Just...good!

I took my second attempt at the Japanese Driver's License practical test, the last step to complete the conversion from my Illinois license. I failed because, according to the proctor, I didn't turn my head enough when looking to my left and right when making turns. Seeing as it was a hot Friday, I had spent 8,000 yen and 6 hours just to take the test, I wasn't expecting to be in a good mood for a while.

Luckily, the fit of discontent passed well before I even started to head home. So with the rest of the day off, I spent some time taking care of little things that I often neglect, like putting away mail and organizing my closets, simple - yet simply overlooked - tasks, and I took a two hour break on one of the beaches of Higashi. It was nice to walk in the sand and swim in the water with no hurries, no sounds of heavy population. Though I did proceed to karate later that night, the encounter with nature (and the brief nap that followed) rejuvenated me for the night.

And things got fun on Saturday. Elina held a party at her place in celebration of her birthday and, as always, it was a great chance to hang out with some of the JETs in Okinawa I don't often see. The strangest thing about this fact, and I wonder to myself all the time, is why I don't make more of an effort to get my ass in gear and spend time with these people who I really like, who given the opportunity would most likely turn out to be some great friends? I'll have to think about this a little more, especially since one of my long-term goals for my time on the JET Programme is to never look back and think, "If only I'd..." Yep, ok, that's going on the white-board right now.

So the night passed well. I'll most likely avoid red wine for a while, because drinking it on a hot night didn't give me the best of feelings. Awamori (the local Okinawan alcohol) with ice and water makes a much more refreshing drink. Among other things, I found myself pondering my maternally-rooted (pun) hair loss, lying briefly and comfortably in the lap of a fellow JET, and meandering into the Sea of Japan at 2:00 in the morning, sans clothing, doing my best to make the sea phosphorescence glow with every quick flick of the feet or hands.

I slept really well, with a mixture of blanket and floor pillow to keep me warm (the A/C was running at this point). I woke with a pretty good hangover headache and I didn't want to move. But the desire to remain prone stemmed not from the headache so much (I had a migraine headache at the "Sea Experience" day a few weeks ago and I fought through it without meds for the kids' sake, so headaches don't hold so much sway on my ability to function). I don't know how to say this well...I was in a good position and didn't want to move; a really comfortable sort of thing. I know I'm not doing a decent job explaining this, sorry, but it was good.

Once everybody was up and at them, Chiye, Elina and I decided to test out the wireless capabilities of our Nintendo DS's. We started a grand-scale run of Mario Kart DS and it was really fun! I don't know what I'm going to do without a good match of racing for a while. Those of us remaining wrapped up the day with some sweet dishes at a local cafe/woodworking shop and a trip to the waterfall and shrine in Kijoka, Ogimi.

Today I only had one class (junior high school first graders) and it went really well. The kids were talkative and lively, and happily participated in the activity. I've got the 2nd and 3rd grades tomorrow, as well as kindergarten, and all the elementary classes will happen later this week. Sometimes, I catch myself worrying about my ability to get up in front of the kids and 1) teach them something useful and 2) keep it interesting for everybody, but I find that once the bell rings at the start of class, all those worries go away. It kind of lends some weight to the fact that I tend to think about things too much, when doing them would just solve most of the problem (that I've invariably built up in my head).

It's approaching one year on the JET Programme; I'm truly amazed at how quickly it went. So here's to not wasting time thinking about all the things I could do, but actually doing them. Here's to not wasting time thinking about all the fun people I could be seeing, but actually giving them a call and seeing them. Here's to not just letting time pass, but making it work for me...making it all really GOOD!

PS - It turns out my high school has listed me as a "Lost Alumnus." (Class of '98) It sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I think so. But it really only means they don't have any (up-to-date) contact information on me.

New Glasses

I had been thinking about buying a new pair for a while. I decided to stay away from rimless glasses and go for something a little more substantial. I'm very happy with these.

Poor Me

Literally. I am 16,000 yen short (around $160 US) because I had my wallet stolen on Saturday.

I had been running errands in Nago in the morning: purchasing (what I hope to be) the last installment of toe medication, some groceries, breakfast, and a full tank of gas. On the way home, the weather and the sea were looking so nice, I decided to make a detour and take a look at one of the small islands (accessible by bridge) that I'd never been to before.

The name of the island is Kouri, 8 kilometers from the main highway that leads from Nago to the northern villages. I was enjoying the crystal blue water, the warm breeze, the bright sunshine. I pulled into a sight-seeing parking lot, left things as I normally do, and took a walk.

Now, leaving "things as I normally do," I found out, is a bad idea. Nago is not Higashi. Higashi has a low population with few outside visitors. Nago has many visitors, many of whom aren't even from Okinawa. Add to the mix a failure to lock my doors and completely roll up my windows, and you've got the perfect situation for a stolen wallet.

I came back from my walk, after about 30 minutes, sat down in the driver's seat, and noticed it was missing. I assumed I had dropped it on the floor again or put it somewhere totally random, but after about five minutes of intense searching and sweating, I was pretty sure it was gone. I retraced my steps many times before finally calling my supervisor. He showed up, I told him what was up, and we called the police. The came and filed a report, noted all the missing items (like my alien registration card, insurance card, Illinois driver's license, credits & atm cards, etc.), and took us to the station to wrap up the paperwork. All the waiting and filing took a few hours, so not only had I been robbed, but I got a nice sunburn, too.

Today has been a day off from school, completing paperwork for new IDs, new cards, etc. I'm locking my doors at all times, even the front door to my apartment in case someone decides to make a random visit. I doubt this is likely, as everyone is of the mindset that the thief just took the cash and trashed the wallet. But it makes me feel good to keep it locked, so it's getting locked.

It was a bad day. And I realized the only bad thing about Higashi is that I got so comfortable here, that I forgot to take the same precautions I would have taken anywhere else in the world. Lesson learned, not so bad considering, and it's getting worked out as we speak.

Noticing Things

Update: the elbow that I landed on last week is still soar, but less so, and there's no physiological impairment. Good news.

Recently, I've been taking much greater adventures within my own village that I had over the past several months. I thought knowing about one or two secluded spots made me an expert of the place. I was surprised - and happy! - to find out that there is much more to see.

Today, I spent the last two periods of school with the 3nensei and two teachers as we took a small field trip; literally, we drove to some small fields and other seemingly random areas, looking for old paths in Takae. Some had seen recent use, others apparently not for months, or years.

What is so special about these paths? For one, they're pretty intense. Jungle growth has made walking them pretty difficult, heavy rains sometimes make the paths steps and stones too smooth for a safe step, and of course there is the destination. One path led to the top of a local hilltop, offering a pretty spectacular view of the surrounding Yanbaru jungle. The others went down, rather steeply, to the black sand beaches and coral shelfs of Higashi, to the Pacific Ocean, from a hundred meters high above the water to sea level. I can only imagine what these new environs must look like underwater.

While I wasn't consciously thinking about it, it occurred to me recently that this is exactly the sort of thing I should be doing: taking the time and the energy to find out all I can about a place that still holds so much for me. And while I'm taking the language and the culture and the experience with me, the hikes and the snorkeling and the diving can only happen here.

Here's to not wasting another day.

Do as I say, not...you know

Monday was pool cleaning day at Arume!

We took 5th and 6th period off from classes and spent about three hours scrubbing everything down to the center drain of the 25m, 6-lane pool. It looked (and smelled) like ass when we started, but once everything had been scraped off the sidewalk, walls, and floor, it was looking ready for a filling.

But this post isn't about that. It's about how I fail to take into account the possibility that any stupid stuff is going to happen to me. Take this explanation, for example:

P.E. teacher starts explaining exactly how everything is going to go for the next three hours. Key among his points is making sure to be careful about slipping in the pool on a wet surface coated with a few months of who knows what. This is what he might have said...

P.E. Teacher: "Be careful when entering and exiting the pool. The last thing you want to do is slip and break an arm or crack your head open."
Everyone: "Hai, wakatta (Ok, we understand [including me {I didn't really}])."
I hop off the edge of the wall into the pool, slipping on a wet spot, smacking the hell out of myself on a harder-than-rock, mold-covered surface; right elbow and tail bone really feeling it. I take it easy for a while...

All's fine, nothing broken, but my elbow can't be placed on anything, like a desk. The whole thing led me to realize that even though it feels "old manish" to take things easy instead of jumping right in, maybe it's not always such a bad idea.