Date: September 3, 2003
Konnichiwa!
I'm finally connected to the
net. Whoopeeee! Thanks a million to all of you who sent
emails. Even if I couldn't reply, rest
assured I cherished every word. I promise
to send lots of comical anecdotes and photos from this point forward. If you
want to see some pictures from my trip thus far, check out
http://www.duke.edu/~bhl/japan/
There is so much to
tell. I wish I could just pick you up
and put you in my shoes for day...just so you could smell the incense in the
temples, taste the fish flavored crackers, and see the adorable little old
folks picking rice...so you could hear the high pitched voices of Japanese
women prancing after the western men and so you could order a donut and get one
of the curry variety (an oh-so-appetizing bright yellow half-donut,
half-vindaloo with bhindi bhaji, keema nan and chappati concoction). If you were in my shoes you could buy sushi
from a vending machine and eat squid on a stick...you could even be besieged by
Hello Kitty and all things cute. I wish
you could sit on a toilet seat and feel it automatically warm your buns or,
better yet, I wish you could encounter a real Japanese toilet and turn around 5
times trying to figure out how to use it (picture a glorified hole in the
ground)...oh, how I wish you could experience with friends the heaven that is
an onsen (naked communal bathing), hear 150 Japanese students giggle while you
teach them "boom chicka boom" around a camp fire, or feel your heart
thump with fear while on a "drop and run" trash disposal*. If you were here you could play a derivative
of paper rock scissors where in your Japanese supervisors drunkenly imitate
Garfield the cat for hours on end...and if you were here you could sit beside
me through one of the thousands of ceremonies that are, in my humble opinion,
"full of sound and fury signifying NOTHING." Most of all, I wish you could feel for a
min. what it is to be an alien and a celebrity all at once! And, while you're in my shoes I'd give you a
great big hug and kiss on the cheek because this society is just not into the
whole hug and kiss thing and I miss it dearly.
So, do one thing for me, go give someone a hug and a kiss! I'll stick to my bowing for the time
being. And, let it be known that today
marks the first day I unintentionally bowed and thanked a machine (the ATM)
when it spoke to me...some days I've got to wonder what being in Japan is doing
to my mind.
I've been here a month now
and it seems as though I've already hit a million highs and lows.
I've climbed Mt. Fuji to see
sunrise from the top, which was amazing.
The world is a totally different place from 12,350 ft. (3776m) above sea
level. The stars were so bright it
seemed as though I was walking amidst them.
The whole time I was climbing (or standing in line to climb, as the case
often was) I wanted to fall back on the clouds below and grab stars out of the
sky. Then as I descended, I quickly
jumped from a saunter in Heaven to a trek through Hell. My only consolation was knowing that even
the 9th circle of Hell could not bring me comparable suffering. Ha!
I visited Kyoto with all its
amazing temples and Zen gardens. While
there I witnessed an amazing Kanji fire festival complete with me in a rowboat
floating in a lake covered with colorful lanterns and surrounded by chants
emanating from all shores.
I've made traditional
Japanese paper, driven the coastal road to see the mountains literally fall
into the sea, and witnessed the party scene in Tokyo. I've seen fireworks displays lasting 2+ hours that would have you
believing you're in "no man's land."
I've joined a Yosakoi dance group (a combo of tradition Japanese dance
and hip hop). I've even attended a BBQ
(grilled noodles) by the river and a host of dinner parties with other
JETs. Speaking of, the other English
teachers here are amazing! There are
100 of us in my prefecture and roughly 25 in the city. There are JETS here from Finland, Italy,
Russia, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Britain, Canada, and the
lovely US of A. So, not only do I learn about Japanese culture on a daily
basis, but I find myself learning loads about all of the aforementioned
cultures as well.
In Fukui, my home, the
scenery is AMAZING. Greenery and
mountains surround me. Even though I'm
in 'the city,' rice fields are never more than a 5 min. bike ride away. I ride my little granny bike
everywhere. I received my Alien
Registration card last week and never has a document seemed so truthful. I get so many stares. Many times I feel like the Jolly Green
Giant. In fact, I check mirrors
regularly to see if I've grown a second nose or a weird appendage out my
scalp. Last week, one man stared at me
so long he crashed and fell off his bike.
I like to think it was my good looks that sent him flying. Even so, the Japanese have been so
incredibly hospitable and helpful to this stumbling alien. I do nothing but cause trouble and they do
nothing but help. It's humbling.
There are times, though,
when the highs of being an explorer and a celebrity wear off. It was rough moving into my ghetto fabulous
apt., affectionately called "the dump." I quickly realized that I didn't know how to operate anything
(not even the answering machine) and that I had no means of asking anyone. This is all not to mention that it was
infested with cockroaches and that the power shorted out on the first day (as
it has continued to do on almost everyday since). Left in the dark with my cucaracha friends in an area of town my
supervisor declared "dangerous" - well lets just say it wasn't the
best of days. And, lets not even begin
to talk about what the food has done to my system. Don't worry though, Mom has already sent a lifetime supply of
Pepto and a little maple brown sugar oatmeal to warm my insides on lonely
days. I've declared victory in my war
on the roaches and have also decided that nowhere in this city is
"unsafe." Plus, my ghetto
fabulous place is gaining favor with me daily.
And, on the up side, it is VERY BIG for a Japanese apt. It has a whole two rooms...that's big time!
All right - well I better
end the epic and get some rest. I have
my first day of work at my school by the sea tomorrow. Wishing you all the best and hoping your
weeks have been filled with "Sunrays and Saturdays."
Sayonara, Auf Wiederhören,
Ciao, La gohn, Cheerio, Yokwe, Sun-kia, Kwaheri, Adios, and Goodbye,
Brandon-sensei (Teacher
Brandon)
* Here in Japan they have a bit of a trash problem. That is, there is nothing to do with all the
trash being that there are 5 bazillion people on such a small island. As such, there is some crazy complicated
puzzle of a schedule and ordeal involved with disposing of trash. You can throw out burnables on Monday and
Thursday, plastics every other Friday, non-burnables on the other Fridays, and
then cardboard, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and any and everything else is
trashed every time the moon lines up with the roofline of the 8th house on some
street with no name. It's ridiculous. On top of that, you're required to put your
name and address on your trash bags.
Seeing how this is all way above my abilities...I prefer to simply bag
my day's garbage, bike to a convenience store (the only place with trash cans),
drop, and bike off as fast as possible.
I know I know - I'm a terrible person!
But, if that's the worst I do, well then...
**********************
Brandon Little
Fukui-shi, Fukui-ken
Japan
http://www.duke.edu/~bhl/japan/