Heading South

I haven't put anything here in a while. My camera is on the fritz and nothing of note has been happening, so....

I've got to teach a lesson on polar bears today (using English) and I think what I've prepared is a little too difficult for my students. I wish I had found something at a level in between the too-easy Time article and the too-difficult New York Times article.

Maybe it will be OK. One of my co-workers read it, and the work sheet I made, and seemed to think it would be alright. At least that gave me a little more confidence to teach it.

I got an email from Tara today. I love getting emails from home. She sent me this picture.

This looks like a lot of fun. (Tara, Jami, Amelia, Shelly and Becca--are they laying down, or are they hunching over?) This, I know, would be more fun than sitting in my staffroom answering questions like, "Which is more common: saying, 'My mother is an early riser,' or 'My mother is an early bird.'?"

Well, I'm going to be able to join them in August when I return to Colorado. Yeah!

I'm going on vacation soon. I'll be flying to Okinawa on Saturday. Mrs. Yamamoto was kind and helped me book some places to stay, so I have a general idea of where I'll be, but I don't really have a plan. I suppose I'll do some sightseeing and laying on the beach. Maybe I'll do some shopping and, I will most defiantly be eating. Um... pig's ears! Um... pig's feet! Um... pig's head!

I guess pig is popular in Okinawa. I'm not so excited about that.

I'll put up some pictures when I get back.

It's a little premature but, "I wish you were here"!

Unisex Bathroom

That's one way to handle having a unisex bathroom. But, wait a minute.... What if a dude is in there and a dudette wants to use the toilet? I guess they figure guys are used to peeing while people are cruising around. I mean, after all, you see men peeing outside all the time in corners and nooks. However, if I were a dude, I'd want a little more privacy.

I've gotten caught in unisex bathrooms plenty of times. The worst time was at a party for my old school. We were at a restaurant that had just one bathroom. There were urinals along the wall along with a sink by the door. There also happened to be two stalls with doors and locks. I was in one and had just flushed the toilet when I heard a crew of men come in. Awkward. This crew happened to be headed up by the principal of my school. There was nothing for me to do, but sit and wait. So, I listened to their conversation and *whatnot* and tried not to make a peep so they wouldn't know I was in there. I was mortified. From then on, when we went to the same dining spot, I recruited another lady to go with me and guard the door.

Crumpy

I'm feeling crappy and grumpy. So, I'm crumpy.

I have a cold. When I have a cold, I want people to feel sorry for me and do nice things for me. I want to be pampered.

That's the crappy part.

I'm feeling grumpy too. I sit next to the "tea lady" who keeps the office running smoothly, orders lunches, makes copies, makes tea and general things like that. Teachers often come over to our neck of the woods to put in their mid-day meal orders. One teacher just walked over to order, but before she did, she took a nice, long minute examining the page of a notebook I have open on my desk. I wonder what she'd do if the situation was reversed. I'm going to put it to a test. I think I'll go over to her desk later, stand behind her, peer over her shoulder at the work laid out on her desk and see what she has to say about it. So there.

And there's the grumpy part.

I got an email from a friend today whom I haven't heard from in a long time. He's a friend from Peace Corps. He finished out his 27 month contract and was still in RCI when the coup happened. He was hired by PC to help us through the evacuation. Afterwards, he went to Tulane in New Orleans and got a Masters in Public Health. Since graduating, he's been emailing me from all over the world. He's working for Tulane and is now in Rwanda. He inspires me. Here's a bit of his email.

I like Kigali a lot--it's small, and green, and very comfortable and safe compared to, say, Abidjan. Weird, when one considers the history of this place. Yesterday was the annual commemoration of the Genocide--I went up to the biggest memorial site in a town called Gikongoro with a friend of mine. We sat in the sun for about four hours, and listened to speeches in a language I can't understand. But afterwards we all went to visit the actual memorial, which is essentially bodies, covered in Lime. The rooms full of kids are the hardest. But it's all pretty gruesome.

Anyway, sometimes things get better rather than worse. That's the lesson I'm taking away from all of this. That and ensuring "never again" takes real work.

Like I said, he inspires me.

Tid Bits and Love

Oh boy. Where to start? I'm feeling a bit random and discombobulated today. Of course this is due to the welcome party/beginning of the school year party last night. Sake got me again.

I wore my hair in two braided pig tails yesterday. Many people commented on it. Even my big, burly judo teacher and the "disciplinarian" of the school quipped, "kawaii" (cute!) when he saw me. On the way to the party, one of the English teachers asked me about my do and wanted to know if foreign people often wore their hair in braids. Sheesh. I think I developed a complex.

A boy named Yuske came to the teacher's room today trying to find out who's class he'll be on Monday. For some reason, this is all kept secret until the day the students start classes. He wanted me to do some reconnaissance on his behalf. I did without knowing what a serious secret it is in the eyes of the school. Luckily, I'm clueless and uninformed. Also, the class lists haven't been written anywhere yet, so I didn't let the cat out of the bag. Yuske left and that was that. About five minutes later, he came back. We had talked once about music and he told me he was a huge Luther Vandross fan. He is really adept at speaking English and the conversation went slowly, but very smoothly. We discussed music for about ten minutes and then he told me that a song called "Take You Out" by Ne-Yo was just like an experience he had, except for the ending. I asked him to tell me about it and it actually brought us back to the reason why he was so passionate about finding out his class assignment. He's head over heels for a girl and just HAS to know if they're going to be in the same class!

Maybe it was Yuske's choice of words, or his slow and labored concentration on getting them out, but I don't think I have ever met anyone as in love and romantic as this seventeen year old boy. Nor have I seen a better example of the excruciating torture being in love can put one through.

Yuske: When we prepared for the school festival, I looked up and her face was so close to mine. I didn't know there was such a pretty girl at this school. At that moment, a thunder bolt went through my heart.

Me: Wow Yuske! You're very romantic!

Yuske: That is why I am here. I don't want to know if I'm in the best class. I only want to know if I am in her class.

Me: I'm sorry you have to wait, but it's only three more days.

Yuske: If it doesn't happen, I will be very sad. But if it does happen, I will be the happiest boy in this school.

After he left I spoke with Mrs. Yamamoto. He had also asked her what class he was going to be in, but she wouldn't tell. She did tell me though. He is going to be in the class he is hoping for.

Yakushima

My hiking adventure to Yakushima was super sweet. I got back late on Sunday night and felt very accomplished and proud of myself for keeping up with the Nishi HS climbing club. I wanted to post pictures right away, but my camera was acting up. Finally, I think the kinks have been worked out, but I'm afraid that the photos aren't that great. But, isn't that always the case? Photos of beautiful places never quite live up to the place itself.

This is a "Yakusugi" tree. (A Yakushima Japanese Ceder) These enormous and extremely old ceders are the biggest tourist attraction on the island. Yakushima is mainly a destination for those who thrive in the outdoors. People go there to camp and hike and take in the amazing nature. It also happens to be the home of the tallest mountain in Kyushu. Mt. Miyanoura.

Here's some of the crew at the top. 1,935 meters high! (It doesn't seem as impressive when you consider that the top of Mt. Fuji is about 1,300 meters higher!) Three girls, five boys, two teachers and a camera man made up the crew. Yes. We had a camera man. The trek was filmed for a series on "amazing kids" for a local TV station. As much as I tried to keep my sweaty, beet-red and exhausted face behind the camera, I was asked for a comment here and there. Thinking of it makes me cringe.

The hike was a challenge and we spread it out over two days. We camped as well and the kids did a good job of keep everyone happy and fed at the end of the day. Here are some of the shots from along the way.

Here, Kotaro is standing inside a tree.

Sunrise on day two.

Here we are actually standing in the hollowed out stump of an old Japanese ceder tree!


Mr. Uratani suffered over the weekend. He's a smoker and had a horrible cold. I couldn't believe that he didn't back out of the trip. But, here he is, creeping down a rock with the help of a rope, wearing shorts! It was pretty cold at this point.

This is the bridge leading to the campsite where we stayed on our last night.
The kids made dinner every night. We had things like curry and rice, soup, fish and onions and noodles. I was impressed by the culinary prowess. That, or the grub just tasted extra good after having a slice of bread with jam for lunch every day.We were stuck with a little extra time waiting for the bus to take us back to the ferry port, so Mr. Kubara decided we needed a coffee break. Here he and Kotaro pour milk into already simmering coffee.