A Seoul*ful Experience

*Don't worry, I won't make any more puns on the name

Seoul! I don't know about you, but Seoul was the place I'd heard about as being amazing and thought of how much I'd like to go, but never actually made the plans. Well, this second time around the JET block means I'm finally having the time to go to these places I only ever thought of in passing. I'm really grateful for this chance since now some of these 'wish-list' places have become my favorite travels.

Seoul is a city full of vibrant people who are unfazed by the foreigners who visit. It is international while retaining it's culture. It is fashionable, yet gritty. If it were a person, it would be like talking with the most fascinating person you just met, but while you are absorbed by their every word, they aloofly glance at their phone. It was such a fresh breath of air for me compared to Japan. As great as Japan is in many regards, I feel stifled me from time to time and constantly like an outsider by the all the homogeneity. Thus, it is through these glasses that I give you insight into my Seoulful experience...and that pun doesn't count since I already used it.

While Japan was still sweltering away in mid-September, my friends and I found a good flight deal via Peach Airlines and bounded off to the land of kimchi. The weather while we there was beyond agreeable with only the slightest chill at night. Our hostel was excellent too; It had a great complimentary breakfast in the morning, was nicely decorated, conveniently located, and had cheery helpful staff. It was located near a university so it had a great night life. Each night, we'd return from sightseeing with every intention of turning in, but the buzz of young people coming in and out of bars, restaurants, shops, and clubs kept us out exploring. Our feet did not thank us for the extra work!

Traveling in groups can be tricky. Everyone has priorities when they travel whether they realize it or not. Their focus can be on relaxing, shopping, sightseeing, eating, or some other quirky thing (I don't know, maybe you have an affinity for hanging out with the locals). Seoul can satisfy all these aspects and more, but with only a long weekend to work with, we merely dabbled a bit in each. Some notable places we skipped were the Korean War Museum and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). No loss on my part there, but instead we walked along some of the famous areas eating street food and laughing at odd findings, did some awesomely cheap shopping in Asia's largest underground mall, and saw sights old and new, namely, two of the famous palaces (Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung), North Seoul Tower and even went to fake Disney aka Lotte World!


Foodie or not, you gotta eat so we had the famed Korean BBQ a few times. One night, we went in search of a place where you supposedly eat on top of barrel drums. If this sounds strange it's because I can't accurately describe it since we never found the place. The foodies on our trip were quite sad and still talk about it to this day (they really have to let it go..), but I was happy with any meat and kimchi place. I will say though as a big fan of yakiniku places in Japan that I found the wait staff at Korean BBQ places to be... too involved in your dining experience (for my preference). They'd bring plates of raw meat and then rearrange our grill to fit the new pieces, flip some over, and even cut up the big slices for us. It was just kind of awkward to keep a conversation going with the waitress leaning over my friend, so we just sat there and watched before resuming. At Japanese places, they bring the goods and let you do the rest, coming only when called. Small gripe, but in any case, the food was excellent. Interesting observation on my part - I didn't find the kimchi to be any better than anywhere else in the world I've had it. Maybe my palette isn't sophisticated enough to tell the difference? Or maybe the dish isn't hard to mess up? I don't know. I'm curious though so let me know in the comments if you have any thoughts.
Overall we had as much Korean food as we could pronounce save for the time we got excited and detoured to eat at Quiznos and Jamba Juice. Well, honestly I think I was the only one who was excited since back home in the States I could live on subs and smoothies - both of which I am sadly deprived of in Japan.



As a graduate of Asian Studies, seeing my studies come to life in my travels, via something like the unique style of temples and palaces in different countries, has been immensely interesting. But like it is said of churches in Europe, eventually they do all start to look alike. I think for that reason, the North Seoul Tower was my favorite sight this trip. Probably a combination of the things actually. We arrived at the tower in the evening just as the city was transitioning from twilight, to dusk, to nighttime. The popular 'love locks'  gimmick (where a couple combines two locks on a fence thus sealing their love) lined the periphery which made for an interesting stroll along an otherwise boring fence as people often leave notes and messages as well. The gift shops had the cutest souvenirs of the tower and other Korean items (I'm a sucker for nicknack shopping). And then as we were just about to start heading back, we heard an announcement come on and announce that a light show on the tower would start. We hadn't known there would be one, so from exactly where we were standing, ready to leave, we had the perfect place to sit and watch the show. Instead of a typical light show, they used the side of the tower to get creative with cylindrical objects. For example, filling a glass of water, as an aquarium, pulsating with music, and so on. Oh, and did I mention that this was after we had the subs and smoothies? That probably also had something to do with my elevated mood and this being my favorite sight

If you get the chance to go to Seoul, be open to interesting sights and tastes in a bustling atmosphere and you'll enjoy it immensely! I'd love to go back to this wonderful city, but alas, I find myself filling up my limited time here with even more points of interest. I guess this might've been my Seoul opportunity to see one of Asia's best cities. (oh, shh! that one was too good to pass up!)

Mt. Fuji.. never again..

I have been wanting to climb Mt. Fuji ever since I laid eyes on the thing in 2005. Later of course, I learned more about the significance, difficulty, and admiration associated with climbing the tallest mountain in Japan. Let me lay out some of those points:

Significance: Mt. Fuji is not only Japan's tallest mountain, but also it's most revered. It's literally the symbol of Japan along with cherry blossoms and the rising sun.

Difficulty: At 3776 meters (12,389 feet) high, it cannot be climbed in a day. Don't even try. In fact, most people (including myself), start at the 5th station (2,305 meters) and some still don't make it to the top because of altitude sickness, fatigue, or an underestimation of the difficulty.

Admiration: Don't quote me, but supposedly less than 1% of Japan's population climbs Mt. Fuji and even those who attempt it don't always succeed. Saying that you made it to the summit always yields some form of accolade from Japanese people. If they've done it themselves, then an instant camaraderie is formed.

My journey to the summit began in May 2012. After much research and an assessment of my permitting circumstances, I decided I would go about mid-climbing season with only a few friends who were up to the challenge. I also decided that despite being a former athlete, the days of being in my optimum endurance condition were behind me and I needed to train my body for this. The way I saw it, I only had one chance to make it to the top, so I couldn't leave things to chance - not leaving things to chance is something I should've stuck to..

Together with my friend who was part of the trip, we climbed mountains in the area and built up our endurance. Leg strength, breathing techniques, power snacks, element control, equipment management were all aspects we improved on that really did help once we entered the dark side of the moon, also known as Fuji.

With an impending trip home in August, my time to plan to the logistics of the trip was falling behind. At this point, my friend suggested going with a preplanned tour that would get us there with less hassle and take care of all the planning (transportation, accomodation, etc). With my to-do list so full as it was, I agreed. This was first mistake, because as it's said, if you want something done right, do it yourself.

The day came in mid-July, and our group of 4 headed out to meet up with the tour that would take us to Shizuoka Prefecture. We were meeting at 8 in the morning in Osaka which meant that I left Tamba at 5:30 am. The bus was comfortable enough, and the first two hours were spent introducing ourselves to the 50 plus other tour members. Around noon or so, I was really starting to feel the hunger pangs having had no breakfast since waking. The problem though, was that so far each rest stop only had souvenir type food (cakes and cookies) or convenience store food (I know, seriously?). The last rest stop had an eatery with not a thing I liked on the menu. It was like someone was playing a joke on me. I like plenty of Japanese food for there to have been nothing appealing. Not even a side bowl of rice! In the end, I had some chocolate for it's caffeine benefits and chips to satisfy the carb cravings. Chips and chocolate, people - all the fuel I had to climb my formidable opponent. Even if I had bought something at the eatery, the tour guides told us we had 10 minutes at the stop. Ten minutes to wait in line, buy food, and choke it down and if that was your plan of action, then forget a bathroom break. So, trusting the tour would make time to get us brunch since they hadn't told us to pack a lunch: Mistake number two.

We arrived at the Fujinomiya 5th station around 1pm - an hour later than schedule. It immediately started to drizzle which was likely to happen at any point during climbing season, but woe is you when it does. I proceeded to buy a walking/stamping stick and a poncho. For whatever reason I found myself at the back of the pack as we started climbing in one long line. But, I actually didn't mind it because I knew I'd be stopping for pictures and annoyed if someone were constantly on my heels, trying to set my pace. What I didn't expect was the constant "encouragement" I got from the guides that came with the tour. They thought I was having a hard time keeping up and would yell "Ganbatte! Hayaku! Mousukoshi!" (C'mon, hurry! a little farther!) every 5 minutes. I'd just look up at them and use my stick to point at my camera with a smile that could only be interpreted as, "Can ya SHADDUP?!"

I hear you guide! I just don't care!

The Fujinomiya trail is one of several trails you can take up the mountain. This one happens to be the steepest, but shortest route to the top. From the 5th station there are stations 6, 7, 8, 9, and 9.5 before you reach the summit. We were stopping at station 8 to spend the night before waking at 2am to resume our hike and make it to the top by sunrise. Now, three stations doesn't seem like much to cover, but when you're on the trail, you think that next sign post will never show itself! Climbers are climbing up and down the same trail and the trail is roped off by tiny steel rods. This means that if you were thinking of sprinting up the mountain head on, think again. Being careful with the people coming down and climbing within the rods means it's dangerous to try to pass other climbers. The terrain itself is as I described - like being on the dark side of the moon. I was warned before that it's not a "pretty" hike like many other gorgeous ones throughout Japan. Instead of lush forest, rivers, and forgot relics of Shinto tradition to surprise you along the trail, Fuji is nothing but red rocks, small and large with twigs sprouting out here and there. 

What did I sign up for?!

Being at the end of the group, by the time I would reach each station they had been there for their 10 minute break and were ready to move on. Us at the caboose though would lag behind and catch our breath for 5 minutes before that last guide would "encourage" us some more. So with little food and rest, in the rain, it was forward ho! Around the station 7, the next obstacle presented itself...

The mild asthma of my youth never stopped me from playing sports, but it did mean that I had to take care to know my limits. On only a few occasions did I nearly pass out from over-exertion, but having no experience and little knowledge about it, I was quite worried about getting altitude sickness, something that affects those with strong lungs but definitely has it out for a previously pre-asthmatic kid. Luckily, they sell oxygen cans with built in masks just for this kind of thing and were readily available. Actually, most essentials are available on the trails, but for no small fee. Basically, they know you need it, so get ready to pay at least 3x the price. For example, the 600en (8 dollar) can of oxygen I bought in a sports center in my town, cost 2000en (30 dollars) on Mt. Fuji. It was like that for everything too - snacks, water, heat packs, etc. So back to my climb. Somewhere approaching the 7th station I noticed that I wasn't feeling sick, but that I was starting to take in less oxygen and needing to stop more frequently than my group to catch my breath. The first burst of oxygen from the can felt like a cool breeze on a spring day had wafted in through a window and into my lungs. I don't know if I was ever close to getting altitude sickness, but I can only imagine this helped fend it off because from then on I was taking oxygen shots often until the descent. Don`t worry, I`m off the stuff now. haha!

Puff, puff, pass...

At this point it had stopped drizzling but was still overcast. Now, I anticipated it being cold of course, but one tends to forget how amplified the cold can be when you add sweat to the equation. As long as I kept moving , I was ok, but once I stopped at our bunker for the night at the 8th station it was a different story..

Our end group of about 12 people made it to the 8th station at dusk. Between all the head starts at the other stations, we heard others had been there for over half an hour at that point and had already chosen their "beds." I didn't imagine much for sleeping quarters, but I wasn't expecting a wooden floor with only enough room to lie on my back either. But that`s exactly what I got. Last choice meant I was near the door where rude and inconsiderate people coming in and out would open it wide and let cold air gust through every time. Oh, and I forgot to mention that our cabin was literally next to a glacier. Cool to see, but totally ominous at the same time and of course, freezing! Needless to say, the 4 hours of "sleep" we were suppose to get was more like 4 hours of quiet time in sweaty, cold clothes and a hard wooden floor with strangers being close enough to breathe on you. Ya. At least I had my boyfriend that I could face, but that breath on the back of my neck was still unnerving. I did finally have something to eat though. We were given some Japanese curry and rice. It was hot, so okay by me.

Is that what I think it is?!

~~~
2am, rise and shine. I was given some bread with custard in the middle and sent on my way up to the summit. But! before that, we were treated to the most spectacular and unexpected surprise - a view of the Milky Way! It was so clearly visible and filled with tons of stars! We stared in awe for a few minutes, re-charging ourselves with cosmic energy. It was amazing to be made to feel so small, but in a good way.

Now, maybe you're wondering how I hiked a mountain in pitch darkness and I was wondering too until I stepped outside of the cabin. A trail of lights shone beneath and above me. Upon closer inspection I saw these were other climbers and their head lamps! They had stayed at stations lower on the mountain and had gotten up earlier to start the climb to the top! Even with lots of headlamps all around me, it was challenging to look down to where I wanted to point my light, and then up to not crash into things. Back and forth I did this for the next 2 hours.

 
Previously, three stations had taken me 6 hours and with 2 more to go with sunrise deadline, I had my work cut out for me. However, like I said, this was my one shot, and that motivation kept me going as I wanted nothing more out of my time in Japan than to see the sunrise over Mount Fuji. At one point I did get nervous because the sky was turning blue in the east and I was only shortly past station 9. In my panic, I did the dangerous thing and started passing people by darting in and out of the marked trail. At one point, the crowd was at a standstill as people were goose necked into a thin part of the trail. Suddenly as I was darting, two other foreigners (surprisingly) stopped us by sticking out their walking stick and nearly tripping us just to say, "Guys, there's a line." My friend and I exchanged glances momentarily with looks of disbelief before he shot the best line back - "Ya, well this isn't Disney World and we're not waiting in line." HA! and onward we went with their grumbling behind us. And it's true. As dangerous and ill advised as it is, if we want to go outside of the trail and pass them, it's on us. If they think it's not allowed to butt someone in line while we're hiking a mountain then they missed the fine print of this trip that read 'every man and woman for themselves!' I don't think they made it to the top by sunrise either considering how many people we passed to get there in time. Hope they thought following the crowd was worth it to miss what could be a once in a lifetime view.

So despite my worry, we make it to the top with some time to find a spot to view the sunrise. Being completely stationary and sweaty at the peak of the mountain was intense. For 20 minutes I sat at the top of the world and contemplated how long I had dreamed of this moment. It was a quite a journey I was recounting in my head, but to others I must have looked like a frozen gargoyle waiting for the sun to come out to reanimate her. Finally, the sunrise started to send its rays over the horizon and although it wasn't as spectacular as some photos I had seen, it was my sunrise on Fuji. And it was one of the most gorgeous things I'll ever see.
   

I wish I could end the post there, but that's not where the story ends. In fact, the worst was yet to come. After being at the summit, snapping pictures, stamping my stick, and gazing upon Fuji's crater, we began the decent. I thought we'd be going down the same manageable Fujinomiya trail that we'd gone up and had seen others go down, but I was wrong. Instead, this idiotic tour picked the dreaded Gotemba trail. This trail is supposed to be the fastest way down, but hmm... how can it be faster than Fujinomiya is that's the shortest trail? BECAUSE YOU RUN DOWN IT!! At a 45 degree angle in a sandpit of small red rocks that you sink in with every step, you have no choice but to jog as gravity drags you down. Also, the sandpit is dotted with huge boulders that with any misstep could have you suddenly breaking to stop if not crashing into it. And at that angle it means you could fall head first into the sandpit. Thank God I had some snow boarding experience where leaning your body back parallel to the terrain is what keeps you upright. However, even good snowboarders (which I am not) fall, but instead of fluffy snow it would a face full of lava rocks! LAVA ROCKS! (at least it's minus the lava...)

 
I was beside myself with rage at this tour at this point and later we were all apologized to by the Facebook group that booked this tour, admitting that they were unhappy with the way things had turned out as well. But at the time I was just trying to get off this god-forsaken mountain. It really puts you in a desperate mood to know that you can't give up. If you give up, no one is coming to save you. You have to climb down yourself. I was also not expecting that unlike the stations on the way up, the way down had a different set of stations. Station 9, 7.5, 6.85, 5. This really made the climb seem longer since we couldn't anticipate the next time we'd see a station or get a break. The craziest part about this climb down was that at one point we were climbing UP again! And it started drizzling again! Argh!! So much rage!

Finally we got back to the Gotemba 5th station. After nearly 2 days of straight climbing there was nothing better than to look forward to than the onsen we were taken to (the only redeeming factor of this tour. Nearly two days of climbing, exhaustion, malnourishment, being wet and cold just melted away in the onsen.

Plainly said, it was an experience. One that I would have to be crazy to do again, so that seems unlikely for me (or likely depending on who you're talking to). I certainly don't regret it, but I do regret going with this tour that seemed to cause most of the irritants that I had. If I still had the same experience without them, then I'd have no one to blame but myself, but since that's not the case, I blame them. lol. Also, I wouldn't ever in good conscious recommend for anyone to climb Mt. Fuji. If you don't have the desire and will-power to do it on your own, then you'd only hate me for putting you through it.


Climbing Mt. Fuji was at the top of my Japan bucket list and now it's been checked off.

A Japanese proverb says that if you don't see Mt. Fuji during your time in Japan, then you are destined to return.

I saw more of that mountain than many and so I am no longer destined to return to Japan.
My 大和魂, my Japanese fighting spirit can be finally be at ease.

Summer in Japan

The final season in my review of the seasons of Japan! This what I have to say:

Summer in Japan is not fun. The End. 

…

..Ok ok, so maybe I’ll get into more detail..

Summer is from mid-June to mid-September and while I can only speak from personal experience about the Kansai Region, friends in other parts of Japan agree that summer is unbearably hot at times. I've also had conversations about how the sun just feels hotter in Japan (and wondering if this is our imagination), but whether it is or not is compounded by Japan’s energy conservation practices. Incidentally, it's also the easiest way to prove that they are a masochistic people (just kidding…sort of). The most common practice is although air conditioning is available in many places (even if in the form of wall units), they refrain from using it to conserve energy and keep energy costs low. If they do use it, it's to maintain the temperature at a "cool" 25 - 28 degrees Celsius (about 77 - 82 degrees Fahrenheit). Consider that, and now consider that I arrived in Japan during an energy crisis, 5 months after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Now if at this point you’re remembering that I’m from Miami, that warm beach paradise in South Florida, I’ll just stop you and say that this is NOT like living in Miami. Where I live in Japan is a constant sauna whereas Miami is like a warm hug when you’re walking from one frozen tundra of an establishment to another. Yes, in Miami, if you’re indoors for a period of time, you’re most likely going to get cold because like in most Developed Nations, A/C is not a burden but a gift to be used in excess.
-sob, sob- Oh, how I miss it.

I could on and on and on about why this aspect of Japanese culture baffles and frustrates me, but I’ll digress. The perks of summer in Japan include the return of kakigori (like snow cones but better), more seasonal flowers (fields of hydrangea and sunflowers this time), summer festivals (a good time to see Japanese people relaxing and having fun), and best of all, summer vacation for schools!

The longest of the school breaks, summer vacation is six weeks of no formal classes and although most JETs in Japan still have to report to school for “work” (staring out in space for 8 hours), some will have kind overlords who will let them leave mid-day or other special allowances. I say formal classes, because many students get stuck in their version of summer school and have to go everyday (sucks!) Others still go everyday for extracurricular club activities while others in my particular school have to come to attend to the livestock since mine is an agricultural school (double suck!) Because of this, some ALTs may be asked to help tutor students or various other things during the summer. Besides that, this is also the most acceptable time for JETs to travel! Something I encourage enthusiastically whether it is in Japan, the surrounding area, or even back to your home country.

Regardless of what your co-workers are doing or commenting as you take your time off, know this: Your time here is limited so part of your experience should be cultural exchange outside of the classroom. I take this to mean that you should learn more about the culture you’re living in or one nearby. But if you feel like you need to go home to recharge your batteries instead,  that’s fine too. You are not your school’s slave nor should you feel subject to any guilt just because you have a contract and take advantage of your nenkyuu days! That's what they are there for, not for possible emergencies! 

–gasp!!-

ah…ok… That last part was a bit of a rant but I’ll stop now, hehe.

So if it wasn’t obvious, I chose the last option and went home, because as I recalled from last year, August was the worst month of summer in terms of heat and humidity, so I did not a repeat of that. As a result I don’t have any new festival or sunflower pictures, but enjoy the rest! 

Did I mention I went paragliding?! It was such a rush to jump off a mountain and swing in the sky!!

Hikami High School's Sports Day

[Published date does not reflect any proximity to the event date as I was being uber lazy about finishing this post but was finally motivated since my fellow ALTs had their Sports Day recently. This happened back in early June.]
 

I finally had Sports Day! [henceforth SD] , aka Sports Festival to some Japanese schools and called undōkai (運動会) in Japanese. I attended my base school’s SD since, conveniently, it was during the school week which meant I could watch my students battle it out in the schoolyard instead watching them fall asleep in class. When and what events are in it vary, but elementary and junior high schools in town like to coordinate and make them all one weekend while high school just does their own thing. The students and teachers really take this day to heart and even go as far as to cancel classes the week prior in order to seriously practice the events beforehand. Kind of extreme when I think back to Field Day (same thing) at my high school which was merely a half-day with no practice beforehand, just fun competitions and silly ribbons for prizes.

I had high expectations for this day since I had attended a JHS SD and saw some really creative competitions, pep rally type stuff, and just lots of excitement from the students. I let myself down. I don’t know who comes up with the schedule for these things, but the events weren’t all that exciting or original. We had a five-legged race (five instead of three because it adds to the hilarity when they fall?), jump rope competitions, relay races, and lots of tug-of-wars. Yawn.

I did find some things interesting though. For example, before they started, they all spread out and did a series of stretches that everyone in Japan seems to know as a standard set. Even some of the parents that came to watch were doing them in sync with the students from the sidelines. Also, the opening ceremony had the students walk out and around the field Hunger Games style grouped in their homeroom classes with a leader carrying their homemade class flags. Some flags were pretty creative while others were like, um, sure good job.

ALTs have varying levels of involvement or even assigned duties associated with SD. My school doesn’t ask much of me even when I make myself available, so I just sat under the teacher tent or walked around taking pictures. As a side note, I was the only one wearing sunglasses despite it being a bright, sunny day. This led to some parents coming up to me to say I looked like a movie star, hehe. But, I’ve actually noticed this in other settings and wondered if there’s a cultural reason behind this. For now I’ll guess that it’s probably considered rude to not know where someone is looking when speaking to them. Let me know in the comments what you guys think it is or if you know the answer.

So at the end of the day, the class with the most points (from individuals, groups, or classes winning events) gets the big trophy that they then keep in their homeroom class for the rest of the year. This year, my all-girls 3-3 class snagged the prize and I was quite proud of them for showing some awesome girl power (especially as they owned the boys in the tug-of-war contests, haha!).

Let the Games begin!

When Worlds Collide: The Update!

So I left this post off with two WTF situations in full swing. I now have dramatic conclusions for both. DUN DUN DUN! If you don't know what I'm talking about then read the first post here.

Well wouldn't you know it, my VP said, "NO." The night of my first post, I got a call from my JTE saying that the VP had said no to my use of nenkyu because I cannot leave Japan until August 2nd which is when my new contract goes into effect. Wait, so now the issue is with my new contract and not the nenkyu? It's like they're just looking for reasons to keep me here! At this point my patience is running thin with this situation, so the next time I meet with my JTE, I remind him that I have already bought a plane ticket and explain again how I'm properly using the nenkyu. No go. He proceeds to ask me if my plane ticket is refundable to which I say, "I don't know" out loud and "Not a chance that's happening buddy" in my head, which is then followed by him "suggesting" for me to contact the Hyogo Board of Education for support which MIGHT sway the decision of the VP. Commence the emailing. Three days and ten emails later of catching the BoE up on the situation and explaining my reasoning, I am told that I am in the right. Thanks for confirming what I already knew, BoE. Back to my JTE. I print out the emails and although this particular JTE's English is pretty good, he sits there for a whole class period worth just burning holes through the paper trying to comprehend all the colloquialisms. Finally, he tells me that the VP is on a business trip so let's take it to the Principal. Now, this may sound like a worse situation, but my VP is new to the school whereas my Principal has known me since I got here and has always been pretty chill about my comings and goings. With emails in hand, my JTE explains the situation to the Principal. Pretty quickly it's met with a "those emails are in English, I can't understand them," (fair enough) "call the head of the BoE." In my head I'm screaming "DO IT! Resolve this non-issue already!" The call was made, the emails confirmed, case closed. My JTE turned and said to me, "Congratulations!" like I had won a court case. I smiled weakly because I wasn't looking for a fight in the first place and didn't feel like I had won anything. I was put through a lot of worry and stress about a situation I knew I had handled correctly.

The other situation with my neighbor escalated to involve two more JTEs and a big dose of American freedom fighting. Since the original post, I was approached again on two separate occasions. The first time was by a JTE who side-saddled up next to me as I was walking to the staff room and proceeded to ask about when I would give my neighbor the money. Although I knew it wasn't an official tax, I told him that my JET contract states that these kinds of extra taxes are covered for me or I'm exempt from them completely. He tries to tell me again that it's not a tax and that my neighbor ALREADY PAID FOR ME. -WTF?!- "Why did she do that??" I asked as calmly as I could. "Because it was due," he said. UGH. I told him I'm sorry she did that and voluntary tax or not, I don't have to pay. We parted ways once we got into the staff room.
Two days later (today) I am deliberately approached by just my neighbor. She has a receipt in hand and a pleading look in her eyes. Now, don't let the receipt fool you into thinking this is now an official tax. I even get a receipt for fruit I purchase on the street. So after three minutes of the most broken Japanese I've ever spoken because I am full of blind rage at being cornered like this, the JTE nearby finally comes over and tries to explain it to me again. Upset as I was, in a very calm, cool, and collected way, I cut him off and said, "I know this isn't a tax. I know she has already paid. Regardless, I am exempt from paying these kinds of fees and I don't appreciate these efforts to coerce me into paying them." My JTE looked taken aback and said "But don't you feel bad for her? Besides, this money goes into the community." I said, "I'm sorry, but I didn't ask her to pay for me." He and my neighbor have a brief discussion and she ends it with, "I should have asked her first. Daijoubu (It's ok)." She walks away and my JTE says to me with downcast eyes that he feels bad for her and I have a strong American mind. Yeesh. Well, as a woman with firm beliefs and strong sense of justice, I'm used to being called worse. So once again, I'm in the right and don't feel like a winner.

Next, I'm going for a trifecta of Japanese bureaucratic BS as I continue the process of getting my Japanese driver's license. Fun, fun, fun! Thanks to the BS, that story won't be complete for a while.

When worlds collide

Today is one of those days when the Japanese workplace is really frustrating me:

First! After a few months of lamenting about how I'm going to be able to go home for the summer. I gave in to the only option I had that I thought wouldn't ruffle too many feathhers - to use up my entire nenkyu for next year with a couple of ::ahem:: extra days, at the beginning and the end. Fortunately for me, the lamenting I did earlier spearheaded a movement within the Board of Education that gave all high school ALTs in my prefecture an extra 5 days of summer-time only nenkyu (you're welcome, lol). So safe right? The extra days I took wouldn't be a problem now! Doubly awesome was that I heard I would get another five days due to the logistics of having 5 new summer holidays for this year's contract AND 5 summer holidays starting next with our next contract period which starts August 1st. YAY! But wait..I already booked my flight home and am only using 2 days in the month of July, so maybe I can have them roll over into next year like my regular nenkyu does? I asked my JTE and he said no. Great. Well, either way, I'm safe for my impending vacation home. Then I gave me JTE my flight schedule and even broke down how my nenkyu will be used to show that I'm within boundaries (well, at least now I am thanks to the last minute addition of summer holidays). He tells me that he'll check if it's -ok- with the Vice Principal. What? I know that it's customary to get the approval from your higher ups, but the notion that it could -not- be ok would leave us at an impasse. The reason it might not be ok is because after all is said and done (and because I can't roll over my newly given 3 days of nenkyu from July), I will only have 2 days of nenkyu for the year which is about 18 short of what they're comfortable with (an exaggeration but not far from the truth..ugh).

Second! My fellow teacher and apartment complex neighbor wants me to give her 15,000en (more than $150) for a 'community fee.' I originally understood this to be something official I'd receive in the mail, but today I was asked for it directly. I simply stared at the poor JTE who was translating what she was saying in a mingled look of 'are you kidding me' and 'kill me now.' My American mindset understands something labeled as a 'community fee' to mean a tax. If it's not a tax then it's a voluntary donation. So this is basically how the conversation went on my end:

Oh ya that, I never received anything in the mail.
I should just give her the money? Ok, but where's the official notice/statement?
Oh it's not coming? I'm suppose to hand it over to you because you're a community official?
Oh you're not? You're going to take it to the next town hall meeting where it will be collected?
Oh.. ok, so what services are being provided?
...None that apply to me..
...OH, this fee is voluntarily??
No, not voluntarily..just expected.. so I'm -supposed- to give this.
Ya, my mind isn't wrapping around this concept.
Yes, I get that it is all for the good cause of maintaining our community.
Yes, I get that everyone chips in.
Yes, I understand this is a local thing.
But wait, then who decides on the amount of 15,000en then?
Oh, the town hall meetings (that I have zero input in)..
So, if this is for community maintenance, why doesn't anyone cut my grass, like, ever?
Oh, because that's my school's property..
So, what should you tell her you ask? Tell her I feel conflicted about this.
Yes, I understand this is the Japanese way.
Yes... Yes, Yes.
::stare at each other awkwardly::

Besides all that, I had four very long classes today, plus interview tests. Needless to say, it was a long day..

I think this has made me appreciate the Land of the Free a bit more on my first Independence Day away from the States. Speaking your mind and making sense of a situation are not so much of a hassle or frowned upon there.

Spring in Japan!

Spring is officially my new favorite season. It used to be summer, but I realized that was an antiquated notion of mine from a time when summer meant freedom from school for three months to play video games all morning, swim all afternoon, and watch anime all night (oh, sweet sweet childhood). Now though, the events, weather, and foliage of spring have made it my new favorite time of year. And lucky for me, Japan in spring is absolutely gorgeous!

I knew this because I have already seen springtime in Japan during my stint as a study abroad student. But this time was so much sweeter after enduring a frigid winter in Tamba. First, finally being able to wear shorts and shirts again was enough to put a huge smile on my face, but then I remembered that place I was avoiding all winter - outside! Everywhere I looked were gorgeous flowers in bloom: tulips, irises, daffodils, petunias, lilies, etc. And then of course are the more popular ones that generate whole matsuris (festivals) and special viewing events just for them. The popular events I attended were for plum (梅)*, cherry (桜), and wisteria (藤) blossoms. There are waaay too many places in Japan that have spectacular scenery surrounding seasonal flowers, so I just stuck to my area and was not disappointed.

In addition to the natural beauty, spring has, like other seasons, seen new seasonal products (probably the most famous being products flavored with plum or cherry, obviously) and also presented some opportunities for vacation! My previous entry covered my travels during spring, so check that out!

*Some people might consider plum blossom viewing to be a winter occasion since they start in February. However, I'm grouping seasons into three month periods with spring being March, April, and May. Plum blossoms blooming through the March thus I include it in my springtime adventures since that's when I saw them.

Plum Blossom Viewing (梅見): In the Osaka Castle park grounds is a massive plum grove that attracts visitors from all over. If you're unfamiliar, there are several types of plum blossoms with different colorings to accompany them. During my first spring in Japan, I hadn't realized that what I was seeing in March were plum blossoms and not cherry blossoms. They can be easily confused at first glance, but I think I've seen enough now to be able to pick them out from a line up - you know if it ever came to that, hehe. As you can tell from the pictures, it was still a bit nippy even in late March, but what you can't tell is that walking through grove had an intoxicating smell.

Cherry Blossom Viewing (花見): I visited several places this year and adhered to the fun tradition of having picnics under the trees with friends; first at Sakuranomiya in Osaka, and then at various parks in Tamba. Kyoto is one of the most famous places to see cherry blossoms since the flowers coupled with the ancient shrines and temples creates amazing scenery to behold that sends the Japanese into a frenzy and has them flocking from all over the country to see. Fortunately for me though, I did the Kyoto circuit back in my Gaidai days and avoided the crowds this time.

Wisteria Blossom Viewing (藤見): Wisteria season took me by surprise. I was so preoccupied with preparing for my Golden Week plans that when I got back, I was lucky to hear about an event and then was barely able to make time to go to it. I went to Byakugoji Temple in nearby Ichijima which apparently was not a secret spot considering half my town was there. Parking was a nightmare, and the temple was quite crowded, but it was breathtaking nonetheless. I've heard of several other impressive sites for wisteria viewing in Hyogo that I'll be sure to check out next time!