Hindsight

My friend Eartha has a close friend who was abducted. Canny Ong was visiting her father in Malaysia. She disappeared at a shopping complex car park.

http://www.bringcannyhome.com

Eartha asked me to list this site.

Question:
What is wrong with each picture?

Answer:
1. None of the student shoes are being worn.
2. No boys are hanging out on the balconies.
3. There are no students in class. They aren’t at school.

This is the result of Typhoon 6, which passed by Fukuoka today.

Announced just a few days ago, this typhoon was responsible for today’s closing of 230 schools in Fukuoka City. Classes were cancelled in Kitakyushu as well (but Kitakyushu JHS teachers still showed up at their schools).

Last night Yoshida sensei e-mailed me a message. The problem: she e-mailed the message to a wrong number. So I proceeded this morning like any other day. Wake up at 6. Go to Lawson’s (Fanta Peach, Aquarius and a “sea chicken” onigiri). Board the highway bus at 7:05am.

As I was walking towards Chiyo’s front gate, I noticed it was closed. I already had a feeling that not a student was going to show up. But I didn’t know because I never got Yoshida-sensei’s message.

When I walked into the shokuinshitsu, most of the teachers and even the kyoto-sensei were surprised to see me. Yoshimura-sensei told me that Yoshida emailed me. After some clarification, I realized that I didn’t have to be on campus at all.

Winds began to pick up as the typhoon would pass by.

I figured I would call the BOE (Board of Education) office to take my last half-day of available paid vacation and head home early today.

Cut to me checking my cel: Stacey sent me a message. I read it – apparently, train services were halted. And so I started wondering: are the buses stopped too?

A quick jump to Nishitetsu’s home page threw me to a traffic info page, announcing that all bus services to Kitakyushu from Fukuoka had stopped.

There are two ways I could have gotten home: pay over fifty dollars for a taxi, or hitchike. I was, naturally, stressing out.

By noon more than half the teachers were gone. Some of them took a full day of nenkyuu (paid leave) and some left before lunchtime. I ended up sitting at my desk doing various, trivial internet activities including a session of Reversi with Amber (who was let go early today by her ultra cool kocho-sensei). If I didn’t have the internet at Chiyo I would have been face down on my desk, period.

Lunch came and Takeuchi-sensei asked me if I wanted to join them for a little meal excursion. Without any bento order I accepted with wide eyes.

After driving to two closed-establishments, we entered a well-known chanpon ramen joint. The food was delicious – the karaage (chicken) in the ramen was amazing and an additional side order of chicken wings was just as neat. It was good food and a nice plus to spend time with staff away from the school.

It made up for the crappy, surprise morning.

Salvation came in the form of one of our sports teachers who, like me, lives in Kokura. He drove me home when all the teachers closed shop and left at 5:15pm.

The typhoon may have passed us and the winds were strong at one point, but I have felt worse. It was a dud and botched the entire day. But on the flipside, it did give me a chance to see the staff out of their usual routine and have some chanpon. I can’t complain about that.

Sometimes I can’t believe how much I have moved around.

Chiyo Junior High’s staff room is pretty much like any other.

Teachers at work.

Today I had four classes. Some 3-nensei and a few 1-nensei including one visited by Chiyo Elementary’s teachers, but only for a few brief moments. Genki as always. I had a busy but good day.

When I first started at Chiyo, I asked Satou-sensei if he had a ruler. He came back from the supplies office with a meter stick. His sense of humor is wonderful.

The kosoku bus stop at Chiyo, eastbound for Kokura/Kitakyushu. That’s 1,300 yen a day. And yes, it’s literally right next to the highway.

Once I was home today I (once again) picked up a quick/easy bento for dinner and turned on the TV.

For the second day in a row I caught a drama (of sorts) that starts around 5pm on TV. From what I can gather, it revolves around a company and these office women. It’s over the top and overacted. But I could actually understand some of it from time to time. Today’s episode was great – I could understand more of their dialogue.

Of the six women, she seems to be the chief of sorts. I’ve seen her on various TV programs and I won’t hide the fact that I think she is ultra sexy. It must be her voice, or just the fact that she comes off as extremely assertive and confident. What’s her name?

It’s London Hearts time tonight – last week there was an odd special about Ryo’s marriage. So I am wondering if they’ll return to the normal list of wacky blackmail.

There’s something you don’t see as often – the second floor of Yakyuudori.

Rosalyn’s birthday was last night. I went around Uomachi to pick up a flower for her before getting to Koichi’s early, as I usually do. Everyone else came about a half an hour later and we went up to the second floor, tatami and all.

I don’t recall eating as much as I usually do, but I drank quite a bit. Some nama (draft), umeshu and more umeshu. After lots of fun chat and food some of us proceeded to a bar that I only recall Amber calling “The Red Room”.

The place was posh, if only to hang out for one beer. Everyone was quite happy at this point, speaking madness as the hour went by. After a romp through there we walked down the street to “Fujiyama Mama’s”, an interesting bar with posh sofas, pinball sets for tables and good music. A rum & coke here and there and more chat. It was late enough that Rosalyn and some her friends went home. Chris and I decided to call it a night once we finished our drinks.

This is what I see when I look up in the center of building 7. Floor upon floor of people. Once I got into my apartment, I changed to sleep, turned on the AC and knocked out…. only to wake up comfortable, residually buzzed and wondering if I really slept – somehow I felt like I didn’t get any deep sleep whatsoever.

That’s Sunday night for you.

Every morning I have a routine of going to Lawson, a chain of convenience stores here in Japan. I pick up two drinks and sometimes a “sea chicken” (or tuna) onigiri. Last Friday it was a bottle of milk tea and some water.

The convenience stores here are just too wonderful. All the general items are there, such as your standard food, snacks and drinks. It doesn’t stop there: light bulbs, recordable CDs, DVDs and video games. I can even get concert tickets from a machine in the store.

Last year, in September, I remember receiving some utility bills. I tried to decipher them and I noticed barcodes on them as well as the names of convenience stores on the back. So I walked over to Lawson’s and handed them the documents. Scan barcode, pay, done. My bills were paid.

I’m going to miss that. But, on the flipside, I am looking forward to seeing a Super Big Gulp at the 7-Eleven back home. 44-ounces would make the kids out here gasp in disbelief.

Morizono sensei’s one 3-nensei class today was met with boredom. The excitement mounted as I walked in and we went over the textbook and repeated words. This is because she assured me that her lesson would be fine. Besides, I didn’t have any other ideas and the game I planned takes up an entire period.

Some of the classes had yet to introduce Japanese items to me, and a little less than half of the students didn’t bring anything at all. I asked sensei if she still had the helper handouts that we copied for the other class last week. The response: she ran to the copy room to make some more. So I tried to explain what to do in English and some Japanese, which surprised some of the kids – I never really spoke Japanese with a lot of them.

Back with handouts, we passed them out. Again, sensei had to leave because an absent student’s mother came by with concern over her daughter.

Do all teachers just leave class at anytime if someone happens to pass by?

Since I was there in 3-2, both Murakami-san and Fuji-kun helped translate for me, so I thanked them much. Most everyone else had their brains off or just stared at me trying to figure out my slower english.

Some of the kids got sentences done, but yet again we were out of time. I asked them to come to the staff room if they finished and wanted to be checked for speaking/writing.

I’ll have to raise their spirits once this lesson is over with the activity I already made. It’s ready to go, and I’ll be using it when I return in two weeks.

Tsujii’s sensei has one of the genkiest classes: 2-4. I try not to play favorites but these kids really fit the mold for enthusiasm and smarts. Some of them did grand today.

–
My parents e-mailed me back. It looks as though we are not moving to San Gabriel – someone snatched up the offer and there was some sort of miscommunication with the landlord of the previously mentioned apartment. Unfortunately the e-mail didn’t go any further. So I can only guess if a search is continuing for a new home…

Perhaps I will ship some boxes to friends – they never seem to move around like my immediate family has.

Fuji-kun came to my desk in between third and fourth period – he surprised me with omiyage (souvenirs) from Kyoto.

He walked up, smiled and said, “It’s omiyage. Let’s open it.”

“Okay,” I responded. Lo and behold, a shuriken. And so I told him “If a student is trouble, let’s use it.” Of course, it was a joke and he laughed saying “no no no”.

The week is very slow, so today was more time in front of the laptop. By sheer chance I loaded up manual‘s “ascend” album, and the first song (Midnight is where the day begins) sparked a considerable amount of inspiration. So I wrote and wrote, layering and relayering what I jotted in notepad. I have another short music video in writing.

Yesterday’s weather in Kitakyushu went from sunny & mild to cloudy with heavy winds. The rainy season is almost here.

I received an e-mail message from my folks back home. At first I did a double take. Why is my mother telling me to redirect any future packages to my sister’s address (just three houses down)? So I continued reading.

When I return home in mid-August, my parents will have moved from our house (in La Verne) to an apartment in San Gabriel, putting me closer to Los Angeles and further from my friends in the OC area.

Sometime last year before I left for Japan I was packing things away and I told my friends that something like this would happen. I called it, and look – it came true.

My parents have been having difficult times finding work. Mom works only a few days of the week and my father is working some odd jobs, nothing permanent. The rent in La Verne has been too heavy, hence the move.

While I understand the situation I can’t help but be frustrated.

This will be the eleventh location we’ve shifted to. I’m not quite sure if this sequence is entirely correct, but since I was born I have lived with my parents in:

Fontana
Monterey Park
Costa Mesa
Riverside
Bakersfield
La Mirada
Bangkok, Thailand
Cerritos
Buena Park
La Verne

I always considered myself nomadic, but not by choice. Once more will I have to familiarize myself with a new neighborhood.

I was hoping to return to the familiar, but I am realizing now that I will return to another unkown of sorts instead.

Some images in this post were taken last week during an 1-nensei and 2-nensei class. I asked Matsuo and Tsujii sensei if it would be alright to snap some pictures of the classes in session and they gave me the green light.

Murakami-san’s birthday was June 3rd, and I burned her a Third Eye Blind CD. She was overjoyed.

Last Wednesday’s ALT meeting was almost like any other, save for an unsettling event in which one JTE physically elbowed and kicked an 1-nensei boy. It was completely uncalled for and of course was reported. Some of the others co-taught with him and it was clear that he was a strange guy.

I took nenkyuu (paid leave) on Friday to show Sissie around, who arrived Wednesday night and had taken the week off to relax and travel from her prefecture all the way down here to Kyushu. We visited some local spots in addition to Mojiko and Hakata (Fukuoka).

Starbucks here has a Matcha (Green Tea) Mocha Frappucino, which tasted to me like a Matcha Shake instead. Being the green tea ice cream fan that I am, the frap was nice as we caught up over the past year.

We got excited over a phone that has been pushed on TV and at local J-Phone stores: the J-SH53. What makes it so special?

The SH53 is a keitai (cel phone) with a megapixel camera, able to take pictures that early generation digital cameras would take. It has a “QVGA” display – its ultra sharp and amazing on the eyes.

In addition to the camera and display, the phone also holds the images and data via an SD memory card, which means that its owner could pop the memory card out and load the data into his/her computer if they had a SD card reader.

The keitai also plays MP3s.

Here are two resized images taken from a test drive of the SH53 over at k.vitalbit.com (click on them for the original phonecam shots):

How long will something like this take to come to America? It’s just amazing. I was just about ready to get it despite the fact that I am leaving Japan soon. Still, the price tag was too high – even with my current discounts I have as a J-Phone member, it costs somewhere along the lines of $350.

My current camera phone cost me $35 when I signed up with J-Phone last year (it’s a camera phone with a .3 megapixel imager). For a society that is truly connected, I think even the most expensive phone is worth it for its abundance of features.