Six Month Recap

Six months ago I was leaving America, my home, in search of making a new home in Japan. I have experienced and learned a lot since first setting foot off that airplane. I walked into a new country not knowing what to expect AND expecting not to know. What am I doing here? What was I going to eat? How was I going to communicate? All the little things that I took for granted back home were now enormous tasks. For instance, getting my oil changed was just about harder than my advanced organic chemistry final, and they took about the same amount of time. Not knowing a language and being surrounded by people speaking that language is a lot like being completely by yourself. You get a lot of time with you, yourself, and I. So, what did I do with all that time with myself? Explored. Taught English and my culture to others. Learned Japanese and it's culture from others. Ate good food. Ate really bad food. Read more than any time in my life. Had more awkward conversations than any time in my life. Didn't understand things more than any time in my life. But, more than any other time in my life, I feel refreshed and alive.

Anyway, here are some 6 month Top Ten Lists.


Top Ten things I miss back home.
10. (put anything here).
America has everything and you can get it so easily. If you crave something there are scores of choices to help quench that craving. If you want to be entertained there are more ways than ever to have a good time. Simply put, you can basically find anything in America.
9. Names.
In America it's easy. Ted. Bob. Jim. Jill. Sarah. Japanese names, like most foreign names, are hard to remember. Although my town is small and I know every name of every student in kindergarten through junior high school, I still have the occasional relapse into name-amnesia syndrome. This is particularly difficult with adults. There are some people I talk to every week and I still don't know their names, and as weeks go by it makes it harder and harder to just ask. Furthermore, they probably already think I know their names because it is written on a nametag or something (in Kanji, mind you).
8. Cooked things.
I think the discovery of fire has revolutionized the world...it is up there with the wheel. We can use it for warmth, light, and cooking. Instead of having to eat raw things we can now cook them and make them even more delicious. The Japanese on the other hand don't agree with this way of thinking in some cases. Now, I am not anti-raw meats, I am just anti-raw meats that taste like I'm eating my own tongue. Moral of the story: go to a good sushi restaurant or always have a small camp-stove on hand.
7. Normal toilets.
Squatting toilets are a pain in the butt....FOR the butt, rather. If you have a normal toilet please do me a favor and take a moment to reflect on how nice it is to sit and take your time and be comfortable. Also, I think lines like "There are kids in Japan that don't get normal toilets! How would you like that?" should become a staple when kids complain about having to clean the bathroom.
6. TV.
There is nothing that says home like watching hours upon hours of football in the fall, college basketball in March, baseball in the summer, and a mix of all of them in between. The only sports televised here are sumo, Japanese baseball, and K-1 boxing (which is actually awesome). I love sumo, but there are times when I just want to sit and vegetate while watching a good game. Note: they broadcast Monday Night Football here, however, it airs on Tuesday night at 6 pm. Taped and ready to go. Also, sumo tournaments are held every odd month, so what am I supposed to do during the other ones?
5. Sweets.
One day a small Japanese candy was passed out at work and many of the teachers wouldn't eat it, stating it was too sweet. As an American, I think I had an expression on my face that said something like "Too Sweet!!! Is that possible?!?!" I was excited to eat this oh-too-sweet candy. Later, I ate the candy and discovered that it was about as sweet as a piece of cardboard. Moreover, it was about as sweet as carbon monoxide--you know, the colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that can kill you. Moral of the story; Japanese sweets are tasteless.
4. Spices.
The Japanese have three spices: salt, wasabi, and more salt. Note: soy sauce is basically liquid salt.
3. Breakfasts.
A typical breakfast in Japan: Rice, Miso, something salty and fishy, onions, some sort of meat that came from an animal with more than 4 legs or was an organ in the digestive system, and no sort of drink.
2. Communicating on a level higher than "Hello, I'm Isaac. It's cold. I like..." Etc.
For those of you at home try going an entire day without using a verb in a strange tense. Furthermore, only use simple verbs that don't conjugate irregularly. Also, no words longer than 3 syllables. Let me know how it goes. Note: I don't always have to speak this way, but a lot of the time I do.
1. Loved ones. This doesn't really need any explanation.


My Japan Top Ten.

10. Food.
Alright, alright, I know I bad mouth the food a lot, but I only do that because the bad food in Japan is really, really bad. With that said, there is a lot of really good food. Some of my favorites include udon (which is a thick wheat noodle in some yummy broth), yakisoba (fried soba noodles with veggies and meat), gyoza (kind of like an eggroll but not fried so much), curry, and lot of other stuff. Surprisingly, the school lunches are way above average on the school lunch list. I remember hating school lunches back when I was a chunky adolescent looking forward to afternoon cartoons.
9. Tokyo.
It's the city that never sleeps on the Far East side. Much like New York, it has everything and there is always something to do.
8. Ueno.
My little village is a really good place to call home. Ueno has about 1500 people, it is about 200 square km, and it doesn't have a convenience store (which is unheard of for Japan). I live in the teacher's dormitory with a bunch of other teachers. They have this setup because most teachers don't teach in Ueno for their entire career so they need temporary housing. Because of this there is a lady that cooks meals for me during the week and the rent is really cheap. The village for being so small has a lot of stuff going on. It also has a lot of tradition and appeal. I don't think I could've been placed in a better area.
7. Kindergarten.
When you get a big group of cute kindergarteners together and sing a song and do a dance, there is nothing cuter or more rewarding. Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes will forever hold a special place in my heart.
6. Enkai.
Drinking parties with your co-workers couldn't be anymore fun. Great food. Lots of beer. And a wild feeling in the air make it one of the best nights I can remember. Also, getting to see a different side of some of the teachers I work with is always surprising.
5. Everyday things.
Living in Japan. The constant learning involved when living in another country can be a bit draining at times, but most of the time it is exactly the reason why I came.
4. Hiking.
Despite being filled with people and having an ultra-modern lifestyle, Japan has some amazing hiking. Mount Fuji, Myogi, and around Ueno have been some of the best hikes of my life.
3. Driving.
I feel like Magellan when I hop in my car and go for a drive. I never know what I'll discover, but most of the time it's superb. One thing I did discover really quickly was that driving on the opposite side of a narrow, windy, mountain road is a lot of fun (and dangerous).
2. Friends.
I have met some amazing people here, and I look forward to continuing these relationships and beginning new ones. Note: the picture to the right was a poop party. It was in celebration of a friend getting a new toilet seat, which is heated and has all kinds of other sanitary gizmos. Everything was either toilet or poop oriented at the party.
1. Students.
My students are amazing! They are fun. They are respectful. They want to learn. They are good jokers. They teach me a lot. And, they make my job rewarding and a lot of fun.


Top Ten Reasons Why I'm Staying Another Year

10. I need more material for this blog.
9. I want to continue hitting my head on door frames.
8. I can't leave until I learn at least two full sentences in Japanese.
7. I am training to be a professional sumo wrestler.
6. The title Mr. Isaac comes around only once in a lifetime.
5. I can't find my way back to any major cities.
4. I accidently signed the wrong line on my Kanji-filled re-contracting papers.
3. Sake.
2. I want to learn English, too.
1. I am a millionaire (in yen form).

One thing to note, although yen may be small, it is not that small...I'm not even a millionaire in yen form, sadly. I guess I am really staying because I need to experience more of the world (by world, I mean Japan, Asia, and different cultures) before getting set to start the real world. I also don't feel ready to leave....this experience has been unreal, the students too wonderful, and the surroundings too beautiful for me to leave just yet. I have learned a lot these last six months--a lot about Japanese, Asia, food, cultures, and many other things. Most of all though, I have learned about myself. Yep, I can survive in Japan. Keep me posted on your whereabouts and happenings. I'd love to hear from you.