TANUKI

This is a tanuki. Well, it's actually a larger-than-life carving of a tanuki. When people translate tanuki into English, they usually say something like "raccoon dog." They are fierce little creatures that would probably be considered to be more of a badger than anything else. Albeit, I've never actually seen one personally, I have seen one freaking out on TV and it struck me to be very badger-like. But, I digress.

I like tanukis a whole bunch. They're pretty ingrained in Japanese culture and play second fiddle only to the kitsune, or fox. You can pretty much find statues and carvings of these little devils everywhere. Today in Japan, their likeness usually guards doors of businesses and restaurants. They also appear quite often as a type of garden gnome, or a fancy version of a carafe for sake or shochu.

Like the kitsune, the tanuki is said to have special powers. These animals are said to be the gods of gluttony, booze and um... well... uh... sex. (Notice the rather large, how shall I put it?.... genitalia.) And even though I really like the idea of this crazy little animal being a vehicle for debauchery, I like most the idea that it likes to play tricks on people. In the past it was said tanukis had the power to shape-shift, and they liked to annoy people by turning into a tea pot or a pitcher and wiggle out of someone's hand while they were pouring drinks for guests, or something like that.

If you're as interested in tanukis as I am, you should check out Tom Robbin's book, Villa Incognito. It's a crazy read in general, as most of his books are, but the tanuki plays a large role in the story.

Bad Ass

This is the top part of my judogi. It's what I wear when I'm kickin' butt and flipin' people.

Jenny and I went to judo practice last night for the first time in a long time. We belong to a judo group called Sakurabu. It's a women's team mainly, but there are a few boys who practice along with us. I missed my first opportunity to have a real match while I was in India. Yoshida-sensei told me, however, there's a competition in May that I'll be participating in.

At the end of practice last night Jenny made the observation that we must be getting better because we both had blood on our gi's. Then, she followed that up with, "If I had a blog, I'd write about that." (Thanks for the idea....)

India

I returned to Fukuoka (begrudgingly so) on Sunday night from a two week journey in India. My friend (Lori) and I joined a group of volunteers to do some work in the state of Andra Pradesh in South India. We were organized by a JET who heads an organization called, "Building Communities." Our team worked with an Indian organization by the name of Association for Relief Volunteers (ARV). ARV was lead by (saint) Ravi Kumar, a truly amazing man. Here are some shots and brief descriptions of my time there. Of course, there's utterly too much that happened over the two weeks to include here, but this should give you a rough idea of what I was up to. Namaste!
Day 1 in the village. We were awarded with flowers during the opening ceremony. The rest of the morning gave us some time to meet the villagers and play with the kids. In the afternoon we started work. We planted mango trees and started working on the foundation of homes. Here are some photos of the community. They loved having us take their photos. Adults and kids alike would stand still for the shot, then run over to the camera, acting giddy, just to see themselves on the tiny digital screens.

Here a few of the volunteers pose before our chariot. We were on and off this bus every morning and every night. It maneuvered its way through the semi-paved roads of Andra Pradesh streets without too many jeers and jostles.

Here a home owner and volunteers mix cement. Special sand was brought in to mix with the cement. Water was then added. Working continued throughout the day, so if the running water was cut, we had to carry buckets from either of two wells or pumps at opposite ends of the village.

Here is the finished product of our labors for that afternoon. We built the foundation of this house. We worked with masons from the community, as well as those hired from around the main city of Kavali.

families and businesses alike drew designs in chalk near entry ways of homes, huts and stores every morning. It was explained to me that the designs would bring blessings. The woman in this photo was always giggling, smiling and winking at me over the week. When I pulled out my camera and asked if I could take a photo, she ran inside to get her plate of chalk to pose for the picture.

This is the patriarch and matriarch of the village who also happen to be the parents of the woman in the above picture.

On one of our last days in the village, we held a "Children's Day." We had relay races and played games like musical chairs and BINGO. The kids had a great time and at the end of it, someone hooked up huge speakers to the stereo system in our bus and an impromptu dance party broke out. The dance party photos are a little blurry. Those kids kicked up some dust!

Over the 10 days, quite a few dance parties broke out. The villagers splice electricity from the poles running up the main road next to their homes. Many people had small black and white TV sets in their huts, or stereo systems. On the first day, Lori and I were making rounds in the village talking to people when we were ushered over to a courtyard. The boys there cranked the tunes up and Lori and I did our best to groove. They were far more impressed with Lori--the professional dancer's--moves than my own, but for the rest of our time there, whenever we saw them, they'd do a little shimmy and ask us to dance again. On a separate occasion, two sixth-grade girls pulled me in their hut to show off their moves. They were too shy, or not allowed to groove out in the open.

On our last day in the village, we worked in the morning and then, par Ravi's Birthday request, hosted a community meal. The whole village came out to see us off. There wasn't a dry eye in the place.

We spent our Christmas and New Year holiday in Kavali. Of course, Christmas was just another working on houses for all of us, but New Year is a pretty big deal in India, so we had a special day. New Year's Eve we spent on the roof of our hotel drinking King Fisher beer and looking at the low skyline of a little section of Andra Pradesh. Ravi was worried we'd get into some kind of trouble if we left the hotel, so we were straining to see the parade happening a few blocks away. The few pictures I did get were from before dinner time and our curfew began.

On New Year's Day we went to the village to wish everyone a happy New Year and then we were ushered off to an HIV/AIDS clinic closer to Kavali. Last year volunteers went to plant mango trees and spend some time with people who are considered a plague upon Indian society. ARV presented us all with traditional Indian wear-- saris for the girls and phutma (sp?) for the boys.

These are the school teachers from the village who helped us all get dressed in our saris.

Here Lori and I pose with kids in the village.

And here I pose with some of the workers and residents of the HIV/AIDS clinic.

We spent the afternoon of New Year's Day at the beach. We swam, played games and someone even had the initiative to build a bonfire. We retreated to our hotel in the evening only when the mosquitoes drove us out. It was a great way to bring in a new year.

After an overnight bus ride to Hyderabad, we all went our separate ways. Eight of us ended up on the same plane to Delhi and from there ended up the in the same hotel for two nights in one of the main bazaars. This photo is from the emergency guidelines of Indigo Airlines. We got a big kick out of this gentleman's apparel.

Delhi was a cacophony of sights and sounds; of rooftop cafes and cattle in the streets; of unending shopping and horn-honking traffic. It is truly one of the most magical places I have ever been. I will go back. Here are some sights of the city.

Finally, on our last day in India, we took the trek to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Just like everyone had said before and after I went, "You can't go to India without seeing the Taj Mahal." I couldn't agree more.

So, after three flights, a really long and cold lay over in Taiwan, and a train ride from Fukuoka to Nagasaki, I arrived back in my cold little apartment. Along with all the photo sand souvenirs, I've got the following henna to look at--at least for the next few weeks.