Writing to write

After all, the only pleasure one gets while writing is the satisfaction of creating some words... you know, the familiar sequence of character, called letters, that, when put into a distinguishable order, make up words, stories and so forth. And when the time comes to write, at least today, I draw a blank. A numb blank that makes this screen look much more cluttered than it should be. I am going through the motions... never thought you'd hear about Dave, the vagabond/ travel junky going to work everyday of the week, even tucking in his shirt. And make it a habit? Yeah. Its true. And the worst/best part...? I am have been in Japan for three months officially. Pretty incredible when I think about it. I have been abroad for longer, but this working thing? Never for this length of time with this intensity. I have to say the following. I am privileged to go to work every morning and bust my hump. I had five classes today and yesterday and I am tired. I am tired. And you know what? It feels pretty damn good, I must say. I am happy to work... Here is the secret. Don't waste my time. If you schedule me for six classes, then that is OK too.... but if you make me go to an office to sit on my rump for 8 hours without anything to do, then you are wasting my time. This, despite my lack of energy to write or anything else for that matter, is not the case for me... I am working hard and its good. Did i mention that I'm tired? HA.... more to come, I have some travel plans coming up and it will make for some writable adventures and pictures.

I'm glad that Southern California is back under control a bit more, now I can wish my friends in NoCal some peace after their earthquake yesterday... take care, eh? And I love the Pittsburgh Steelers... keep on winning... And now that the NBA has kicked off, I can be a loud and rowdy (probably irritated very soon too) LAKER fan! Rock and roll baby! I'm glad that baseball still hangs on, you're trying to make those headlines.... but I am certainly glad you are done... enough already. I am rambling now... and going to bed before I hallucinate that I wrote such a horrible blog entry. Entertaining you since 1981 (I am that old!),

Mata-ne, ki-o-tsukete,
Dave

pix of Country Gold

Not a whole lot to write here, but I want to post some of Wendy’s pictures from our adventure at Country Gold.

Funny note about writing. If you write, “amazing,” then someone might actually believe you. What does this mean? I don’t know… I just read it and thought about how life-changing it actually was.

Country Gold: "Global Peace Through Country Music."

Enjoy the pictures:


(Ochida and I late in the afternooon)

(Wendy is toasting our friend, Beer-hat-guy. Yes, that is a frothy beer as his head!)

(Line dancing in the afternoon)

(Bomshel rocked out, notice the bassist in the back because he is in the next picture)
(Ochida and other homie pose with Bomshel band members, the ladies were somewhere else unfortunately!)

(shot of the stage in the morning)
(tailgating... Japanese style with Chopsticks!)
(Japanese cowboy parading his horse in the meadow above our tailgate...)
(Wendy and I met the organizer, Charlie Nagatani!)
(The best American Beef found on this side of the date line!)







It was a quiet weekend of questioning, sleeping, reading, thinking and... well... i didn't really leave my apartment... weird weekend indeed.

two weeks that flew by

So, I am way behind? Why did this happen? Ohh, I was super busy. And I had a bad attitude (for here known as Baditude) about my role here in Japan. Yup, I started having second thoughts about why it is that I am here. I didn’t really think about how I was caught up in my own drama and when I checked to see when I posted my last blog entry I couldn’t believe it. Sorry to let you down as a reader and sorry for myself that I forgot about my intentions. But, the most recent reminders have gotten me back on track.

(Rows and rows of Cosmos)

Last week… nope, TWO weeks ago… I went to flower arrangement class but not to calligraphy. It would have been a long week of Japanese and culture because on Thursday, like I wrote in the last blog, I would be going to Kora-san again, for a celebration of Okunchi- harvest-time praying and recognition for the sun goddess. We got there (Akira and I) and went up to the shrine which was opened up! We were able to go inside and take a seat on the floor as the ceremony was about to start. The priest blessed us and made offerings- I can’t really describe it, but it was awesome.

(So pretty)

I made it through the most important part of the ceremony when I realized that the sensation of sitting cross-legged (not even in traditional Japanese sitting style) was taking its toll on me. I stood up and it was all I could do not to fall over because I had no feeling from my mid-thigh downwards. Fortunately there was a pillar on which to lean and I crept out to the back without tumbling on anyone.

Then all sorts of musical performances ensued. Traditional Harp, two cello-like instruments a mini-piano. The ceremony ended and we enjoyed autumn foods, were served tea and desert (not traditional-style) and watched a comedy sketch, taiko (drumming) and various other performances. A long three hours of cultural bingeing. (Yes, that IS how you spell it.)

(up close...)

The following weekend, I went to a soccer game with my Japanese neighbors. We drove an hour to the stadium, speaking mostly in English, with an occasional Japanese lesson! I was able to understand the seven-year-old daughter, but unable to respond… makes me feel all-grown-up. She understood the English and was able to respond to my questions too… she should be able to- I was her English teacher a couple of weeks ago!

I am not too emotional (ok, maybe I am...) but sports get me riled up. And soccer especially. So when the referee called a penalty kick against my team, I was upset. I didn’t overreact, but I was loud in my seat. It was the second penalty kick, a couple minutes later, which was an absurd call. I stood up and yelled some words (in English) at the referee. He couldn’t see or hear me, but the fans in the stands must have though I was loony. I was, of course, the only one standing up- and I happened to be using a language that the majority of people don’t speak. So, I sat back down and laughed to and at myself for reacting in such a way. I would do the exact same thing again. And I would again laugh at myself for sticking out like a sore thumb. And laugh to myself that no one was doing the same thing. A good experience, though our team lost 0-3. Rough outing.

(Tamaki-san in the cosmos)

Hmm, on the stream of consciousness, what else do I want to post in the public arena? How about teaching at an elementary school out in the countryside… and on the way back, meeting up with a friend to check out the flowers… can you tell that I love those things? The pictures seen above are from Tamaki-san and my excursion in the Kirin beer factory's cosmos (Kosumosu) garden.

(not a bad venue for a music festival, eh?)

Instead of posting a blog, living patiently and calmly, and relaxing, I got caught up in some drama. I wasn’t aware enough to recognize it, so I played in the drama realm for the week. Looking back, it makes for a good laugh. Because, no matter how much I convinced myself that these opportunities/situations/goings-on were matters of life and death, they were unimportant and energy-consuming. Strike one!

(The stage from our tailgate- but we actually schlepped the grill up the hill!)

The weather changed the other day. And by the “other day,” I mean, one day, I woke up in a sweat, sprawled out on my futon in boxers, with a fan blowing on my face. The following day, I thought I was sleeping in a cold-food storage facility. My thermometer- which I though was broken, being always stuck on 28.2 degrees Celsius- read 15.2 degrees…. a drop of thirteen degrees C is a lot, especially for one day. Welcome to a cold autumn. Strike two!

(Japanese pampas grass, so pretty flowing in the wind)

Last weekend, I went to the Kumamoto Country Music Festival. Yes, not only do I like flowers, but country music also has a foothold in my heart. And in the States, you’ll find my radio tuned into Big County 105 more often than not. Wendy and I went, with the friendly Yakitori dude from down the street, at 8am and drove two hours south and east into the mountains to get to the venue. We met up with the rest of his crew and loaded in meat, beer and equipment for a great tailgate party. These guys, a bit older than us, are a Harley Davidson club, so a couple of times a month, they cruise around on their choppers. That’s who we were with… and yes, these folks DO exist in Japan… and yes, they ARE Japanese. Harley riders and country music lovers too. We arrived at 11am and were getting set up when Ochida-san threw us beers and the madness began. We enjoyed a great lineup. I knew I was in for it when they brought out the whiskey at 1pm… We danced and got to see the bands from the front row. Walking around and running into the other white folks who spoke English, we were able to meet some bands’ members, the Lt. Governor of Montana and miss rodeo Montana 2007. Drinking all day and cold evening chill. Strike three.

Three strikes, "I'm out!" I write this as I am out sick, after resting 13 hours last night… delirious yesterday at work, and taking a real sick day. I hope to get better soon, but this is yet another reminder to take care of myself. I have to bring peace to myself before I can bring peace to others.

(Charlie Holmes bluegrass band)

A note on peace. The organizer of the Kumamoto International Country Music Festival (Country Gold) is Charlie Nagatani and I had an opportunity to meet him too. His message: “Promoting International Peace through Country Music.” That’s when I knew I was in the right place. What a great way to bring smiles and happiness and peace to people’s lives. In introducing the famous English-speakers, noted above, to our Japanese friends was one way of doing this. And sharing cultures to breakdown barriers, is clearly one of Charlie's goals. So, yesterday, despite feeling awful, I managed to get to elementary school, the only message in my head was “bring as much peace to the world as you can today.” I made it through my four classes and then found myself delusional as I left school. I made it to the doctor and it was all blurry, but I know my mission was successful. And today, is the centering and bringing peace to self. Two reminders in two days of the importance of peace... it's the reason i am here... breaking down cultural ignorance and bringing smiles to as many faces as possible. Screw the drama, i am aware (again) of what's important, my mission in Japan and my mission in life.

(This guy ruins all of my pictures)

Wow, I rambled far too much today and didn’t write anything important. Sorry about wasting your time. I hope the next one is better. And to all of the friends and family and loved ones in Southern California, please be safe in these times of fires… pack your photo albums and don’t take chances with anything else… they are just material possessions- not as important as your well-being. May you go in peace.

Ki-o-tsukete,

more flowers and Nagasaki (long)

I left with you with a successful Onsen experience and flowers. More to report...

Regarding flowers, I was gifted a free ticket to an Ikebana display in Tenjin/ Fukuoka. At the top of a mall in the trendy shopping district of the big city... you think I almost got sick? Nope, the flower arrangements were absolutely awesome. Creative at times, traditional at others and beautiful all over. I will scatter some pictures to reflect what simply looks better in person.

(One of the 45 pictures I took!)

Later that day, I met up with a friend to hike Kora-san again. We had met two months ago, hiking on the same mountain. So, we hiked (now that my body is relatively healthy) and then bought tickets for an important festival, Okunchi, which I believe is a celebration of the sun goddess in the Shinto tradition. I'm getting ahead of myself: that one weill be the next blog. For now: Flowers, hiking and practicing limited Japanese and English... then...

I had the opportunity to visit Nagasaki on my last of four three-day weekend (I am still in shock about that!). Met up with Lindsay and Vanessa at 9am, dropped the backpack in my hotel room and we hit the city! I had a bed in my room... first one I've slept on in.... well, since the soccer tournament on Sept 16th... so, 24 days. I like my futon, but this was certainly a treat, AirCon too, would you believe that?!

(Short, but pretty, no?)

We roamed the city, after all it was a huge festival in the port town. Dragon festival, i think... or in preparations for the Okunchi celebration there. We followed floats and paraded to multiple stages around the city, watching the seemingly similar presentations over and over and over and over and... yeah, the pictures were cool.

(A team of rockstars pushed this float and spun it in perfect circles at high speeds!)

We made our way to the Glover Gardens, remnants of the Dutch influence in Nagasaki. The Dutch traded with the Japanese during the day and then were ferried back to their island/area so that they couldn't disrupt Japanese life (back in the day). The Portuguese influence is also apparent because Nagasaki is famous for Castella... a pound cake with a Portuguese name! And, lest we forget the Chinese influence... lots of food and the very dragon festival that we were witnessing! With lots of tradition, foreign influence and a unique port setting... rambling, Dave. Nagasaki was cool.

(A one-man float- awesome to watch this one!)

The most random part was getting smacked on the back really hard at 9:30am while munching on chicken balls and watching the spinning floats... This is an affectionate gesture made by friends; lo and behold, the people who sell me fruit, who practice English with me, with whom I practice Japanese, were there for the day! I saw them all over the city, randomly all day and it was funny every time. We were surprised to run into each other continuously, but it makes for good laughs at the fruit stand!

Vanessa and Lindsay took the next morning to themselves while I headed over to the Atomic bomb museum and Peace Park. Coming from a culture of comparison I have the urge to compare this place to another. Though the tool of comparison is helpful in providing jobs for political "scientists," trying to describe this area in terms of comparison is shallow and incomplete. I might even say that the Holocaust museum in Washington DC rings a bell, but death is death and genocide looks the same in all forms. In a flash: lots of people gone, fire, destruction and misery. I can't take sides as a historian, but I can tell you what happened in Nagasaki at 11:02am on August 9, 1945 was neither peaceful or pretty. But I can tell you that the motto I saw everywhere was one I have heard during this life as a Jew, "Never Forget." Truer words have never been spoken.

(This statue is at the hypocenter of the explosion- the epicenter was 100 meters above this point)

The Peace Park was lovely, lots of statues sent as gifts to the city of Nagasaki from sister cities all over the world in the hopes of always promoting peace. From places like: Brasil, the People's Republics of North Korea and of China, the USSR (this was a little while ago, no?), the German Democratic Republic (eastern Germany), Czechoslovakia (when it was under Soviet-influence and still ONE country!), and the USA. There were a couple of other statues too, but I didn't get to that side of the park because the sky finally rained on my head. It had been cloudy and humid for two days- it was just a matter of time. (a picture looking up at Suwa Shrine)

My blogs are generally facts, so here is a little bit of emotion for you: I cried, not a lot, but I cried in the museum. Not about the destructive pictures; not reading the facts about how the bomb detonated, exploded or had the cute name of "Fatboy"; not about the sicknesses and pictures that explosion victims endured. Even warped glass, pictures of decaying human flesh and memorabilia from people's homes didn't brought a tear to my eye.

But I couldn't hold it back when I read the testimony from an older man who was asked to reminisce about the event... when he was 9-years old on that fateful day. He told of having to lie on his stomach for three months as doctors treated the burn wounds on his back. The pain, the time and the tone of helplessness was apparent as I read about the mold growing under his stomach. He was unable to move for so long and the grossness that grew underneath him during his recovery time nearly made me faint. The clincher? The father who wrote a poem of watching his son and daughter die after he tried all day to get them treatment and help. He spent 10 hours running around a burnt city and both of his children closed their eyes as the sun set. His wife died next to him in bed three days later. All he asked for was death. All he wanted to do was be with his family. All he wanted was for this misery to end. I don't know if it was the loneliness or the sheer catastrophe that made this man so desperately plead for the end of his life. All I can tell you was that I cried.
(This is the main Peace Statue)

I don't want to end this on a downer, so think of this as an upper! I am just relating facts feelings and my take. To sympathize with others is important. It is the most amazing aspect of our species- more so, I think, than "rational" thought. But, as important as it is to feel for our fellow man, one must remember to separate oneself from the event as well. That way one can go on; one can share his or her experience with others. We can't dwell on the past, but we can learn from it and we must never, never forget. There is so much potential to bring peace to the world, and celebrating an atrocity by replacing it with a Peace park is certainly one important avenue to accomplish this possible feat. (Peace)

The experience was a reminder: every second of my life I should be bringing peace to the earth. If I am not using every moment to accomplish this goal, I must be aware that I am not and then work towards my goal.

Sooner than you think... I have my next one ready!

And we're back... Onsen, Hitchhiking

That's right... a lot to write. The passion has re-arrived... and I still can't find a comfortable position in which to write. So, I will sit here and write anyways, before I head off to another day of paradise at work... I am only supposed to teach four periods a day, but they cancelled one yesterday, so I will teach five today... yes, it is a lot of work... fortunately my teachers are awesome, and I know what I am doing already (we had time to talk about the lessons!) and I am fired up today... guess I must have woken up on the right side of the futon, unlike yesterday where I felt "blah" all day...

(My first flower arrangement, in Ikenobou Class last night)


Left you at the quick and dirty catch up. So, I will bring it back to life here~


I had met a Liat at Yom Kippur. She and I went to the OhoriKoen in Fukuoka in one of the last pictures you saw. Well, the following weekend we decided to meet up half way at an Onsen (hot springs). We took respective highway buses to get to a random stop on the side of the road... the craziest part was actually meeting up... she was on one side of the expressway and I was on the other. The thought DID cross my mind.... wait for a break in traffic and go... but the divide seemed sketchy and at that moment a Mercedes Benz flew past at a speed that I preferred not to think about my body being in front of.... it would have been like my winding up and kicking one of the pesky little dogs that seem so ever popular in Japan... you know the ones, the accessory dogs that bark and are treated like, well accessories, in their carry bags and they get yelled at like children... a miserable existence for a species... poor dogs, poor human beings... anyways... I enjoy my two now-working legs, so I found another way to meet her.

(in the vineyards!)


After 25 minutes of wondering through the countryside, we met up and walked together in the wrong direction to the Onsen... quickly we were corrected and given a map by a tollroad operator. So, off we set, again. A small jaunt of going-to-be 3.2 km showed us its rather long face... It was a lot further than we had thought. After 2.5 km of sauntering in the lovely humidity, we came to a sign pointing in the right direction of the Onsen... only 5.7 km TO GO!!! ahh, we weren't going to make it by foot.

When she originally asked me how we'd get to the Onsen, I said, with no hesitation, "We'll hitchhike." So, my suggesting it to her was not ill-advised.... but it was surprisingly nonetheless. I heard that Japanese are different than Chileans (go figure, generalizing and stereo-typing again, Dave). I can safely say that both people have traits that are similar and different (so politically-correct)... no really! I'm serious.

My hitchhiking efforts would have to look differently than the ones in Patagonia last year. So, one thing that I heard was that signs are good.... So I went to work at a sign, in KANJI and in Romanji (English letters of Japanese words)... and I held it up to the first car that came up.... so, after four seconds, Liat and I were on the way to the Onsen with the first car! We made a mixed-up conversation with out limited Japanese and our driver's English... but it was fine.... he took a picture of us afterwards and I gave him some crackers as a tribute. Success.

(us, with the sign that got us there!)

Onsen was awesome... just awesome. Boys to the boys' side and girls to the girls'.... and an hour and some.... and we had lunch before the long walk back to the bus. Stopped by a vineyard and got fresh grapes, by a shrine to pray for a second and then back to the road... I made Liat stick out her thumb, this time we were signless because we didn't know how to write the name of the place we were going. About a dozen cars passed quickly and then a nicer car pulled over with an older couple sitting in the front. After a minute or so, we found out that they live near to Liat... they offered to drive us all the way back there! I know what you're thinking: Yes, we spoke English with them because they wanted to practice!
(The same flowers from class, but I arranged them at home in my new vase!)


I know what else you're thinking, "Dave, you fool, why would you double your distance away from home in order to get a free ride?" Fair enough, but as it turns out the bus fare was the same price back to my house from the Onsen or from Liat's... and you know me, always up for an adventure (for better or worse). And, like Tim told me in southern Patagonia... "Never turn down a ride." So, back to Kokura we went. The day transmogrified (K.V.) from one of cleansing and renewal to madness and fun AND cleansing and renewal! From a short day-trip into an extended-day trip. The weekend took form and I even had time to accomplish errands AND sleep... "Finally," commented my body. "Finally," I responded. I was able to adventure and take the desperately-needed break I had previously mentioned.
(Whole Foods better watch out... competition... I had to take this one, normally I don't point out egregious word choice issues, but this one got me)

I was going to write more, but I will add another post... that way I can get pictures into both and not drain all of your attention in one swoop!


KiotsuKette Kudasai,

Dave

wasn't gonna keep it up, but i am

not for the sake of a chore, but to get this out of my system.

my body hurts. i am tired. I am wide awake and experiencing this. its not easy and its not easy to talk about, but I have to admit it. My stomach aches, reminds me of my hospital time in Chile... similar pains... i have been eating enough, maybe too much after two all-you-can-eats last week. I haven't felt the same since... maybe bad meat? I dunno. Legs muscles ache. my quad never recovered from before the soccer tourney, which of course, reinjured it. Wanna play with the kids and I limp and gimp around like a fool... irritating... but i guess rest is in order... its hard being a realist. Going to bed early and hoping to find the answers tomorrow... or rather, let them appear... hopefully i am aware enough to see the solutions!

Random entry... yeah, sweet.