Cool

Today, it's 31° in Okinawa.

But it's not hot.

I just took a nap on my couch at my apartment in Nago. The sliding door of the balcony facing south is open, the windows too. The breeze is pretty steady, the curtains blowing back and forth as the wind changes. Shorts and towels from this mornings ocean swim flutter on the clothesline. I've got a fan set to medium. The afternoon sun is just creeping onto the ledge of the balcony, creating a thin strip of sunlight on the concrete.

Yeah, Okinawa isn't hot at all. In fact, it's pretty cool.

And They Advance!

I woke up this morning at 3:25 am to connect to the internet and find a live feed for the Denmark v. Japan game. I'm a little tired right now, but the catching the game was worth the effort.

Coming into this final game of the group, Japan had a 1 goal advantage (in terms of points) over Denmark. That means that all Japan had to do to advance to the Round of 16 was to tie. It didn't seem likely that the game would be scoreless, because the idea of settling for a tie is very close to just waiting for the opposing team to strike one in.

And so Japan went on the offensive, as did Denmark. But at 17' into the first half, Keisuke Honda, with the help of a smooth set piece, sent in a brilliant free kick that the Danish keeper had no chance of touching. From that point on, things seemed good for Japan. And they continued to head that way. At 30', Yasuhito Endo put another in the back of the net (again, off of a set piece) to put Japan ahead 0-2 before the half.

The Danish answered with a goal with just under 10 minutes left to play, but Japan sealed the match when Shinji Okasaki tapped in an assist from Honda, Japan's third goal of the game, with just a few minutes left to play.

Watching Japan solidify their game was great, especially coming off the previous 0-1 loss to the Netherlands. This World Cup has witnessed Japan winning its first two games outside of their own country, not to mention progressing into the Round of 16. I'm excited to watch them in action again. I'll be cheering heartily for them.

In other great news, the USA and Germany also advanced. The USA's Landon Donovan saved the day with a goal in the first minute of stoppage time in the second half of the game against Algeria. And it was Mesut Özil who scored in Germany's third game, against Ghana. Both teams advance as the leaders of their group, which means they will play the second seeded teams from opposing groups.

I'm looking forward to all the games and hope to see my three favorite teams do as well as they can.

Welcome!

We have a new secretary at one of my schools. She's young, very nice, seems shy. Yesterday (Monday) we had a welcome party for her. There was a short speech by the vice principal, some good food, introductions from each of the teachers and staff, and finally a few words by our newest member. She was moved by the welcome she had received from everyone here at school (moving her to tears, even).

Of note was the vice principal's speech. He starts off by saying,

"Hello, everyone. Well, I think the person happiest about N-san's arrival...is Sonofhigashi."

Oh, shame!

It's only funny 'cause it's true. Just a few weeks ago, I was talking with the vice principal, telling him how I would appreciate whatever he could do to fill the secretary spot "as best [he] can." He asked me, "What, was something wrong with the old secretary?" No, no, not at all, I replied. She was great. But nobody's perfect and there is always room for improvement.

So, N-san, welcome!

Daily Routine

School is about teaching. But it's not just about teaching the kids different facts and ways of thinking. It's also about teaching the kids society's rules - how to talk, how to act, to take responsibility, etc. Whether or not you agree with the specifics is not the point. Governments, Boards of Education, schools, and teachers all have their own way of doing things (and it's a good thing, too! I hate to imagine the homogeneity of everyone following the same exact curriculum and lesson planning to a T).

At my schools, in an effort to mold socially functional kids, there's a phrase used a lot. This phrase is 生活リズム, seikatsu rizumu, or to put it loosely, "daily routine." The model I've seen consists of the following basics:

Wake up (early);
eat (a healthy) breakfast;
study (hard);
clean up after yourself;
pay due respect to others, including proper speech and etiquette;
participate in extracurricular activities;
do your homework; and
get to bed (early).

This isn't a model set in stone, but it's a very typical model. Most all of the students at one point of another have to map out their daily routine and then each month, rate themselves on how well they followed it (Japan uses a the following rating system: ◎ excellent; ○ good; △ satisfactory; and × suck). Leading up to the summer break, teachers stress the importance of protecting one's daily rhythm, so that when school starts back up in September, there won't be lots of late, sleepy students spending the entire month getting back into a "good" rhythm (good for school, but what if you hate school?).

Anyway, with this years World Cup in full swing, I briefly reflected on my own daily routine. I can sufficiently say that it's pretty out of whack. Who in their right mind stays up to watch 11:00 pm start (1:00 am finish) soccer games a few too many nights in a row, and then because a favorite team is playing at 3:30 am a few days later, goes to bed at 5:00 pm (less by choice, more by sheer exhaustion) to wake up and catch that early morning game? I do. But let's be honest, throwing my routine a bit out of whack for a few days this month (it's not like I'm watching all the games) is worth it to me, because I enjoy soccer, especially at such a level as the World Cup offers.

When it's all over, I'll be on the verge of summer break. And in true anti-establishment style, I'll spend my summer days sleeping in and setting my daily routine the way it should be - the way school will never teach you to live.

Mini

Mini ice cream cones. Perfect for when you don't want to eat 300+ calories of worthless crap.

Actual size. Bite count may vary.