Sleeping Jellyfish

My Dad has been curious into how Japan has responded to the Iranian election, and also some of my thoughts on it. I posted in a reply to the previous post, but I’ll repost them here for your convenience.

Even worse than getting caught with illegal downloads.

Japan does not really have a direct stake in the Middle East, at least not in the same way America does. Part of the US-Japan Security Treaty, is that in the event of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula, Japan would secure the oil shipping line from the Gulf through the Indian Ocean to South East Asia. In recent years, however, Japan’s crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia (biggest supplier) and Iran (increasingly important) have been surging.

Regardless, Japan does not cover the Iranian election much. Japan, although troubled, seems to be less troubled by the American financial crises than other developed nations, and thus with ample capital, has their oil futures secured. And in a pinch, there is always the option to beg Russia.

From my point of view, especially in light of the crapstorm that was the 2000 US presidential election, it is best for America, with Obama as its current face, to weather the storm. If Obama stays on course with his ambitions to offer diplomacy “regardless of who is elected” it will show impartiality, respect for sovereignty, and reassert that the protests and public movements that the Iranian election spawned were homegrown, and not a product of American intervention.

The US has already overthrown one President and installed a dictator in Iran. It doesn’t  need to happen again. Also, as the old mantra goes, “if you give a man a fish, blah blah blah…”; Iran has known how to fish for a long time (ie – Islamic Revolution) and has no need to be taught. This struggle over the elections, however, will be important, and does not need America in any way shape or form to talk down to it for any reason. They are growing their own strong political culture. If they succeed in ousting a dictator and preventing a dynasty, their roots will grew all the deeper.

US/OBAMA – let them fish. They know how, let them cast out their line and see what they get. If they reel in the same tired carp, you can address it, and already have information on it. But if they pull in something new, it will bring its own set of unique challenges to drag it into the boat, and there is no garauntee that it will taste nice.

Iran is changing. The Middle East is changing. The world is changing. America is currently embedded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Perpetual conflict rages in Palestine and Israel. Turkey is still seeking admittance to the EU. And although some would argue that these are centuries old conflicts, the most recent sparks were flared between the 1950s-1970s. Within a generation we could see a secular government, with an Islamic culture, prospering in the newly admitted EU state of Turkey. This would show acknowledgement of the West for the attention seeking Middle East. In accordance with a fully sovereign, Arab-democratic Iraq, these two nations would give example to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, for how secular government, Islam, and tribal/cultural/sectarian differences, rules, and governance can function together for the nation-state.

This is a very hot area. I don’t expect anything immediately practical to come out of the “fraudulent” Iranian elections. But like most things, it is the unforseen, indirect consequences that will make the biggest impacts, and for these I am most hopeful.

Iranian students were constantly engaged in the streets and universities, while also circumnavigating their government blocks on social networking sites like Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and others, to update and inform people on what their situation was like. This in spite of being brutalized by volunteer militias of government hardliners, having their rooms pillaged, and personal belongings destroyed.

Also of note, 1/6 of the world will soon be of Muslim faith. This is going to bring scrutinizing focus on Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, to be the change that the West would like to see in the Middle East. I don’t particularly agree with many facets of Westernization or Americanization, but to some degree, cultures either facilitate coexistence or the “weaker” succumbs to assimilation. The current conflicts in the Middle East, I believe, will begin to resolve within the next generation.  The rate of change in, and the amount of eyes watching and reading about the Middle East (and Korea) in the years to come will be unfathomable.

I added pieces on to my initial response. Also, please check out the second installment of the WP’s BP series on the Iranian elections. This one dwells on the protests in particular, and myself especially, am drawn to the pictures involving the students. Pictures 16-19 get me, and the one of the band of women rushing the security officer beating the young man.

We all know someone who has been on the front lines...

Again I have to comment on how many of the young people in these pictures look like my classmates, could be my classmates. These are not nameless, faceless, cave-dwelling terrorists. These are people. WP has a third set of more censored photos here.

This may interest some more than others, but developments like this will shape our world over the next 20 years.

Iran (say it E-ron, not I-ran) has recently held their presidential elections with several candidates competing to be the new voice of the country. Once elected, the president has restrained power due to prominent religious leaders, but is indeed the highest ranking official elected by popular vote. Though the Ayatollah still holds a very strong and powerful position in society, Iran’s political institutions seem to be gaining strength, or rather, support for reform and change. With 66% of Iran’s population under 30 years old, and many of its current prominent leaders aging and waning, Iran is primed to be a dynamic and changing country. In the coming years, we could see the crumbling of a conservative and beligerant religious regime in favor of a power structure erected on popular voting and public discourse. All very exciting things.

Photo for an Iranian H&M catalogue? Actually, some of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi's young supporters. See the Washington Post link below.

For a side of Iran that most American news sources refuse to show, head over to the Washington Post’s Big Picture series on the Iranian elections. Noteworthy is the contrast between photos #27 and 30. The young people in #27 particularly make me think of a few of my friends from Minneapolis.

For a more pointed and sarcastic look at the situation, head to the Media Hacker, a 21-year-old independent journalist and web developer from Texas. He recaps the last decade of American elections and compares it to Iran, without a real definite conclusion of who has a better process, but most importantly points out the failings of most Western media outlets to follow the aftermath of the election. Which is why he exists.

I haven’t been up to much lately, or at least I feel that way. But in reality I think I’ve been more active than my cool, calm exterior lets on. First, a few quick news articles and then the Noh Theatre production that I was lucky enough to see.

Short version:

North Korean blew up a nuclear bomb.

Giant jellyfish are taking over our oceans.

A new photo of the “tank man” from Tiananmen Square was released recently, during the 20th anniversary.

Free Rain Ponchos!

Noh Theatre is one of the well known traditional arts of Japan along with Kabuki. To those who have actually been to a performance it is often known as the slower of the two. It has its roots in Shinto ritual, and has continued today as a popular form of theatre. The place we went to was outdoor, which seemed really great, but when we woke on Saturday morning to pouring rain we were a bit less enthusiastic. I would say, though, that it made the experience even a bit better for some of us (others were miserable). No pictures were allowed during the performace, ane because of the rain, not many people took pictures in the first place, thus I’m left with this one shot of our ponchoed friends and the high rollers up in the “balcony” which is covered with a roof and seated with wood floor and pillows.

The style of voice used is odd and difficult to understand (even for native Japanese I was told) and I would parallel it to opera, in the way that it is performed in a singing manner, but with greatly exaggerated styling. The costumes are magnificent. Beautiful, lush kimonos for the main characters, neutral yet elegant clothing for the chorus and musicians. The most articulate masks I’ve ever seen. Some theatres, I’ve been told, have masks that are hundreds of years old and are still used to this day. For an idea of what I saw click here. I was sitting at about this angle, but the setup of the stage and the placement of the characters is very similar: the musicians in the back, the chorus on the side, and the main characters in front. It was a great experience, and I’m really excited for the Kabuki theatre trip in July. I just picked up my tickets.

On a side note, I’ve think I’ve discovered why Japanese people don’t use conventional ovens. Because you can make anything in a Japanese microwave oven (which actually works as an oven) and a rice cooker. Yes, you can bake cakes and other things in a rice maker. Behold, my rice cooker quiche.

I hand rolled some dough for the crust, but its on the bottom side.

This has added a whole new dimension to my cooking repertoire.

This Saturday in Anchorage, Alaska, Beard Team USA will compete against nations around the world (mostly Northern European) in the World Beard and Moustache Championships. Many states are represented by this years team including my favorites, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Washington, and Oregon. In an act of solidarity, I encourage you all to discontinue shaving for the week.

Do you know anyone that should be there competing this weekend?

I don’t think much has happened lately.  I’ve been gathering my strength, getting ready for the home stretch, the last half semester of my year in Japan. Midterms will be starting any time now, maybe this week or next. I think I’ve climbed out of the slump that I had been in the past few weeks and now have a new drive to make the most out of my time here, including my classes.

In fact, after talking to a few other people, other foreigners to be specific, we discovered that a lot of us had been having a rough time lately. I heard someone use the term “May Sickness”. It occurs in May, particularly strong in the foreign students who are used to taking exams and being done with school at the end of April or the first week of May. Symptoms include a general lack of will to do anything. Just hide in our caves, eat the last remaining bits of food we have, and finally emerge when we’ve eaten the last of our ramen and rice. It was like a fog had descended and made us all into recluses. I wonder if the Japanese students are affected by a similar phenomenom?

I'm better than I was in 3rd grade!

My roommate, Sandy, started an unofficial drawing club the other day and we had our first meeting the other night. Since I never really pursued my shreds of artistic ability, I brought along the trust ol’ box of crayons. It never fails me.

The first Drawing Club crew.

As I’ve mentioned before, I play a type of indoor soccer here called Footsal with a group of students. Usually its 4v4 plus a goal keeper, but if we have a big turn out for practice we will add another person on the field. Well, the other week I asked Sandy’s girlfriend, Min-hee, to take pictures of our practice so maybe my mom would actually believe that I am exercising and not just eating instant ramen all day. Here are a few of what she took.

The Wild Green Yonder

Whenever we have practice we walk up to the gymnasium along a small road that over lucks a gulley with a river running through it. I’ve explored a little bit down there and its quite pretty and exciting, especially with the constantly looming threat of wild boars and bears. Last time when we were walking I heard a grunting sort of thing so I went closet to try to decipher what it was. I’m not sure, but I was leaning towards boar on this one.

It was only drills, but it was still a good shot!

When we arrive, we get a good stretch in, do some short passing and then the captain usually starts getting us going on some drills. Since high school, I’ve actually come to detest drills and would much rather just start playing immediately, but foreigners can’t always be choosers, so we just play and have fun and what not. Yellow pennies, and that is me in the blue shorts and white shirt.

Receiving instructions from Our Dear Leader, Hayato

After about an hour of drills, usually offense v. defense type drills, we then get to the good stuff – the scrimmage. Anyone who has played or coached soccer knows the number count off. We circle up, and go in a circle calling off 1 through 4 to split up into teams. It took us awhile to get the system down because sometimes we would end up with a team of all gaijin, and we tend to be not as skilled and definitely in worse shape than the Japanese students. In fact, overall the game is a different style. All of the Westerners are longing for a full field of 11v11 but that is not way these guys play, so take the kick from where the ball went out, so to speak. Eventually we decided it is usually better to group all of the gaijin together so that we get split onto different teams evenly, due to the number counting.

Incoming!

Me and Michal

Masaki with a great shot on goal

The field is really just a a bit bigger than the basketball court

So we play for a good hour or so, and like indoor is, it is fast paced and quite tiring. Some people are better than others, and there always tends to be new people or old friends popping in every other week, so new teams and new blood keeps the game fresh every week. The Japanese students actually have a league that the play on, and were I more savy to how everything worked back in the Fall, I think I would have been keen on trying to get a spot on the team, but at first it seemed we were more a burden than a blessing, because we didn’t quite get the system yet. When we finish up for the day we put everything away and dust off the gym. I try to encourage the lads that if we play outside, the air is better, and we don’t have to clean up afterwards, but they seem pretty keen on the small sided games. Win some, you lose some.

Cleaning up

Sandy, myself, and Michal

Michal, myself, Jan, Pan-Pan, and Phil

After the cleaning, we pack up, get some inspiring words from Hayato about next practice, and are off on our walk home. In the Fall, there were monstrous spiders in the trees on the walk home. Now we have to contend with frogs and worms if it is wet, or giant beetles if it is dry. This place is really the wilds of Japan, I tell you.

As Mr. O has bridged his first 100 days in office, I have entered into my last 100 days in Japan through my exchange program with Akita International University. Starting the second week of May, I also plan to leave Japan the second week of August, shortly after the Kanto-matsuri in Akita on August 3rd, one of Japan’s most famous festivals. We have a local Kanto team here at AIU, as well as other teams from the surrounding towns that I believe to be participating in this years festival.

With less than a hundred days to go I am a mess of emotions. Trying to prepare myself for leaving, while at the same time trying to enjoy the rest of my time here. Longing for home, while knowing that as soon as I leave, I’ll be missing Japan and my friends here. Thus, the grass truly is always greener on the other side of the ocean.

For myself here, it is Sunday, a bit after 7pm, so rightfully Mother’s Day in America as far as I’m concerned. To my own, and all other お母さん’s out there, Happy Mother’s Day! Here is my collective present to you, thanks to my friend Ashley for the photo:

Sakura in Hirosaki

The sakura started blooming around here several weeks ago and have continued even until this week, but the peak hit in this region over the weekend of Golden Week. Golden Week is a special vacation time for the Japanese that surrounds several national holidays, including the now taboo birthday of the wartime Emporeror Showa. His personal name is Hirohito but was renamed after his death in 1989 for the era of his reign, the Showa period. Also within Golden Week is Constitution Memorial Day and my favorite, Children’s Day.

Because of the rain near campus during the prime blooming period, I was not able to take in as much as i wanted the rows of sakura trees that surround the school. Also regrettably, I did not make it down to Akita City’s Senshu Park for a proper ohanami (a picnic under a sakura tree just to take in their beauty). Also, while a large group of us went camping, two couples left a day early to stop at Kakunodate on their way back to check out the sakura, and even though they were there only 24 hours before us, they were able to catch Kakunodate in full bloom. It just wasn’t my luck this year, and though I feel great about all of the sakura I was able to see, as my friend Taro constantly complained, “It’s not enough!”

Since my camera was lost/stolen in Korea, I am at the mercy of others when it comes to pictures, but as I am collecting them I will be sure to add some wonderful sakura pictures on. Some people (gaijin) wonder what the big deal is about the sakura, and why the Japanese go crazy over it. I don’t have a terrible amount of insight into the Japanese psyche, and I don’t particularly like generalizations, so I will start with that, from what I can gather, a single tree usually only blooms for about 5 – 15 days depending on the weather. Cold and rain all effect the longevity of how long the flowers stay on the trees before falling and being replaced by crisp green leaves. This short life span gets the entire island riled up into a sakura induced fervor, sending people to the parks and river ways on weekends, and on long distance trips to famous sites, such as Himeji Castle, Kyoto, and the Tokyo Imperial Palace during Golden Week, depending on what areas are in full bloom. Even though I feel slighted in not getting a proper ohanami, everything that I’ve seen on walks, train rides, and hikes is enough to convince me that Japan has every right to go insane over a flower every Spring.

Our camping expedition was quite nice. The key marks are swimming in Lake Tazawako, going to an outdoor onsen, a great public bath house, and constantly eating whatever Taro was kind enough to cook up. Japan has some great tools for camp survival, including these ammunition box looking things that are actually rice cookers, and work great. Also taking pasta to a new level, when we weren’t eating spaghetti, we had plenty of ramen to go around.

At Tazawako Station

Train to Tazawako, me and Michal, hiding behind our books and poetry.

Yong Hyun is showing us how to set up the tent Korean Military Style

There's a dragon who lives at the bottom of the lake, so I went to go find it.

First night's BBQ, with plenty of veggies for me and Carly.

Morning nature hike

End of the trail.

Making rice over the campfire.

Lurking around at Tazawako Station before the bus ride to the campsite.

I hope everyone has had a splendid Mother’s Day weekend, and is taking care of their own Mums and Grandmums. Group study session tonight at 9:30 where I explain Samuel P. Huntington’s groundbreaking Foreign Affairs article “Clash of Civilizations?” to a group of Japanese students. Also, Manchester United game, kick off at 9:30. Let’s hope my Liberal Arts education has bestowed me with the critical thinking skills to make the appropriate decision. I hope nothing happens in the first half.

This is probably the exact opposite of what a concerned parent wants to read about their child half a world away, but…

I’ve got a bad case of senioritus. You know the debilitating affliction of all institutional education victims? Well it hit, and hit hard. I’m still productive. My Japanese is constantly improving, I’m keeping up on the news and what the latest international hubub is. Watched part of the Manchester United game last night, and I’ll be finishing two books that I’ve been reading this week. But when it comes to work work, the last thing I want to do is anything related to class. Its difficult, but I think I’ll be able to make it through. We have a bit of a break next week for Golden Week, where April bleeds into May and the well greased work machine that is Japan shuts down to go have a picnic and hit on their co-workers underneath the sakura trees. They just started to bloom here, and I will take copious amounts of pictures, I promise.

For now, lets finish up the Great Korean Exodus Pt. 2.

Adding another scar to the collection

After AJ had left on Sunday, we went out for dinner and drinks, and as young men often do when socializing in large groups, we became drunk and unruly. No trouble at first, but then we met the Korean Lebowski. If you are my age you probably have seen the movie The Big Lebowski, and for the others, it probably wouldn’t make sense if you did. Let it suffice that at one point in the movie a group of eurotrash nihilists say, “Give us the money Lebowski.” which is one of the handful of phrases we all actually knew how to say in Korean. In our case, while getting ready to leave the bar, we had laid some money on the table while sorting out the bill, and the guy at the table next to us put it in his pocket. We had originally started talking to them on friendly terms, but then Lebowski took our money. So we tried to confront him about it, in Korean, Japanese, and English, but nothing would come of it. So after a while arguing we cut our losses and left.

We headed towards the Monkey Town internet cafe, and while everyone was piling in down the stairs, I took a turn and wandered off on my own. Speaking from experience, this is not an intelligent thing to do. The stars (and circumstances) were aligned against me: drunk, in a strange place, unable to speak the native language, no cellphone. And this is where it gets foggy.

I woke up right next to Monkey Town, but unfortunately without friends, camera, or wallet, and with a clump of dried blood on my forehead. After gathering myself and sorting out where I was, I sought shelter at a pharmacy down the street and watched the US vs. Japan baseball match where we (the US) were brutally trounced. After the game I dozed off in one of the chairs until someone nudged me awake, and unsure of what to do next I thought I might find a free computer to use at Yonsei University where Yong Hyun and Yong Tae attend.

Yonsei is amazing. Great facilities, a gorgeous campus, and one of the most amazing libraries I’ve ever seen. I am very interested in returning there in the future for either work or school if the opportunity comes up. I accessed a computer, and did what all college students do once they sit at a computer: I checked my Facebook. Facebook got me ahold of Jay, AJ’s friend in Gwangju who was then able to call Yong Hyun, who was then able to come meet up with me in 20 minutes. But, as luck would have it, as I exited the library to wait for the guys I ran across Yong Tae chatting with some friends outside of the library. With a Yong Tae-sized grin, he shook his head as only a good friend would to another friend who has done something dumb. He quickly went into Korean mode though, assessing my damaged head and what we should do next (their hospitality knows no bounds).

We went to “the hospital”. I’m not sure if there is no differentiation in Korean between “going to the doctor”, “going to the clinic”, or “going to the hospital”, but I would have called this place a clinic. If you’re even mildly ill, a good Korean will tell you to go to the hospital. Odd. Regardless, Yong Tae explained that I was an alumni of Yonsei University (false) and had an accident the other night (I was more a victim of myself, but…), gave the doctor his information, and I was stitched and out of the office in about 40 minutes. No questions, just vitamins and antibiotics. A noticeable difference between Koreans and Japanese is their attitude towards rules. In Korea, all rules are negotiable and are accepted as such. In my experience, that can be anything from the speed limit to falsifying medical records. Total expenses for the medical treatment? About 5$. For two visits and pills. I can’t wait to go back to America and not have insurance when I graduate!

Doctor Edwards to the OR, paging Doctor Edwards...

The rest of the Korean trip went off without a hitch. I cancelled my cards, called Mom and Dad, borrowed money for the week (which wasn’t much ’cause Korea is SOOOO CHEAP), and was still able to visit AJ in Gwangju. Came back to Seoul Saturday night with AJ, had a great dinner and some wine with Yong Hyun’s parents, and then was off to the airport early Sunday morning. Blaise had given me the last two days on his rail pass, so I took local trains up the Eastern spine of Japan, staying over in Matsushima one night when the trains ended, and arriving in Akita the following evening.

It wasn’t until I returned and got settled that I realized what a pain losing my wallet was. I have to replace my Alien Registration Card and my National Health Service card. Without those two I couldn’t go to the doctor, and it didn’t seem to be a very quick process, thus, as you can see, me and Sandy gave it the ol’ college try, and taking the stitches out was really quite easy. Just a pair of pocket knife scissors and a desk lamp, and snip snip snip, 7 stitches out and on the desk. Virtually no blood.

Again, I’m reminded of the absurdity of the whole situtation. And the loss is setting in, too. Business cards, notes from friends, my Hales Corners Public Library card, things that I’ve had ever since I started using a wallet were kept safe and hidden in my right back pocket. I still haven’t replaced my wallet yet.

What do I think happened? I think I probably went upstairs from Monkey Town to explore the building, and stairs when under the influence are often times much more difficult than you would imagine. One misstep, an unforgiving wall, and a soju soaked brain combined to create a situation perfect for an opportunist who has no conscience against taking advantage of foreigners. I had a pair of work gloves in my pocket instead of the my wallet, and my camera was gone, which is why I think it was a 2nd party that took it. The camera had pictures from Florida on it, which is unfortunate, because that was a great time. Oh, Cruel Fate!

In the end, it was a great trip. I would gladly suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune for such an amazing trip with such excellent friends. They say that people bond better when they travel together. They are exactly correct.

Classes started today. This is my last semester at AIU before I return home in August. So far my schedule consists of:

• Japanese 301
• PLS 410 – Chinese Foreign Policy
• ECN 303 – Int’l Political Economy
• IGS 200 – Intro to Global Studies

I was going to take the Cultural Background of Language course but its already full, so I’ll have to find something else to fill the gap.  Again, no class on Fridays which is nice and 9am Japanese everyday, so I should be able to get in a good routine pretty quickly. I had the option of testing into JPL 302 but it would have conflicted with two other courses that apply towards my majors, so I’ll hopefully compensate that with some extra self-study using the next textbook.

March was an odd month. The weather went through waves of warming up and cooling down, followed by snowfall and naturally the melting. The first two weeks were spent mostly sleeping. Me and Sandy would wake up sometime in the early afternoon, make dinner, and then go about our evening. We were able to go snowboarding at least a few times with our Japanese friends, and we sulked at the loss of many of the international students who were returning to their home countries. Yong Hyun is now the only Korean guy left at AIU (which I think is hard on him).

On March 11th we had a birthday party for Blaise, and on the 13th I took a night bus to Tokyo for my flight on the 14th to Seoul. I arrived in the morning and had quite a bit of time to kill so I went over to Shinjuku and met my friend Kei and ate at the same awesome Indian restaurant that I ate at last time. My flight went well, and I made a nice friend on the way over. Her name is Eun Beol, she’s from South Korea and was visiting her sister who works as a translator in Tokyo. She noticed that I was reading a Korean-Japanese-English phrasebook and asked me about it, first in Korean, then in English, and when I responded out of habit in Japanese she was pleasantly surprised. She also spoke Japanese, supposedly better than she did English, but I think she was just unconfident. So we talked about whatever for the rest of the 2 hour flight, we both had significant others abroad, we both were on the verge of graduating, we were both worried about “what comes next” and other stuff. Switching in and out of Japanese and English as needed, she helped me with my Korean pronunciation and learning useful words, not the kind of words everyone learns when first start learning a language (think of what you learned in the back of the school bus from the older kids).

Florida was great. Thanks and Congratulations to AJ’s dad and his wonderful bride Carol for hosting us and for their wonderful ceremony. It was a “beach ceremony” with just the two of them, their kids, and significant others (I was one). Carol’s boys are great guys, and made me miss Wisconsinites more than ever. I’m pretty alone over here as the only Midwesterner (except for the two new kids from St. Cloud) so it was great to have a taste of home, even though we were in Florida. Oh did I not mention that? The ceremony was in Marathon, halfway between the mainland and Key West, which is why no one saw me. It was fantastic weather and I got a bit of a tan, had some delicious freshly caught fish.

We returned to Seoul on the 21st. What occurred that day was actually quite miraculous. It was the most fluid and uncomplicated “meeting up” that ever happened. There were six separate groups that were supposed to meet in Seoul on that day, and we did, all within a matter of hours. AJ and I were actually first, and so we went to a computer to try to check Yong Hyun or Yong Tae’s phone number after I had tried to use the ones that I had already written down. We had seen that a flight from Akita was coming in an hour or so after us and suspected that it could be the one I remembered Sandy saying that he was on. And guess what!? It was!

As we started logging into the computer, AJ spotted Sandy, Michal, and Yong Hyun come out of the arrivals exit. I called out to them and we rushed down to meet them. Then the Kim’s, Yong Hyun’s parents came to meet us, followed by Yong Tae at the airport entrance. Yong Hyun’s mom (from here on “Onma”) said that Yong Tae looked like a tour guide, which is hilarious, because he is definitely the planner of the group. Nick was the last one to arrive via Incheon, so while the others took the car back to the apartment, Yong Tae and I waited for Nick and took the bus. Yong Tae got a call from Blaise saying that he would be arrived on a highway bus early that evening and asking where he should go now. Blaise had gone south from Akita to Hiroshima with another friend earlier and then had taken a ferry from Shimonoseki to Busan. Yong Tae directed him to the same subway stop that our bus would get off at and bam! Before we even crossed the street there was Blaise, suitcase in tow. Six different groups, about 2 hours and we all were able to meet. After such and amazing feat, it could have been Karma that brought the next misfortune upon us (though I received the brunt of it.) To be frankly honest, however, it was several pitchers of beer, a few unneccessary bottles of soju, a Korean named Lebowski, and an internet cafe called Monkey Town that set the circumstances for Sunday’s incident.

I love Korea

Stay tuned, stay clean.

The intensive winter semester and AJ’s visit to Japan all ended on the same day. Yesterday, Friday, I saw AJ to the bus stop and gave my Japanese presentation on Milwaukee. I have my final exam on Monday but for all other practical purposes my work is done. Well, I am looking to skip the 301 level class and into 302, so I’ll be studying next week quite a bit, but I will enjoy the next few days of sloth.

AJ arrived on the evening of the 14th (coincidence?) and stayed almost a full two weeks until yesterday, the 27th, when she had to return to Gwangju to run a 10K this weekend and teach for the next few weeks. Then on the 14th of March we will both be going to Key West for her father’s wedding, a week on the beach, and then back to Seoul on the 21st. I’ll be in Seoul for about a week with friends who will have returned from AIU, and then head back to Japan about the 28th. I’m excited for a legitimate vacation.

I haven’t played Futsal, the Japan specific version of indoor soccer, in about a month and its beginning to show, though while it is still winter, that is not such a terrible way to stay insulated.

I had my birthday over a week ago, and while I myself don’t care to make such a huge deal of it, my awesome friends and family both at home and here sent me no small amount of birthday wishes. The Koreans especially have a fondness of birthdays that I’ve come to appreciate, complete with false cakes being brought out, “Happy Birthday” being sung, and then having the cake thrust inton ones face and being wrestled to the ground and playfully beaten. Some people joke that Koreans act like they are all family, and though I don’t like over-generalizations much, I would say that they treat friends like siblings. I had an awesome birthday party with Yong Hyun, who’s birthday was on the 24th, and am really glad that AJ was able to come and meet so many of my friends.

I want apologize to friends, family, and casual readers. I’ve been for the most part absent for the past month, both here and other forms of communication. Please send me a reply, email, letter, postcard, facebook post, whatever you want. It would be great to here from you!

AJ arrived late on Saturday night so we took it easy, I gave her a night time tour of the campus and introduced her to a few friends. On Sunday we went on a bus trip to Yokote for their Kamakura festival. A few cities and towns in the area have their own Kamakura festivals but Yokote’s is well reputed. These pictures are mostly from that festival. The Kamakura is northern Japan’s version of an igloo, with a small shrine inside to the Water Spirit, and a small grill for cooking food and making Amazake, a sweet rice drink that is absolutely delicious. Though it was slightly drizzling instead of snowing some of the time, it was still an awesome time, and inspite of the frozen footscicles we food warmth in each friends and hot sake.

Flickr sites are up and running, please look for the links to the left!

As a student, my main priority is to learn. Now many of the folks educated in or studying the “hard sciences” give us Liberal Arts folks some guff because we just read books and the newspaper and then sit around and talk over coffee about whats going on, who was involved, why did it happen, how did they do it, when did it occur. Class dismissed. Now I may not be a math wiz, or understand the intricacies of quantum physics, but I would say that my critical thinking and problem solving skills are top notch. So are my coffee drinking, newspaper and blog reading, and sitting on my duff talking nonsense skills.

I'm a pretty big deal in Japan. 新宿、東京

The one thing that all students should agree on is that we can only make educated decisions based on what we know. This generally falls into two categories: facts we’ve learned (knowledge) and useful experiences (wisdom). As I think back over my travels during the winter holiday I realize that I could have done a few things better, but I didn’t have the proper information at the time to make the right decisions. Two of those stick out quite blatantly at me, and so I’d like to give warning so maybe others won’t make the same mistakes.

1) Don’t use Facebook as an online photo storage site.

This might seem evident to seasoned photographers, but as I’m of the more casual type (in fact when I’m not traveling I never take photos) it didn’t occur to me that some photo hosting sites might change the size and file type of your photo. While I was traveling, I would have to make stops at a net café to upload my photos to the internet and make more space on my memory card. Between this blog (which allows me quite a bit of free upload space!) and Facebook, the later had a faster upload speed, and since I was often paying per 15 minutes I of course used it. Well, it crunched some of my pictures. Crunched them into smaller, lower quality versions of themselves.

Lantern and Light Exhibit near the Imperial Garden, 東京

I’ve talked before about setting up a flickr account as a photo sharing and photo storage page, and since I’ve returned I finally did, after I found out about the Facebook crunching. Check the link at left. So, as far as next time, I hope to be better prepared in two ways. One, use flickr to host photos online, not Facebook, so they don’t get smushed. Two, get a bigger memory card, probably the easiest way to solve the issue. I’m not sure what the price is at home, but 8GB SD cards are about 20$ here. It’s probably not what AJ/Peter/Jordan/Shelli/Word use but it would have solved my problem.

2) Check all transportation options before leaving your house.

Now I had a vague idea of what I was going to do, where I was going to go, and how I was going to get there, but about 10 minutes on the internet would have saved me a considerable amount of money.  I was frugal to be sure, I used strictly night buses all the way to Osaka, the cheapest public transportation in Japan, but I could have done better. I didn’t find out about the 青春十八切符 – seishun juhachi kippu – until I got to Osaka.  For about 23$ a day one can take as many local trains and some buses as they wish, even some night trains. With the two days I spent getting from Akita to Osaka, I could have done it cheaper, in about the same amount of time, and possibly even stopped at a few more places on the way.

I often like to do my traveling on a whim which often leads to exciting and unexpected adventures.  It also frustrates people a lot. Especially planners. Like AJ. But I really wouldn’t have it any other way, and I have absolutely no “regrets” about my winter break adventure, but I learned a few things too, which is good, right?  So, when spring break comes up, instead of going to Cancun, getting drunk, and sleeping with nameless strangers like all the other tools in the States, I think I’ll be going to Hokkaido, and hitch-hiking around the island. But this time I’ll be prepared, with a bigger memory card, my flickr account, and a seishun 18 kippu in my wallet, just in case.

Again, don’t use Facebook to store and share photos. These have been some of the salvaged ones.