Sakata Tokyu Inn

... of compromise where I readjust to this pace of life and seek future employment. We'll see how that all shapes up. There is a sort of authenticity in the air now that wasn't there last month.

"The point is not to resist the flow. You go up when you're supposed to go up and down when you're supposed to go down. If you resist the flow, everything dries up. If everything dries up, the world is darkness." - Haruki Murakami, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle.

... by family, money, pride, emotion, security, ambition, psychology, and other things accepted as a part of the diversity of English-speaking societies. The Japanese are diverse too. Their common culture is window-dressing compared to their common humanity, and I can’t take any assessment of their culture seriously without some sense that the assessor knew them as people first.

The last theme of my blogs has been my ongoing criticism of others ...

... Ryokan, which is a traditional Japanese Inn up in the foothills of Mt. Chokai near one of my elementary schools. The place had two small onsens, yukatas that were ironed just right, and pillows designed to undisturb sleep. In terms of presentation and color, the dinner and breakfast was nothing less than stellar. The raw oysters put a few butterflies in my basket ...

... ställen med tillgång till internet som civiliserade) och sitter på Pearl City Hotel i Akita efter lite nödshopping (typ jeans, det var way mycket kallare här än vad någon hade förväntat sig, och jag hade bara shorts och linnen med mig) och middag i mormor och morfarsd hus. Planerna för imorgon är att hälsa på mormor som ligger på sjukhus, och sen tonkatsu-lunch med morfar. Jag sitter fast här i Akita i en vecka eller så, men sen åker vi ner till Izu, och efter det; Tokyo!

... after I leave Japan), and we’re starting with pronunciation. The girls -- who are twins -- are charged with giving seven-minute speeches in English having never uttered a V, a TH, or an L in their entire lives… and one of the main characters is named “Calvero.” My effort so far has involved recording my dramatic readings of the scripts, trying my best to sound like a struggling dancing queen (the first line is ...

... body is harder than oak, a densely packed receptacle of meat and gristle, throbbing in its barely restrained power. That’s what I would say, anyway, if it wasn’t just my thighs that have swelled in the past two years. My forelegs and arms are still sticks, and locals still pat my gut, forsaking all I’ve learned of Japanese politeness, and ask, “six months ...

... any case, the reason I suddenly have time to study now is that, because teaching English to 5th and 6th graders is becoming mandatory across Japan, the homeroom teachers will actually be responsible for their lessons starting in April, not me (April is the beginning of the school year). Part of me mourns the loss of responsibility. The other, much larger, part embraces the chance to finish out my career in Japanese education in carelessness and sloth.

... level and drowning my home. This is a tangent, but, having a dormant mountain in close proximity is kinda like having a bully as your best friend in junior high school. With the bully on your side, you can pretty much do anything you want and be fine, whether its pantsing the school jock, messing up a nerd's notebook, eating the vegetarian's salad, or burning all Magic the Gathering cards you see. But once he turns on you, it's Game Over without the option to ...

... I'm outta here. I knew there were two T's..." One student was set on getting the stamp, and he had a voice that carried. Once he got to the word 'sit,' he screamed "****-shat-shat!" cause he mistook the "s" sound for the "sh" sound. My mouth dropped open, my hand grabbed the stamp, my legs walked to his desk, my hand gave him 2 stamps. I reward creativity.  I no longer know who I am. It's either cause I have too much dopamine in my mesolimbic ...

... attended a Gospel Choir practice; the Gospel Choir is new at Sakata Christ Church. I also watched the movie about Mother Theresa and her life during some down time. And best of all, I went to the service on Sunday as well as the lunch following and reconnected with many of my friends! They even had me share my testimony in front of the congregation during the service.