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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

September 4th-6th

September 4th
Today, I did as little as I felt.  I woke up around 10am and took my time making breakfast.  Drove out to look for a good fishing spot, and caught some crabs for bait.  Fished for a bit, but the waves were huge and it was tough casting out.  I went home and literally became a vegetable.  Watched movies, ate some food, and then fell asleep early.  Today was a great day.
September 5th
Today, I met up with Kyle, Mary Margaret, Cassie, Becca, and Neko to join a sailing regatta.  We got to the clam of Kagoshima City (the bay area) and were assigned to different boats.  I was Michael Peachy for the day (since I actually hadn’t signed up, but Ayumi let me take the place of someone who was a no-show).  I was on the same yacht as Chelsea, and we had a great time.
Chelsea and an island

Our crew, I think, was the only without PFDs on, the only ones to run aground, and we also started our drinking 4 minutes into the race.  Epic.  After telling them that I had taught some hobie cat sailing, they let me raise the mast and then captain the yacht around a few islands.





I was sailing a yacht... in Japan...around islands.





We later stopped on one of the islands and had a BBQ.  We went swimming and I saw my favorite fish ever!!! The jawfish!!!  I even got to see one protecting a shrimp while it was digging it’s hole.  I was stoked and didn’t want to leave.  But, now I’m even more excited to go snorkeling/diving around Japan.
BBQ on the island with our crew


After finishing the race, the crew gave me a bottle of wine and their business cards so we can go sea kayaking in the future.  These people are awesome.  Have I told you that I love Japan? 
After the race, we went to an A-Z, which is a Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Ralphs, and car dealership in the same place.  They literally had beer, bread, veggies, power tools, school supplies, and a car showroom.  I’ve never seen anything quite like this before and I have a feeling I’ll be taking some weekend trips just to look around. 
When we got back to Shibushi, we went to a cool little place that serves okonomiyaki.  We have been there a couple times and the guys that work there are awesome.  Tonight, though, our server took our picture and put us in his digital picture frame.  We are the first customers they have put in their picture frame.  I think that means they like us, especially when we get 5 different items in one okonomiyaki.  We were being especially funny that night, creating some new Japanese-based terms.  We ARE gaijin perimeter.
Kyle, Becca, Mary Margaret, Me, and Cassie.  Nationalities unite!


September 6th
My first day at my ‘base school,’ Osaki Junior High.  The school has about 370 students, the most of any other schools in Osaki, but they still seem so small.  It amazes me that there are so few students but the schools are built for many more.  It all boils down to the population decreasing in this town, with fewer babies born here and more people moving to urban areas.  Honestly, it’s hard to find anyone my age (outside of other JETs) in this place. 
The day was slow.  In the morning, my brain was drifting in and out of sleep because they literally wouldn’t give me anything to do.  Seriously, I’m asking them if I can clean or help with anything, but they just tell me to ‘relax.’  I will literally fall asleep if I have to sit at a desk for an hour.  Luckily, our tea lady (who makes tea for all the teachers throughout the day) came in with a huge smile and tried out her English on me.  Be both spoke broken languages to one another and drank tea.  My kocho came in and asked to have an interview with me.  Just basic questions of ‘What are your hobbies, what was your university degree for, what do you think of Osaki, do you have a girlfriend, are you married?…’ you know, the usual.  He then took my picture, hopefully not for some single gaijin classified ad, and sent me back to my desk.  I have lunch with some of the students who don’t want to speak ANY English, so of course I start chatting away and making it really uncomfortable.  As it usually goes, something sparks their interest, and they being to ask more and more questions.  Today’s topic, if I recall, spawned after asking about fishing.  The boys lit up and started machine-gunning me with Japanese, while showing me with their hands, the size of the fish they catch.  We all cleaned our plates and brushed our teeth before the next class began.  It almost feels like college dorms again. 
After lunch, I headed to my BOE because they said I had a big meeting with some important people.  I arrived to have a meeting with our town’s Rotary Club.  They are hosting a party/event/sleep-over for me in some cottage.  Not exactly sure what’s going on, but the translator said ‘food, beer, shochu,’ and gave me a thumbs up.  Sure, why the heck not? 
After work, I headed to a Lawson conbini (convenient store almost like 7-11s, which they actually have out here) and paid for my plane ticket to Amami!  Erin said I could stay with her for a couple days, so I plan on doing some snorkeling, island hopping, and of course habu-alcohol drinking.  Her island has the famous habu snake, which is crazy-poisonous, but they put them in bottles of alcohol and sell it.  Her Board of Education also hosts habu/mongoose fights.  They de-fang the snakes and the mongoose pretty much dominates the event.
I did not take this picture...

I’m just excited to travel a bit.  Kyle is planning on visiting Erin during Silver Week too, but I don’t know if our dates are going to overlap at all.
I went to taiko practice tonight, expecting the ‘surprise’ party from the crazy girl I met last week, but she was a no show.  It was actually a good thing, because they let me play a very complicated song with them.  I just realized that I can read drum music!
 Thanks to those years of trumpet playing.  We had a great time reading the sheet music and playing sections of the song, but only made it through one page of 4 in two hours.  If we get this down, it’s going to sound awesome!
Hand-written music sheet for Taiko

I got home and Mary Margaret was awesome, coming over to my house super late to wish me a happy birthday and give me one of the best presents ever…4 boxes of Pino ice cream.  I can literally eat all these in one sitting, but somehow am able to reserve a little self-constraint.  

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