Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Spirited Away

About four years ago, I sat down with some friends in my apartment in San Antonio and watched a Japanese animated film called "Spirited Away". At the time, I had never heard of either the movie (I probably should have, it won best animated picture at the 2003 Academy Awards) or the director, Hayao Miyazaki, but my friend insisted that we watch it. I am very glad we did, as the movie was fantastic. I quickly had Michelle watch it, and she loved it as well. A couple weeks later we had gone through almost all of Miyazaki's other works, and both counted him as one of our favorite directors and animators.


The story of "Spirited Away" centers around Chihiro, a 10-year old girl whose family is moving to a new neighborhood, away from all of her friends. On the trip to her new house, her family takes a detour, and after getting lost, they find themselves in a new land, filled with spirits and monsters. Chihiro's parents are soon turned to pigs, and the majority of the story revolves around Chihiro working at the old witch Yubaba's bathhouse trying to find a way to help her parents.

Yubaba's Bathhouse

It turns out that this bathhouse isn't a total figment of the imagination, but was based upon an actual bathhouse here in Japan called Dogo Onsen (Dogo Bathhouse). Not only that, the bathhouse is located right across the inland sea from us on the island of Shikoku, near the city of Matsuyama. Usually our island is incredibly inconvenient for getting almost anywhere, but a ferry service takes you directly from our island to Matsuyama in under an hour, so for once being where we live in the middle of nowhere comes in handy.

A couple weeks ago we decided to take advantage of our location to go and to experience the authentic "Spirited Away" bathhouse. We took a ferry to Matsuyama, and after exploring the castle and city park, took the tram to Dogo Onsen. We knew we were getting close as the crowd begin to grow and "Spirited Away" themed stores started popping up. Dogo Onsen itself was impressive. The water springs that dot the area have been used for almost 3,000 years, and the current bathhouse structure itself was built over 100 years ago (with the preceding structures that burned down hundreds of years older).

Dogo Onsen

We strolled around the outside of the building taking photos and people watching (standard wear around the bathhouse is the yukata - light cotton festival wear) and taking in the atmosphere. We had planned to go in and use the bath, but now that we were standing in front of the building with a hundred Japanese tourists all around us and no fellow foreigners in sight, we got nervous. After dithering outside for 30 minutes working up our courage, we went up to the ticket gate, bought our ticket and went inside. We were led to our private tatami room on the third floor, where we changed into our yukatas. The staff then led us to the Tama-no-yu, or "bath of the spirits", where we separated to enter our respective (male and female) bath areas.

Bath of the Spirits
(Cameras were not allowed inside so I totally ripped off this photo from the internet)

Protocol for using a Japanese bath is usually anxiety inducing for foreigners. In general, it follows something like this: enter the bath dressing room in your yukata --> shed all the clothes, put the yukata in the locker and pick up a small towel --> enter the room where the bath is --> use the shower stall next to bath to wash your hair, underarms and privates --> enter the actual bath for two or three minutes, making sure the small towel does NOT touch the water (usually this is accomplished by putting the towel on top of your head) --> after the two or so minutes, get out of bath again and use the shower to do a full body wash --> rinse all the soap off your body --> reenter the bath --> stay in bath for up to five minutes --> get up and rinse off using the shower --> re-enter the bath (and repeat for as long as you like). What makes it so intimidating is that there are usually a lot of Japanese people who have their eyes peeled on the "foreigner", so everyone is keenly aware of any mess up.

Once I was in the bath I was shocked at how the water felt. There are many ancient Japanese folktales that tell how the old gods used to use the baths to heal their wounds, and I could see how these stories developed. The water - incredibly hot and filled with minerals and sulphur - was completely different than any other suana or bath I had been in. I doubt my body will ever feel that relaxed again. The other Japanese in the bath were very nice as well, and we enjoyed conversation as far as my Japanese would allow. Probably as a result of my mild dehydration from walking around Matsuyama all day, I started feeling dizzy after about 20 minutes in the bath area and had to leave. I then met up with Michelle in the waiting area and we were taken back to our rooms, where we enjoyed Oolong tea and mochi rice balls.


Michelle and I both agreed that Dogo Onsen was amazing and could easily see how Miyazaki got inspired for his film there. The only knock is that we didn't get to see any of the cool susuwatari (small black dust balls) running about...

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Information

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Information related to the the Fukushima Nuclear crisis falls under this category. The amount of conflicting information I have seen is dumbfounding. Surfing the internet for five minutes can take me from a full state of panic - that Armageddon and nuclear winter are fast approaching, to a relative calm - that under the worst case scenario things will be ok. The US is famous for its attention grabbing, sensationalized headlines, while the Japanese are being accused of sugar-coating the situation in an attempt to prevent panic. I have no idea what to believe, other than that the "truth" is probably a shade of grey somewhere between the two.

I am definitely noticing an increasing agitation, both among my Japanese co-workers and other foreigners and JETs, at the inability to obtain good information related to what is going on in Fukushima and the surrounding areas. You would think that all of the 24/7 news coverage and instant updates online would be a good thing, but indeed the opposite is proving true. So far trying to reasonably decipher anything from this ocean of "information" has been nothing but an exercise in futility. Hoping this changes soon.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Earthquake

On Friday, March 11th, a huge earthquake and tsunami devastated the northeastern coast of Japan. Thank you everyone for all of the emails, facebook posts and calls to our family to check on our safety. They have made Michelle and I feel very loved. Michelle and I are perfectly safe, but many people are still stranded and tens of thousands are suffering without adequate food and water, so please keep them in your prayers. The Red Cross is also taking donations to help Japan and other areas in the Pacific Rim (http://american.redcross.org/) that were hit by the earthquake or tsunami.

When the earthquake hit mid-afternoon on Friday, I was in the gym practising with the basketball team. We didn't feel a thing, and were completely unaware that anything happened. About 30 minutes after the earthquake occurred, the city alarms came on and announcements were given. From here all the students were called in and teachers explained the situation and told the students to be careful when going home. In Yamaguchi Prefecture, where we live, there were only a few disruptions. Some of the trains on the Sanyo line, which run from the island of Kyushu all the way up to Tokyo, were shut down, and a wave surge about 50 cm (19.5 inches) high was recorded in our area Friday evening, but that was it. There have been no disruptions to electricity, internet access or anything else, and life here has seemed to be completely unaffected by the quake. 

Getting your geography straight in your own country is hard enough, so trying to keep track of things in a foreign country is next to impossible. We wanted to provide a map showing where we live in relation to the earthquake and tsunami. As you can see from the map below, we live quite far from any affected area. No scale has been provided on the map, but from where we live it is roughly 400 km (250 miles) to Osaka, 900 km (560 miles) to Tokyo and 1,200 km (750 miles) to Fukushima and Sendai, two of the hardest hit areas.

Again, thank you everyone for thinking of us, and please continue to keep those affected in your thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Brandon and Michelle

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Date Night

At our wedding, we were told by older couples to make sure and set aside time for dates. Thinking we would never have that issue, we politely brushed their advice aside. Three and a half years later, however, we understand what they were talking about. Weeks are busy, weekends fill up, and before you know it you haven't been on a real "date" in ages. Embarrassingly, our last legitimate one-on-one date was when we celebrated our anniversary on September 15th (which was awesome - dinner at a really nice curry restaurant and walking along the beach at sunset). Even though we have been able to share a ton of fun times and memorable experiences since, a true and legitimate date night was in order. Thankfully, this past Saturday, March 5th, our schedule opened up, and instead of just relaxing at the apartment, we seized the opportunity. We got online and booked a suite at our favorite hostel in Hiroshima for Saturday evening. Date night was on - and in Hiroshima, of all places!

Our Anniversary date back on September 15th, only two months after arriving in Japan!

We took off from our island early Saturday afternoon and drove to Obatake Station, where we caught the train. After the 30 minute drive and 70 minute train ride, we arrived in downtown Hiroshima. We sat down for a quick lunch (at  MosDo, a Mos Burger and Mister Donut hybrid, totally heaven), and spent some time perusing around one of  Hiroshima's nicer malls. Later, we checked into our hostel, and after relaxing for a while, decided to get a drink together before dinner. Michelle and I have come up with our own system for drinking, as drinks at a restaurant here are ridiculously expensive. One drink costs at least $6, and they are usually small at that. To solve this dilemma, Michelle and I implemented our "C to C" (convenience store to convenience store) plan. There is no law in Japan forbidding open containers in public, so as we walked to dinner, we stopped at a 7/11 on the way and each bought a $1.50 can of Hi-Chu (cocktail in a can), drank it, and then repeated the process at the next 7/11. A couple of drinks shared together for less than $10! Ok Ok, so maybe it's not really romantic, but it sure was fun.

What could be better than MosDo for lunch?

Strolling the town, C-to-C!!

For dinner, we took a break from Japanese food and went to a nice Peruvian joint. The low-key lighting and good food made for a very enjoyable time. Afterwords, we walked to one of the main entertainment districts and sang karaoke for an hour, in our own private two person room. The Japanese have the karaoke system down. It's not singing in front of strangers at a bar, but more a private event shared with friends (good thing too, because our singing is horrible).

That's right, I'm using chopsticks to make a quesadilla. 

We capped off the night with Purikura, the staple of every Japanese middle and high schooler's life. Grocery stores, markets, malls - you name it, it has purikura. Essentially a large photo booth, purikura adds tons of girly decorations to your photo, makes your eyes look big, whitens your skin (taking 10 years off your face) and makes you look like you hoped out of a Japanese anime. Michelle loves them (and maybe I like them too...), and it was a fun memento of our date.

Best Love Couple

I look like a 12 year old.

We arrived back at the hostel at two in the morning (unheard of for old folks like us) on a high. Date night in Hiroshima had been a huge success!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Party Time

宴会 (ennkai). The literal translation is a work "party" or "banquet", but the 宴会 is so much more than that. To anyone working as an ALT in Japan, the more accurate definition would be "an event where Japanese colleagues have dinner together, drink copious amounts of beer and sake, and go bonkers wild singing karaoke for hours on end". Last Friday evening (March 4th) my school held its after graduation 宴会. For schools, the event usually occurs at graduation, the start of the new school year (mid April), summer break (August) and winter break (December). By this logic this last 宴会 should be my third, but I could only attend the dinner portion (and not crazy wild portion) of the summer break 宴会 in August, and the winter break event was canceled. Last week's was actually the first full one that I have been able to attend, and it was interesting to say the least.

First off, the Japanese 宴会 is superior to America's work party in every conceivable way. America's work party is stuck in the throes of an identity crises - it doesn't know if its really a party or meeting. Trying to have fun in this ambiguity is difficult. Drink one to many and you look like a lush in front of your coworkers. As an informal but professional work gathering it fails because dealing with anything work related, especially co-workers, on a Friday or Saturday evening is painful. The Japanese 宴会, by contrast, is a PARTY. Not a little work holiday get together, but a PARTY where co-workers just happen to be in attendance too. Instrumental to this is Japan's "post-party-no-judge" system (I completely made that term up). Everything that happens at an 宴会 will be completely forgotten by the following Monday. Baseball coach got fall dawn drunk and threw the karaoke microphone at another teacher? Come the following Monday, no-one says anything of it to anyone; it never happened. For the Japanese, who live in a rigid class structure with intense societal pressure to conform, the 宴会 really is a time to cut loose frat-party style. 

This particular 宴会 that I attended was held on the really nice beach resort on my island, about a 10 minute drive away from my apartment. A bus was provided to take all of us teachers to the resort and back. The party started in a banquet hall, and in true 宴会 fashion, was an all you can eat and drink affair. To avoid cliques, the seating among the 50 teachers and staff was determined randomly. I got placed by a baseball coach and the crazy maintenance man. The maintenance man, truthfully, is a really nice guy, but a little weird (at one point mid-meal he tried to say something to me, but all I could focus on were the pieces of rice and seaweed that he had gotten in his hair). Anyhow, after we sat down and the commencement speech was given, everyone grabbed a bottle of beer and immediately started filling each others' glasses. Rule number one at an 宴会 is NEVER pour your own drink, as it can come off as rude. Be on a constant lookout for any neighbor's glass nearing half empty and fill them up. Your glass will always be taken care of. 

After finishing my food and making a couple rounds to fill co-workers' glasses, the party moved on to stage 2. We moved from the dining hall to another huge room - the karaoke party room. After everyone had mingling around, the teachers had me give the toast. I yelled out 乾杯 (kanpai, cheers), and everyone sat down and the music started. It wasn't five seconds though until I heard muffled chanting - "Bu-ran-don", "Bu-ran-don" (how my name sounds with its Japanese spelling). I was terrified, as I knew exactly what they wanted. Every ALT's trial by fire - they wanted me to be the lead off karaoke singer. My heart rate shot up through the roof. I had been told to be prepared for this moment, having a song ready when they called your name, but I hadn't prepared anything. Fifty people were looking at me waiting for me to name the song, and in my panic only one thing came to mind. YMCA. 

Gettin' Krunk Up in Here

I don't remember anything from the song, other than that I had most signing out the letters with me. Back at my seat, drenched with sweat but utterly relieved, some of the teachers brought me a drink and yelled out お疲れ様です (o tsu kare sama desu, job well done)! Evidently I passed the test. The rest of the night passed by without incident, as I was able to just sit back and enjoy the festivities.  

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Test Week

I hate test week. For one week every two months, students have no classes and just come to school half-days to take exams. For an ENTIRE week I have no class and nothing to do (hence this being my third blog post in five days). Surfing the net and chilling might sound amazing, but after three hours you realize it's a curse. The internet, reading, studying Japanese, blogging - you name it, nothing can keep you engaged for 8 hours. By the end of test week I am on the verge of going crazy. My fellow JETs warned me that it was "soul crushing" - they were right on the mark.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Graduation

Yesterday (Tuesday, March 1st) my high school held its graduation ceremony. The ceremony was actually quite similar to an American one, even though the school system itself is quite different. For one, there are only three years of high school, so students are designated as 一年生 (ichi-nennsei, first years), 二年生 (ni-nennsei, second years) and 三年生 (san-nennsei, third years). They still graduate at age 18, however, as they have an additional year of schooling at the elementary level. The school year in Japan is divided into three semesters. The first semester of the year starts in mid April and lasts until the end of July. The students then have a month long summer break, and start back up at the end of August. This second semester lasts until mid December. The students have a three week winter vacation, and then start the third, and shortest, semester, which runs from the beginning of January to March. The students have a three week spring break before the new year begins.

The ceremony took place at our school's gymnasium, and to be honest, I'm glad it's over with. Over the preceding two weeks students AND teachers had to do increasingly annoying tasks to "prepare" for the event. I spent four hours last Thursday picking weeds by hand from the areas around the gym, and spent numerous hours sweeping, wiping and cleaning everything else, no matter how unrelated to the graduation ceremony it seemed to be.

There are many particulars that must be adhered to when it comes to the graduation ceremony, as I discovered yesterday morning after entering the teacher's room. I had been told to wear formal clothes, i.e. a suit and tie. I went with my only suit, complimented by a white shirt and black tie. Feeling rather 格好いい (cool and stylish), I walked into the teacher's room and heard gasps. At first I was basking in the glow, thinking the gasps were indeed about how cool my suit was, but as the English teacher who ran to me explained, I had committed a massive party foul. It's evidently bad luck to the students for anyone to where a black tie to a graduation ceremony. Only white ties are acceptable. I tried to explain as nicely as I could that this information would have been extremely helpful to know beforehand and that there was nothing I could do presently, but fortunately another teacher overheard our exchange and let me borrow an extra white tie he had in his car. Apocalypse avoided.

The ceremony itself wasn't too painful. In fact it was easier than most American ones that I have been too. It lasted about 90 minutes and was filled with speeches, long moments of silence, a couple haikus (poems), two songs, lots of bowing and lots of standing. In fact there was so much standing that a student actually collapsed and took two others with him. Luckily it was nothing serious, but it interrupted the entire event and caused quite a commotion.

Even though I had known the third year students for only seven months (since I came over between their first and second semester during summer break), I was nevertheless sad to see them go. Most of the girls were crying, most of the guys trying to act cool but visibly touched as well. I guess this is the routine that every teacher in every country goes through each year, seeing the students that they spent years with teaching and molding eventually grow up and move on. Exciting, but sad. For me, I will in all likelihood never see these students again, ever. After the ceremony we were able to take group photos and hang out together in their classrooms before their last farewell tour of the school. Afterwards, I signed their yearbooks, wished them all the best of luck in the future and said good-bye.