Homicidal Maniacs in the Making

I managed to get myself invited to join a home ec class at S JHS as I had no classes that day, and things were getting tedious. So while I washed dishes and watched a delicious stew in the making I noticed the entire industrial arts class hanging about out the back of the school.

Excusing myself, I went to see what was happening. While the teacher was building an electric fence to keep the wildlife away from the vege garden, the students were in the process of capturing and torturing all the wild life they could find. Dragon flies, slugs, beetles, worms...... Some girls had a huge slug wrapped in a leaf. I told them it was a living thing and didn't deserve to be killed. I asked them to treat it kindly. They poured detergent on it, then cut it in two with a stick.

Mmmm, stew.

Have you got the knack?

Cos I have.

The Visitor

Just when I was beginning to think it was safe to answer my door to unexpected callers here in Japan, I had a visitor that came bearing gifts.

In actual fact, I'd met this well spoken young man before when I was living in Shingo; a village in which I stuck out like a sore thumb. Who else was he going to give these magazines printed entirely in English to?

I have this thing about always being nice to people. When telemarketers call I hear them out, then tell them I'm not interested. If someone needs a survey done, be it over the phone or in person, I'll do it if I have time. When people come to my door, I talk to them. In New Zealand, it got so bad that the Jehovahs and Mormons knew exactly when I'd be home and timed their visits accordingly.

I felt bad after having a heated philosophical debate with some Mormons once which left them in no doubt that I was not about to be converted. But guilty conscience be damned, when this Japanese Jehovah started asking extremely personal questions, I cut to the chase and told him straight out that I'll be happy to read his magazines, but I didn't want to talk about anything, so if he felt like popping round again, he can put them in my letter box.

The magazines aren't that bad at all. Along with the moral education, there are also interesting articles on history and geography with no religious bent at all.

My favorite articles in this swag however are "How can I say no to sex at school?" and "School friendships; how close is too close?"

As far as talking about sex goes, the general gist is that school conversations about sex are lewd and sordid and you should be aware of the unwholesome influence that "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" will have on you, as these kids clearly have been brought up by bad parents in a family that exhibits "no natural affection". If you are hearing a conversation about "immoral sex" (so what exactly is moral sex?), then you should take your advice from the Bible: Proverbs 22:3 - shrewd is the one that has seen the calamity and proceeds to conceal himself. So hiding under your desk with your fingers in your ears will help? And watch out for hooking up! "You might hear your classmates talk about "hooking up" - a term that means having sex with no emotional strings attached. In some cases, kids hook up with casual acquaintances. In other cases they meet for sex with total strangers they have met online."

As for friendship at school, just check out what Paul has to say: 2 Corinthians 6:14 - Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. If you do, this so called "friend" will either "induce you to get involved in wrong practices or spoil your useful habits". So how do you know who it's ok to be friends with? "You may get along well with a particular schoolmate. But ask yourself: 'is this person willing to do what Jesus commands? Does he or she want to learn about Jehovah, the one whom Jesus instructed us to worship?' As you talk with your classmates, the answer will become evident." Ooookay.

You can believe what you want to believe. Each to their own. Just don't come knocking on my door to tell me how to live my life.

A Brobdingnagian Beach Party

On the four hour train trip to Kozomi Beach, in the middle of nowhere, Tottori Prefecture, we had the opportunity to take a peek at Mt Daisen, Japan's second tallest mountain during a train change.
By the time we arrived at the venue, darkness had fallen, music was pumping, drinks were pouring, and it was all on.

All it took was the Okayama crowd to arrive to create the gossip, intrigue, fisticuffs, and drunken hilarity that was to continue for the next 48 hours.

Here's one of the flaring bar tenders who regularly blew whistles and juggled flaming bottles of Malibu. Tequila shots or Malibu pineapple anyone?

After the first night, it was a slow start to the day, with many people swimming, sunbathing, doing yoga, learning to play harmonica, playing frisbee, and banging on African drums.

After a relaxing day we slid through a gorgeous sunset and landed in one round after another of excellent Japanese and foreign DJ's including DJ Silva, a Japanese woman who supported Fatboy Slim on his latest tour.

The following afternoon, bleary eyed, sleepless, and sunburnt, I made my way to Tsuyama to hop on the nightbus to Tokyo...

On the way I mused over the things I learnt this weekend, such as When Gaydars Break, When Friends Fall Over, Alcohol + Beach + Darkness = Bad Things, and When Skaters Look at Street Architecture (it's like looking at a beautiful woman's body; you imagine all the things you want to do with it).

Another one of those...

annoying little Japanese conversations...

Teacher: Why do you always wear a hairclip now?
Me: Because I had another bad haircut and my hair is too short at the front.
Teacher: No, I mean, why do you always wear THAT hairclip. Is it your favorite?
Me: Because it's the only hairclip I have.
Teacher: (Incredulously) Really?

EARTHQUAKE!!!

Finally! I've always wanted to experience an earthquake, and this morning at 5.01 am it happened.

I woke up with a start and thought it was my erratic heart beat that was causing the bed to shake. Then I heard the windows rattling. Ignoring all emergency training I moved to the window to look outside and see what was happening, which was nothing. The only obvious difference was that the birds, which usually start up as soon as the sun rises, were quiet.

It was all over within a minute, and I proceeded about my business. Surprisingly, not a single person all day brought up the subject of the earthquake, despite my excitement. Earthquakes happen pretty much every day in Japan. They are very rare in Niimi, happening once a year or less, and are never strong enough to cause any damage (Except for one in 1996 or 1997 which caused a wall to fall down somewhere...).

Next time it happens, I'd like to be outside somewhere to experience plate tectonics firsthand and generally just marvel at the awesomness of nature.

A Sphincter Says What?

The weekend was spent in Takebe eating curry, realising I'm not the genius I thought I was, and taking a long walk through the rice fields.
Before heading home we had a high calorie lunch in a laid back organic cafe near Okayama Station. The area had a nice village feel, kinda like the small neighbourhoods you find in Tokyo.I thought this looked rather artistic, but didn't take the time to frame the shot properly.

Back to Nature

The students of S JHS and I visited Kenko no Mori, the private school for disabled and mentally handicapped children and young adults. The school is conveniently tucked away on a large tract of land hidden up in the mountains. It's beautiful up there and the facilities are amazing. The students board there all year, and visit their family once a week or so.

I have spoken about the treatment of the handicapped in Japan previously. This time around, as I was in close contact with the kids, I found myself extremely uncomfortable. I know I'd never have the patience or skill to be a care giver to some of these children. A few of them became violent for no reason, and I unfortunately got in the line of fire once.

During the day we participated in many activities, such as orientation, caring for cows and chickens, and planting. I was in the group planting satsumaimo, or sweet potato. I was a bit of a dab hand at this, and enjoyed getting down and dirty in the mud with the shrubs. Physical labour felt good and it was nice to be physically exhausted at the end of the day rather than mentally drained.

Here's the nice man showing us how to plant.
Here's the students listening attentively.
Here we are planting.

Fukiya Villa

Fukiya is one of the seven villages in Okayama that have been designated a furusato village, or hometown village. It used to be a copper mining settlement, and is famous for it's distinctive architecture including bengara burnt red and orange walls and charred wooden siding.
There is an old black and white photo exactly the same as this one hanging in the foyer of the International Villa. While the buildings are all the same, the street is dirt, and is crouded with wooden carts, horses, and people dressed in traditional Japanese clothes.

It's a picturesque village.
Nearby is Fukiya Primary School, apparently the oldest school still in use (as a school) in Japan.Before, during, and after our feast and evening of drawing room entertainment at the International Villa, we were submitted to the terrors of the mukade, an evil Japanese centipede with a poisonous bite that apparently kills babies. I had heard a lot about these insects before coming here, but this was the first time I'd ever seen one. There is no easy way to safely dispose of a mukade, but boiling them seems to do the trick!

RANT

You have been warned.

On Wednesday the ALT's living in Niimi had the day off work in order to record a video introducing Niimi to the incoming ALTs. The Board of Education, in it's wisdom, thought it would be a wonderful idea to publicize the occasion by inviting the local TV station and newspaper along. So they filmed us filming Niimi.

Since I've been in Japan, if there was an opportunity to make a foreigner look like a moron in print or film format, it was heartily taken up. I have found myself misquoted and taken out of context in papers and magazines, and seen pictures of me "in action" (in very unbecoming poses) around town. I knew if I showed up on TV, I'm sure it'd be awful (if you've ever seen Japanese TV you'd know what I'm talking about).

I don't know if this is something malicious, or whether it is a subconscious phenomenon, but it just keeps happening.

So when I had a camera shoved in my face on Wednesday morning, I immediately voiced my concerns. I told the camera operator I did not want to be on TV and asked the reporter not to take any photos of me. The reporter said "no problem".

I spent most of the morning holding a piece of paper in front of my face knowing full well I couldn't trust the word of a reporter. The moment I removed the paper to do my part in the video we were making, the reporter took a photo.

On my arrival at school I was greeted with "Vicky, you are on the front page of the newspaper!!" Pissed off.

After hearing about it for the next couple of days, I decided to speak to my supervisor about it. I was more upset with the fact that my feelings are continuously disregarded in matters like this than the fact that another unbecoming photo of me had ended up in the paper. There are other reasons I was upset that I won't go into (I'm sure if you don't understand the situation, I may come off as sounding petty). My supervisor asked me not to talk to the paper, or the TV station, and instead apologised on their behalf saying that while he had heard what I had said, he thought it would still be ok..........I will never understand the Japanese way of thinking.