Surfer Boy!

Before I start to write about my awesome weekend, I would like to dispell this rumour that MAYBE going in Canada. NO Ana and I ARE NOT a couple... I stress the NOT

Anyways. This past weekend was more relaxing compared to the other ones. On Friday I went downtown to exempt myself from the Japan Pension Plan, then I went around town looking for travel agencies that may offer English tours for foreigners within Japan. I didn't realize how much my Japanese has improved until that day when I had speak to Japanese travel agents that knew absolutely no English.

Saturday and Sunday were my relaxing days. I stayed at home, did laundry, cleaned the toilet, did some grocery shopping and went to school to do some work. It was a day to get "home" stuff done.

Now yesterday, Monday, was super duper awesome. One of the students that I teach named Tsukasa, was part of the Tottori University Surfing Club. I had expressed interest in it a few weeks ago and he offered to take Ana and I to the beach and surf it up. I miss the water sooooo much and boy do I need exercise. So at around 9:30 in the morning we headed over to one of the many beaches along the Sea of Japan. We were quite saddened as there were NO WAVES.. the weather was a little too good... hehehehe... Well then we headed over to another beach a few more kilometeres away and WE FOUND WAVES!!!! So we parked, stripped, and put on wetsuits to keep ourselves warm while we're in the water.. As I walked downt he beach with my wetsuit and a surfboard in my hand, I felt like I was on some sort of television show.

Us getting ready to surf on the Sea of Japan

It was quite funny... lol... It was such an experience. The waves were amazing. Even though it was salt water, I LOVED IT... Sadly, it was only our first time and we werent able to stand on the boards. Practice makes perfect :-)... So we practiced the motion and procedure to stand on the board... first you have to get on your front and paddle out to sea, then when a wave comes you have to, in one motion, push yourself up and balance yourself... its crazy hard... the funny thing was Ana's legs are really really long so it was hard for her to even do the motion on land... So we then got back into the water and tried it. ALMOST... we almost got it... It's much easier to try to get on the board while you're riding a wave. I'll definetely go surfing again here in Japan. Vancouver is starting to sound like an awesome place to live back in Canada heehehe. and it was defintely the right choice to quit Kendo... I actually got to do something this time around with the surfing club.

Ana and I all wet after surfing

Meeeeee

Myself, Tsukasa (one of my English students and surfing club member), and Ana

Sunday May 15, 2005 - Bike'n and Hike'n

So LAST weekend was a bit crazy (May 14-15). We did sooooo many things and by the end of the weekend, I was completely pooped...

On Saturday I got up early to judge a english speaking competition put on by the Tottori University English Speaking Society. Myself, Matt and Rebekah were the three judges. It was very interesting as I have never done anything like this before. There were four speakers: two Japanese boys from Tottori University and two Japanese girls from Shimane (she-ma-neh) University. Unlike last year where they had to memorize and exerp from Heidi, they were allowed to write about whatever topic that tickled their fancy. There was a clear distinction between the two Universities. The two Tottori boys wrote about a "research" topic and the two Shimane girls wrote about their personal experiences. During their deliveries one of the boys sounded as if he was going to pass out. The official rules didn't allow them to have queue cards so it was that much more nerve wrecking for them. The girls on the other hand had more natural and smoother deliveries considering they were speaking about their own experiences.

Contestants (the 4 in the middle) and Judges posing after the Tottori U English Speaking Competiion. Matt and Rebekah are on the right.

After the judging I went with Matt and Rebekah to Professor Kip Cates' house (originally from UBC but has been here for 20 years and has a Japanese wife) for the Hunger Banquet organization committee. The meeting lasted FOUR LOOONNG HOURS. Nevertheless, stuff like this excites me quite a lot. Especially educating people about "reality" that goes on in the rest of the world. Having the top-of-the-line cell phone is not reality. That's called living in a bubble. Anyhoo the committee was split up into four subteams: charity, promotion, education, and banquet. I joined the banquet team as I kind of remember how U of Waterloo did it when they had the Engineers Without Borders National Conference at UW two years ago. But we had the OXFAM America manual to guide us. So it was good. Anyways.... I'm just glad to be involved with somethign now to consume my time here in exciting Tottori (trying not to be sarcastic... lol).

Tottori University Hunger Banquet flyer... YAY EWB related stuff!!

After the banquet committe meeting, Ana and I met up and we went downtown to a Jazz club.. thats right we finally found a Jazz club!!!!! One of the students in one of our labs named "Masato" (he was the one who was drinking the pitcher of beer in the video that I had linked from one of my earlier posts) was working at this club/restaurant named "AfterHours". The music was absolutely amazing. And since we had connection we got a freeeeeee dinner!!!!!! The food was delicious...

On Sunday Ana and I decided to go to Uradome Coastlines National Park (pronounced ooo-la-doo-meh) in a town called Iwami just 20 minutes by train east of Tottori City. It was absolutely gorgeous. When we arrived we ended up renting bikes went quite a ways down the coastline. Iwami turned out to be this big fisherman town very quiet and very "undisturbed by foreigners" hahahaha. It was absolutely gorgeous and the view from the big hill and cliffs along the coastline were abosolutely breath taking.

Me along the edge of the Uradome Coastlines National Park in the little fisherman town of Iwami

Settling down

It took until this week that it made me fully realize that I am really in Japan. It took me a while for it to sink in. I cannot believe that its already been 1.5 months since I came from Canada. This morning Ana and I went to McDonald's (Ma-ku-do-n-na-ro-du) for breakfast on our way to pick up our "Certificate of Alien Registration Card". Not only are the prices higher, but the proportions are smaller. She then tells me that with that price we could have had an amazing meal at home and she meant Tottori (not Canada). We know we have settled in when we refer to Tottori as 'home'. Since we got our bicycles the week before golden week, travelling around Tottori has been super easy. Going grocery shopping, mailing stuff, going to bank, going to and from school etc... has been much faster. I can accomplish more things in one day.

Anyways this past week was a real eye opener. After that 'golden week' of fun, the school work is starting to pile. Schools goin okay... not too bad at all... just tons of independent work.

Anyhoo... In other news... I decided to quit the Kendoo club. All three times that I did go, they made me sit in the corner to watch. And occasionally someone would come and chat with me and allowed me to do some steps... But thats about it. I could make better use of my time by either teaching or joining a club where I'm actually doing stuff.

Teaching english has been going super. Firstly, I got my part-time job permit, so now I'm gonna get paid approx 600 yen/hour.. which is about $6 US/hour to teach. The students know my name and I know their names so the environment is becoming more personal and they seem to be more willing to participate in discussions.

And one of the most AMAZING things happened. One of my students, name Mokkey, is a Peace and Development studies major and is very much interested in international development. He met Michele (Systems Design student who came to Tottori in 2004) last year so he knows about Engineers Without Borders back in Canada. So he invited me to help lead a team to organize a campus 'Hunger Banquet' where everyone raises where people get placed in various "classes of wealth" and will be fed food that matches that level of wealth. For example those who are placed in the developed world will get food like pasta and wine, whereas those in the developing world will be fed with stuff like small proportions of water and bread (I'll think of better examples later). And then they proceed to interact with each other in interesting ways. O remember telling the EWB crowd back in Canada that I will try my best to continue my EWB/Development activities in Japan and now I am. So I'm super excited and pumped up to help organize this HUGE event in an area I am really interested in. Theres a meeting tomorrow at Professor Keat's house (a professor from UBC who has been living in Japan for 20 years). Matt and Rebecca, both english teachers here at Tottori U, are also on the organization committee. So I'm super excited.

Matt and Rebecca also invited me to judge a speeh competition tomorrow put on by the Tottori University English Speaking Association. Supposedly last year there were approx 20 competitors and they made them memorize 'Heidi' and 'Hansel and Gretle'... I could feel the pain the judges had to go through after listening to 'Heidi' 20 times in Japanese style English. So this year, instead, they decided to allow the contestants to write their own story. Then I find out that one of my students I teach in English class, named Yuske, won the competition last year. I asked him what it was like to memorize 'Heidi'... he said he didnt memorize it but instead made up a bunch of stuff along the way and turned up the charm (winning smile) for the judges. Very slick... lol... he's an agriculture major here in Tottori U and he asked me what Canadian universities are good for agriculture and he had a 'Japanese guide to Canadian Universities'. It took me a while to think of some, but I ended up telling him 'Univeristy of Saskatchewan', 'University of PEI', and 'University of Guelph'. I never knew Guelph had an agriculture program until another sudent mentioned it. Anyways... tomorrow should be a fun filled day... judging and 'hunger banquet' organizing.

Today Otachi sensei (one of my Japanese language professors) paired me up with a Japanese student in the 'partnership' program. So at 1 pm, I met him at the library. He was ALSO named Yuske (this is another Yuske not the one with the english speaking competition), a first year undergrad medicine student (they have an undergrad medicine program here in Tottori U). We has a full Japanese conversation. It was tough at times for me and I had no choice but to throw in some English words here and there. And... he was nice enough to bike with me to the bookstore to buy a dictionary. It took us forever to find a good one. I wanted one that went both ways: Japanese to English AND English to Japanese. Furthermore, the Japanese needed to be in a form that I could understand. For most of the dictionaries on sale, the Japanese characters in the English-Japanese translation were in Kanji (chinese characters) and not hiragana/katakana (phonetic japanese characters). So, after 1.5 hours or so at the boookstore, Yuske and I finally found a Romaji (roman character representation of japanese words). It was tough... but we eventually found one.

GOLDEN WEEK IN HIROSHIMA (The infamous Atomic Bomb city)

So before I start talking about the amazing week I had in Hiroshima for the Japanense "Golden Week" I would like to mention something more serious. Yesterday night I got a call from my parents telling me that my grandfather passed away in Toronto. What hurts me the most is the fact that I cant be there for his funeral. His youngest grandson is half way across the world unable to pay his last respects. My grandfather was a quiet man, and according to my mother he lived a life of hard work. And just like that his life ended. He was an extremely healthy man, didnt smoke, slept really early, and was very calm. He would have been 92 later this year. It got me thinking about life. The average person lives to be about 85 years old. After those 85 years of riding the crazy (at times dramatic) ollercoaster called life, everything just comes to an end and you become nothing but a distant memory in the minds and hearts of your family and friends. It also has made me realize the importance of living life to its fullest. Pursue a sustainable career and lifestyle that makes you happy, and not ones that are pursued for the sake of making society happy. Well anyways, theres my little thought about life I had last night...

Anyhoo lets start talking about something more happy.

It just hit me today that I've officially been here a month. Its crazy. Time flies by so quickly. Anyways lets talk Hiroshima shall we.


DAY ONE: Friday, April 29, 2005

So Ana and I get up extremely early to go to the Tottori bus station to catch the 10:00 en route to Hiroshima. The bus ride was 4 hours long. It didnt seem as long as it sounds considering it gave us a chance to sleep. The "greyhound" type buses here in Japan are much more spacious and nice compared to the ones in Canada. They're like business class (vs. coach) bus seats.
The weather is scortching hot (around 30 degrees celcius) and by the time we got off the bus, we were sweating like pigs. As we walked to our hotel through the busy streets, it felt refreshing and defintely a change from the dead streets in Tottori. I really missed the city. We arrived at our tiny little hotel room and we dropped our stuff off and settled down. we then left to go wander the outdoor/covered shopping strip called the 'Hondori' and the gorgeous riverside of the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park. Right next to the edge of the water stands the "A-dome" (Atomic bomb dome), which is the only historic building left after the Americans dropped the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945. It has been kept in the exact condition as it was back in 1945. Just looking at it poured in a bunch of emotions. Then it hit me that I'm standing in one of the most historic cities in the 20th century. A distaster 100x more serious than 9/11 occured little over 50 years ago where I was standing.

In front of river and Atomic bomb dome


The A-dome (only building left standing after atomic bombing)

Baseball is extremely famous here in Japan. 10x more so than in America and Canada. Billboards for Ichiro, a Japanese currently playing for the Seattle Mariners, are alll over the place. He's considered a national hero here. So we decided to Hiroshima Shimin Baseball Stadium, which was right next to the A-dome, and watch a game between the Hiroshima Carps and the Yomiuri Giants (the Tokyo based team). Lemme tell you... the atmosphere was craaazy. It's like being in the audience during a leaf game, but escalate that to like 5x the craziness. We were sitting in the seats behind the outfield. And just our luck, the star player, Kyohara (no. 5), from the Giants hit his historic 500th home run right into our area. We had a blaaaaast. And during the game we met a bunch of Mexicans that gave us free beer. )In Japan, you can drink and smoke anywhere you want, unlike in Canada. There are cigarette and beer vending machines on the streets... thats how accessible smokes and booze is). Its so funny cause everyone we meet or see us on the streets assume that Ana and I are together, when in fact we're not. But we sometimes play along and toy with people's minds.

For a short video clip click HERE

my Carps vs. Giants baseball game ticket

Then we went to this little cafe called "New York New York". I felt very hip and cultured... lol... kinda like Jane Bond back in Waterloo. Then we agreed to meet up the Mexicans from the baseball game to go dancing at a night club called 'El Barco'. It was great getting a chance to dance the night away.

Ana and I lookin pimpin ready to go out partying

Me at New York New York cafe

Ana at the New York New York cafe

DAY TWO: Saturday, April 30, 2005

So this morning I went to the Memorial Peace Museum. Ana couldnt wake up and considering she's been there before, I just went on my own. The museums showed artefacts, videos, pictures, and American documents from the historic event. From a watch stopped exactly at 8:45 am (the exact time the bomb hit Hiroshima) to charred fingernails, to hundreds of post-war letters from past and present mayors of Hiroshima asking leaders of countries to stop their nuclear development program, a, like the A-dome did, sent a wave of emotions through my body. Just picturing the horror and devestation that people must have gone through. Familes wiped away and an entire city turned into ashes all because of war. A journalist named Yoshito Matsushige arrived in Hiroshima a day after the the bomb hit. He was only able to take 5 photos as he couldnt control his emotions to what he is witnessing. His little video documentary was aesthetically titled "Viewfinder clouded with Tears". After the museum I met up with Ana and walked around the peace park with the amazing sculptures and memorials.

Me in front of the Atomic bomb memorial. Enscripted "Let all soulds here rest in peace. For we shall not repeat this evil"

Children's peace memorial w/ strings of paper cranes inside the behind display cases

Atomic bomb victims memorial

After the park we decided to walk to Hiroshima castle. It took us FOREVER to get there and knowing that castles have moats, we decided to walk to the end of the castle where the entrance WASNT located. So we had to walk ALL the way around and back to the main entrance. The interior of the castle was ALL modern, there was absolutely NOTHING special about it. Altough there was this display case with this sculpture that looked like a giant golden penis. So for the rest of the week Ana and I had this joke that we walked all the way to Hiroshima castle and paid 360 yen admission to see a giant penis. We decided it's going to be our new god that we're gonna start praying to.

The infamous "questionable" statue

Hiroshima castle entrance

In front of the moat of Hiroshima castle

We proceeded to return to our hotel and there we decided that we're gonna go bar hopping. First we went to an Irish bar called "Molly Malone's" which looked EXACTLY like Paddy Flaherty's in Waterloo. There we watched a baseball game, again between the Carps and the Giants, but this time the Carps won. we met tons of people at the bar, drank Guiness, Asahi, and Kiren till like 11. Then we decided to go check out this little bar named "Feedback". The underground bar was TINY. Considering that there is a US marine base in Hiroshima, 5 of the 10 people that were in the bar were US marines. We didnt stay there for long and then we proceeded to his little bar called "MAC". It was this little bar that played ALLL types of music. I immediately thought of Megan when we walked in. She would
HAVE LOVED this bar. And EVERYONE who was Molly Malone's earlier that night was there. We found a pack of people from Ireland and we danced the night away till 4:30 in the morning. They played ALL sorts of music from Bon Jovi to Green Day to Salsa music to Golden Oldies to Irish music to Great Big Sea (CANADA BABY!!!). This dude from Ireland named Kyren (or at least that what I remember it is), who was travelling around the world, taught me the simple steps to the Irish jig. We had a BLAST.

Ana at "Molly Malone's" Irish Pub

Me at the tiny "Feedback" basement bar

Everyone dancing at "MAC" until 4:30 am

DAY THREE: Sunday, May 1, 2005

We got up in the morning and realized it was raining. we were planning on going to the island of Miyajima today, but we decided instead stay in town and do some shopping and relax. Ana couldnt get up so I decided to take the monorail/subway to see the "Fudoin Temple" a national treasure of Japan in the more rural parts of Hiroshima. The one main thing I noticed when I entered the subway station is that passengers that are waiting arent exposed to the railway tracks. This precaution will prevent incidents with crazy nut jobs pushing people onto tracks when an incoming train is approaching.

Japanese subway/monorail station

When I arrived it was drizzling so nobody was there. It was peaceful and GOREGEOUS. There wasnt much to see. So after a few photos and moments of reflection in the peacful surroundings, I went back to busy city Hiroshima.

Fudoin Temple: National Treasure of Japan

So we went to the lunch to eat "okonomiyake" which is a delicacy here in Hiroshima. The foood was SUUUUPPPER delicious. Supposedly Stone Cold Steve Austin ate at the same restaurant. lol.. we were mucho filled by the time we left.

Me enjoying my okonomiyake

Ana enjoying her okonomiyake

Then we decided to go shopping at Hondori for a few hours. Considering I was on a budget, I couldnt afford most things in the mall, but I did manage to buy these two AWESOME t-shirts for approx 7 bucks (approx 500 yen) each and Ana bought a whole bunch of other stuff.

Shopping at the Hondori shopping strip

Anyhoo then we met up with the Irish group we met last night at MAC and Molly's and we all ate dinner at this amazing Thai restaurant. We found out that a whole bunch of them are English teachers here in Japan and supposedly that guy that taught me how to do the Irish jig was born in Hong Kong... it blew me away. Then we all went back to Molly Malone's had a couple of beers and we went back to the hotel and passed out.


DAY FOUR: Monday, May 2, 2005

Miyajima

Today was gorgeous and the sun was shining like crazy. So we headed over to Miyajima Island. Miyajima has aught to be the MOST gorgeous and spiritual place I have ever been in my entire life. Miyajima is world famous for one of its arch like momuments that stands in the middle of the water. There were hidden temples and tiny ponds and waterfalls all over the place. And there were TONS of deer just wandering around. I cant even describe this place in words. You have to look at the pictures to see for yourself. Mind you ALL these pictures were taken by either Ana or myself not professionals. We spent ALL day there and we stayed to watch the sunset. IT WAS SUPER GORGEOUS.

Washing my hands in a temple fountain

Shrine in honour of an ancient warrior

view from inside a temple

gorgeous sunset

striking a pose

When we left Miyajima and waiting to take the ferry back, we met a bunch of Canadians and Americans who, like EVERY OTHER foreigner we've met in Hiroshima, teach English. On the ferry and on the train back to mainland Hiroshima We talked about how much we miss Tim Horton's Coffee and our favourite parts back at home. So then they invited us to go to dinner and have some sake in a little restaurant/bar in Hondori where everyone sits on tatami mats. We had a blast and the warm japanese Sake worked on my body pretty fast. I had about 10 shots and I was a little tipsy by the end of it. Then a bunch of us went to another little bar near our hotel named "Opium" and we then proceeded to drink more. Ana went back to the Canadians' apartment to party more but I was WAY to tired and I went back to the hotel and passed out.

The boys and the girls we met on the ferry back from Miyajima at the tatami mat sitting restaurant drunk on Japanese sake

Me and the western boys at "Opium"

DAY FIVE: Tuesday, May 3, 2005

We planned out this trip PERFECTLY as the "Hiroshima Flower Festival" started on the 3rd. I woke up early and I walked along the streets PACKED with people and PACKED with little food stands with ABSOLUTELY DECLIOUS FOOD. Eggo-marie and Linda (I consider them my food buddies back in Waterloo) would have LOVED this festival. I was wearing a Tokyo Giants jersey (rival to the Hiroshima Carps) and during the parade when the CARPS float went by a bunch of people started pointing at me. I was so embarrassed. I was wearing a rival t-shirt during one of the most patriotic days in Hiroshima. But I'm sure they could tell I was a foreigner so they'd understand. The funny thing was that a Japanese reporter wanted to interview me during the parade, but they soon found out my horrible Japanese and their horrible English and moved on to someone who they can actually have a conversation with. The festival goes on for 3 days until the 5th I found that in the past few days in Hiroshima, a bunch of local people think I'm Japanese. I find it so funny. I actually blend it. hahahahaha.

At the Hiroshima Flower Festival

The Hiroshima Carps at the parade giving me bad looks cause of my Giants jersey

Ocotopus = festival yummy food

Salted fish on a stick = another festival yummy food

I had this for lunch.. dont know what it is.. but it looked good... and tasted good

So anyways after spending some time at the festival we met up with some of the
Canadians we met last night and went to Molly Malone's and spent the entire night there just chatting and drinking beer and eating fish and chips. By this time, it was our third time at Molly's and everyone including the staff recognized us... It was soo much fun.... too bad tomorrow is our last day


DAY SIX: Wendesday, May 4, 2005

I dont believe this our last day here in Hiroshima. Well my last day at least. Ana's planning on staying one more day but I dont have much money left so I decided to head back to Tottori. I miss "home" as in Tottori. I dont believe Im saying this, but I miss the quietness and the "low cost of living". hahahahaha. It sucks to be on a student budget. Anyhoo.. So we woke up, checked out and we headed out for the Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art. The things in the museum BLEW my mind. I absolutely love contemporary art cause artists can go as crazy or as simple as they want to and one can still analyze it for hours. For example they had this ladder in the middle of a white
room and an exibit of just simply "chairs".

Hiroshima museum of contemporary art

Anyways after the contemporary art gallery it was about 2:30. Ana and I had lunch and I went to buy my bus ticket back to Tottori. She wanted to meet up with the Canadians again but this time in
town 30 hr away from Hiroshima. I had to catch the bus at 5:45 so I couldnt go so we departed ways. Since I had a few hours to kill I decided to go check out the Shukeien Gardens. I was sooo tired so I decided to take the street car instead of walk. Again, like all the gardens and temples here in Japan, was abosultely gorgeous and serene. I wished I had come here ealier to relax instead of walking around with my heavy backpacks and madly taking pictures.

Streetcar

Shukeien Garden

Picture of a bird you only can see in Japan

Overall it was phenominal trip. I couldn't have thought of a better city to go to during Golden Week. It was not too busy and not too quiet. We randomly met tons of people and started new friendshops. This trip had just the right amount of perfection.

Dont ask