Just The Photo Highlights

Christmas Festivities!!



















Lots of Quality Family Time!!!

Time with Great Friends!!!!
























And Delicious Delicious American Food!

Happy 2007!

I've been in the US for over 2 weeks, but I'm headed back to Japan in 4 days. It's gone so fast! I've done a lot, but there are still a few things left on my list (see below). It's been a whirlwind trip with lots of relatives, lots of eating, lots of shopping, and did I mention lots of relatives! It's been great to see everyone, but I haven't gotten nearly the quality time in with everyone that I would have liked cause there are too many people to see in too little time. And did I mention lots of eating; the holidays are a constant feed! Everytime I turn around it's meal time again or someone is offering me a holiday sweet that I've just gotta try. I've probably gained a few pounds, especially considering I've done absolutely zero excercise except a day of snowboarding. Well, that salmon wild rice meal I've been waiting for is just about ready, so I'm going to go eat some more. I'll be posting pics and maybe a few stories when I get back to Japan. And hopefully be announcing a plan for "what's next?" in the coming weeks!

Things I WANT to do/Places I WANT to go when I'm back at "home"
(does not include EVERYTHING and is in no particular order )

UPDATED LIST 1/3/2007

Norm's kung pao chicken
NW Breakfast brunch 2-3x's (umm, so good!) egg tofu scramble
Unitarian Xmas Service christmas carols and the bell choir
Make Xmas Cinnamon Rolls/Fudge/Cookies with pecans and real carmel
Snowboard on Mt. Hood thanks for boarding with me!
Over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder shopping (desperate!!) multi-colored!
Costco so big, so much stuff
Eat Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican, Indian & Ethiopian Food done except Ethiopian food
Dairy Queen love the soft serve
Bagels & Coffee done
Brew Pubs--Movie & Good Beer wow, the beer is so good!!!
Rimsky's Raspberry Fool fabulous company and amazing dessert--sugar overload!
Peacock Lane on xmas eve!
Old neighborhoods old houses look the same
Chiropractor an amazing adjustment
watch a movie in the hot tub I think I like onsens better!
watch a movie in the big chair with mom YENTL and dairy queen!
take Max for a walk or 5 he can barely walk :(
Boot Camp Aerobics ha ha ha--no time!!
Fargo, ND (visit the fam--NOT THE PLACE) 20 relatives in 3 days!
meals at home (salmon & wild rice and AM eggs) it'll be ready in 5 minutes!

Grocery List:
Malt-o-meal/Cream of Wheat
Brown Cow Yogurt delicious
Morningstar Chick Patties
brown multigrain bread wonderful
avocados squash/zucchini fabulous
Odwalla juice green healthy juice!
Shredded frosted mini-wheats
Pepper Jack Cheese i love cheese!

"So This is Christmas....

....and what have you done? Another year older, and a new one just begun. And so this is Christmas, I hope you have fun. The near and the dear ones, the old and the young. And a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let's Hope it's a good one, without any fear."

---name that Christmas carol---

Xmas in Japan

The last few weeks have been packed full with Christmas parties of all shapes and sizes. I've eaten everything from cake to jellyfish. I've sung disney songs, traditional Christmas carols and watched almost naked men dance to "Thriller." Presents have been exchanged (and re-exchanged--shhh!!). I've given Christmas quizes at lunch, played reindeer races and dressed Santa in my elementary lesson. It's been a holiday filled month already. And I'm not even home yet. What's waiting for me back in the US...only a few hours and I'll soon find out! I got tagged by Joe, here is a list of my favorite holiday things .

The first Christmas party I attended this year, was by far the strangest! What makes it that much stranger is that it is a town hall event. This is my third year at this party and the shock value has gone down, but it's still pretty crazy to see what the city employees come up with for a little holiday entertainment! I decided to skip the pictures and go straight to video clips.
The Town Hall Xmas Party--Michael Jackson Dance

A few minutes later--Thriller (must be 18+)

My adult English conversation class went to a Chinese restaurant for our bon enkai, end of the year party. After stuffing our faces, we sang karaoke for two hours!

After our last English class for the year, their mom treated us all to Christmas cake to celebrate the holidays! This family lived in the US for several years. So, even though these two kids are in elementary school, their English is really good!

Every class is doing Xmas lessons. This is my special needs class at one of my elementary schools. It's one of my favorite classes! They are great kids and we always have a great time. For xmas we "dressed" Santa, made cards, and read a xmas book.

Every year the international cooking workshop group hosts a Christmas party. We eat temakizushi, make your own sushi, and pizza. Then we play some games, sing some songs, listen to some music, and do a present exchange. This years songs were especially pathetic. All the ALTs got up on stage and sang three horribly out of tune renditions of "Deck the halls," "Frosty the Snowman," and "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer." And then just cause JP and I are singing in a choir, we had to lead the entire group in "Silent Night" and "White Christmas." That was a sad sight too...both of us are sick and almost have no voices! But the best part of the night, my two favorite girls (the shy looking ones) were there for the third year in a row. Will there be a fourth?

The advanced elective English class at my junior high school made sugar cookies for their end of year Christmas party! Six students came after school the day before and helped make all the dough. Then during class they rolled, cut, baked and decorated about 50 cookies. The only problem was, there were another 300 that needed to be baked. Luckily, I didn't have any other classes in the morning, so I stayed and finished baking them. They all came back at lunch and continued decorating and eating! In all about 20 15 year olds devoured about 300 cookies that day! Some were really small....but they still ate a lot of sugar!! Their parents probably hate me!

After the Beethoven concert, a few of us headed to one of our favorite izikayas, Japanese pub, for some greasy grub. In the door way we found Santa greeting everyone. But the night didn't end there. Then we went to our favorite coffee shop because we heard rumors of an all-you-can-eat cake party. Turns out it was just a big potluck dinner and we only brought drinks. We were already full from the pub food, but we managed to enjoy lots of champagne, Christmas cake and chiropractic adjustments! It was a bit random, but I'll take a chiropractic adjustment wherever I can get one!

Last but not least, Linea's eikaiwa invited to their Christmas potluck dinner for the 3rd year in a row. It is one of the best meals all year. The food is fantastic and they are a funny funny group of ladies (and one man). We sat and ate and drank for over 4 hours. The night didn't end there...actually it never ended, I'm still going strong 24 hours later.

Now it's time to pack up the last few things and get on the night bus to Tokyo. Tomorrow at this time I'll be flying over the Pacific Ocean headed to the Pacific Northwest! I'm looking forward to more Christmas parties with lots of North American treats!

Wherever you are this holiday season, I wish you all a....

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS &

A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Pics from Beethoven's 9th Symphony

It was so much fun, even without a voice! Seriously, it was one of the best experiences I've had in Japan. I can't say I walked away with many new friends, although I already knew a lot of people singing in it. But the process of rehearsing for 5 months, and then being conducted by the most amazing conductor ever was worth every complaint I ever made about adding another thing to my schedule! I wanted to get a picture with him, but he was much too busy for the likes of us. Although we did stop him briefly to thank him. I've seen conductors with energy before, but I've never seen a conductor actually in love with the music, the orchestra and the choir. It really felt like that, like he loved every single one of us. When he looked at us, he looked at each one of us. He didn't criticize, he encouraged and inspired and all with this body language, face and eyes. And He controlled the music, and every single one of us. It's so hard to explain unless you see him for yourself. But even all our friends in the audience said the same thing.

This is JP and I with our rehearsal director. He met with the choir every week for 4 months. He wasn't the most energetic or 'genki' of people, but he sure made us work! And let us know if he wasn't happy with us!

Their were 4 amazing soloists, one was even local! They did an outstanding job and received 4 encores!

The orchestra and choir all together! There were about 80 in the choir and probably another 70 in the orchestra!

We didn't get video, but if you want a recording I can get it for you, thanks to rsz! I'm listening to it now, and we do sound pretty damn good, if I am allowed to say so! Thanks to Linea and Cheeks for the pics!

Beethoven's 9th

The day has finally arrived. Last rehearsals will begin in about an hour. Then there is eating, dressing and waiting backstage for our cue. The orchestra will take stage at 2pm, the choir goes on stage at 2:30. And then we stand there and utter a few incomprehensible words in German for an hour. Hopefully there will be a nice round of applause and then we will collect our belongings, say our 'otsukares' and be on our merry way.

Actually, I'm REALLY looking forward to it. I sung in a choir in college, but this is a big step up from that. We have a professional orchestra and the audience is being totally overcharged to attend (3000Y or $25US)! We have had two rehearsals with the guest conductor from Tokyo....WOW! He's amazing. He has more energy and 'genkiness' than any Japanese person I've met. I'd even rank him higher than my elementary school students. Just watching him conduct the entire orchestra and choir is enough to make me wanna sing. It's truly amazing. I've watched conductors from the audience before, but being able to see his expressions, directions, and the way he communicates with his entire body and face is truly an art. I'm excited to see him perform with an audience!

Unfortunately, I have laryngitis, so even though I know (most of) the words, I'll be doing a lot of lip syncing today!! Too bad, cause I'd just really started to feel good about it and find my voice again after years and years of not singing in a choir. Oh well, hopefully there will be a next time.

Pictures and hopefully some video will be posted soon!

がんばってましょう！

A New International Sport

.....what could it be? We already hit, catch and throw balls in a variety of games. We strap boards to our feet, we tie ropes around our waist, we surf down mountains, and we jump from bridges or out of planes. We float around in water-filled tanks or better yet, in shark infested waters and we run in circles making sure to stay in the lines. And that's just the beginning. Every year people spend bazillions of dollars on these sports--watching, participating and buying the necessary equipment. But maybe it's time to take sports to a whole new level. Well, some people think so anyway. It is taking off all around the world! If you search the internet for images, you'll find pictures of people from all over the world participating in this new extreme sport. And the best part is, you don't really need anything you don't already have in your house.

All you need is an iron and an ironing board + the sport of your choice. Extreme Ironing (EI) was started by Phil Shaw in 1997. He's from England (why doesn't that surprise me). EI is "the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt" according to the official website and the entry on Wikipedia.

What a brilliant idea! Except, I've never had a problem walking around with a wrinkled shirt, and can't remember the last time I pulled out my ironing board....but that's just me.

Read more from The Japan Times or from theScreamOnline.com

And this wonderful new fad sport has infiltrated even Japan.....Extreme Ironing Japan

If you're still looking for an interesting gift for that 'special' person in your life that, you can buy Ironing Under The Sky - The Story Of Extreme Ironing from Amazon.com. Maybe it will inspire someone to get off the couch and start ironing...on top of a mountain, or at the bottom of the ocean!

or even better, you can buy your ironing-loving loved-one a really special gift. Here's a video clip from Airkix via YouTube.com

So...who among us is going to be the first to strap an ironing board to their back and a snowboard to their feet this winter?? Any takers??

Going "Home"

The countdown is on: the luggage is out, the shopping is almost done, and the reality of going "home" for the first time in two years is setting in. The list of things to do, people to see, food to eat, etc. grows longer by the day. I hope I can pack it all in. If not, I guess there will always be the next time. Whenever that is.

I have no idea how I'll react to being at "home" or if it will even feel like "home" anymore. Cause really, I've put more time into living in my apartment in rural Japan than anywhere else since I was in middle school. I'm worried that I'll feel like a stranger in my own country. And I'm legitimately worried I won't be able to speak English as quickly as I used to. Or even understand some spoken English.

And I don't know what I'll say when family and friends say, "When are you coming home?" Because really, I find that very annoying. Home is where you make it. Right now my home is in Japan. My family and friends are all over the world, so home can be many places. I just hope I can answer it patiently and without too much sarcasm!

And then when we reach the conclusion that I may or may not be coming "home" anytime soon, I'm afraid there will be nothing left to say. Will they want to hear about Japan? Will I want to talk about it? It's not a wild and crazy adventure anymore, it's just daily living! On the flip side, will I have the patience to listen to them and hear about their lives. I hope so. I truly do! And I'm sure I will slip back into an easy comfort zone with many people, but there will be others that time and distance won't be so easy to bridge over lunch and coffee. I guess that is the hazard of being an expat. Some relationships are solid for life, others come and go, and others dissipate.

Enough of the banter...onto the important stuff. Excluding people cause there's simply to many, here's a list:

Things I WANT to do/Places I WANT to go when I'm back at "home"

(does not include EVERYTHING and is in no particular order )

Norm's
NW Breakfast brunch 2-3x's (umm, so good!)
Unitarian Xmas Service
Make Xmas Cinnamon Rolls/Fudge/Cookies
Snowboard on Mt. Hood
Over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder shopping (desperate!!)

Costco
Eat Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican, Indian & Ethiopian Food
Dairy Queen
Bagels & Coffee
Brew Pubs--Movie & Good Beer
Rimsky's Raspberry Fool
Peacock Lane
Old neighborhoods
Chiropractor

watch a movie in the hot tub

watch a movie in the big chair with mom

take Max for a walk or 5

Boot Camp Aerobics

Fargo, ND (visit the fam--NOT THE PLACE)

meals at home (salmon & wild rice and AM eggs)

Grocery List:
Malt-o-meal/Cream of Wheat
Brown Cow Yogurt
Morningstar Chick Patties
brown multigrain bread

avocados
squash/zucchini
Odwalla juice
Shredded frosted mini-wheats
Pepper Jack Cheese

Another 4,000 written, 28,000 to go

Life in the academic lane--a view from my computer! Wow, isn't life exciting in rural Japan!

Well, I wrote and printed (3x) another 4, 317 words (36 pages)! Whew! Glad that's done! Now I only have about 28,000 words to come up with before I check off MA from my life "to do" list!

It's gonna be a long few years!

A Teaser

Here is a little teaser of what's to come on December 17th at 2pm in Colare!!

Have you got your ticket yet?

Beethoven No. 9

Happy Thanksgiving

Giving Thanks in 舟見 (video)!!!!



This is JP's third year cooking up the bird! It gets tastier every year! Thanks dude! I can't wait for next year! ;)

Everyone loved the turkey, even the first timers. The Japanese girls couldn't get enough...they were pulling it apart, trying to get every last piece of meat by the end. Isn't Mai-chan cute?

This table isn't very impressive because we kept all the food in another room. With 28 people sitting around two tables, the traditional 'passing' method doesn't work so well. We stuck to buffet style!

After a few round of turkey and all the fixings we had to get some fresh air. We went for a walk in the woods, around the lake and found ourselves in the playground!

We ran around, played on the monkey bars, went down the slide, played a quick game of ultimate and even....

...hung upside down.

All in all it was a great Thanksgiving with all the fixin's, except the cranberry sauce! Oh well, we had sushi and yakisoba and all sorts of other goodies in addition to the Thanksgiving fare...anything else would have gotten lost in the mix. I'll be eating mashed potatoes and gravy for weeks. And I even have a little corn left to be baked this weekend--hurray!!

After cleaning up the house and packing up all the leftovers, some of us third+ years (and friends) headed to 山の越　for a few drinks and lots of catching up! Where will we all be in a year? What will we be doing? Who will we be sharing Thanksgiving with next year? Lots to be thankful for...choices, opportunities, friends, great food, and family. Thanks for another great Thanksgiving!

Sumo & Swimming

I need to finish my paper, I need to finish my paper, I NEED to finish my paper...but I just can't!

So...in other news the sumo boys are doing it up in Fukuoka right now. If you can't watch them on your TV, I strongly recommend you try the live Video! Of course, if you live in some far away distant land, you'll have to stay up late to watch it...but trust me, it's worth it! I'm however missing most of it 'cause of this stupid paper that needs to get finished.

And in more local news...I swam in another swim meet this weekend. Hurray! Life is always fun in the water. Read about it on my workout blog A Mad Duck.

Now if we could only combine sumo and swimming....that would be an interesting sporting event. What about floating sumo--an island in the middle of the pool that they have to push each other off of? I mean really, a mawashi isn't that much different from a speedo! I think it could work!

Back to the paper.......

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Did you know there is a world RPS society? that there is a USA RPS League? that you can win money at RPS tournaments? I didn't! I just thought it was a game I play with my kids 100's of times a day for pure amusement and to decide who gets the extra dessert. But there is strategy and technique, and the best players have agents! What??

Listen to this interview with former Rock, Paper, Scissors Champion, Master Roshambollah, from Morning Edition on NPR

Tomorrow is the RPS Championship in Toronto! I wonder if they have a subdivision championship for the Japanese version, じゃんけんぽん?

バルトの楽園 & ベートーヴィん No. 9 Op. 125

Last night my neighbors and I went to see the movie バルトの楽園　Baruto no Gakuen. It was the first movie in a movie theater I've seen since Linea and I watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" before we almost missed our ferry from Hokkaido to Honshu. And before that, I can't remember the last movie I've seen on the big screen. Sad but true!

I'll admit it, the movie made me cry! I had tears in my eyes by the end. I'm a sucker for these cross-cultural flicks with happy endings. This movie takes place in a Japanese POW Camps during WWI on the island of Shikoku in Japan. German POWs are being held there, but they have a pub, printing press and bakery on site. They can play soccer in the courtyard. And with permission, they can leave the grounds and walk around the town. They are free to come and go. They even go on field trips to the beach. It's not a prision, it's just a holding area until the war ends.

When the war finally does end the prisoners prepare for their farewell. Unlike saying good-bye to some horride retchid place, they have made friends, established relationships, and will miss this POW camp they called home for several years. To celebrate and say good-bye, they decide to preform Beethoven's 9th Symphony (The Ode to Joy), but with a limited orchestra and a limited choir (only men). It was the first time this symphony was played in Japan, but not the last! It started an 'Ode to Joy' obsession! It's no wonder the soldiers decided the Beethoven's 9th was appropriate when you read the translation of the fourth movement is below.

Without knowing anything about the movie before hand, I left the theater very skeptical that it could be based on a true-story. I didn't think a POW camp in Japan could ever be or ever was so lush! But in fact, it's based on a true story. Camp Banto, as it was called, is now open to the public and can be toured. You can Visit Camp Banto and take a tour of the barricks and German bakery they had on site. This camp was run by General Toyohisa Matsue. He had very unique and humane ideas about how a POW camp should operate. If only all generals were so humane!

Maybe my excitement about the film was just seeing it on a big screen (a rare event these days). Or maybe it's because I could relate to the cross-cultural moments the characters shared. Or maybe it's because I have a hard time believing that prisoners and locals could ever live so cordially together, but apparently they did once upon a time. But regardless of my personal reasons for enjoying it, I recommend watching it. I'm not sure if it'll be released in the US or maybe it already has, but try to see it! It's a feel good kind of movie. Here are links to the Introduction (in English) and the Story (in English) . It's a bilingual movie, both in German and Japanese. Without English subtitles, I know I missed a lot of it. Although it's also the kind of movie that doesn't really need subtitles.

And if all those other websites are too much to get through, spend a few minutes and read this really cute version of the story written by children, The Symphony of Friendship, it's a picture book online.

As for Beethoven's 9th....
Every December, there are literally hundreds of groups performing Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Since WWI it has gained tremendous popularity all over Japan and there is even an annual 5,000 member choir that has been performing it in the Tokyo Sumo Stadium for over 20 years. Beethoven's 9th has become an annual event adopted by Japan, but started in a German POW camp in Shikoku. I'm sure the 9th symphony has reached far beyond Beethoven's wildest dreams!

This December 17th, JP & I will join in the fun. We've become part of the masses of choirs and orchestras performing the 'ode obession' during the holidays. Tickets are on sale!

ベートーヴィん　No. 9　コンサート
コラーレ、　カーターホール
12月17日　日曜日　　　　
１４：００時
３０００円

Text of the fourth movement
(English translation, taken from Wikipedia)
Oh friends, not these tones!
Rather let us sing more
cheerful and more joyful ones.
Joy! Joy!
Joy, thou glorious spark of heaven,
Daughter of Elysium,
We approach fire-drunk,
Heavenly One, your shrine.
Your magic reunites
What custom sternly divides;
All people become brothers
(Schiller's original:
What custom's sword separates;
Beggars become princes' brothers)
Where your gentle wing alights.
Whoever succeeds in the great attempt
To be a friend of a friend,
Whoever has won a lovely woman,
Let him add his jubilation!
Yes, whoever calls even one soul
His own on the earth's globe!
And who never has, let him steal,
Weeping, away from this group.
All creatures drink joy
At the breasts of nature;
All the good, all the evil
Follow her roses' trail.
Kisses gave she us, and wine,
A friend, proven unto death;
Pleasure was to the worm granted,
And the cherub stands before God.
Glad, as his suns fly
Through the Heavens' glorious plan,
Run, brothers, your race,
Joyful, as a hero to victory.
Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Do you bow down, you millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek Him beyond the star-canopy!
Beyond the stars must He dwell.
Finale repeats the words:
Be embraced, ye millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Be embraced,
This kiss for the whole world!
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods

Congratulations Democrats

...for stealing back The House and The Senate!! Wow, maybe the last two years with "he who must not be named" won't be so tragic and horrific afterall (maybe).

And Congratulations to my Aunt A for scoring a democratic victory in her hometown! Hooray!

When do we start addressing you as "Your honor the mayor?"

さよなら 秋！ こにちわ 冬！

Good-bye fall! Hello winter!

Last weekened was a sunny, warm, beautiful 3-day holiday. And yesterday, Monday, it turned ugly. It started raining, the wind picked up, and it got dark and grey. There was thunder and lightning last night and today. And it's COLD!

Luckily, I got in a fall leaf "viewing" day before the official start of winter in Japan (today). Last Friday, some friends and I headed to the Tsugaike National Park in Nagano for a light hike in the mountains. Takae and I tried to do this hike in August, but we got stormed out half way up the mountain between the gondola and the ropeway. We were determined to try it again!

This time around, we were really lucky, Asuka was able to join us and we got a beautiful sunny day! It was a lovely day of walking, and admiring the view-mountain tops, leaves of every color, and the mountain wetlands that make up the national park.

And of course, we had a gourmet meal on the mountain. We all brought a little something to share and it was fabulous--onigiri (rice balls), dried fugu (blow fish), pasta salad, tamagoyaki (fried egg roll), vegetables, meatballs, chocolate, oranges, cookies, cakes, hot tea and hot milk tea! After lunch we headed back down the mountain (via the ropeway and gondola) and went to an onsen. We ended up traveling down a road that took us deep into the mountains and further into the beautiful fall colors. The onsen was a very small, very very hot bath coated in inches of rock mineral deposits! It felt fabulous, too bad it wasn't outside with a view of the leaves!

Thanks girls! It was a great day! Let's start planning our next adventure!


Seriously, now I HAVE to get back to work and finish this #%*@ paper!

It's Time to Vote!!

A year ago this week, I accidently deleted my blog! To celebrate one year of blogging (on the current blog), over 10,300 hits, and over 112 posts, I'm posting a POLL!! The future of my blog depends a lot on my future. I won't necessarily base my decision on the results, but I'll take it into consideration!

And for all of you out there who read my blog on a regular basis....and I know you're there because I have a stat counter, please vote, and please feel free to leave comments!

Before you vote below consider these points:

1. I've just started an MA program, if I stay I can continue paying for my course and finish the coursework in Japan (while still saving money & living well).
2. I really want to see more of the world.
3. I really want to work in the Middle East.
4. I'm very comfortable here! I love my apartment, and I enjoy my job (usually).
5. If I stay, I can snowboard for another year.
6. If I stay, that will be more money in my savings account to do more later.
7. If I leave, my finances will be tight, and I'll have to take a leave of absense from my MA program.
8. If I stop my MA, I may not start it up again!
9. If I stay, I can theoretically learn more Japanese.
10. If I leave, I can start learning Arabic or another language.
11. The dating pool here has been drained!
12. Who needs a date, I love living alone!
13. I have a really good online study support group.
14. I love eating school lunch (usually).
15. I hate packing. I mean I HATE packing!

Should Kirsten stay in Japan for a 4th year?

Yes, of course!! No way, get out while you can. Flip a coin, there isn't a bad decision Travel the world for a year, I'll send monetary donations to support you!

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