Day # 4 Tsugaike Kogen 栂池高原

Saturday morning 8 of us piled in cars with all our gear and headed for Nagano. With the weather conditions as warm as they have been, it's not even worth considering anything at a lower elevation. We didn't even see snow until we were about 20 minutes from Hakuba. It's sad, but at least we can still board. And luckily, it had been snowing all night and snowed most of the day! So there was a wonderful layer of powder to play in. It was my best day yet. After I got my board waxed and adjusted my left bindings, I was able to do right turns again! Hurray! It was such a good day, we only stopped once for lunch. Nobody needed any breaks, nobody complained of sore feet or needing to adjust anything. Everyone was genki and we all wanted to enjoy the powder as long as possible! Pray for snow at Seaside!!



Here are some pics:

Another New Blog

"Life has been busy" is an understatement. Since I got off the bus two weeks ago, I've been running from school to school, class to class and teaching almost everynight after school. And on top of that I've been trying to get back into a study routine. My only relief has been snowboarding and sleeping (more on that in another post).

But my classes are doing some exciting projects and it's always fun to work with them. My adult conversation class has been meeting for 20 years with several that can remember the first class in 1986. In addition to their weekly classes, the write, edit and publish a zine every few months on a topic that the teacher (me) usually assigns. They have reached their 25th volume and in celebration I suggested they go html and start a blog!

To celebrate their 20th year as a class, and their 25th zine, I'd like to welcome you to the
Nyuzen Eikaiwa Class Blog. They have been writing, editing, and re-writing for about two months. Their posts are their own, I have done nothing to them! While we work on editing and perfecting their essays, you will find mistakes. But this isn't a writing or grammar class, and I always stress in my class that English is about communication, not perfection!

Please, please visit their blog, post comments about their ideas--not their mistakes! And add it as a link to your favorites and come back to visit again. Their are only two posts as I write this, but their should be 6-7 more being sent in throughout the week!

(this picture was taken last May when my parents were visiting the class)

Immigration in Japan

Recently, some friends and I were discussing the discrepancy between what immigrants make in Japan vs. Japanese nationals working at a factory. For example, Chinese factory workers might make $2-3/hr while standing next to a Japanese employee doing the same job but is making $12/hr. And this morning a friend sent me a link to a Yahoo News article about immigrants working in Japan. I thought I would share the article, there are some interesting quotes:

Japan Mulls Importing Foreign Workers

I write this as my Japanese speaking Brazilian neighbors (and their friends) are installing a new bass (or woofer) into their black sports car parked right below my window and next to my bumper stickered little yellow plate (the only one in town). They started this project at about 8:30 this morning while drinking beer. The seem to have gotten the bass working just fine and they (and all the neighbors) are listening to their favorite tunes via car stereo on a Sunday morning.

Unlike the views expressed in the article, I find their Sunday morning activities and the loud music a bit refreshing (although mildly distracting for studying). It's kinda nice to feel a bit of life in this town! It's so quiet most of the time, a little rowdy noise is welcome. It makes me feel like I'm living in a big metropolitan city somewhere. And if listening to a little bit of music in the parking lot makes them happy after a week of underpaid factory labor...who can get upset about that!!

Snowboarding To Date

Day #1

Mt. Hood Ski Bowl on New Year's Day!

Anglea, Evie, and Katherine drove up for a day of fun at ski bowl. Okay, so in actuality, I think it was a painful day for A & E because they were learning. And it was raining. But we had a good time and enjoyed a few really good runs. A day on the hill is never complete without a few good stops for drinks/snacks. Ski Bowl has a great little "warmer hut" on one of the runs with a massive wood burning fireplace! It was fun to just sit and catch up with the girls.

Day # 2

Tsugaike in Hakuba, Nagano

Linea, JP & I jumped in Bertie (the VW Beetle) and got on the road by 7am to enjoy a day in Hakuba. Normally, we aren't big Hakuba fans, but there is NO snow at lower elevations this year and so we had to make the 2 hour drive up into the mountains! The snow was good, but not a lot of powder. It was a bit cold and windy, but we managed a full day for our first day out in the Japanese Alps. But like day #1, one of the best parts of boarding is making a full-day experience of it. We had a lovely lunch of gyudon (a beef rice bowl) in a quiet little restaurant on the side of the hill while catching up after our winter trips to the US, Canada and Vietnam!

(sorry, no pics)

Day # 3

Charmant Hiuchi Resort, Niigata

After a late night out catching up with friends after winter vacation, 7 of us gathered outside our apartments and packed the boards, gear and our sleepy selves into two cars and headed for Charmant. With a base of 190cm, it has more than Hakuba! It's known for it's powder runs, but because there has been no new snow and the temp is consistently above freezing, all those runs were closed. So we stayed on the groomed courses and practiced our "skills" or lack there of in my case. I'm still in warm-up mode. It's kinda sad and pathetic. But I have a rental board and crappy boots...and I just can't make a right turn. I absolutely can not go from my heel to my toe! I fall everytime!! It's so frustrating. I'll try adjusting my board bindings...but maybe I've just lost it. Maybe I'm just not inspired this year! And to top it off, the snow kinda sucks. It isn't like last year. I just want to go back to Seaside, where I know the runs like the back of my hand! Where is the snow???? I haven't had to dig out once!

On another note, we ran into a "friend" on the slopes. He saw us in the parking lot and literally bolted over to give us a big bear hug. After that we didn't really have anything to say to each other. ha ha ha

Amy-chan, guess who??

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