UPDATE

APRIL 2006

In the heart of spring, just as the weather is beginning to warm up, Japan blossoms with its most beautiful week. The cherry blossoms, called Sakura, come in full force but only last for about a week before the white flowers fall creating a gorgeous snowfall of sorts.

MAY 2006

Its called Golden Week and it is alot like Spring Break in America. The kids have a few days off of school and the local crowd of Americans decided to drive a few hours north to a town called Iwaki which is famous for its scenery and a well known waterfall hike.

JUNE 2006

Its sumo wrestling time at my school. Apparently we are the only elementary school in Mito that gets to have a sumo tournament and I am so glad we do. The kids are hilarious and the way some of them wrestle just cracks me up. I have some good video of it too but unfortunately cant add it to this site. These two kids are both in second grade and they are really going at it in the real-life sumo ring we have out in the play yard behind the school. It was great fun.

Wow

The invention of the video camera was a wonderful thing for many reasons. One such reason is that we now have ESPN and instant replay which has enabled us to watch incredible sports feats over and over again on the end-of-the-day highlight reel.

It's a shame ESPN hasn't been taping the playground at my school because I often see unrepeatable occurrences while I am playing sports with my kids during break time. For example, last year I saw a kid execute an unassisted triple play in hand baseball.

As great as that was it pales in comparison to the dynamic, multi-part fluke I was a part of on the soccer field today.

It all started with me playing goalie as usual when one of the more talented kids decided to take a shot at me from long range. Through the mass of people standing in front of me and blocking my vision, I only caught a small glimpse of the ball as it approached. Luckily for me it was too high and it sailed just above the cross bar missing the goal. Relieved, I turned my attention to the kids behind the goal who were playing basketball to yell "Look out!" as our soccer ball was in bound. It was at that exact moment that the planets in outer space aligned and I saw the beginnings of what would turn out to be some amazing events unfold.

First the soccer ball, still in the air, struck the framing of the basketball goal and began bouncing around amidst the different support beams. After banging 3 or 4 times, it came squirting back out in the same direction it went in and right back towards me. The ball then nicked the top goal cross bar sending it flying high into the air out over the players in my game. Oddly enough, it went straight back to the same kid who took the first shot and he proceeded to tee off on it again and launched his second scorching shot straight at me. Now keep in mind that at this point, the ball still hasn't touched the ground but by sheer blind luck I stick my foot out and block the shot only to see it ricochet off of me and smash a nearby kid square in the face. He immediately goes down for the count but courtesy of his mouth and nose region, the ball (which I am beginning to think is possessed) one again regains life and flies through the air above everyone's head to the other side of the goal where an anxious shooter rips another shot into my blind side. I turn just in time to see the ball slam into my calf muscle sending me to the dirt wincing in pain and the ball (yep you guessed it) back into the air downfield near where the original shot took place. Sure enough there waits our hero who started all of this mayhem and he, frustrated at his failing attempts to score, now kicks the ball and sends his THIRD shot goal-bound. With me on the ground a few of the other kids have stepped in to play temporary goalie with the intent of using their backsides as blockers. One of these new goalies was kind enough to block the shot for me using the back of his head which in turn sent him prostrate to the ground seeing stars. As you can undoubtedly guess, this latest player casualty once again sends the ball flying high in the air back to our little hero who takes his FOURTH and final shot. This time the ball, over a graveyard of wounded, finds the back of the net for a goal.

In reality the events described here only took about 15 seconds but as I watched that ball fly through the air never touching the ground it felt like an eternity.

By the time the smoke cleared there were 6 people laying on the ground (3 as a result of severe injuries and 3 as a result of gut-busting laughter), one shooter celebrating a well deserved goal, and me trying to comprehend what just happened and how I could turn it into a story for this blog.

TAKE 2

The new school year here in Japan is in full swing and has been for the a month but not before we had an elaborate graduation ceremony to send off last years 6th graders the last week in March. The kids all dress up nice and the school gym is filled with family and friends. I was decked out in a black suit with a white shirt and a white tie which is the typical attire for a happy event in Japan like a graduation or wedding. Conversely black ties are only supposed to be worn for funerals or somber occasions.
So there I was in the gym sitting with all of my co-workers trying to pretend none of my students family members were staring at me (even though they were, its just a part of life here) when the time for the ceremony to start arrives. With the band roaring the graduating students began one by one entering the gym through a special decorated door and bowing to the crowd before proceeding to their seat at the front. Each class was lead by its homeroom teacher who is wearing a kimono appropriate for extremely formal occasions. They looked rather uncomfortable to me and its seems like it is hard to walk, but thats just how they do it here. Down below is some pictures of those teachers in their kimonos and also some good shots of some of my kids, both the ones who graduated and some of the younger ones who are still around that I see everyday. I even included a shot of the cutest girl in all of Japan and I am thinking about trying to find some way to market her for TV commercials because she is a gold mine of cuteness. See if you can tell which girl I am talking about. (Hint: she is a very small 2nd grader)

Yes, I'm alive

As most of you know, I must constantly sort through gobs and heaps of fan email that I receive from readers of my blog. Lately the subject line of most of those emails have been variations of "Are you still alive?" and occasionally they add, "because you still owe me money."
Well I picked up on this subtle hint and realized its time I get serious about this blog again. The nice thing for you the reader is that I have been saving many great posts and pictures to accompany them, I just haven't taken the time to add them to the site yet. So if you still check back here today is your lucky day. And as a little teaser to the up and coming posts here is a great shot of me with my roommate Johanssen. He is the best kind of roommate to have and he hardly ever speaks or makes me clean.

Here try some dirt...

The city I live in is somewhat famous for making a very strange Japanese food called Natto. I am not even sure what it is because everytime someone explains it to me I just send my mind off to the tropical paradises of the Bahamas and nod and smile until they are done talking. Japanese people however, love the stuff. I tried it once and would liken the taste to eating the sole of your shoe after you walked through out-dated peanut butter. Its sticky, smelly, and foul as far as I am concerned which is what made the recent Natto eating contest such an attraction for us foreigners. 2 of our own people participated in the contest and there were many more there for cheering, clapping, and causing a general rukus which is what us foreigners do best in this country.


The competition was held at the beautiful Senba Lake park in the shadow of the City's founding father. His statue is about 15 feet tall here at the park but there are countless other statues of him scattered all over town.










Here is the foreigner's heat preparing for their race against the clock. The group of 5 included 1. one girl from Thailand, 2. a guy from England, 3. 4. Our very own American AETs, and 5. a local guy who seemed unintimidated by the foreign challengers.






Standing behind each of the competitors is a time keeper dressed in old timey Japanese clothes that I think make them look like they are going trick or treating just as soon as they get done here.







Here is our hopeful heroes finishing up their bowl of goo. Not pictured here is the previous 5 competitors who are just off camera throwing up profusely and asking themselves why they even got out of bed this morning.

I AM BACK

After a long dreary drought of no blogs I am back in action and I know most of you can barely contain your excitement. Let's get the boring things out of the way first like a couple more shots of my car. Almost everyone I know asked what side the steering wheel was on so here you have it.





I would call it a Jeep. What do you think? Notice the spoiler for racing speed and the running boards in case you are having trouble making the 6 inch climb into the seat.

I remember once...

I remember once finding a car I liked and then telling the dealer that I wanted to purchase it. That was nearly 3 weeks ago. Buying a car in Japan takes a long time and thats something they don't tell you in the brochure before you ride the boat over. It was a frustrating experience but I finally have it. The government tax is renewed for another two years and the title is in my name. I present to you my new Suzuki Jimny.


It looks alot like an army Jeep. Unfortunately since my parking spot is between two other cars who came home early today, I wasn't able to get a good shot of it far away but here is my best attempt. Use your imagination and I will add some better pictures later.

Hallelujah Concert

Each year the Mito Church of Christ has a Hallelujah Concert to showcase the many talents of its members. The talents range from playing the guitar and singing your favorite American Rock song with a thick Japanese accent to Hula Hooping 3 hoops around your neck. Some might say it is a collection of Human Tricks rather than a talent show but nonetheless it makes the schedule every year in February. I was only an audience member this year and I don't have any shots of the actual acts [trust me you aren't missing much] but I did think this a good opportunity to gets some pictures of the church.


Want to know when church starts? No problem, just learn to read the Japanese.








I took this shot during worship service. We always stand to sing every song and then sit immediately after that.








This is a typical site in Japan...the entry way crowded with shoes. Most people have a pair of shoes just for church and they leave them at the building all the time. I have a pair of large sandals I bought at a Drug Store that I leave amongst the shelves and then I dump off my outdoor shoes into the large pile on the floor with everyone else.



I am standing at the back of the auditorium and in the background you can see the stage.

Kindergarten Japan Style

If you are like most Americans you can remember at least one time where you suddenly woke up from a deep sleep, sat straight up in your bed and ask yourself "I wonder if Japanese kindergarten kids pick their nose too?" The answer is yes. Kids will be kids no matter where you go and I know this fact all too well because I have the chance to visit a Japanese kindergarten once a week. It is by far one of my favorite weekly experiences and I have to go prepared to see and hear the wildest things. I shake hands with hundreds of snot faced kids and try to explain to the little girls that saying hello in English doesn't require having your dress above your head. Its all a rather fun experience and I have enjoyed it thoroughly this past year. I recently had my last class with the kindergarten kids since the semester is quickly coming to a close. They were nice enough to give me some photos that they had taken during the year of me interacting with the kids so here they are.




There is a mandatory play outside with the kids time each week. We are singing the hokey pokey.








They asked if I would be Santa Claus at Christmas time and pass out gifts to all of the kids. I was happy to oblige. I must have said HO HO HO, Merry Christmas! a thousand times that day.









Here the kids are all dressed and ready to go home but not before they hear the English Story of the day. They don't understand but they sure do stare at the pictures.

WHY NOT?

As promised WHY NOT? will be the recurring theme in this blog and sections like this one will tell a chapter of my Japan story in which I do something simply for the reason: Why Not.

A few weeks ago I decided to try something that had never been attempted in the AET world before: I asked my school if they could cancel my school lunch service and allow me to bring my own lunch. The very thought of changing such an ancient traditions brings shudders to the spines of many locals. Nonetheless I asked the lunch lady representative to carry this request to the power at the front of the room. Upon receiving this news they all took a deep breath and told me they would need some time to review the matter. Now keep in mind that every student and every teacher and every administrator and every pet rabbit outside in the cage ALL eat the SAME lunch everyday. Needless to say, I may as well have asked everyone to highlight their hair pink and wear ballerina costumes to school. This issue rocked the adminstrations world to say the least.
A few days later the top 3 people at the school decided to have a private metting to discuss my question in depth. The meeting was scheduled for 3:30 in the afternoon and as I sat in the next room like a soldier waiting to be condemned, I listened closely for any hint as to what the verdict was going to be.
We must pause for a moment because I am reluctant to even tell you what I heard. If you are standing you might want to sit down and if you are sitting down you might want to take a sip of your favorite drink because if you die of a heart attack right here and now, I want you to at least be able to say you went out with a sweet taste in your mouth.
[Get ready...]
Screeching from the meeting room I heard sounds of women in labor and pigs being slaughtered. If I were to repeat the sounds I heard you would certainly flee in horror. I am pretty sure I even felt an earth quake while the jury was out deliberating.
After 5 grueling minutes, the 3 heroes emerged, beaten and scarred from what was no doubt a marathon battle.
"Caleb" they said, gasping for air, "School lunch no no, your own lunch OK."
And that was that. [Pause here for dramatic effect]

Surprised but grateful I began bringing a sandwich for my lunch the following day. From that point until now I have had the same conversation, word for word, with a different person each day.
[Translated into English]
Them: "Oh. Sandwich?"
Me: "Yes. Sandwich."
Them: "Delicious?"
Me: "Yes. Delicious."
Them: "Hmmm."

The conversation is so superficial and exactly the same each day that it is driving me crazy. I am thinking about switching back to school lunch.

The Art of Eating

The way I see it there are two kinds of people in this world,
1. those who hate chopsticks and
2. those who despise them.

I fit into the second category and will profess the fork's superiority until the Lord calls me home. Its not that chopsticks are hard to use or that I don't know how to hold them properly, its just that they have an amazing ability to turn a perfectly good meal into a grand test of patience. In fact, the last time I had my patience tested to that degree was during the SAT where I had to endure questions like:
Q. If a train leaves London bound for New York City at 10:03 am and is traveling at 60 miles/hour with a 6 knot cross wind and a 4 hour time difference between the countries, how long will it take the conductor to realize trains don't float in the Atlantic Ocean?

[I am actually joking about some parts of that SAT Question. The train actually left at 9:03 am]

Maybe I am being unfair. Perhaps I am taking out my cultural frustrations on the chopsticks when what I am really bothered by is something entirely different. Maybe I am still in shock about some of Japan's many fascinating attributes such as store employee's ability to stay positive and customer friendly no matter what kind of day they might be having. Just once I would like to see some American apathy on the faces of the Japanese workers. You know the look I am talking about. Its the one that says "I might help you and I might not. My girlfriend dumped me, I make minimum wage, I dropped out of high school, and I can't use chopsticks."

But that isn't what happens at all. Instead I am greeted with a smile and an encouraging "Hello, how can I help you?" Their greeting is so friendly that I imagine they would even pay for my merchandise if I just asked. And after they paid for it they would wrap it up in the traditional Japanese style and give you a receipt. The Japanese never forget that receipt. In fact if you kept every receipt you got over a month's time you would have enough to start a bon fire large enough to throw yourself into.

But let's not get off subject here. I like most Japanese food and have been challenged by having to re-learn how to use chopsticks to eat it. Of course now it is second nature to me and I don't really notice but if you are planning to take up the art of eating with chopsticks please take my advice: Have patience, endurance, and above all scoop up a bigger bite than you intend to put into your mouth because inevitably you are going to take off with more baggage than you land with.