A New Look

Wednesday, July 29th marked my 2nd year anniversary in Japan. Yay!

As the third year of my existence in Japan starts, I figure it is time to update the blog. The green was getting old and the overly long expanse of nothing but words started to wear on me as well.

Tomorrow, students from Yawata City (I forget the prefecture) will be arriving in Higashi for the 15th Annual Higashi-Yawata Exchange Program. This program's goal is to foster friendships between students of Higashi and Yawata, giving both groups a different perspective of life as they're used to. For instance, Higashi's students get to go skiing and see snow for the first time in their life, while Yawata's students get to experience the uniquely Okinawan ways of living.

A student leaps from a pole, 8 meters off the ground, at Higashi's PA (Physical Adventure).

I'll be busy this weekend, but it's not really work. My job for the next few days entails things like hanging out with the kids and keeping an eye on them when we go swimming. Basically, it's a lot of fun for a couple of days. String that right into two weeks in Palau, and I think this summer vacation sounds pretty good.

I'll be sure to share some stories when I get back, though. So enjoy your summer (or winter if you're down south) and check back mid August.

Leaving the Windows Open

Sometime last year, I was inspired by Dave to stop using air conditioning at home. Having spent several weekends on Zamami and realizing that I was surviving there without a/c, I came home and tried it. And it was fine! I went the whole summer of 2008 without a/c, even when my brother came to visit (he slept with a fan next to his futon, full power).

This year, it's the same - not once has the a/c been used. In fact, it's been unplugged for maybe close to a year now. I should try and find out how much I can sell it for, assuming it's not owned by my board of education.

Anyway, because I'm not using the a/c, I have to rely on wind to keep my apartment cool. And this means leaving the windows open when I'm home (and trying to do so even when I'm not). The air is fresher, there's no shocking temperature change upon leaving my apartment, and the energy bill is a lot lower (as is my contribution of pollution).

But today, I finally realized the best benefit of all - being available to the kids in my housing block. I was messing around on my computer, sitting in boxers (gotta stay cool!) when four of them opened up my screen, swept away the curtain, and poked their heads inside. The first thing they asked was, "yakyu shiyou?" or "Wanna play baseball?," followed by, "Oi, Bon-sensei kinniku kakko-ii," or "Wow, Vaughn-sensei has muscles, cool!"

So it was, that from 2:30 this afternoon until 7:30 this evening, the eight of us played baseball, then moved on to the beach and swimming, followed by burying them all in the sand, and finally heading home tired and with a day well spent.

Tomorrow, I'm making lemonade with two or three of the boys - it should be fun. I told them we'd make a lot of money selling it to the bikers and tourists that come through the village. Maybe one day, we'll set up a stand and raise some money for a good cause. It's days like these that make me want to stay on the JET Programme for as long as I can.

Want good sleep? Make yourself tired.

A couple of months ago, me and a few friends here in Okinawa committed to participating in this year's Izena 88 Triathlon. As a team of three, each of us will be completing a leg of the race, either the 2km swim, the 66km bike, or the 20km run (for a total of 88km). I will be biking. And to get in shape for this race, I've been doing a lot of exercise recently.

Mainly, this exercise involves biking. I don't do much and I don't do it very fast, but I'm just working on a base for now. My legs aren't used to biking so there's no need to push, especially since doing too much too fast can lead to quick injuries.

I've also been swimming at school. While I try to join the elementary kids during their lessons (because it's so much fun!), I also try to get into the pool when there's nobody else there. 45 minutes of uninterrupted swimming is a great thing and is a really good use of an otherwise mostly unproductive free period.

Lastly is the running, but I've been holding off on that for a while. I'm waiting to see how my knee handles the biking (pretty well so far) and then will start off very slowly with a jogging routine. My hope is that the three varieties of exercise prevent another overuse injury by balancing each other out.

So aside from feeling better and getting a little bit stronger in my physical pursuits, I sleep really really well now. Just last night, I got my first night of 8+ hours sleep and slept like a rock. I've regained my voracious hunger, too, which is fine by me because I love food! (I just need to find a natural peanut butter supplier and I'm all set)

The triathlon is on 10/25. So when the day rolls around, wish us the best. And rest assured that I'll be sleeping like a king when the day is over.

Palau

In just one month, I'll be on my way to Palau, a tiny country located north of Papua New Guinea. I'll be joining my friend Dave, who is the reason for the trip. Dave was a Peace Corps volunteer some five years ago and spent two years on Palau. This will be my first time to Palau and Dave's first time back since he ended PC service.

You can see Okinawa, just above the 25th parallel and west of 130°, 4th square from the top-right

I started looking for reasonably priced flights a few weeks ago, but I only finalized my plans yesterday. Unfortunately, the more direct paths out of Okinawa were unavailable, so I had to book two separate segments. First, I'll fly from Okinawa to Osaka, spend a night there, and then fly via Guam to Koror, Palau. The return trip will take place all in one day, but the trip will begin with a departure time from Palau of 01:45. It will be a long day (I arrive in Okinawa at 17:25), but well worth it.

Coming from a sub-tropical island, I'm wondering just what I'll think of this new tropical island experience. I hear that there's a fair number of Japanese who make their way to Palau, so I may even have a chance to work on my Japanese while there. All this wouldn't be possible without the flexibility of my board of education, so of course I've promised them some nice omiyage (a gift for coworkers, usually food, purchased during a trip) and the superintendent is awaiting a bottle of the local liquor.

We'll be there for two weeks. It sounds like our first week will be spent with friends of Dave's reconnecting and such. The second week, we'll take off for the wild on kayaks, camp out, and (I can almost guarantee that we'll) fish - generally enjoying the beauty of the place. Very excited!

A Weekend Away

I spent this past weekend on Zamami, perhaps one of my favorite short travel destinations in all of Okinawa, even Japan. I met up with my friend Dave on Friday night and we slept on a sailboat in Ginowan harbor. Saturday was the 32nd Zamami Yacht Race, and rather than spend money on a pension or a hotel, the boat served us really well. The cool breeze also kept things from getting stuffy inside.

So Saturday was my first sailboat race ever. I didn't do anything other than act as ballast (keeping the boat balanced), but it was sometimes hectic when the captain would call for a tack and we'd have to make our way to the other side of the boat while the sails were shifted from one side to the other. It doesn't sound tough, except that about half-a-dozen people were all trying to get from one side to the other, without getting cracked in the head by a swinging boom. It was a new challenge and I enjoyed it.

Saturday night was marked by a party for the yacht race, but mostly to encourage people for the event going on Sunday - the sabani boat race. These boats are completely crafted of wood in a style that I can only assume is old-fashioned. With relatively primitive sails and only six members on the boat at any one time, the team must combine wind power and rowing to complete the 25km trip from Zamami to Naha. Fast teams take 3 hours at best. Slow teams, perhaps much longer.

The start was at 8 am, so the teams are likely to finish around midday. Support boats will be tailing the sabani boats the entire way, and team members will rotate as they tire.

*picture to be inserted here*

Anyway, coming to Zamami reminds me of the difference in culture between it and my village, Higashi. As the captain of the sailboat was saying, while Zamami is strong in culture with all things boat, sea, and fishing related, Higashi is very much focused on farming. Different cultures. Unfortunately, farming culture doesn't lend itself to interesting festivals at sea, boat races from island to island, or celebrations of welcoming and farewell every time people move to or from the island village (Higashi is not an island, in case you weren't sure). I'll concede that the pineapples are delicious, but if you've ever eaten more than a quarter of one, you quickly find your tongue and cheek unable to handle much more.

What this means is that I am developing an idea of the kind of place I want to live next. Wherever it might be, it's going to have to be warm, near the ocean, and involve sea-faring activities as part of one's daily life, including things like fishing, snorkeling, diving, and boating. This "requirement" should make narrowing down the places I want to live a little easier. I've got a year left on my JET Programme tenure. I think it's time to start thinking about where I will go next.