Summertime

As an ALT there are a few set English phrases that I am required to say about one million times a day, every single day. For example, every single class, in every school, starts like this:

Ella: Good morning! Hello! How are you?

Students: Fine thanks, and you? (or if I'm in elementary school they say if they are hungry/sleepy/whatever)

Ella: Oh, I'm fine, thanks! So...what is the date today?

Students: .......

Ella: Okay, well, what day of the week is it? Saturday? Sunday?

One good student who likes English: It's Wednesday.

Ella: Great! It's Wednesday. And what month is it now?

Students: ........

Ella: Well, last month is was May....

One good student and his loud-mouth friend: It's June!

Ella: Right! It's June. June what? 1st? 10th?

Students who have previously remained silent but who can count in English: It's the 22nd!!!

Ella: That's right!! Today is Wednesday, June 22nd. Aaaand how is the weather today? (I always gesture to the window at this point)

Finally, all the students respond: IT'S SUNNY!
(Unfortunately, many of them say this, even when it is pouring down rain outside...)

The elementary school kids are great, and they respond to every single question I ask, but the Junior high kids are so shy sometimes. It's like pulling teeth just to get them to say 'good morning!' For some reason, though, they always respond to how the weather is. Which, by the way, has been horrible lately.

This time of the year in Japan is rainy season. We were rained on every single day last week. My hair was frizzy, my face was shiny, and my socks were almost never dry. So rough. Even when I wear my rain coat, I manage to arrive at school looking like a hot mess, with my hair plastered to my face and my clothes dripping. I don't even bother putting mascara on these days....can you imagine how black streaks running down my face might add to my look-what-the-cat-dragged-in image? On top of the incessant rain is the HEAT. It is so so so humid right now. I feel like everything is constantly a little damp. I have finally put together a little 'summer survival kit' that I keep in my purse. It contains deodorant, Sea Breeze (which is a fast evaporating powdery water concoction that smells good and cools us off), and wipes. I also carry a handkerchief for mopping up sweat! Ew. I think it is safe to say that while the winter was a little brutal, I cannot wait for summer to cool down a little......pretty sure that won't happen until September but I am already anticipating the day when I don't have to reapply deodorant halfway through.

Some great things about summer are the iced teas, the flowers, the sunshine. The summer also holds a different meaning for us JETs because it marks the end and beginning of another JET Year. Everyone who is leaving JET to return to their home countries will be leaving at the end of July/early August. Firstly, I would like to mention that it absolutely does not seem possible that I have been in Japan for almost an entire year. Secondly, I am very sad that basically all my closest friends here in Japan are leaving this year. I don't want them to leave, and I cannot imagine Fukuoka without them. Jamie and Chris in my office are both leaving, so 2 new JETs are coming in to replace them. I am looking forward to meeting them, but mostly I am sad to say goodbye to my friends. I am also a little nervous about being the senior one, the one to show them around and stuff. I feel like there is so much still that I don't know, so how much help can I really be to them? We'll see. For now, I plan to get the most out of the summer and spend as much time as I can with my friends before they go! I think I see more beach visits in my future.... :)

O K I N A W A

O K I N A W A--- my number one Golden Week destination! Both times that I have been in Japan for Golden Week, I have headed to Okinawa. "Why?" you ask? There are so many reasons, but the main attractions for me are the many beautiful beaches. So when Eileen asked me if I would like to Okinawa with her and John K., I jumped at the chance.

Having been to Okinawa before, I had already seen many of the island's major attractions: Shuri Castle and Churaumi Aquarium . I didn't really expect to remember as much about these places as I did. Walking around Shuri Castle actually made me feel nostalgic for the fabulous people I studied abroad with. It felt very familiar even though I hadn't been there in 3 years. John, Eileen, and I made it to the castle with perfect timing, and we were able to catch a show of traditional Okinawan dancing.

The aquarium was absolutely gorgeous, and it didn't matter that I'd been there before because it was all so interesting. Coming from the dead center of the U.S. about a million hours away from any coast means that I am not all that familiar with the ocean and its many strange inhabitants. Some of the things we saw were legitimately some of the craziest animals I have ever seen. In the deep sea section (were they keeps the lights very very low) we saw fish that have these patches under their eyes that glow! LIKE DEMONS. So creepy. Churaumi is world renown for the 3 massive whale sharks that they house in the largest fish tank I have ever seen. There is a section of the tank called "the Aqua room" where you can go sit under it and see all the manta rays and sharks swim over you. My words could never do it justice-- so I took a video! Please enjoy:

Another awesome thing that I did was staying on Zamami Island. Eileen and I got to Okinawa on Monday then took a ferry to a smaller island about 45 minutes away. It has a small village of just 500 people, and some of the top ranked beautiful beaches in Japan. We stayed at this small guest house that was sweet and quaint, and only 5 minutes from the port. The owner of the guest house was so nice and his English was very good. He gave us a hand-drawn map of all the best stuff on the island which we used to find a BBQ restaurant (which was really just someone's backyard...and where Eileen made me try gizzard!!) and the most beautiful beach my eyes have ever seen. The water was so clear and the color so amazing. Unfortunately, it was raining during our ENTIRE Okinawan trip, and the excursion to the beach was no exception. Luckily, it was only drizzling on and off throughout the day as we lounged under our beach umbrella and snacked on traditional Okinawan doughnuts. We got to relax and enjoy the view. When the time came for us to leave Zamami, Eileen and I didn't want to go! If I ever go back to Okinawa, I will make sure I stay on Zamami a bit longer.

When we got back to the main island, and to the city of Naha, we found our hostel and waited for John to arrive. I was worried about staying in a hostel, but Eileen booked us a private room, so it was better than I thought. The bathroom was nasty, but other than that it was fine. It was in a good location, very close to the famous Kokusai Dori. During our stay in Japan, we ate some of the best food I have eaten since coming to Japan! We even managed to find some TACOS! Oh my god, now I want more tacos just thinking about them. :)

The vacation was really nice, despite the rain's best efforts to ruin it. I love being in Japan and getting to travel around, really seeing all the different aspects of this country. Okinawa has a completely different vibe than the rest of Japan (owing to its very colorful history, especially the fact that it wasn't always part of Japan). I wish I could spend even more time there, but getting to go twice is more than I can really ask for.

m9.0

As you all already know, on March 11th there was a massive earthquake in Japan that triggered an enormous tsunami. Somehow, unbelievably, the area I live in was absolutely unaffected. Sometimes I look at the map and am astonished that in such a small country, something so horrible can be happening just 1000 km from me and I can still be safe.

About half an hour after it happened, some of the sensei in my office turned on a small TV. From where we were sitting, Jamie and I could really only make out the word "tsunami" and since tsunamis are common in Japan, we didn't really think anything of it right away. It wasn't until someone on our side of the office turned on another TV behind us that we saw what was really going on. As I watched the screen, I heard the announcer say "Sendai" and my blood froze. All I could think about was my friend Leah who was living in Iwate, just 2 hours from Sendai. I immediately left the office to call her. I tried 4 or 5 times, each time getting a "call failed" message. My heart was beating so fast and my chest got really tight. She finally picked up on my 6th try. She said they lost electricity, but everything seemed to by fine.

After hearing that Leah was alright, and after I could breathe again, I went back to my desk. I saw on TV that there were fires and stuff, so I quickly wrote an email to Jen and Dad that IF they heard of an earthquake in Japan, not to worry because I was okay. At that time, I still didn't comprehend the total reality of the tsunami. It wasn't until Lisieux called me in a panic that night that I even turned on the news. For the rest of my life, I will never forget the image those black waters rushing over the land, or the way it took my breath away to see whole houses being carried away. The faces of the old people as they watched their town being destroyed. The people, the babies, that had little to no food to eat. Even the poor stranded animals they keep showing on the news will stay in my head forever. As each day passed, the damage seemed to get worse and worse. Every day the number of total dead or missing increased. I honestly couldn't sleep for a week, not only fearing that the earthquake would trigger one here in Fukuoka, but thinking of all the people who lost everything they had. I had chest pains from being so anxious, and I was so exhausted from crying/not sleeping/not eating well/worrying that I even cancelled my Japanese lesson for the week. I am not sure you can truly grasp how much I wished I could be near my family. When my Japanese teacher said "you can email or call me anytime you feel anxiety" she had no idea how much better she made me feel. After a few days, I realized that I would continue to be perfectly safe, but I still watched the news coverage every single night.

More than my own safety, I couldn't get over the tragedy of it all. On the news, I saw an elementary school that held a small graduation for the 6th graders that was very informal and somber, as most of the kids had lost their parents in the tsunami. One of the surviving mothers gave a small speech to the teachers, thanking them for getting their children to safety during the tsunami, the whole time there were tears streaming down her face. The kids look just like my students, and the idea of something hurting them or destroying their families is too much for me. I couldn't even watch the news without crying for 2 whole weeks. I'm tearing up now, just remembering it.

Even though life continues on as normal here on Kyushu, we do things every day to pay respects to those who have been suffering. Our office cancelled our bosses retirement party, and some of our schools cancelled our Graduation parties. Many Cherry Blossom festivals have been cancelled (which is a very big deal to the Japanese, as they love the cherry blossom here), and the general feeling is that no one should be celebrating when so many people are suffering. This country has such a strong sense of unity and national community. It's amazing. I know that Japan is strong, and that it will get through all this. Even though I still find myself quite literally sobbing over the tragedy sometimes, I know that the worst is behind us. I was so happy to hear that the U.S. was helping in very big ways. Some of my favorite musicians even raised money for Japan.

This past weekend, after eating breakfast, the waitress came up to me and my friends and asked where we are from. After I replied that we were American, she remarked that we were still here even though Japan was in a terrible state, and thanked us for our support in being there, and she thanked America for helping Japan during these hard times. She had tears in her eyes by the time she was finished. We didn't really know what to say. We all just kinda nodded and said thank you. I teared up later, when I thought about her words. I only wish I could do more to help.

Even though it has been very stressful, at the end of the day I am still safe and happy. I have nothing to complain about, and I am more than grateful for having been spared from this disaster. Lately, now that a little timed has passed and things are settling down, I have been watching some videos that were taken during the quake. Japanese news doesn't really show dead bodies or anything like that (out of respect), but on the internet I have seen some awful stuff. Some is too horrible to post here (like the footage of someone stuck in a car as it gets swept under the waves). But here are some of the videos that were shown on the news here in Japan: