Tanabata - Star Festival
Now Playing: Hopeful
On this day two stars (Altair and Vega) that are usually separated from each other by the Milky Way, come together.

This is a festival in which children and young women find much enjoyment. The legend says that on the eve. of July 7 Shokujo, or Weaver Princess Star, is supposed to meet Kengyu, or Herdboy Star, on the bank of the Amanogawa (River of Heaven), or Milky Way, for their annual tryst. Veda is the Princess Star, Altair, the Herdboy Star - the stars known as Lila Aquila. the legend behind this meeting is that the celestial princess, daughter of the celestial king, a most skillful weaver and the embodiment of industry, while engaged in weaving cloth for the king's garments, fell in love with a handsome lad, a cowherder, and as a reward for her diligent industry the king allowed them to marry. But so much in love were they that the princess gradually neglected her weaving and the herder allowed his cows to stray, which so exasperated the king that he finally separated the couple forcing them to remain on opposite sides of the Milky Way, and permitting them to approach each other only once a year. But there is no bridge over the Milky Way and the princess, on her first visit, wept so bitterly at the impossibility of meeting her husband that she roused the sympathy of a Kasasagi (magpie) who assured her that a bridge would be contrived for her. This was done, the magpies with wings spread forming a bridge on which the princess crossed. The legend also says that if the eve. of July 7 is rainy the magpies will not form the bridge and the celestial lovers must wait another year before meeting.

Tanabata began a few weeks ago with the appearance of branches of bamboo posted around town and in people's homes and outside one of our classrooms. Tradition says that if you tie your wish (written on colored paper) to this bamboo branch that your wish will be sent to the prince and princess on Tanabata and your wishes will come true.
I tied my wish to our branch. It's a secret - but it's about voting in November. Get it?

Tanabata Info


BLOOD IN THE HALLWAY

Surprise, surprise, i thought that Kobu was immune but, no, this morning we were interrupted during our morning meeting with a phone call to the Vice Principal. Before i knew what was happening teachers were scurrying into the halls and coming back with bloody towels. A quick glance and i could see blood all the way down the hall. Later, after a few discreet questions, i managed to put together a somewhat sketchy idea of what happened. There is definitely a broken window, and there most definitely is a boy in the nursing station with a bleeding hand. It seems that he had been teased by some boys and had reached a breaking point and put his fist thru a window. In the States the fist may have gone into the antagonist's face. Here it seems that you injure yourself when you get angry. I guess he was angry, frustrated or who knows what emotion. It's so sad to see these kids hurt themselves over other student's behaviors. This boy did not appear to be a trouble maker. I feel helpless and sad about these situations. Japan has no laws and/or procedures to deal with bullying it seems and it is such a problem. I am proud that we have come a long way in the States to begin to put an end to discrimination and harassment in any form. I hope that Japan will follow the U.S. in this at least. These kids deserve to feel safe and protected from viscious physical and verbal attacks by their peers. Another shocking thing about this is that no AIDS precautions were taken. I was shocked to see blood all over teacher's hands. Good grief. That's really dangerous in this day and age! I wonder how many people will have to be infected before they learn some safe procedures for dealing with blood.

Kilimanjaro and Trepidation
Mood:  not sure
I never seem to be able to do anything the easy way. Decades ago, after a preliminary short bike trip on our 10-speeds with cardboard boxes bungee corded to our rear racks - my first serious bike trip was across the U.S. When i decided to take a stained glass class the instructor advised us not to use more than 5 pieces of glass on our first project - I used 11! So I don't know what possessed me to tackle a bicycle trip and climb in Tanzania but it fits my pattern, eh?

This trip would have been a challenge to put together in the states. The difficulties are compounded by being here in Japan. Luckily, i planned to get most of my shots while in the states over the winter holiday. I have my malaria pills and high altitude sickness pills ready to go. Yellow Fever was not on the list in December and it's a long story about finally succeeding in getting this shot in Japan.

I ordered a new Bike Friday (custom-made folding bike). It fits inside its own Samsonite suitcase and will be a breeze to transport on the plane. That was initially a rather unpleasant experience due to some mistakes by Bike Friday. The problems have been resolved now, but i went through some anxiety resolving them (another story).

Getting in shape is another challenge in Japan. Luckily i have been running regularly and have just upped my mileage to try to increase my lung capacity and strength. The only challenge with the running is the heat, humidity and rain. By running year round here i seem to have acclimated and running 8 miles in 90 degree weather this last weekend barely bothered me. We have experienced an "empty rainy season" this year and so i haven't had to battle running in heavy rains like i feared. Trying to get a 50-mile bike ride in is next to impossible around here. Because of traffic, stoplights, overpasses and pedestrians i can't seem to get the miles in. I spent 6 hours riding on Saturday but only logged 30 miles. Ah, well, my butt seems to be getting used to the seat on my new bike and i'm sure that i will survive the few 50 mile days in Africa.

The main anxiety that i'm having is the Kilimanjaro altitude. I am at sea level in Japan and have done some hiking in the mountains but they are just mole hills compared to what i will be attempting. Next weekend i will hike Fuji-san for the practice. It is over 12,000 feet elevation and hopefully this will go well and i will gain some confidence that i can handle the elevation. Technically, it's not a difficult mountain to climb but the air will be thin and some people just don't do well at high altitudes. The good news is that I've been to 12,000 feet many times in the past and experienced no difficulty. Still, i must admit i'm a bit nervous.

There have been clothes to purchase in a country where the large size looks like it might fit a petite back home. Long sleeves just make it to my elbow and i almost cry trying on pants and realizing they just don't have thighs like mine in this country!

Despite all the challenges i am so psyched for this trip. For the last two months i have been emailing two of the other women who will be going so i feel like i know them already. I just found out that we three girls are going to be accompanied by two men. Five is a nice number, i think. If you want to read more about the itinerary check out the organization, Bike Africa. This will be my second trip with them. My trip to Zimbabwe with this organization was/is the best trip that i've ever been on.

Atsui
Mood:  caffeinated
6am and 90 degrees in my apartment!
After attending temple this morning at 7:30am i went for an 8 mile run anyway - still trying to get a bit of extra strength training in for climbing Kilimanjaro next month. While running along the Shukugawa River, the familiar cacophony of the infamous cicadas struck my ears. Oh, no, they are back! When i first arrived in Nishinomiya last August i thought there was some horribly ancient machine close by my apartment that ran 24 hours a day and was in dire need of some lubrication. Then when i took my first walk through the neighborhood a few days later i was shocked to discover that the machine was actually these incredibly noisy insects. I am trying hard to find some redeeming qualities to these obnoxious critters but the only thing that i can come up with is that they die after only about a month. They hatch, mate and die and then their off-spring crawl into the ground and wait from 7-14 years to crawl back out and make all this racket. I guess if i were underground for that long i'd make a lot of noise too.


CICADAS



We had a good old-fashioned BBQ at the beach for the 4th of July this afternoon. Thanks to Frankie and her boyfriend, Yosh, they managed to drag 3 BBQ's down to the beach with all the charcoal etc. We had traditional hot dogs, veggie burgers, and some not-so-traditional octopus and other assorted treats. I took my first swim in the ocean. It was a bit cool but felt so good after such a hot and humid day. I actually got a bit chilled as the sun went down. After watching the gorgeous display of lights on the Awaji Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in the world). It looks a lot like the Golden Gate except not red. They have lights outlining the cables and every hour a different color is displayed and for the first 5 minutes of every hour it goes to a rainbow of 7 colors. Quite spectacular. We ended with some fireworks and then wearily made our way back home. Happy 228th birthday, USA.

Cell Phones
Mood:  incredulous
Daily Yomiurui quote for today: "More than half of middle and high school students who own cell phones said they felt uncomfortable when they did not have the devices at hand, according to a survey by the National Police Agency released Monday.

The survey also found that nearly half of the respondents preferred not to turn off their cell phones even while sleeping and suggested that children have become dependent on such technology."

Great Quote
Mood:  vegas lucky
Here's a quote that i just received from a good friend.
I am adopting it as my motto!

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body; but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly
proclaiming,' WOW, what a ride!'"

GO FAST AND THE WRINKLES WON'T SHOW!

Kyoto again
Wednesday, June 23rd Ginkakuji Temple, Kiyomizu....and more

Students in Japan in their 3rd year of junior high school traditionally take a school trip with their teachers. It's 3 days and two nights to somewhere special in Japan. Bill lived for a few years on a military base south of Hiroshima when he was around 13 years old. He remembered Ginkakuji Temple from just such a field trip. It was such a pleasure to discover that this temple is just as beautiful as he remembered it from his childhood. After experiencing typhoon winds and rain on Monday, we were treated with exceptionally fine weather this day. Overcast skies kept our skin from burning and a cool breeze made for a very comfortable day for a walking tour. We started out again from the JR station and easily caught a bus (40 minutes ride) to this temple. The grounds were green and lush. I thought that the tiny maple leaves were the prettiest. The temple is done in real gold leaf which is incredible in the sunlight. From the temple we walked down hill to the Kyoto Museum for World Peace. We decided to only spend a few minutes viewing a powerful photo exhibit on war all over the world. While there a newspaper cameraman took our photo so we are probably going to have our picture in the paper somewhere in Japan! We then hiked down and found Nijo Castle, but we got there right at 4pm - closed. It's very frustrating that we have only about 6-7 hours time per day to tour in Kyoto. The carpets are rolled up and things close down around 4pm. I have been in Kyoto many times and was sadly disappointed when, not only the sightseeing places, but the shops and some restaurants also close so early. When it takes 40 minutes one way on a bus this limits the places you can view in a day. From Nijo we caught another bus to Gion and hiked up through a Shinto shrine that led us to an incredible stone path. I really wanted Nola and Bill to visit my favorite sight, Kiyomizu Temple. The view from there is quite spectacular as the sun goes down and the lights of the city come on. I had forgotten that i had been there in the fall when the days were much shorter. Kiyomizu stays open till 6pm and we were hustled out way before the sun was ready to set. Ah, well, the grounds were gorgeous and we got some good touristy pictures.

I am constantly amazed at the variety of people we meet while traveling around Japan. As we were gently nudged by security off the temple grounds we ran into a group from Sri Lanka. They were with a Japanese woman benefactor who was sponsoring them on their trip to Japan. One of the men was a Theravada Buddhist monk. Of course he invited me to visit them in Sri Lanka next month. I felt like such a world traveler when i casually said, "So sorry, I'll be in Tanzania." Wow, sometimes i have to pinch myself it seems so unreal the places and possibilities for traveling and visiting such incredible people.

Himeji & Osaka Jo
Tuesday, June 22nd

OK, so this is one of my major blunders. Last week I had researched some fun activities going on in our area while Bill and Nola were going to be here. There was a Yukata Matsuri Festival happening on this day and i circled it in my Kansai Time-Out English language magazine. The bold print at the top of the article said something about Osaka Jinga (shrine). The article described people parading up and down the boulevard close to Himeji Castle. They would be displaying their summer yukata (light kimono) and there would be 800 food and entertainment booths set up. That sounds like fun! Still thinking Osaka because that was in bold letters, i planned a morning trip to Himeji Castle and then over to Osaka to see Osaka Castle and then we could eat and enjoy the Festival that evening.

You'd think i would have gotten a clue when we arrived at Himeji and saw a ton of booths being set up along the street leading to the castle. Dave and Connie joined us for a very impressive tour of the inside of the castle. I would highly recommend this one. All the explanations were in English and were very informative. The view from the top of the castle is really impressive. It's hard to imagine how large an area this castle complex encompassed way back when. On our way back to the train station we had a great yakitori from one of the booths for our lunch break but most of the booths were still being constructed. Ah, well, we thought, we'll hit the REAL festival when we get to Osaka. WRONG. We didn't figure out till we got to Osaka that we had just left the festival in Himeji and that Osaka Jinga is in Himeji. Oops. Duh. Phooey.

We got to Osaka-jo too late to get inside but enjoyed the grounds and took some cool photos of the cat lady and ate a not so good okonomiyaki at a booth close to the castle mote. I could just kick myself. We would have enjoyed watching the "fashion show" and sampling food from all those booths and probably seen Himeji lit up at night but it was too late and too expensive to get back on the train and travel an hour back there to enjoy it. Luckily, everyone was happy with our day anyway and i think that i was the most disappointed. Resolved: I WILL read the directions better next time.

Nola and Bill and Kyoto and typhoon!
Mood:  caffeinated
Monday, June 21st

I had heard the typhoon was coming on Monday, and the forecasting around here is extremely accurate. Despite these warnings we headed for Kyoto anyway. When we reached the Kyoto JR station we headed up to the top to get a birds-eye view of the city. Our umbrellas were blown inside out and it was a bit unpleasant up there, but we still got a great peak at the city despite getting a little damp. Hopping a bus we quickly arrived at Sanjusangendo as the rain began to fall. The 33 spaces that house over a thousand gilded Buddha's are such a powerful sight. They are guarded by an assortment of male and female figures. It was wonderful to be able to take the time to read about each figure. Surprisingly most of them are based on Hindu entities. A feeling of unity and oneness came over me while i studied these statues with physical traits that range from India, China, Africa and all over Asia. Buddhism has incorporated the art and beliefs of many cultures. It is truly beautiful to see it all come together in this inspiring temple. It gives me hope that one day the world will come to see that we are all one.
Sorry, i get a bit emotional and philosophical after experiencing these ancient, holy places.

Also at Sanjusan Temple is information about another interesting practice - archery. An archer in 1686 shot arrows non-stop for 24 hours at this temple. He shot 13,053 arrows and hit the target 8,133 times. He was only 18 years old. The hallway was 120 meters (131 yards) long and he shot 544 arrows/hour. That's 9 arrows every minute! I can't help but think that this was a form of meditation. The concentration must have been intense.

When we finally made it out the other side of this wonderful temple it was pouring rain. Some kids were daring each other to run half way out into a courtyard and back again. In a matter of seconds they were drenched through and through. We dashed to a taxi and headed for the Kyoto Crafts Center. When you get handed a typhoon in Kyoto - go shopping! This place has 6 floors of crafts from all over Japan and pretty reasonably priced - from lacquerware to pottery, paintings, woodblock prints, kimono and more. It was easy to kill a few hours here. While browsing a few floors i kept noticing a certain group of people wearing name tags. I finally asked an especially happy looking man with a name tag on his chest that read Papau New Guinea what kind of group he was with. He joyfully answered that he was with a group of about 40 high school instructors from around the world. They were guests of the Japan Foundation and were studying peace and non-violence. This was the first of 3 groups that will be doing this tour which includes visits to Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and many other places in Japan. I noticed other teachers from Bangladesh, India, Sudan, Canada, Britain, and Iran. Nola and I were reduced to tears as these teachers told us about how eager they were to get back to their classrooms and teach their students about peace. THERE ARE GOOD THINGS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD!

The Crafts Center receptionist generously offered to get us on a bus that delivers guests to their hotels. She found a hotel close to the shopping center that we wanted to visit next so we managed a free ride to the hotel and then walked a block to the next shopping experience. The rain was still falling but definitely slowing down. The clouds above us were racing by with very high winds. This typhoon is going to rush right by us while we shop! Yahoo. For a pretty challenging weather day we managed to see a lot and we managed to buy a fair share of souvenir gifts.

Tired and happy we caught the train back home - in bed before midnight to begin again tomorrow morning. Whee.

NARA
Mood:  chatty
Sunday, June 20th
Sunday is our first touristy day. I am so happy to be taking Bill and Nola to Nara. I've been waiting for a chance to explore this most beautiful and ancient site with some special friends. Even a more wonderful treat is that my friends Miki and Atsuo met us in Osaka. It's only about a 40-minute train ride from Osaka (it looks farther on the map!).

When we arrived in Nara we headed over to the tourist information booth to get some maps. While waiting in line i noticed a tall young man wearing a Mexico t-shirt making arrangements for an English language guide. They have English-speaking volunteers who are on call and come when needed. After a very short conversation we'd invited him to join us, and he managed to cancel his guide before she'd left her home.

We spent an enjoyable day visiting different temples and shrines and viewing the great Daibutsu and other artwork. I would have never chosen to go into the art museum, but i'm glad that we visited. We learned a lot about the culture and history by studying some of the displays. It was very hot, but it sure beats the rain. The typhoon will be heading our way shortly, so we feel like we are living on borrowed time. In fact by the end of the afternoon we did experience a few raindrops but they were rather welcome for their cooling effect.

The famous deer of Nara are just like begging puppies with antlers. We got our fair share of tourist photos of these gentle, beautiful creatures. Another famous site seen in Nara is the human pulled rickshaw. Boy, are these guys and girls in shape. They must have legs of steel. I just couldn't bring myself to have them pull my heavy body around although when they were jogging along with two people in the cart it seemed effortless.

Now a little bit about our new found friend. I love that we keep meeting such interesting people from around the world. Vladamiro is from Mexico City. He is a college student majoring in math and is the Champion Go player in his country. JAL airlines flew him here to compete in an international Go championship just outside of Tokyo. Wow, we are spending the day with a world famous Go player! Vladamiro was very humble telling us that there are only 50 Go players in Mexico, but still i think that he must be pretty good to earn this trip.

Go is a traditional Japanese game whose history stretches back about 3,000 years. It is a territorial game played with black and white stones. There are Go parlors all over Japan, and it seems especially popular with retired men. There is lots of strategy and it takes years to become even somewhat proficient at the game. If you want to know more about it check out this website.
GO Game

By the way, this morning we ran into a Frenchman on a fully loaded bicycle. He was on a trip around the world and had been traveling for over 5 years. Interesting character.

Most funny memory for today:
I bought some fish food to feed the Koi carp this afternoon. The food feels like Styrofoam and is in the shape of a small loaf of French bread. I passed it out to everyone and as we were strolling towards the pond Bill took a big bite out of his. The shocked looks had to be seen. I guess he missed the whole idea of feeding the fish or maybe he was just hungry!



Saturday, June 19th
It's nice to sleep in and get up when we feel like getting up. Nola decides to stay in the apartment and do some writing and journaling. Bill and i are off for a run along the Shyukugawa River. I take Bill all the way to the ocean and, without realizing it, we end up running about 7 miles! It's warm and humid and Bill is a bit amazed at how much water he's drinking. Spokane has been cold and this humid weather really makes you sweat. We take a cool-down walk through the Sports Complex by my apartment, and Bill gets to see an adult baseball team playing a practice game with a rubber ball. Weird. When we return, Nola is so relaxed and easy going so we sit and each have our own type of breakfast munchies. Then we are off on the bikes - Nola, on my 3-speed, Bill on Dave's 3-speed and i on my new Bike Friday. It's nice that Dave (an ALT downstairs) and i have both purchased fold-up bikes so there are extra bikes for guests. We basically circled the town. Nishinomiya is bordered by hills in the north, and my apartment is at the base of these. We rode to the Mukogawa River which is the eastern border and followed a bicycle trail to the ocean which is the southern border. We wove our way through back streets to Koshien Stadium because i wanted to show Bill the Hanshin Tigers baseball stadium (he's a baseball fan, of course). We managed to find a Hanshin shop open so that Bill could get a few baseball souvenirs. A trip to Daiei (similar to our Macy's or Nordstrom's) gave them a feel for the stores here. We were able to sample some Japanese treats to give us a bit of energy for the rest of the ride on home. We rode west till we hit the Shyukugawa again which is the western border of Nishinomiya and then up river and back to my apartment. Bill and Nola voted for another stop at the noodle shop. They are very easy to please.

Friday, June 18th
My friends, Nola and Bill, arrived from Spokane via Tokyo on the Shinkansen Friday afternoon. Nola called me at school on my cell phone, and i was able to leave early and jet down to the train station on my bike in a flash. They were lounging at the McDonald's looking as if we were still just meeting in Spokane except for the fact that they had a couple of suitcases! We walked to a waiting taxi and i gave the driver my address. I arrived at my apartment by bike just a few minutes behind them. We were all too tired to do much except walk a block to the noodle shop and enjoy catching up on about 10 months of gossip and stories. This is going to be a fun time for me, and i hope that they will enjoy seeing the sights with me. There's a rumor of a typhoon heading our way on Monday, but we are going to stick with my original plan to take it easy to give them a rest on Saturday and begin the real sightseeing on Sunday. It's risky, we could be deluged with rain for days if a serious typhoon hits.

I'll pass on this one
Mood:  don't ask
Suzume - sparrow.
Most commonly grilled as yakitori. The bird is gutted and eaten bones and all with the head, which is crunched whole. Sumimasen. I'll pass on this one.