a fool climbs fuji twice. if that's true, i know quite a few fools -- and i might be one of them. if i'm in japan during climbing season again, i might do it. it was a challenge, but a doable one. things i'd do differently the second time: bring more clothes, eat less on the trail, buy a souvenir at the top, and possibly invest in one of those oxygen can things or even an inhaler. and you know, i might even consider starting from the very bottom -- though i'd definitely stay in a hut partway up if i went that route.
my legs are actually less sore than they were when i did a much shorter climb a few months ago. (so far, anyway.) i'm glad i trained. i'm not an athletic person, but my body will pull through if i push it. my father once told me (in gentler words) that thinking of myself as weak was a cop out, a recipe for failure, and that i could do a lot more than i knew if i just tried. he was right. thanks, dad.
(photos soon to follow)
Saturday, July 05, 2008
where did june go?
it's july. the weather is just starting to get hot and humid -- a little later than usual, thankfully.
i finished writing the end-of-term test for my returnee class a few days ago, and am in the midst of conversation tests for my other classes. my students are doing pretty well, especially compared to the students i taught at public schools. it's impressive what a difference one class per week with a native teacher makes -- especially for the girls who really put a lot of effort into it.
the end of the term came fast. finals at my main school are at the end of next week. after that i still have work through july 28th, but not at all my schools on all the regular days. in other words, i have a few extra days off. i'm going to climb fuji on july 14th or 15th. and for the few days leading up to my birthday i'll be in kansai. a week later i'll be in taiwan. then august, then seattle, portland, pittsburgh, mcminville: a whirlwind.
i finished writing the end-of-term test for my returnee class a few days ago, and am in the midst of conversation tests for my other classes. my students are doing pretty well, especially compared to the students i taught at public schools. it's impressive what a difference one class per week with a native teacher makes -- especially for the girls who really put a lot of effort into it.
the end of the term came fast. finals at my main school are at the end of next week. after that i still have work through july 28th, but not at all my schools on all the regular days. in other words, i have a few extra days off. i'm going to climb fuji on july 14th or 15th. and for the few days leading up to my birthday i'll be in kansai. a week later i'll be in taiwan. then august, then seattle, portland, pittsburgh, mcminville: a whirlwind.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
this is the new life
i've been living in tokyo for nearly two months now, and i think the adjustment period is finally over.
the area i'm living in now is much more comfortable and convenient than the "bed town" i moved out of. there are bakeries, grocery stores, fruit & veggie vendors, ramen shops and restaurants aplenty along the ten or fifteen minute walk from the train station to my apartment.
below is a photo of my place from just after i moved in. the flowers on the table are one of four bouquets i received from my former schools when i left.
i'm also quite close (ten minutes by bike) to kichijoji, which is a cool area filled with all kinds of shops, restaurants, bars, and so forth. and even better, it has inokashira park.
my new job is going well. it was rough going as i got a feel for the new curriculum, new schools, and teaching on my own, but things are slowly settling into place. i teach at three different schools. all three are about a fifteen minute walk from the nearest station, as is my apartment. this means i walk about an hour a day, which feels really good. i'm glad not to be driving anymore. here's an outline of my work week:
this is not to say that teaching is necessarily going to turn into a career, and it's certainly not to say that i'll be staying in japan indefinitely. i think i'll be ready to head back to the states in another year. i haven't figured out the details yet.
in the meantime, things are good over here.
the area i'm living in now is much more comfortable and convenient than the "bed town" i moved out of. there are bakeries, grocery stores, fruit & veggie vendors, ramen shops and restaurants aplenty along the ten or fifteen minute walk from the train station to my apartment.
below is a photo of my place from just after i moved in. the flowers on the table are one of four bouquets i received from my former schools when i left.
i'm also quite close (ten minutes by bike) to kichijoji, which is a cool area filled with all kinds of shops, restaurants, bars, and so forth. and even better, it has inokashira park.
my new job is going well. it was rough going as i got a feel for the new curriculum, new schools, and teaching on my own, but things are slowly settling into place. i teach at three different schools. all three are about a fifteen minute walk from the nearest station, as is my apartment. this means i walk about an hour a day, which feels really good. i'm glad not to be driving anymore. here's an outline of my work week:
- monday: nakano (12 minute train ride): 2 regular conversation classes and 1 returnee class, all 7th graders. 50 minute classes. 18-22 students per class. teaching solo.
- tuesday: edogawa (52 minute train ride): 4 conversation classes, all 7th graders. 65 minute classes; last 15 minutes are to be comprised of a game or activity. about 38 students per class. because of the larger class size and the students' lack of any english background a japanese teacher of english (JTE) comes along for support.
- wednesday: off.
- thursday: nakano again. 1 regular 7th grade conversation class and 2 periods with the same returnee student class from monday.
- friday: ranzan (nearly 2 hours by train): 5 conversation classes, all 7th graders. one class has around 40 students and the others are split into around 20. 50 minute classes. JTE may help with the larger class if needed.
- saturday: nakano again. 1 class with the 7th grade returnee students followed by a two hour lesson with returnee elementary school students. then, in the afternoon, 2 consecutive periods teaching an elective conversation class to 9th graders.
- sunday: off.
this is not to say that teaching is necessarily going to turn into a career, and it's certainly not to say that i'll be staying in japan indefinitely. i think i'll be ready to head back to the states in another year. i haven't figured out the details yet.
in the meantime, things are good over here.
Monday, March 10, 2008
good news is good news
they say good things come in threes, right?
good thing #1:
i passed level 2 of the japanese language placement test (JLPT)! the results were announced in february.
there are four levels, with level 1 being the most difficult and level 4 the most basic, and the test is offered once a year. i passed level 3 last year and i was pretty sure that the gap between it and level 2 would be too difficult to bridge in just one year, but i did it! not only that, but i scored relatively well; a 60% or above is required to pass, and i took 78%.
several people have asked me what i'm going to do now, and i don't really have an answer. i didn't take the test to acquire qualifications for a particular job or graduate program -- though it is possible i will head that direction eventually -- but as a personal challenge and a reason to study. result: i learned a lot of new kanji, vocabulary, and grammar, and strengthened what i knew already. once things settle down around here (i'll explain more below) i'll get myself back on a regular study schedule. i don't expect level 1 is a reachable goal this next time around, but i intend to try.
good thing #2:
i got a new job!
i am changing jobs this coming school year. beginning april 1st, i will be working for a small instructor dispatch company, teaching at private girls' junior high schools in the tokyo area. three days a week i will be in west central tokyo, teaching oral communication to 9th graders and elective english to students who have returned from living overseas. the other two days i will be in east tokyo and saitama respectively, assistant teaching 7th grade english. because private schools have classes on saturdays, my days off will be sundays and wednesdays.
i expect the 9th grade classes, which i will be planning and teaching on my own--and writing tests for--to be a challenge. i'm looking forward to it. aside from wednesdays (elementary school days), my current job involves almost no responsibility, and it's beginning to wear on me. speaking of elementary school, while i will miss the cute little munchkins, i am relieved that i won't be teaching the lower grades anymore. i was teaching as many as ten classes per day there, and summoning the energy required to occupy their young attention spans left me an exhausted mess at the end of the day. from here on out, my youngest student will be twelve, and they will all be girls. i'm interested to see what junior high school girls are like when there aren't any boys in the classroom; my current female students are generally very quiet in class.
moving on, good thing #3:
i'm moving to a new apartment!
the search was long and arduous, and it's finally over.
first i had to determine whether i would live alone or with a housemate. for awhile it seemed like i might live with a friend of mine, but ultimately that didn't work out. i decided rather than bother looking for someone else i'd just remain on my own. i would enjoy having a housemate to chat with and saving money on rent, but i also really enjoy the quiet of living alone.
next i had to decide which area to live in. ultimately i decided to settle a little west of central tokyo in mitaka, because it's quite close to my main school, i have a friend nearby, it's a nice area, it's convenient to a lot of other good areas, and it's not too expensive.
finally, i had to choose an actual apartment. i looked at a lot of apartments and finally found one i liked this last weekend. part of me thinks i should continue the search, because the more choices you have in front of you the better prepared you are to make an educated decision, but i am reasonably confident the place i chose is a good one, and glad the hunt is over so i can move on to other tasks -- like packing.
exciting apartment features:
i get the keys in a week and a half.
good thing #1:
i passed level 2 of the japanese language placement test (JLPT)! the results were announced in february.
there are four levels, with level 1 being the most difficult and level 4 the most basic, and the test is offered once a year. i passed level 3 last year and i was pretty sure that the gap between it and level 2 would be too difficult to bridge in just one year, but i did it! not only that, but i scored relatively well; a 60% or above is required to pass, and i took 78%.
several people have asked me what i'm going to do now, and i don't really have an answer. i didn't take the test to acquire qualifications for a particular job or graduate program -- though it is possible i will head that direction eventually -- but as a personal challenge and a reason to study. result: i learned a lot of new kanji, vocabulary, and grammar, and strengthened what i knew already. once things settle down around here (i'll explain more below) i'll get myself back on a regular study schedule. i don't expect level 1 is a reachable goal this next time around, but i intend to try.
good thing #2:
i got a new job!
i am changing jobs this coming school year. beginning april 1st, i will be working for a small instructor dispatch company, teaching at private girls' junior high schools in the tokyo area. three days a week i will be in west central tokyo, teaching oral communication to 9th graders and elective english to students who have returned from living overseas. the other two days i will be in east tokyo and saitama respectively, assistant teaching 7th grade english. because private schools have classes on saturdays, my days off will be sundays and wednesdays.
i expect the 9th grade classes, which i will be planning and teaching on my own--and writing tests for--to be a challenge. i'm looking forward to it. aside from wednesdays (elementary school days), my current job involves almost no responsibility, and it's beginning to wear on me. speaking of elementary school, while i will miss the cute little munchkins, i am relieved that i won't be teaching the lower grades anymore. i was teaching as many as ten classes per day there, and summoning the energy required to occupy their young attention spans left me an exhausted mess at the end of the day. from here on out, my youngest student will be twelve, and they will all be girls. i'm interested to see what junior high school girls are like when there aren't any boys in the classroom; my current female students are generally very quiet in class.
moving on, good thing #3:
i'm moving to a new apartment!
the search was long and arduous, and it's finally over.
first i had to determine whether i would live alone or with a housemate. for awhile it seemed like i might live with a friend of mine, but ultimately that didn't work out. i decided rather than bother looking for someone else i'd just remain on my own. i would enjoy having a housemate to chat with and saving money on rent, but i also really enjoy the quiet of living alone.
next i had to decide which area to live in. ultimately i decided to settle a little west of central tokyo in mitaka, because it's quite close to my main school, i have a friend nearby, it's a nice area, it's convenient to a lot of other good areas, and it's not too expensive.
finally, i had to choose an actual apartment. i looked at a lot of apartments and finally found one i liked this last weekend. part of me thinks i should continue the search, because the more choices you have in front of you the better prepared you are to make an educated decision, but i am reasonably confident the place i chose is a good one, and glad the hunt is over so i can move on to other tasks -- like packing.
exciting apartment features:
- windows on two sides: it's a corner unit, so there is a window over the kitchen sink, another on the living/bedroom wall, and a third sliding glass door at the back of the aparment, leading onto a...
- small patio: i mean it when i say small, but still, there is space for a chair, a bike, and hopefully a couple of small planters for herbs and tomatoes. also, there are buildings surrounding my building, so i'll have some privacy and won't have to fear my laundry being stolen by passersby. (overall there is very little crime in japan, but underwear and bike theft seem to be exempt.)
- big, deep closet. (many of the places i looked at didn't have closets, or they were shallow or narrow. this closet is the same size the one at my current place, which is just the right amount of storage.)
- sufficient cabinet space and maneuverability in the kitchen.
- hardwood floors: i like tatami, but it's difficult to clean, and hardwood is much shinier. i like shiny.
- more than enough space in the kitchen for my big pink refrigerator.
- privacy: the unit next to mine is being used for storage, so i won't have too worry much about being loud.
- close to the station: a ten minute walk or four minute bike ride.
- not too expensive -- 63,000 yen per month (about $600).
- "reasonable" move-in fees -- by japanese standards, that is. let me elbaborate: with nearly all apartments, you are required to pay two months' rent in reikin (commonly translated as "key money" or "thank you money") to the landlord upon moving in, and again when renewing your rental contract every two years. an additional one or two months' rent is required as a deposit (shikikin) -- you may or may not get this back when moving out, not necessarily depending on the state of your apartment so much as the honesty of your landlord. furthermore, the apartment agency requires one months' rent as a finder's fee. and finally, there's the actual rent itself, renters' insurance (~$200), and a document fee ($20). my landlord-to-be agreed to reduce the key money to one month if i agreed to move in, and the deposit is also only one month. including april rent and pro-rated march rent, i am getting into this place for under 300,000 yen (around $3000). by american standards, that's ridiculous, but we're not in kansas anymore, toto -- by japanese standards, i've done reasonably well for myself.
i get the keys in a week and a half.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
no soul puns here
trip diary: november 22-25: seoul.
i'm addicted to travel.
three friends and i spent thanksgiving weekend in seoul.
seoul is the second most populous city in the world next to tokyo. given the number of people crowded into its urban landscape and the lengthy japanese occupation of korea before world war ii, i shouldn't have been surprised at how much of seoul resembled tokyo, from buildings to trains. japanese food in seoul is as common as mexican food is in southern california. the japanese and korean languages even share some words, such as "kaikei" (check, as in, "check, please") and "jibun" (oneself).
on the flipside of these similarities there are of course a plethora of differences, and one of the most welcome of those was floor heating. why haven't the japanese imported this technology wide scale? despite being slightly warmer than my native oregon, winters in my area of japan are bitterly cold due to poor insulation and limited use of heating. our hostel in seoul offered a cozy escape from the cold outside. but i'm getting off track...
we arrived at incheon international airport late thursday night, and headed to our hostel (staykorea). after getting settled in, we explored the hongdae neighborhood around hongik university. there were street vendors everywhere, and i got my first taste of tteokboki, chewy, spicy, and sinus-clearing. the streets were strewn with trash, but mike's friend later assured us that student volunteer groups clean everything up in the morning. i wonder who cleans up the empty beer cups and take-out food containers cluttering up the streets of london.
in our wanderings through hongdae we stumbled across between the bars, an elliott smith tribute bar complete with paintings of his album covers on all the walls. the atmosphere was dark, velvety, and lovely. i like to think elliott would have approved. i signed the guest book with something like, "i was so happy to find home away from home away from home, here."
friday we woke up, had disgustingly sweet instant coffee at the hostel, and headed over to changdeokgung palace. here is mike, demonstrating our excitement:
it was cold, grey, and intermittently rainy, but the palace was lovely, and the changing autumn leaves incredible. we strolled around for several hours before the rain drove us indoors.
see? cold:
but pretty:
as i've finally realized, eating is as much an important part of any vacation as the sights are, so we followed our palace visit with a meal of bibimbap--rice, meat, veggies and spices stirred up together and served in a hot iron pot. mmm, crunchy.
the path to bibimbap:
after that we headed to the quiet insadong area, filled with little shops selling monk's robes, prayer beads, incense, and so forth--the place for all of your buddhist accessorizing needs. we stumbled across jogyesa temple:
COEX mall was our next destination; we were looking for a kimchi exhibition. we couldn't find it and were probably too late anyway, but we found plenty of other foods to sample and explored the ridiculously huge mall for an hour or two before making our escape to dongdaemun, where we checked out the gate and the market.
then it was time to eat again, and eat we did--nearly to explosion. we found a cheap, traditional kalbi restaurant with a table available. crowded around our grill table, we had a feast of juicy meat, doenjjang chigae (soup with tofu), salad, rice, and--or course--kimchi.
we walked around for a bit, had some gelato (how we fit it in our bloated stomachs i have no clue), and headed back to the hostel for some much-needed sleep.
the following morning, saturday, we woke up later than planned and headed off to gyeongbukgung palace, where we arrived just in time for the changing of the guards ceremony. the guards were impressively stone-faced. nate and risa were not (see below).
after touring the massive palace compound we headed over to city hall, grabbing a snack of chestnuts coated in deep fried dough from a street vendor on the way.
next stop: the very crowded myeongdong market. in hungry desperation, we ducked into a negmyun (reimen) restaurant for some cold spicy noodles. though delicious, it was perhaps the spiciest thing i have ever eaten--and i ordered the "mild" version! after eating as much as we could handle (in my case about half the bowl) we left to find something a little more friendly to fill our bellies with. we got some snacks from the market vendors, met up with a friend, and headed for seoul tower. we made it through the long line and up the mountain on the namasan cable car just as the sun was beginning to set.
and then it was another gate and another market, this time namdaemun -- which was burned down by an arsonist quite recently.
at the market we checked out the jars of ginger, metal chopsticks, and other wares for sale. there appeared to be alley restaurants where you could eat dog meat, but having heard they use cute big dogs like golden retrievers and labradors i didn't think i could stomach it. (terriers, on the other hand, i might dislike enough to actually try eating one. then again, maybe not.) instead we settled on some outside tables on the street where we snacked on grilled seafood and veggies.
and then? you guessed it: more food. we met up with mike's aunt, uncle, and cousins at a restaurant for some more more tasty kalbi and kimchi.
after that two of our party headed back to the hostel and we met up with two more, taking the packed last train to hongdae. korean bars serve gim (seasoned seaweed) with their drinks. yum. we explored the college bar scene, spent some time at an incredible no-shoes bar that was something like an art deco underground tunnel cave, had a late-night udon snack, and finished the night off at a two storey karaoke bar.
after not-nearly-enough sleep, it was time to head for the airport for our flight back to narita.
the trip was much, much, too short. like the food, korean life felt spicier than japan. the buildings were more colorful, the people more expressive, the sidewalks a little livelier. i want to go again.
i'm addicted to travel.
three friends and i spent thanksgiving weekend in seoul.
seoul is the second most populous city in the world next to tokyo. given the number of people crowded into its urban landscape and the lengthy japanese occupation of korea before world war ii, i shouldn't have been surprised at how much of seoul resembled tokyo, from buildings to trains. japanese food in seoul is as common as mexican food is in southern california. the japanese and korean languages even share some words, such as "kaikei" (check, as in, "check, please") and "jibun" (oneself).
on the flipside of these similarities there are of course a plethora of differences, and one of the most welcome of those was floor heating. why haven't the japanese imported this technology wide scale? despite being slightly warmer than my native oregon, winters in my area of japan are bitterly cold due to poor insulation and limited use of heating. our hostel in seoul offered a cozy escape from the cold outside. but i'm getting off track...
we arrived at incheon international airport late thursday night, and headed to our hostel (staykorea). after getting settled in, we explored the hongdae neighborhood around hongik university. there were street vendors everywhere, and i got my first taste of tteokboki, chewy, spicy, and sinus-clearing. the streets were strewn with trash, but mike's friend later assured us that student volunteer groups clean everything up in the morning. i wonder who cleans up the empty beer cups and take-out food containers cluttering up the streets of london.
in our wanderings through hongdae we stumbled across between the bars, an elliott smith tribute bar complete with paintings of his album covers on all the walls. the atmosphere was dark, velvety, and lovely. i like to think elliott would have approved. i signed the guest book with something like, "i was so happy to find home away from home away from home, here."
friday we woke up, had disgustingly sweet instant coffee at the hostel, and headed over to changdeokgung palace. here is mike, demonstrating our excitement:
it was cold, grey, and intermittently rainy, but the palace was lovely, and the changing autumn leaves incredible. we strolled around for several hours before the rain drove us indoors.
see? cold:
but pretty:
as i've finally realized, eating is as much an important part of any vacation as the sights are, so we followed our palace visit with a meal of bibimbap--rice, meat, veggies and spices stirred up together and served in a hot iron pot. mmm, crunchy.
the path to bibimbap:
after that we headed to the quiet insadong area, filled with little shops selling monk's robes, prayer beads, incense, and so forth--the place for all of your buddhist accessorizing needs. we stumbled across jogyesa temple:
COEX mall was our next destination; we were looking for a kimchi exhibition. we couldn't find it and were probably too late anyway, but we found plenty of other foods to sample and explored the ridiculously huge mall for an hour or two before making our escape to dongdaemun, where we checked out the gate and the market.
then it was time to eat again, and eat we did--nearly to explosion. we found a cheap, traditional kalbi restaurant with a table available. crowded around our grill table, we had a feast of juicy meat, doenjjang chigae (soup with tofu), salad, rice, and--or course--kimchi.
we walked around for a bit, had some gelato (how we fit it in our bloated stomachs i have no clue), and headed back to the hostel for some much-needed sleep.
the following morning, saturday, we woke up later than planned and headed off to gyeongbukgung palace, where we arrived just in time for the changing of the guards ceremony. the guards were impressively stone-faced. nate and risa were not (see below).
after touring the massive palace compound we headed over to city hall, grabbing a snack of chestnuts coated in deep fried dough from a street vendor on the way.
next stop: the very crowded myeongdong market. in hungry desperation, we ducked into a negmyun (reimen) restaurant for some cold spicy noodles. though delicious, it was perhaps the spiciest thing i have ever eaten--and i ordered the "mild" version! after eating as much as we could handle (in my case about half the bowl) we left to find something a little more friendly to fill our bellies with. we got some snacks from the market vendors, met up with a friend, and headed for seoul tower. we made it through the long line and up the mountain on the namasan cable car just as the sun was beginning to set.
and then it was another gate and another market, this time namdaemun -- which was burned down by an arsonist quite recently.
at the market we checked out the jars of ginger, metal chopsticks, and other wares for sale. there appeared to be alley restaurants where you could eat dog meat, but having heard they use cute big dogs like golden retrievers and labradors i didn't think i could stomach it. (terriers, on the other hand, i might dislike enough to actually try eating one. then again, maybe not.) instead we settled on some outside tables on the street where we snacked on grilled seafood and veggies.
and then? you guessed it: more food. we met up with mike's aunt, uncle, and cousins at a restaurant for some more more tasty kalbi and kimchi.
after that two of our party headed back to the hostel and we met up with two more, taking the packed last train to hongdae. korean bars serve gim (seasoned seaweed) with their drinks. yum. we explored the college bar scene, spent some time at an incredible no-shoes bar that was something like an art deco underground tunnel cave, had a late-night udon snack, and finished the night off at a two storey karaoke bar.
after not-nearly-enough sleep, it was time to head for the airport for our flight back to narita.
the trip was much, much, too short. like the food, korean life felt spicier than japan. the buildings were more colorful, the people more expressive, the sidewalks a little livelier. i want to go again.
Monday, February 18, 2008
okinawa
after my europe trip last summer (which i know, i know, i have yet to tell you about) i flew down to okinawa for a few days.
okinawa is part of japan, but it's halfway to taiwan. for hundreds of years the okinawan islands were the ryukyu kingdom, a nexus for trade between china, korea, and japan. the indigenous ryukyuans were racially different from mainland japanese and have a different language, which is sadly falling by the wayside -- most okinawan children speak only japanese these days. (notably, the irish language is on a similar decline.)
given it's history, okinawa--even the industrial port city of naha--feels different from other parts of japan. the chinese influence is palpable, and "shisha" lions decorate entryways to most houses. life moves more slowly than in tokyo. people take longer lunch breaks and devote a lot of time to chatting. the food is different, too; spam and gohyya (a very bitter cucumber-like melon) seem to be ingredients in everything.
i was staying in naha, and as such, my plans for laying around in tropical sun all day were quickly dashed. the beachy paradise i'd expected was covered in concrete and industry. except, that is for nami-no-ue (on-the-waves) beach, naha's solitary public beach.
when i went, there was a constant kathump kathump from the nearby construction. the actual swimming area is about the size of a public pool. i think it was the worst beach i've ever been to.
stuck in naha, not willing to spend the money required to rent a car, i borrowed my friend's bike and explored the city with my camera. parts of it were poor, such as this area:
industry along the coastline:
i spent some time at the touristy market downtown, browsing the tropical fruits, fresh shaved bonito, dried snakes, and deep fried pastries.
i experienced a few tropical downpours that stopped as suddenly as the began.
i admired tropical flowers in a lovely mosquito-ridden park (福州園), which reminded me of the chinese garden in portland:
and then my friend and i drove (in his car) north, out of the city. the horizon was incredible.
we went to churaumi aquarium, which had a pretty cool shark exhibit and sea creatures i'd never seen before.
we ate purple potato ice cream, and then had chanpuru in a small restaurant by the ocean. not wanting to pay for a hotel, we found a beach and lay in the sand, watching stars and clouds drift over the ocean -- clouds so close, stars so far. we were driven back to the car by mosquitoes and another sudden downpour.
the ocean in the morning was beautiful and inviting. apparently there were deadly jellyfish in those waters, which explains why no one else was swimming.
we had "morning soba" okinawa style on kouri island, and then made our way back to naha.
on my last day in town, i biked to shuri castle from tomari port. or, to be more accurate, i biked halfway, and walked the bike uphill the rest of the way.
the castle was lovely, but it was strange being there with the knowledge that it was rebuilt after american bombs destroyed the original during the war. (it was strange also, being in a town so dominated by an american military base and feeling like i had more in common with the locals than the military.)
there was a nice park near the castle. these girls were hiding from the intense sun.
i should have taken precautions, too; i left town with a slight sunburn. i watched the sunrise over the ocean as i flew back to haneda.
okinawa is part of japan, but it's halfway to taiwan. for hundreds of years the okinawan islands were the ryukyu kingdom, a nexus for trade between china, korea, and japan. the indigenous ryukyuans were racially different from mainland japanese and have a different language, which is sadly falling by the wayside -- most okinawan children speak only japanese these days. (notably, the irish language is on a similar decline.)
given it's history, okinawa--even the industrial port city of naha--feels different from other parts of japan. the chinese influence is palpable, and "shisha" lions decorate entryways to most houses. life moves more slowly than in tokyo. people take longer lunch breaks and devote a lot of time to chatting. the food is different, too; spam and gohyya (a very bitter cucumber-like melon) seem to be ingredients in everything.
i was staying in naha, and as such, my plans for laying around in tropical sun all day were quickly dashed. the beachy paradise i'd expected was covered in concrete and industry. except, that is for nami-no-ue (on-the-waves) beach, naha's solitary public beach.
when i went, there was a constant kathump kathump from the nearby construction. the actual swimming area is about the size of a public pool. i think it was the worst beach i've ever been to.
stuck in naha, not willing to spend the money required to rent a car, i borrowed my friend's bike and explored the city with my camera. parts of it were poor, such as this area:
industry along the coastline:
i spent some time at the touristy market downtown, browsing the tropical fruits, fresh shaved bonito, dried snakes, and deep fried pastries.
i experienced a few tropical downpours that stopped as suddenly as the began.
i admired tropical flowers in a lovely mosquito-ridden park (福州園), which reminded me of the chinese garden in portland:
and then my friend and i drove (in his car) north, out of the city. the horizon was incredible.
we went to churaumi aquarium, which had a pretty cool shark exhibit and sea creatures i'd never seen before.
we ate purple potato ice cream, and then had chanpuru in a small restaurant by the ocean. not wanting to pay for a hotel, we found a beach and lay in the sand, watching stars and clouds drift over the ocean -- clouds so close, stars so far. we were driven back to the car by mosquitoes and another sudden downpour.
the ocean in the morning was beautiful and inviting. apparently there were deadly jellyfish in those waters, which explains why no one else was swimming.
we had "morning soba" okinawa style on kouri island, and then made our way back to naha.
on my last day in town, i biked to shuri castle from tomari port. or, to be more accurate, i biked halfway, and walked the bike uphill the rest of the way.
the castle was lovely, but it was strange being there with the knowledge that it was rebuilt after american bombs destroyed the original during the war. (it was strange also, being in a town so dominated by an american military base and feeling like i had more in common with the locals than the military.)
there was a nice park near the castle. these girls were hiding from the intense sun.
i should have taken precautions, too; i left town with a slight sunburn. i watched the sunrise over the ocean as i flew back to haneda.
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