A Marathon in Japan
Mood:  energetic
I can't believe it, but i have signed up for the Nagano Marathon on April 17th, 2005. The run takes us through some scenic country. It looks like we will be running along rivers for much of the way. There will be some very famous runners in this marathon (maximum of 6,000 runners) AND.... WE WILL FINISH IN THE OLYMPIC STADIUM. Oh, my gosh, i can't believe it! How's that for some motivation to get my rear in gear and speed up the pace? I have to finish in less than 5 hours but it's a flat course and the altitude, surprisingly, is only between 1,100 and 1,300 feet. I should be able to do that.

Hurricanes and Plankton
Mood:  irritated
As hurricanes pass over the ocean, the wind carries warmer surface water away, allowing colder water from the bottom to rise, bringing with it quantities of nutrients. Satellite images actually show a trail of cold water in the path of storms. Tiny marine plants, called phytoplankton, fertilized by the nutrients, multiply rapidly in this wake. As the plants die, they sink to the seafloor. The data revealed that the larger the hurricane, the larger and longer-lasting the plankton bloom. This poses tantalizing questions about the role that hurricanes might play in removing carbon from the atmosphere. Like all green plants, phytoplankton consumes carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas whose rise in the atmosphere is blamed for climate change. As the plants die, they sink and carry the carbon they store to the seafloor.

So Bush won't sign the Kyoto Protocol seeking to reduce greenhouse emissions because he doesn't want to lose American jobs. So how much are these jobs worth, Bush, in lost lives and devastation to the planet?

Halloween in Japan
Mood:  bright
Kaleigh is such a great addition to our ALT (assistant language teacher) staff. Her parents are from WSU, and they are both ALT's here. They brought their daughter, Kaleigh, to Japan with them, and she is attending the 4th grade in a public elementary school here.
The Halloween party on Saturday night was a smashing success. Kaleigh invited some of her Japanese girlfriends. We had about a dozen enthusiastic 8-12 year old girls in some amazing costumes. Most costumes were made from plain plastic garbage bags transformed into some really colorful outfits. Kaleigh was Hermione from the "Harry Potter" movies. We had a Cinderella and a bat and a few other very creative costumes. I did feel a twinge of home sickness when they came knocking at my door all yelling "Trick or Treat." I do miss passing out candy to the kids in my neighborhood in Spokane. What a great experience for these girls who had never been trick or treating.

John and i also taught a two-hour class on Halloween Saturday afternoon at a Community Center. We had about 30 enthusiastic Japanese adults all singing songs. They actually had to say "Trick or Treat" to "earn" their candy treats at the break. What fun. I will teach this same group of folks how to make a pumpkin pie next weekend. Maybe i'll be the next Julia Child! hahaha.

Thursday, October 21st

Wow, heavy-duty typhoon hit yesterday. School was cancelled although the teachers are still required to come to work. We all left after lunch. I went to a shopping center 1/2-hour bus ride from my mountain apartment. Around 3:30pm i noticed that the crowds in the stores were really thinning out. I went outside to catch a bus and watched the rain go from "cats and dogs" to "buckets" to "good grief, i can't see across the street" type of torrential rains. The bus ride back to the apartment was exciting. I discovered today that the stores closed at 4pm and if i had tried to go back to Nishinomiya that the trains were stopped, and i would have been out of luck. The peaceful, tiny Arima River was raging and i got so much water in my shoes walking from the bus stop to the apartment that they dripped all night and i wore wet shoes to work this morning. hee, hee
I guess i shouldn't joke. Over 50 people lost their lives in this storm near Tokyo.

Saturday, October 23rd
I jogged along the Shukugawa this morning and was surprised to see many downed branches. Nature has a powerful way of doing some serious pruning on these trees. Kinda scary.

My Second Apartment
Mood:  bright
I can't beleive how rested i am today on a Monday morning. I mangaged to bring a bag or two of clothes, blankets and pillows on Sunday afternoon to my new digs in the mountains. It was great to leisurely walk around the neighborhood discovering the little fruit stand just down the street and a really nice Coop grocery store within a 15 minute walk. I've already run into some of my students while strolling along the river yesterday afternoon. What a blessing to be able to go to sleep at 9pm and sleep till the sun came up at 6am this morning. I have a meeting in Nishinomiya every Monday so i will travel back to our office on school time today. Then i'll stay overnight down there and have to travel back up to the mountains early Tuesday morning. But then the good news is that i can stay up here and not have to do the 1.5 hour trip until Friday after school or, if i want, i can sleep up in the mountains and take my time coming down on Saturday morning. yippeee.

My new apartment in the mountains
Mood:  celebratory
Howdy and yipppeeee

I have the keys in my pocket to my new, tiny apartment in the mountains.
It's only $300/month plus utilities. My bus and train transportation is about $300/month. This should be reimbursed to me every month so the cost to me should be minimal. yahoo.
It's only a 10 minute walk to school.
It's in a really quiet, beautiful neighborhood.
I am so very happy and relieved.

Now begins the task of fixing up another nest. There is absolutely nothing in it but an airconditioner/heater on the wall, a one burner stove, and a bathroom.
No bed, no chair, no table, pots, pans, cups, dishes .....but i can improvise and use a lot of extra stuff from my apartment down here.
Luckily, my favorite English teacher has volunteered to drive up any bulky items. The rest I'll drag up a piece at a time in my backpack.

You can't believe how elated i am.

Feels like i will be returning to the land of the living.

Hope all is well in your world.

peace and love and vote in November.
mary

Ken Shoku
Mood:  surprised
I have noticed that in all the schools that i've taught in that Kyoto sensei (our vice principal) usually always eats lunch before we do. I always figured that it was so he could do hall duty while the kids ate, but, this week, i learned about ken shoku.

During the period of the shoguns, the servants used to taste meals before the shogun ate. That practice is called "Odokumi" checking against poisoning.

My girlfriend thinks that maybe it's not to check to see if we are going to be poisoned, but rather it follows another custom where fathers and upperclass people used to eat first and then wives and children did.

So maybe it's patriarchy and maybe it is still a noble attempt to protect our kids. You decide!

Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)
Mood:  sad
Cherry blossoms in October? David thinks we had a dose of acid rain. The teachers i've asked and my friends say that one of the last "dry" typhoons whipped up salt from the ocean and then blew hot, dry air on the leaves of the trees and burned them. Whatever the reason the leaves were burnt to a crisp right after the typhoon and all fell off. Then a warm spell crept in and the trees think it's spring. This is so sad because i'm betting that they won't bloom again next spring.

New School
Mood:  a-ok
My new school is Yamaguchi. I walk to the bus stop from my apartment and take a 10 min. ride to the train station. Then a 10 minute ride on the Hankyu train and then walk to the JR train station close by and take a JR train for about 10 minutes. Then i get off that train and wait to catch a bus that i ride for 25 minutes to get to the bus stop and then walk 10 minutes to get to school. I leave the house at 6:25am and get back at 6 to 6:30 pm. It is just killing me. There is absolutely no time to do my running or anything else. Tomorrow I'm bringing my running gear to school and will run during school hours with the track team.

I have the bright idea of just renting a place on my own and stay up there during the week. I was very disappointed today because we found an apartment for about $400/month close by my new school. We were going to check it out until we found out that not only would i have to pay the whole 6 month's rent ahead of time but there was an exhorbitant fee, non-refundable to secure the damn place. I have offered a reward of a very big bottle of sake to any one of the staff who can find me an apartment. They are all looking, so i am hoping for the best.
The bright side is that it's the best school that i've been at. The kids are enthusiastic and precocious. My favorite English teacher is there and is a dream to work for. The other teachers are all wonderful and the principal is an ex-English teacher. I am being treated like a queen and i love every minute.

Chorus Contest
Mood:  lyrical
Now Playing: Singin in the halls
How can i describe my feelings of watching a whole school of junior high students all singing their hearts out in the hallways of our school 6th period? In a conversation with one of the Japanese English teachers she confided that teaching an academic subject is such a small part of what these teachers do. I watched a 75 year-old "retired" teacher (he's returned to teach MATH 3 days/week) joyously conducting a group of 14 year-old boys. Another teacher was so proud and happy with his group of first graders. They were all sitting cross legged on the sidewalk literally singing at the top of their lungs. Accompaniment music was streaming from boom boxes all over the school. This is the time of year for the Chorus Contest. Each homeroom competes against the other at each grade level. This is an amazing thing. Every student in the school has sheet music and is part of a group depending on voice range. The 3rd grade boys were incredible singing with their bass voices echoing in a stairwell. Teachers flitted here and there to encourage the kids but each group had a leader and co-leader who directed with virtually no help from the teachers.

I think the most amazing part of the whole experience was watching the joy and happiness in the teachers and the kids. It's hard to not make comparisons with the states. This just wouldn't happen where i come from. Not only the students but some of the teacher would think it was stupid and just not get involved. Someone would drag their feet and ridicule the others and before you know it the spirit would be dampened. Not here. Everyone loves the music. No one is embarrassed to sing at the top of their lungs - even if they are a bit off key. Sometimes the innocence and enthusiasm overwhelm me and i wish i could stay here forever.