Hotel Miyakoya Tsuruoka

... I do always enjoy this part of traveling, cause I can never really take it seriously. They asked me what color my eyes were. So, I shut my eyes, said red, and didn't open them til they tackled me to the ground. And then they asked me to declare my belongings. I told them 3 bags of clothes, 3 bows, and 19 arrows. National security at its best, the officer asked me, "Open the bags of clothes, sir." I guess it would take a while to string the bow, unwrap the ...

... too easy for twenty-somethings, whose maturity is still developing, to come here and revert to an earlier stage.

Examples of callous, childish, or just plain immoral deeds pepper the gossip of those who have dealt with our organization before, besides those deeds I’ve witnessed. Imagine being paid more than most starting teachers in Japan and having no real boss, no clear responsibilities, no punishment for delinquent behavior, no challenge ...

'To pay homage to our past is the only gesture that also includes the future.'

Four weeks ago, my family came out to Japan. After spending a few days in Tokyo, they came up to visit me in Akita. The weather was considerate and timing was accurate. The first place I took them to in Kisakata was my "anaba," getaway if you will. It is the exact place I go when ...

... spenderade vi två nätter på mysiga hotellet Shoufuusou, alltså en heldag i Kisakata. Tiden ägnades mest åt att bada gul onsen och promenera på stranden. Tanken var att vi skulle bada, men det var mulet och regnigt, och under natten blåste det dessutom upp till storm, så imorse var det extrema vågor, och vårt tåg hem var en och en halv timme försenat.

Såhär spännande har alltså mina första dagar i Japan varit. Nu har jag återvänt till civilisationen (härmed klassas ...

On Tuesday, I gave a pulpit-pounding speech to the entire elementary school in Japanese about my childhood in America. Rather than summarize the speech, I’ll go over the visual aids, which do a far more elegant job of paraphrasing my wonder years: a 2-dollar bill, a Nintendo Entertainment System juxtaposed to a Japanese Famicon (the equivalent system), a scary Rottweiler, a collage of American school lunch items, including pizza ...

... ka?" (how do you say ichigo in English?). I answer, "Nanako-chan, ichigo is strawberry." With a single nod of the head, she grabs her chopsticks and zones in on the vegetables she has yet to eat. Little kids are sometimes hard to understand though. Whether it's the speed with which they speak, the words they say, or the combination of those with a mouthful of food, I can't always catch what they are saying.

But there was one day that I can't forget. A ...

Spring has landed and the weather has ripened. Her warm westerly winds brought the Tohoku Region bearable weather and friendly fire from North Korea. In case it missed newspapers at home, North Korea sent a "satellite" into "orbit" three days ago. But, it seems to be that the "satellite" was actually a long-range ballistic missile that didn't fly into "orbit," but rather splashed into Pacific Ocean some 2,000 kilometers off the ...

... who answered said his full name: "Barack Hussein Obama." When I asked his age, they guessed correctly: 47. Later some girls in the English elective course wrote me a "love" letter (it had hearts around my name anyway). When I opened it up, the phrase "yes we can!" and "change" was scrawled in every corner except the bottom where Yuko-san, the most advanced of the group, had written: "Do you like Bush or Obama?" Her preference was no secret. Kikuchi ...

... real gift was that I didn't have to teach last night as I was planning to plod through a letter written by Groucho Marx to his brother about a visit from T. S. Eliot. None of them knew who Groucho Marx was (but they did know T. S. Eliot). Thinking back, this birthday surprise may have been orchestrated to skip this dreadful lesson, which was an ingenuous move on the mastermind's part. Overall, what I learned is that, despite my efforts, I have friends here.

... s laundry in a local river and an orangutan climbed down from the trees, picked up a bar of soap and a scrub, and started helping the man wash the linens in his own ape-like way, his orange, furry arms mimicking the man's every move; thus the term, "aping." I would really like to bring this practice into mainstream conversation. So, to any of you who see me on a regular basis, please repeat whatever I say precisely and emotionlessly whenever you find it adequately amusing.