Sorry it's taking me so long to update this thing! Life is crazy right now. Just when I think I've got a break, something else comes up!
So, I got to the Matsuyama airport, where Ethan (my predecessor) and a couple of my Japanese coworkers were waiting. We hopped into minivan (microbus style) and drove for a while until we reached Imabari, the closest (in travel time, not geographically) city to Uoshima. There are small cities that are close, but Imabari is a lot bigger. Normally we'd take a ferry, but since we were in the car, we drove over a series of suspension bridges that stretch from mainland Shikoku all the way up to mainland Honshu (the biggest land mass in Japan). We stopped briefly on one of the connecting islands and got some salt flavored ice cream. It was like saltwater taffy flavored ice cream. Delicious.
We got to Habu port, which is the southern most part of Hiroshima (and Honshu), and (Ethan and I) hopped on a ferry to Uoshima, our home. The ferry ride was beautiful. I was a little motion sick from all the travel, but it was neat to ride on the top of the little ferry and look down at the thousands of harmless jellyfish in the sea. Ethan said that I should be expecting a big welcome when I got home, but that didn't really happen. Ethan's girlfriend and one lady were running up to the docks when we got there with a sign that said "Welcome Mr. Stout to Uoshima!" Ethan seemed miffed that they didn't have more people there. I wasn't bothered at all.
The first couple days, Ethan and his girlfriend stayed in my future apartment while I stayed on the 3rd floor of the town hall building. It was kind of creepy. Some bananas that I had bought even mysteriously disappeared, one-by-one (that was Oofune-san, I later found out). It was better than staying up by the school, which was farther away and even creepier.
We had a welcome party one of the first nights here. It was really crazy to see all the normally super-professional people get absolutely hammered. It was fun to watch people try to communicate with each other. It took probably 3 times as long as it should have for them to understand each other. People are a little confused that I don't drink alcohol, coffee, or tea. They're still pretty supportive, though. They can't understand why I'd just want water at a restaurant, though. They give tea here with every meal, and so when I ask for water, they get me a soda or something else. The water cups that I do get hold about a half an ounce.
The food has been very good so far. Twice I've had okonomiyaki, a Japanese pancake thing that has noodles, egg, and whatever the heck they want to put in it. It's usually got a barbecue-like sauce, and is very tasty. I've had sashimi (sushi with raw fish) a few times. It's pretty good. I realized why I didn't think I'd like it. I always remembered it smelling like fish in the U.S. They say that if it smells like fish, it's too old. If you just stuff the whole thing in your mouth and chew, it's usually pretty good.
Ethan was very helpful in his last few days here. He showed me as much as he could and helped me know how to make my formal introductions. I brought some stuff, but it wasn't enough for everybody. So I've ordered some more through a service that lets you buy stuff from Costco. It's a bit pricey, but worth it. Sometimes you just need a little reminder of where you're from.
I spent the first few days traveling to the surrounding islands to complete paperwork. I'd get home from a long, tiring day and come back expecting to get some rest (I'm supposed to be done at 4:30 each day). Instead, I end up staying hours past 4:30, trying to communicate with my coworkers who don't speak English. It's tough. It'd be a lot easier to cope with if I had my family here and was more settled. One day, I got home at 8:30 after leaving the town hall. After that long day, I was excited to know that I could sleep in the next morning, since it was Saturday. Right as I left, my coworker said that the next morning at 6AM, the entire town was getting up to pull weeds on the island. He said I didn't have to go, which meant, "If you don't go, everyone will despise you." So, I got up and pulled weeds at the playground for a few hours the next morning. I still haven't had a chance to rest. Last night was going to be my first chance, but towards the end of the work day, my coworker and band-mate Kuroda-san informed me that there would be a festival from 7-9PM (called "Bon") that celebrates their dead ancestors. After that, he was holding a band meeting. So I was there until 10PM. Still looking for that elusive rest. I'm hoping that I can get it tomorrow, but I won't hold my breath. I've learned to expect to have things sprung at me at the last minute, with non-participation not really being an option. You do what you gotta do, though. Suck it up, go, have fun, and hope that you sleep enough to feel rested.
Ethan wasn't able to tell me much about my actual teaching, so I'm pretty clueless right now. He actually told me quite a bit, bit it was all such a blur. We planned to go write stuff down, but we ran out of time. Ethan had to run around on his last day. His send off was touching. Dozens of villagers met him and the docks to see him off. They all held streamers that were on a spool, giving the ends to Ethan and Sarah (his girlfriend) to hold on to as the boat drove away. They remained "connected" to him even as he rode away on the boat (or at least until the streamers broke). It was hard to watch. I hope that I have as big a connection with these people by the time I leave.
My apartment is a cozy two-room apartment with a living/kitchen area. The bathroom is spacious and the shower has its own room with a deep tub in it. I didn't have a problem with the place, but one of the English-speaking villagers spoke with my supervisor and asked if a bigger place wasn't available. It turns out there is one. There's a two-story, three room house in town that's pretty new. Its kitchen area's a lot smaller, but It has the added benefit of having separate rooms. It's a bit bigger. It's also got a lot more storage space. It's the same exact price as the place I'm living in. The only downside is that it gets extremely hot. It's on the hillside instead of right by the beach, so it doesn't stay as cool. I'd imagine it will stay warmer in the Winter for the same reason. We could always buy another air conditioner (we have one that we'd take with us, but we'd need another one for the downstairs room), even if that route's expensive. We'd have a bit more space and a lot more privacy.
We have a plot of land that's been set aside as our garden. It's actually already a garden, but the owner of the land is hurt and won't be able to cultivate it any longer. It's right by the new house, so that's another factor to consider. It's a pretty big plot, about 40 feet by 80 feet. I think. It's hot and humid here, so I'm not sure what will grow. It gets down to 32 degrees in the winter, but not much below it. That's still pretty cold for houses with no insulation or central heating. I've done worse in Guatemala. Get thick blankets and a space heater and you're okay.
There's a lot more to write about, but I'm tired. This is from an e-mail I sent to Stef:
"At Deodeo, the electronics shop, They had bathroom scales from $25,ovens from $500 (they're small), bread makers from $250, fans from $25, A/C units from $700 to $3000, vacuums from $40 to $500 (most were expensive), and a blender for $15. Everybody keeps telling me to get an electronic dictionary. They're around $250. It would help a lot, but I think I'll try to use my paper one until you come. When you
come, I'll get the kanji dictionary for DS off the laptop. Deodeo had a really annoying song going on. It was their theme song, and it just kept repeating. It was like the Small World song from Disneyland. I wanted to punch something.
We were running a bit late to catch the ferry (Shizuka was driving her old Volvo with the steering wheel on the left hand side--she pays about $100 a month to park it on Habu. If she left it on Yuge, it'd be free, but she'd have to pay each time she needed to take the car over to Habu.), so Shizuka hurried to take me to the port. I felt bad, because she told me to get on the boat. I didn't know that she was trying to come with me, because she had said that she was going to catch a later ferry. Her mom wandered off and got lost while I was waiting for the next ferry (which was coming in 2-3 minutes). I spotted her in the distance and told Shizuka where she went, and Shizuka ran to grab her. The boat came and I got on, and in the distance I saw Shizuka scramble to get her mother and father to the port. She was trying to make it on that ferry to Yuge, but they pulled away before she could make it. I felt bad, because I would have helped had I known that she was hoping to go with me.
Last night was even more hectic, because in both Habu and Yuge, they were having gigantic fireworks displays and festivals. The streets were filled with people, with many of the girls wearing traditional kimonos for the festival. We drove by some people dancing in traditional garb with taiko drummers in the background. It was a shame I couldn't stay to watch the festivities on Habu. They said there were 10,000 fireworks.
The ferry ride from Habu to Yuge was very soothing. It was a slow boat for cars, so it took a while longer than the fast boat. It was dark by then. In the strait, a bunch of boats lined up in ceremony as far as I could see, the glow of their red lanterns reflecting on the peaceful sea.
I got to Yuge in the dark and started to walk around looking for white people. I planned to stay in Allee's spare room in Yuge. Some people from Uoshima came to greet me, and I asked them if they had seen any foreigners. Nobody had. I walked around the streets, which were lined with booths selling all sorts of traditional foods, both fried and grilled. There was a stage with a little band of girls playing western sounding music on wind instruments and dancing in their kimonos. After getting to the end of the street, I turned around and came back. I saw the three other Kamijima ALTs and stopped by to say hi. We got snow cones and some fried food and just hung out to watch the fireworks display. Yuge only had 1,300, but it was still one of the most impressive displays I've ever seen. The whole sky seemed to light up with rapid-fire explosions of many colors. I really wish I could have enjoyed it with you and Kelsey.
We'll either have to take lunch with us or buy lunch in Imabari when we go to church. I took the 2:45 PM ferry from Imabari and got home around 5. On my way back to the apartment, some kids were playing baseball in the playground area. They asked me to join in. I first played in my sunday clothes, but they asked if I wanted to change. I changed and came back, and we played a game (2 on 3, don't ask me how it worked). My first at-bat, I crushed the ball out of the yard and up into the trees. They were blown away and excited that I hit the ball so far, but I felt bad, because I lost the ball. We went up to the school where there was more room and played with the other ball. I batted lefty for my first at-bat at the school and got a hit. My second at bat, I took a half-swing and crushed the ball out of the park and waaaaaayyyyyy over the trees. I felt so bad. I was trying not hit it out, but I was just too big. I lost both of their balls.
They're cheap, so I'll buy new ones. They weren't sad, though. They were excited at the prospect of having a "power hitter". The kids on my team were jumping for joy. I love these kids. I can see how it would be hard to leave them."
When I got home from Yuge island a couple days ago, Emiko, one of my students, followed me home. She followed me into my house (Ethan said that this happens often unless you lock the doors) and just kind of stood there. I didn't know what to do, so I let her play the Wii for a bit while I took care of other stuff. I'd rather the neighborhood kids didn't come in my apartment. She tried to come in the other day, but I told her that I didn't have time.
I was talking to her the other day, and I asked her what her parents names were. She said, "My mom is so-and-so (I forgot already), and I don't have a dad." The disappointment on her face was clear. She wished she had a dad. That just broke my heart.
That's it for today. Next time I'll write about "Bon".
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