Singing, Running Meat

We were granted with a national holiday on Friday, giving us an enjoyable long weekend. Thursday after school I went to Futaba Gakuin, a (very) small private school, to interview for an internship. As soon as Cameron, who already had a position, and I got there we were offered tea and chocolates. Mr. Shimizu, who is the director, was incredibly hospitable. He had me fill out a form with personal information, and just like that I had the position. It is unpaid, but our transportation to and from is covered. He asked me if I was able to stay, and I told him that I could. The internship involves helping Japanese students (elementary through high school) learn English. I started by helping Mr. Shimizu do some translation from Japanese to English. Through my time in Japan, I have realized just how difficult the English language is. The rules are quite complex, and I see that it is quite hard learning it coming from languages that have strict and understandable rules (as Japanese does). Our language structure is pretty interesting. I'm lucky to have learned English first, I think, as it is always easier to go from the complex to the simple. I enjoyed the challenge of trying to interpret the writer's meaning and reconstructing it in English. After this, I started working with a younger boy. We started playing a game that involves moves on paper. You decide who takes a turn by playing paper-rock-scissors, and it seems that the Japanese are raising paper-rock-scissors masterminds. Out of the four games played against the kids by Cameron and I, we were thoroughly trounced all four times. After suffering defeat, we started working on pronunciation. The boy was pretty good at reading, or at least recognizing words. He would often guess at what a word was, guessing based on length ('car' was a common guess for 'dog'). I wondered if because the written language of Japanese is hightly character based (where some character will stand for a whole word, instead of the English method in which all words are made by stringing characters together), the boy was trying to guess at the whole instead of breaking it up into the individual. My speculation could be completely off, and I could imagine this also being the case when a child who only knows English begins to read. (Someone who's had children who can read needs to inform me.) He was very good at repeating my pronunciation. That is, until we ran into volleyball. I say the following not out of a cruel sense of humor, but simply to paint a picture.

• Rohan: "Good job. Now try 'VOL-LEY-BALL.'"
• Kid: "VOREBAW."
• Rohan: "Um... 'VAW-LI-BALL.'"
• Kid: "VO-RE-BAW."
• Rohan: "VAW...LI...BALL."
• Kid: "VO-RE-BAW."
• Rohan: "Right. Good job."

Now, though this kind of thing is widely made fun of, allophones do exist and cause many people troubles while attempting to learn other languages. I didn't know if it was my place to drive a point, and certainly didn't want to make the kid feel bad. He was doing great with all the other stuff, that's for sure. Maybe I'm just a little bitter about paper-rock-scissors.

After getting home, we went out for karaoke in Akasaka. When we got there, the place only had Japanese style rooms left, so that's why we were all sitting on the floor. It was the best karaoke I've done. Blitzkreig Bop went over very well. After karaoke, we headed to Roppongi (the foreigner district of Tokyo) to go to some clubs. Strangely enough, all the clubs in this area are owned by Nigerians, who stand in the streets and incessantly talk to you to try and get you to come to their clubs. Some people get really annoyed by these people, but I enjoyed seeing their tactics in action.

Performer outside the subway

Karaoke...

...with surprise visitors

For those interested in such things, we see cars like this all over

I'm not sure what to say

The flowers are in bloom in the garden outside our house

On Friday night, we went to an all-you-can-eat sukiyaki and shabu-shabu place nearby our house. We had about a 30 minute wait, and I had seen a guy in the street on the way to the restaurant with a UAB shirt on. I went and found him and talked to him, which definitely through him off. He didn't share my excitement for the fact that both of us had been to Alabama. He had just visited there once for the medical school. Judging by his reaction, I don't think that he will wear that shirt in public ever again. After this, we went to eat in the restaurant which was really trendy and really good food. It's a lot like fondue in that you cook the meat and vegetables right in front of you (sukiyaki - boil in brown sugar and soysauce, dip in raw egg and consume; shabu-shabu - boil in water, dip in sauce, and consume). We were stuffed when we left, perhaps in a bit of pain. But it was all worth it because we all slept quite soundly that night.

Sukiyaki

The next morning we got up for a charity run for the YMCA. We had checked the weather forecast and it looked promising - only a 100% chance of rain. We got to the park and got signed up and everything. The manner in which the YMCA got permission to use the park is quite an interesting story. A taxi cab driver in his spare time does charity work for the YMCA, helping to organize events like this run. The YMCA had tried different venues, but none had really worked out, because the event is a six person relay race, and all the other places required that the exchange be in different areas because it was not possible to map out a 1.8km course at those places. They found that this spot in Yoyogi Park (near the Meiji shrine) was ideal, but after asking for it, were not granted permission for some reason or another. The taxi cab driver found out and told them not to worry. Two days later, he came back and told them that they had the go-ahead to do the race there. Turns out, the man was a taxi driver for the Yakuza - the Japanese mafia. It's nice to see that the Yakuza is giving back to the community.
It looked as if the rain was letting up, but as soon as the gun was shot for the race, the downpour began. I got the sash in fourth place, and passed it on in second. It was really exhilarating to race again after so long, and I felt really good. After the race (which we finished in 14th) we were given all sorts of goodies - food, drink, t-shirts, bags. It was definitely time well spent.

Entrance to the Meiji Shrine

The Temple Team

Running in the rain

EARTHQUAKE!!!

Well, now I suppose I have your attention. We did suffer an earthquake earlier this week, but I feel that the capitalization and triple exclamation mark in the title made it seem much more than it really was. It was M=4 on the Richter scale, so we just felt the walls and windows shake. When it happened we at first were really confused, then all got excited when we realized we had just made it through our first Japanese earthquake.

This past weekend was, as anticipated, really great. I took my Japanese quiz early and went with the guys on Friday to Kamakura, to check out a festival going on there. We were searching for the right place, and we followed a stone path into the woods. Suddenly, we walked into an opening filled with people. It felt very Secret Garden discovering this hidden majesty. After waiting for quite some time, the festival started. We quickly realized that it was well worth the trip (and the day off of school). The festival involved Shinto priests riding on horseback, shooting arrows at wooden targets. They would ride swiftly by with the target on their left-hand side, and without looking they would string their bow, take aim and smash the target. I don't think I fully realize how difficult it all is - riding the horse at full speed with no hands, not looking the target, and actually hitting it.

After the archery, we headed into the shrine, where we chilled with some of the priests. If you enlarge the picture by clicking on it, you can see papers tied to string in the back - something that is seen often, for good luck. We checked out the shrine, and after some time we headed on into the city of Kamakura, where surprises waited...

Barrels of sake (and other alcohol) given as offerings

Inside the shrine; on the right hand side are wishes written by visitors

At the top of the shrine steps

Different shrine, on the same grounds

Water lily pond; man on the right is feeding the turtles

Percussionists just outside the temple ground; we had to restrain ourselves from dancing - the beat was intoxicating

It turns out that the Miss World contestants were in Kamakura for that day. Not really sure what brought them there, but they certainly complemented the scenery. We went and got dinner in the town, and the Miss World ladies were causing quite a stir. They weren't too friendly, unlike my new, much more receptive friend, who simply goes by "The Colonel."

Miss Worlds draw a crowd

Crazy Kamakura Crosswalk

After eating dinner, we headed to the beach and caught the sunset. It was beautiful. We decided to get into the water, because its not every day one can swim in the Pacific Ocean. The idea was quickly challenged when 50% of our swimmers were stung by jellyfish. I was one of the lucky two to escape unscathed.

Happy beach collage

Saturday we traveled to Yokohama for a baseball game. Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan. The baseball game was a lot of fun. The atmosphere is much different from baseball games in the US. An adequate description is that it was a baseball game with a college football atmosphere. It was more impressive, because there was no set band or cheerleaders. The fans all knew the cheers and some had brought their own instruments.

On the boat taxi to Yokohama; this building had a grass park on its roof

After each game, the MVP is awarded

We headed to the largest Chinatown in Japan, and got some dinner. It was nice walking around, though Gary was really disappointed that we didn't find any fireworks.

China town

Just goes to show you have trustworthy the Japanese are - nobody will touch stuff that is not theirs

Sunday was a festival day (thanking the fox god for a good harvest?) by Temple University. An old man had come to ask one of the faculty at TUJ to provide some strapping young lads to help carry a shrine. It was exciting because none of them spoke English, and there was not going to be any university representative present. We were given headbands, robes and two-toed shoes to wear. We got dressed, and he tied our waistbands extra tight, perhaps to prevent hernias. We all carried this heavy shrine on our shoulders, and this would not have been to bad, except we were dancing on our toes the whole way. We chanted as we went, and I know that that was the slowest that I had ever moved to get anywhere. We took about three hours to cover a (estimated) mile. We took breaks along the way for water, but it was really enjoyable. Our shoulders were really torn up by the end of the day. After we finished the carrying, we sat down to some food. Food and drink were forced upon us, and we had a great time conversing with people that couldn't understand us. I was flattered when I said "Temple daigaku no gaksee" (Temple University student) and was mistaken for a Japanese speaker. When we told the guy who we were talking to that I did not speak Japanese, he was quite disappointed, and didn't talk to us for the rest of the night. I guess it's the thought that counts.

Aerial shot of the procession

Monday was another national holiday. We headed to the Edo-Tokyo museum in Ryogoku. Afterward, we headed to the Grand Sumo Championship. For some basic info, click here. I found that sumo is much more ritual than action, but one can easily get into the atmosphere. The crowd went crazy when one of the wrestlers tossed a huge pile of salt onto the ring (the wrestlers throw salt to purify the ring - but this guy used an exorbitant amount). The matches were exciting to watch, and we got to see the current Yokozuna wrestle.

The Edo Period museum

Edo period printing

"Who's winning the match?"

Those percussionists again - after the tournament, there was a drummer in the top of this tower

We concluded the long weekend searching for sumo stew - all to no avail (we did find it, but not for less than ¥2500 - about $25). A day or two later, we had the earthquake. Here we end our tale, right where we began.

Arts of All Sorts

Last week allowed me to see much of the modern arts that Tokyo has to offer. There was, of course, the art on the back of our Corn Flakes box (that I have since completed - and I must say that the roaster is looking quite handsome).
During the week Cameron, who runs for Cornell, and I went to Komizawa Park to scout out places to workout and run. The park was pretty impressive (it was used when Tokyo hosted the Olympics). The most exciting part was seeing a group of kids breakdancing in the park. I approached them and tried to ask them to take a picture. Only one of them understood English, and he didn't really know all that much. They were kind of weirded out (as I have been in the past when someone interrupts me when I'm getting my groove on), but I was simply amazed by their dancing abilities. It was neat to see them out there just having a good time. After I got the picture, I thanked them. As I was walking off, one of the boys who didn't know much English proudly used one of his well-rehearsed phrases: "Bye! See you next time!"

I joined the Shihan Moto Kyudo club. It was a type of archery that was created by farmers 400 years ago. It involves shooting a bamboo arrow from a shooting position. The group was really small, and we actually were shooting in a room in the school. Our club leader is really nice, and from the e-mail I think her name is Jennifer Jennifer, but I could be mistaken. Regardless, I was able to get it down the first night and hit the target. I also restrung the bow without injury. But it's not about that stuff; Shihan Moto Kyudo is practiced for its meditative qualities. The only down-side was sitting in that position for extended periods of time.

The next art experienced was karaoke. You pay by the hour and get a room with your group for that time. The room that we got had an interesting invitation printed on the front...You just look up the song you want in a book and punch in the number into the remote, and it automatically cues it on the playlist. It was exactly what one would expect, and a lot of fun.

On Sunday, we hit what I guess one would call "real" modern art. After getting caught in a downpour, we made it to the MOMAT - The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. There were many interesting art works, although I'm not too refined in my artistic tastes. We did get to see an original Picasso.
The above was my favorite piece in the museum. It wasn't even an exhibit, but it was just a really innovative concept. Just goes to show you how cultured I truly am. I didn't think it was possible, but there was actually a piece that was a canvas painted black in a frame. I thought for a moment that perhaps there was a fading effect with different shades of black, and that there was more to it than first met the eye. Upon further inspection, I realized that this wasn't the case. My first impression was correct - it was just all black.

After MOMAT, we headed to the Imperial Palace. You can only enter on two days of the year, and it just so happened that we came on one of the 363 that nobody is admitted. I got some pictures from afar. The place is guarded by a moat and looks immaculately manicured from where we stood.

Afterwards, we took the subway back to Jiyugaoka (the ward in which we live). We got dinner at a sushi-go-round. I thought I would include a picture of what I ate because it was certainly interesting. The plates are color-coded, and each color indicates a different price. The one on the right was more expensive, and I believe it was octopus. When I saw the one on the left, I knew that I had to try it. The taste was ... distinct. I'm not sure what it was. All that I know is that those little white things on top were fish, with a healthy topping of garlic.
Dinner ended and we headed to the 100 yen shop, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to visit. For some reason, they have American top 40 blasting, and it definitely is a money-saver. The place is much nicer than dollar stores back home. It has a very Pier-1 feel to it, and, just like in the States, there are a wide variety of products to be purchased. I took a picture of one of the shopping bags for sale; if anyone can tell me what exactly this means, there's a hefty share of Japanese yen with your name on it.
This past weekend allowed for a lot of good times, and the coming weekend promises even more.