November November

It’s been a good month, despite the excess snow and ice accumulating. The snow pile on the side of the driveway tells a tale of a longer winter ahead. I was able to enjoy a nice walk with my Mom and sister Melissa, during one of the lulls of the snow pounding. When contrasted with a colour other than white, it really is beautiful, and I'm glad I can use my mom's camera to take pictures while my other one remains suspended in limbo. A couple days will be white, and a couple days will be spring weather. I’ll take what I can get, and it’s beautiful while it lasts.

Melissa had a medical in Moose Jaw one day, so it was my first Saskatchewan road trip since I’ve been back. It was a nice little day out at the airbase where we saw the Snow Birds practicing.

Later on we did some shopping in town but didn’t stay too long once Melissa was happy with her new clothes. She half jokes that she needs to be at work to save money where she doesn’t even buy lunch.

For the most part I’m happy to just spend time with others. Usually if I call Melissa up to do anything it will have to be watching TV or a movie, so I’m enthusiastic should alternative excursions arise. One night she was over, and I just decided to make some Peanut Butter cookies. It only took an hour and was quite tasty. It’s easy, so why not eh? You can have chats on the side while you do it, whereas the TV is a sedative generally.

I call Ann quite a bit, and I can sense things are getting tough on her. I’m on vacation while she’s working hard, and really just waiting to see what I’m going to do before we can be together again. It’s been about 6 months since we’ve seen each other. She's doing well though, though she told me recently she works 7 days a week with 2 jobs at the moment; it can be a tough life in Thailand.

Come Nov 11^th, Remembrance Day, we went to Regina’s central park. Melissa was in her Navy uniform, and I was early enough to get a good spot to stand and watch the proceedings.

I was a bit surprised how many Christian references and prayers were made, given how the people who fought and died were most likely of many different backgrounds, but that’s the way it goes around here I guess. I was happy there were many people out there braving to cold to give thanks to those who have fallen.

I saw a Universityof Regina hockey game with my friend Ken at the renovated Agribition area. There were many hockey rinks, and many more Canadians drinking beer and watching the proceedings. It was a cultural event and fairly entertaining even if our team lost.

It was a good time to visit the Schoenroth side of the family this month. For the first time since I’ve been back, there was a birthday gathering as I had been looking forward to; a chance to catch up with some of my huge family. What struck me right away were all the children suddenly running around where there really hasn’t been since I was little. More disturbing than that, I didn’t really know any of them.

It was one of those weird moments of realization that my childhood generation has come and gone, had their chance to run around under tables and lick the icing off candles. It was great, but now I can’t help but feel I was one of those “boring” adults that just talked about stuff instead of running around and playing games. Luckily not all is lost though; my friend Baden and I were visiting in the basement in-between games of make-belief gunfights with kids that were shooting up the place. It was as fun as ever, even if we never really got off the couch. My brother John came down to join us later, but he was too ‘mature’ to play along. That’s ok, more fun for us. I think I’m a lot better with kids now, after having taught them for years.

Before all that, I made an effort to go from room to room, person to person, and try to touch base again. Everyone is as lively as I remember, and catching up was as easy as it was enjoyable. I’ve been warned by people coming back not to get upset when you get asked “how was Japan?” over and over, as there is no way to sum up 3 years of your life in a 3 worded question.

No, if someone was interested in knowing something, they asked a great question, which I’d try to follow up with a great story. I feel like I’m full of those now, as I feel I’ve lived a lifetime of adventure in those short years. It’s not like I want to talk about myself for hours either and if I try, as I’ve learnt, I’ll lose my voice after a while. I usually like to hear other people’s stories more than I like telling my own, and like Larry King said: "I never learned anything while I was talking."

The time went fast at the party of course, but luckily it was followed up with another one not long later: my dad’s 60^th birthday. He made a Turkey feast and it was nice to go and see the old farmhouse again. There was more cake, more family, more laughter to be enjoyed by all. Happy Birthday Dad.

That morning the same day however my buddy Lester asked me: “Hey, want to go to Las Vegas for a week?” He found round trip airfare, including hotel accommodation on the strip for 1 week for $380 after taxes (and me putting in for extra health insurance; I’ve heard too many horror stories about the American Health System to take a chance).

I know I didn’t want to go on a potentially pricey holiday before I had a job, but what a deal eh? Some of my friends told me they would be angry with me if I said ‘no’. So for next time, look forward to some Vegas stories ^_^

"When you talk, you repeat what you already know; when you listen, you often learn something." -Jared Sparks

(I know this quote is almost identical to the Larry King one earlier, but it’s just as good)

tnoy

Incongruent Ramblings and Halloween

While I’m not as busy as I had been previously, time is still whizzing by quite fast. I’m putting a little effort into job hunting, though not overly. It was funny when I met one of my sister’s friends a couple weeks back and they asked me what I do. When I answered, “I’m unemployed” they stuttered a bit before being lost for something to say. I guess that’s pretty uncommon, but I suppose I didn’t help the conversation much with such a simple answer, followed by a smile and a ‘peace’ sign.

I’ve been reading books, sleeping in, and playing games a lot. Though, it seems I spend more time installing and tweaking/modding games than playing them now; I suppose video games are largely becoming a thing of the past to me. It’s an expensive hobby really, so I mostly get older/cheaper games that are still good. I do have some savings, but not extensive, and I’m reluctant to spend it without knowing when/where my next paycheck will come from.

Regina is a city, situated in a place, where outside spending times with friends and family, you’re going to need money to do anything slightly entertaining. I’ve persuaded several family members to go on road trips, or play games together largely in vain. That’s not to say I’m not having fun, and we aren’t having good times together, but I’m starting to hunger for more excitement and adventures again.

My camera is still lost and I still haven’t bought a replacement; I figure I’ll hold off until a large event to give it time to show up somewhere. Though hope for finding it, along with those games I misplaced (?) somewhere in Japan is dwindling. I’ve been using Mom’s camera a bit, so atleast I can show you some pictures even if I don’t have many new ones. These early pics are the leaf covered beach my brother John and I visited.

I’ve written this post over several days making it disjointed, but now it’s Halloween and I’d like to put it up before November rolls over. I went to Chris’ place yesterday where we carved pumpkins. It was a great idea and I’m very proud of my “One Piece” pumpkin. They made an impressive one as well of “puss in boots”; that cat from Shrek.

John is a crazy brother as always, betting money on football games now. I watched the game with him last week, mostly because he was cheering against the Roughriders; something I needed to see to believe. Sure enough, they were terrible and lost, so we were glad to be cheering against them, and he won over $100 on his ticket. Before I went home, he had another ticket ready to go for some NFL picks even though he didn’t really know anything about the league. As long as he’s enjoying himself I suppose, I know he’s smarter than becoming a reckless gambler.

We got a ton of snow in Saskatchewan this week, and I spent almost 3 hours shoveling it on Thursday maybe. I figure I moved a couple tons of wet snow, and the next day my entire back was stiff so I moved and sounded like an old man. I’m much better now, and a lot of the snow has melted since then, but it was a good workout eh?

My Aunt had a steak night fundraiser, which coincidentally felt like a mini family reunion. I saw many folks that not only hadn’t seen me in years, but also didn’t even know I was home. I suggested to many of them we should have a large family gathering to get reacquainted, but everyone seems to be waiting for Christmas for that.

I half expected to be gone by October already, and here it’s November. It’s looking like yes, maybe I will be here for Christmas. Perhaps it’s time I started to get more serious about finding employment and stop enjoying my daily vacation so much. It was a good feeling finally updating my blog again; it feels more like something I want to do, and less of a chore now :) Perhaps I can try to be more frequent than once a month.

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." -Walt Disney

tnoy

Endless Holiday in Regina

I haven’t really wanted to update while relaxing, but it’s almost October already, and if I don’t post anything in September that would be pretty embarrassing. Patty called me up the other day to see if I made any “life goals” yet, and while they are there, have been pending due to holiday.

Speaking of which, I guess I should mention Victoria as I left off there last time. We made a grand list of things to do, but only touched a couple of them. Patty saved up holidays for years and works way too hard, so the first day or two was spent sleeping in and catching up. I got to meet her awesome boyfriend who cooked, and gave me beer frequently.

Probably the highlight of the trip was when we went zip lining. It was amazing swinging around the trees and putting your life to little metal wheels rolling on a cable suspended high off the ground. I took a video on one of my trips and really enjoyed the whole thing.

We did a lot despite there being things we couldn’t do. There was a campfire ban due to how dry everything was. Huge fires were raging in B.C. that made it to Regina even. Another awesome thing we did was visiting a nearby observatory with a huge telescope.

I wasn’t there very long, maybe 4 or 5 days. I’ve been in Regina ever since, visiting many different friends and family. There may be many people I haven’t seen yet, though the number was much higher than I thought it would be.

I’ve been eating pizza and buffalo wings frequently, and having Canadian beer. With my friend Lester, we went mini golfing. With my friend Matt, we’ve played some Dungeons and Dragons. With my friend Chris, we played a board game after some amazing food. The majority of August was spent simply meeting people and visiting for hours on end; a couple times I visited my Grandparents, showing them pictures and talking until I lost my voice. I had a night at my mom’s too, when people came over for food and pictures after. Noriko came from Japan and visited for almost a week as well.

Things have slowed down a bit in the last couple weeks, but I’m still having fun. When I call Ann, often there isn’t much to say when talking about “what’s new.” She still can’t visit, and as for working here, they are still processing requests from November of last year. So, I could get a job somewhere and wait a year for her to come join me, or just live that year in Thailand.

It took me a couple of weeks to warm up to the idea. I’m not a big Bangkok fan, but who knows right, it could be fun. Once we’ve lived together for a year, there shouldn’t be so much red tape to go traveling together and such. It’s unfortunate huge shipping crates of smuggled immigrants are finding refuge in Canada, but when you try going through the proper routes they make it impossible.

But anyways, here I have hardly a page written up but it has been very difficult. I lost my camera a couple weeks back at my sister’s house during a football game, and don’t have many pictures; the ones I'm posting are over a month old. It’s quite baffling really, how it was in my hand one minute, but at the end of the night is completely gone. I’m afraid to buy a new one because I just know it’ll turn up somewhere eventually.

I get inspired periodically to write something down on this blog, just little blurbs about life in general mostly. I’ve signed up to the gym finally to try and lose weight for real, and it’s been a good experience so far.

I read a quote a while back, about how friends are there not just waiting until they can talk, or try to change you, but to just enjoy your company. I’m paraphrasing of course, but it struck a chord with me. My friends here are a lot different from my friends in Japan, but I enjoy their company just the same. It took a number of weeks to “get used to” being back in Regina, so I guess it’s better than the over 2 years it took in Japan.

The sky is huge here, and as a result, the fall colours are a bit harder to view compared to seeing a mountain covered in the multicolor. I see things, like Japanese commercials on TV, or their beer at the liquor store; either Regina has become more international, or I have for noticing it now.

I’m off to watch a movie at my sister’s house now, and trying to post this before October comes. I’ll try and update more frequently maybe? This has been a really good, relaxing holiday so far ^_^

"Life does not happen to us, it happens from us." -Mike Wickett

tnoy

Summer in Vancouver

Well, I’ve been in Canada a month now and I haven’t posted a new entry. I finally finished the last of my unpacking today, so maybe I’m ‘caught up’ enough to dip into this hobby yet again; after all, I still have friends in Japan that may take interest in my travels. I suspect the format and feel of my blog may change a lot; always try something new eh? It may even get a face lift as I figure out my next big adventure.

My first week back, now over 3 weeks ago, was a big trip to Vancouver. I stayed with my friend Steve, who was awesome enough to meet me at the airport and help me haul my heavy luggage back to his place to stay. I was wired from the lack of sleep, being back, and seeing my good friend that I babbled incessantly. I was relating many things as I saw them, and sharing many stories of my time in Japan.

The “Reverse Culture Shock”, an overused phrase hanging heavily over my head before departure was feared, and perhaps I took a proactive attempt to breach it prematurely. Upon relating my fears, my friend had no idea what I was talking about, so I should probably explain: “Reverse Culture Shock” is usually worse than culture shock itself, as I should be more familiar and comfortable with my native culture. Since I’ve been absent so long: my country has changed, my friends have changed, and I have changed. Some people have a hard time coping with that, as I remember one former JET was quoted as saying: “I felt like I had no home to return to anymore”

Oh ya, and transferring in the States was terrible. Despite my need to only transfer, I still had to go through customs, find my luggage, check it again, run around, get stopped and asked awkward questions among other things. I had over 2 hours to make my transfer, but because of the system I almost missed that flight, and had to sprint a great distance to catch it. I was not amused. By comparison when I got to Vancouver, after landing I saw Steve within 15 minutes maybe. If I can help it, I’ll book flights that never transfer in the states again. They treated my possible missed departure like everyday business, while I panicked wondering what I’d have to do if I’d missed my flight like they were trying to make me.

Anyways, Vancouver is awesome. That first night Steve took me out for some amazing hamburgers and we geeked out watching TV shows and drinking Canadian beers after. Of course, I had a beer or two every day in Vancouver, and marveled at the diverse selection found there. Steve had to work the next day, I guess Friday the 30^th (I gained a day by crossing the Pacific) so I walked from his place to downtown; a beautiful trip over some huge bridges adorning the skyline. The only thing odd I found was many of the skyscrapers were identical to each other; apparently many employed the same architect.

Now downtown, I stopped for pizza at a little shop. I was delighted to have some Canadian pizza again, full of flavour, and a small side of wings. My first acquaintance I sat with was a pleasant girl, and we had a good talk. After she left, and homeless man came in and took her can from the table. Stranger ye, after that there was another man with perhaps some mental problems; for he would eat really fast, then convulse while speaking in tongues. After the first minute, I wondered if he was choking, but soon enough he would stuff his face some more, before his next session of crazy garble.

There were many homeless, and the smell of drugs was everywhere. I was informed you can leave a can/bottle anywhere in the city and it would be cleaned up within 10 minutes. They never caused me any problems, and in a way were keeping the city clean, but it was still a shock to experience again. Unlike Sydney though, the subway was very clean, and much more frequent; I highly enjoyed the public transit.

It was a long weekend because of a “BC day” that was new. What also was new was the “Harmony Tax”, which does little more than add the Provincial and Government taxes together, and make the price of food more expensive. It’s still hard getting used to adding 12% more money to everything I purchase, and harder yet feeling obligated to add another 10% or so for tips at restaurants. I already miss the service of Japan, or atleast being able to get my own water; many a times already I’ve tried flagging a waitress in vain, or spent half a meal thirsty. Yet, they must be tipped apparently.

Maybe there is more to write about than I thought; I know the depression and other stuff didn’t hit until the 2^nd or 3^rd week back, but I should try and keep these stories to Vancouver, as it was all fun ^_^ Steve took me out to the famous (and therefore tourist heavy) “Granville Island”, where we saw his old Pastry Chef school, had the best Fish -n- Chips in Vancouver, and bought fresh produce like blueberries for cheap at the farmer’s market. That night, he made some “Texas Style” chili, which is different from the normal chili I’m used to with beans and such, but it was delicious.

Sunday was a gloomy day, and we spent it indoors at the HR MacMillan Space Centre. I didn’t expect to be there all day, but we were bouncing from the planetarium to the main museum constantly because they had new and interesting shows playing every hour. It was tough, given my jet lag, being in a dark room and reclining on a soft chair to look at the stars above; I started snoring during one show. I’m so glad we went though, but am a bit sad we missed the pride week festivities across the lake; I doubt you’ll see a party like that in Regina or anything.

I think it was Monday now, and we caught up with my friend Erika again; a teacher from Okaya during my first year in Japan, and I met up with her when I visited last year in Victoria. We went for some delicious sushi, then later she took us to “wreck beach”, a clothing optional establishment. It was right beside the university, and it was quite the attraction. Most people had clothes on of course, but it was still full of crazy sites like a naked man standing and paddling on a surfboard, or a guy wearing only a cape.

The police came by once, and despite the place smelling like drugs, they were only concerned with open alcohol. People warned others of the upcoming inspection, so we were safe, but the group beside us wasn’t so lucky for some reason. All that happened was their beer got poured out and I think they got a warning. When they were gone, we continued drinking. That night Erika made us some awesome tacos.

Steve was back to work on Tuesday so I went exploring. Everyone talked about this big, awesome aquarium, so after getting lost downtown exploring for a while, I gave it a look. I was very disappointed and would recommend anyone go to any one of the many aquariums I had seen in Japan for a much better time. Stanley Park was really cool though, even if I only saw a little bit. Right away, there were a couple raccoons on the tree and I hadn’t seen them before. In my excitement, I was ready to point them out to others passing by before realizing they treated them like pests. Sure enough later on they scared some girls off a bench so they could rummage a nearby garbage can. Oh well, for the brief time I saw them they were kind of cute.

I think Wednesday was my last day in Vancouver, though I don’t have many pictures and doubt I did much. It seemed I was sleeping in until noon each day, but I had a lot of fun. Steve is a great cook and made lots of food, while we drank beers and watched geeky shows. “Burn Notice”, “Community” and more joined a list of TV shows I should probably watch, but just don’t have the time to.

I booked a bus to Victoria, bid farewell to my good friend, and stayed with my sister for the next 4 days or so.

"Improve relationships with others by assuming that they can hear everything you say about them." -Stephen R. Covey

tnoy

So Long Japan, and Thanks for all the Fish

Although I only got home around 1 in the morning, Tuesday, July 20^th was a holiday because of the festival that weekend. Although I don’t remember much from that day, I’m fairly certain I cleaned more. That night was my farewell party with Yayoi.

We went for soba and other party foods at a local restaurant. There, I was treated to a speech from Momose Sensei, where he thanked me for the group, saying kind things like how I understood the students well, could be counted on for fun lessons in advance, and that I was always kind to the kids. It was a very kind speech, and a very special night.

Wednesday was another farewell party with some of the Adult Students again, but much smaller this time, and we went for Unagi (eel), a summer specialty. It was delicious if you’ve ever had the stuff, and we bid farewell to each other yet again, as it was the last time I could see them before going home.

On Thursday was my last day at Tatsuno High School. The kids were well behaved, and we played games for my last 2 classes with them. I was very happy for the last class when I said “good morning” the whole class greeted me back. I knew I could finish on a high note. After school, many students came by with many different presents, and we talked for a good while.

When I wasn’t busy, I wrote up thank you cards with my email to other teachers, and gave them parting presents. I couldn’t find any Canadian wine anywhere; so then I looked for Maple cookies. Alas I couldn’t find those either, so I got other cookies, and they were well received. That night we had our farewell party together at another restaurant in Ina. It was delicious again, and Komagome Sensei tried to keep up with me; we had over 2 liters each.

Of the 5 teachers, 3 have been teaching with me for the whole 3 years. Only Kumagai Sensei couldn’t make the party, because he got the chicken pox or something, and has been in the hospital for weeks. Komagome sensei was tasked with my farewell speech, and had many kind words for me, like how I taught him much more than just teaching, and that he would miss me dearly. We all had a hard farewell, the Japanese kind where they stood at the restaurant waving at me until I walked out of sight. I will miss them deeply.

I caught myself taking pictures and movies of mundane things; pictures of my desk, the hallway, driving north, my train station, and more. Even when I look at them now, they bring back good memories, and I’m happy to have records of them. When I look at the pictures of my friends, and those who came to wish me well, I am flooded with recollections of the good times we shared.

After parties everyday, Friday night was more subdued for a chance of respite. I went out for a simple supper with Thi while we waited for Richard to get out of his work party and then had an early night. On Saturday we met up with Sorin and Molly, and went for a quick swim in the Tenryu River near a campground I visited last year.

It was still beautiful, surrounded by rich green trees and grass. We even saw some snake skins lying around. We jumped into the water and cooled down, as the hot summer days of late were very taxing. It’s amazing how a hot, hot day quickly becomes a nice day when you’re out swimming.

We went to Okaya after and saw the movie “Inception” because with a movie rumored to be this good, you need to see it before you hear spoilers; otherwise it would have been a tough call to pick between seeing it, and Toy Story 3. It was a really good movie as we were told, and I still look forward to seeing the new Toy Story sometime, though now it’ll have to be in Canada.

That night, Neal’s friend Michelle was celebrating her birthday at the castle. For it, they had a keg after eating monstrous hamburgers. It was a really good idea for a party, and we played Frisbee in the dark because it had little lights built in. Other teachers came by, and more farewell words were shared; it’s interesting to see how large exoduses play out among social circles.

On Sunday we had more time to take a slightly longer drive to that breathtaking waterhole near Komagane. I hadn’t been there since my welcome party 3 years ago, where I met many people for the first time. It’s funny how things came full circle, as this was my last Sunday in Japan.

It was still a splendor to behold, and still icy to jump in. This time I had the courage to jump, but hit the bottom after a small jump. I guess taking off from high up was not meant to be, but it didn’t stop us from having fun. After a couple hours of this, we started to pack up, and were hit by a monsoon.

The downpour was wicked, and Richard went scrambling for the car to pick us up. As we drove out of it though, it was an interesting freak storm that affected just a small area, climbing over the Alps and washing a line from East to West; just a couple kilometers north and south were dry. It sure was cool to see.

That night was my last farewell party, and it was at Mervin’s house. We only decided on it Friday maybe, and I didn’t really invite anyone. Mervin made some calls though, and it was a fun little gathering with lots of freshly made food from some of his Pilipino friends.

On Monday I taught my last 2 classes in Japan, and that night went to my favourite restaurant, kappa sushi, for the last time. I met up with 7 others, and lined up all my favourite dishes for pictures and consumption. I went to that restaurant maybe every week, and have a profound love for sushi and wasabi thanks to it.

I traded farewells with other people I wouldn’t be seeing again before Thursday, and that night, I slept on the floor of my empty house. I had a cushion I would throw in the garbage in the morning, but despite that, I am very proud of the way I was able to clean up everything in my house and get ready to go; it’s own type of therapy. I realized that I had been cleaning for over 5 weeks, and having hard farewells with many good friends for over 2 weeks that I was all played out.

I had made my peace with Japan, was all cried out, and ready to move on with my life.

On Tuesday I gave my farewell speech to Yayoi and never broke down like I did at Tatsuno thanks to my newfound closure. I got choked up obviously, and so were my kids, and we were able to be happy about our time together in unison. When I walked through the gym this time where they parted and clapped their hands, some would come and shake my hand. I patted some backs, waved, and we all celebrated the joy that was my tenure here.

It was another busy day, as they all have been, with thank you cards, gifts, last minute errands such as cleaning out my bank, handing over my car and house keys, paperwork and more. When it was time, I shook hands, hugged some, and made my way to the door (after throwing my shoes in the garbage; there wasn’t any room in my luggage)

To my surprise, everyone followed me. Soon I was leading a procession to the door, and was joined by other teachers along the way that took notice. At the entrance we ran into even more people, and the girls softball team. I wanted one last picture together, and everyone was happy to oblige. They gave me thanks; I shed my last tears, and had another long walk home, with everyone standing at the entrance, waving to me until I was out of sight. I now understand why they do that in Japan, and it touched my soul.

I went home and finished filling my suitcases. Took my last photos of my empty house, and tried to make the “5-minute” walk with all of my heavy luggage; it took half an hour. I hoped to catch up with Richard for one last beer together, but was obviously falling behind time. He ran up the hill though to shake my hand and bid me farewell before quickly running to his own bus, one taking him to Tokyo and later Vietnam. I hope he has a good trip like what Neal and I had 2 years ago.

I somehow made it to my train on time. I rode it for an hour north, taking in my surroundings, and the novelty of riding a train. Craig and Lauren picked me up at the station, and together we joined Kayo for some subs. A novelty food in Japan, sure, but it was delicious, and it was great to see my good friends again before I left.

Craig took me to Mervin’s after, where I could size up a scale and have an idea of what I was looking at. My large bag was over 10kg overweight. My heart sunk when I saw that, and started doing major surgery to its insides. Some presents had to be thrown out, most of my socks and underwear, and many articles of clothing filled one of Mervin’s garbage bags. While it was fraught with tough calls, it was encouraging to know I was that much closer to being ready for Thursday.

We watched ‘The Shawshank Redemption” that night before going to sleep, and laughed at how we could draw awkward analogies to my departure and that classic film. In the morning, Wednesday, I took the 5-minute taxi to the train station, and it cost twice what my half hour train to Matsumoto was. I sure won’t miss the taxis here, but atleast it took my luggage for me. In Matsumoto, there was a fleet of taxis, all with running engines of course, but it’s a lot easier now to not let things bug me.

Neal came and picked me up, and I parked my luggage at his house. He had work, so I could relax that morning, and later we got lunch; my last bowl of ramen. After lunch I cancelled my cell phone, and looked for a couple presents with not much luck; I hardly had any luggage space after all.

Neal joined me later, and together with Michelle we had all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ for my last supper in Japan. After, we played games at Neal’s house. It was a long hot day, and I was ragged from all the activities as of late, but was still grateful for chance to spend time with my good friend before leaving.

On Thursday morning, I was awakened to Neal making me breakfast. I was exhausted, but forced myself out of bed to try and make the most of our time together. It was short lived, as before long the airport taxi was calling. For $20 than making my own way to the airport, it would pick me up and take me straight there; a huge convenience, especially considering all my bags.

We both refused to say ‘goodbye’ to each other, and instead we look forward to the next time we can meet up again. I’ve said it before (and believe it) with other friends of course, though saying it to the last friendly face before leaving still made me choke up, and I told him to have a good day in an effort to break some of the somber overtone. Life is a celebration, not a funeral. I will miss my dear friend.

So there I was, at the airport, typing this up while waiting for the flight that will end “Anthony’s Amazing Asian Adventure.” I handed in my foreigner card, checked in my luggage, and was even stopped in a random security check. The police saluted me when they walked off, thanking me for my 3 years of service here.

I’m ready to go home, and I am forever grateful for making the best decision of my life by coming here. 3 years have come and gone, and I consider myself a lucky man to have experienced it, to have had the chance to learn and grow from it, and to meet all the amazing people that I have. To all my friends I made here in Japan, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. You will be missed, and you will never be forgotten. To all my friends and family back home in Canada, thank you for your love and support, and I will see you soon.

Until we meet again, have a good one and take care ^_^

tnoy

It's not getting any easier

It seems I can’t leave the house without completing another 3 errands or so, from saying goodbye to people, to buying presents, to sending large and heavy boxes home. Let’s just say I’ve spent over $250 at the post office this month, but atleast there is progress. I know this update is late, but that’s to be expected; pandemonium. Let me backtrack and try to put the chaos into words, as I post this blog late on a Friday night before going to another party.

On the 13^th, I made a special trip to Matsumoto to drop off 3 more heaters for that cool guy, Trevor. Since I was in town, I was able to meet up with Neal for some Indian food. We went there before with my mom and Ann, and it was delicious again.

As it usually is, the conversation was interesting. We reflected on the last 3 years together, from the first time I met Neal, to other crazy adventures. He hit me with some blunt truth: “You were looking for a reason to stay”. It’s true though, my reasons for coming to Japan changed into different reasons for why I stayed over time. This last year was mostly “because I’m having the time of my life” and moving to Ina was seen largely as a fresh start.

Alas, I feel like it’s time to move on, and discovered my feelings that if I came back to teach English in Japan, it would be a like step backwards for myself personally; the same way that working in Regina again would be 2 steps back. I want to move on to something new, and need to make the choice for myself.

More insights were made, and more fun was had, before going back to Neal’s house for video games. We played for hours, and it brought back many good memories from when I used to play games like this with friends; I was pretty rusty.

Neal told me he was busy Wednesday night for my farewell party with my adult students, but he said that to see the look of shock on my face when I saw him driving into the parking lot. 30 people or so had gathered at the local Chinese restaurant to see me off, and wish me well. Unfortunately I forgot my camera at Ike's the week before, and am missing many potential pictures, but you get the idea.

The food was amazing, and naturally the people were great. I was surprised they asked me to give a speech straight away before I had any drinks, and was surprised even more when I started to choke up after the first sentence. I mentioned how the last 3 years were summed up as a “Poof! And then they were gone” with a lump in my throat. There I was, surrounded by such good friends, for so many years, and it was uncertain if I would see them again. I ended my speech early before breaking down, but not before giving them heartfelt thanks.

We ate, we drank, and we had fun. I got presents from some people, and photos with others. Emails went around, memories were fondly recalled, and I gave them my last English lesson: “Take Care”, because goodbye is forever, and too sad. I felt it was appropriate.

I got home ok thanks to Richard, but when I woke up in the morning the room was spinning like crazy. I didn’t get very drunk the night before because I was so busy talking, and was reminded of a similar incident about 5 years ago when I had an ear infection, and the excess fluids made me dizzy. Atleast this time I didn’t wake up puking like I did then.

I somehow drove to work in Tatsuno thinking it would pass, but that was pretty dangerous. After fighting it for a while at school, I went to the hospital not far away. I spent the next 5 hours lying on a bed, trying not to get sick. They did some simple tests, I didn’t really understand, and then they told me this is apparently common, and they were going to give me medicine that “may or may not work”. Oh and there was no one to check my ears; I’d have to come back another day.

It sounded like a placebo, but the huge syringe they brought out was not. They put was seemed like ½ a liter or something inside me, so much it took almost 5 minutes to inject, then waited a while for the effects. I could atleast sit up in the bed now, and was reassured it would get better, and got a prescription for something.

Sure enough I did get better over the next 5 days, though I’m not sure what I had or what medicine I was taking. I wondered if it was from stress or poor diet, though my mom thinks it was from a lack of water with this sweltering heat. Atleast I’m ok again, but my time in the hospital not only made me reflect on my mom’s worst fears: of me being in that old hospital.

Also, I missed my last class with my 3^rd years. They still got some stuff done for the festival, and I was a bit relieved, as I was afraid my last talk to them would quickly decompose into a lecture. I really hope they start acting better, as it’s hard to make a class interesting or fun if there is absolutely zero interest to listen or be quiet from the kids. As I’ve said before, they’re the worst class I’ve ever had to deal with, and I just hope they calm down enough to show a little bit of respect for my colleague teaching with me.

Anyways, I was glad I was feeling good enough to give my farewell speech on Friday. I had it prepared as I mentioned last time, and practiced it a couple times (it would take about 10 minutes). After a brief introduction from the principal, I gave my speech. I started with a “good morning”, to which about 5 students replied out of hundreds.

This set me back a bit, and is a big reason why I’ve grown tired of that school lately. Regardless, they are still my kids, and I still had 3 amazing years with them. I started my speech with a little joke to get them laughing, and then it got serious. I could hear sniffles echoing in the gym, and when I came near the end, I broke down completely.

I have never wept so openly before, especially in such a huge crowd. I truly believed in my words, and what I was telling them, and am truly grateful to be here. Here is a transcript of my speech (roughly translated into English):

Good Morning!

Yes, I’ll be going home soon. You’re probably thinking: “Hey Tony! Whatcha’ talkin’ about?!?!” (In Osaka slang). The last 3 years sure have gone fast, and I have been blessed with your kindness in that time.

My feelings upon leaving are complicated. I’m full of anticipation for things to come, and am excited to see my friends and family again. At the same time, I’m hesitant.

I remember when I first came here well. I stood in this same spot, and said “nice to meet you”. My Japanese was terrible then, but I studied and tried hard. I took the Japanese proficiency test 2 years ago, and failed. It was a shock, and I became depressed. As I though, new languages are really hard, aren’t they?

But, a new year is a new start, and I never give up. I worked extremely hard, wrote the test again last year, and this time, I passed.

It was a long, hard road, but the feeling of victory was enormous. I wanted to try and give that feeling to you when I was teaching English. I tried to make my classes fun for everyone. Sometimes I may seem like a crazy foreigner from a crazy country, but the truth is I’m just a person, the same as all of you. I hope all of you can go out, and try to live a life of joy and adventure, just like I am trying to.

Although I came here to teach English, I found myself learning everyday. The Japanese studies I mentioned were just one example, I learnt about the culture and many other things too. I have many memories from my time here. Because of these experiences, I have been able to grow.

You all live in a truly beautiful place. Everyday I would look at the mountains, breath the air, and enjoy the nature. I have been to many places before, and I’ve grown to love Nagano and the people here. I cannot believe my time in Japan is coming to an end.

Please don’t be sad that I’m going, but be happy that I came. I will never forget your kindness, and I wish for your happiness from the bottom of my heart. I am so grateful to you all, and I will miss you more than words can express.

Thank you for the best 3 years of my life.

Tears pouring down my face, and to a thunderous applause in the gym, I took a deep bow. With shaking hands, I folded my speech up, and tried to dry my eyes. I hoped to make a quick exit, but soon a student representative came up, and gave an English speech to me, as I roughly remember it:

“Thank you for teaching here, we will miss you. You always said hello to all students, making us happy. Your classes were always fun. Please remember Tatsuno High School, and come to visit again someday.”

He spoke with such good English too, I couldn’t be more proud. After another bout of tears and applause, I tried to run off stage again to hide my tears, but was told to stay up, warranting a chuckle. There, the principal joined me, and gave a short speech, like how my last day was next Thursday.

Soon, he parted the gym up the middle like Noah, and together we walked through the rows of applauding, weeping kids. I was a blubbering shaky mess now, but I tried to keep my head high as we walked through the procession, saying thank you to the students and teachers surrounding me, tears in their eyes, clapping their hands, and waving goodbye.

I had to stop typing several times to keep from crying again, it was simply emotionally overwhelming. I somehow drove back to Yayoi to finish classes for the day. It was my last school festival in Tatsuno that weekend, and after the speech, I felt like I really wanted to go. Alas, it was also my last long weekend in Japan, and I have been to 5 school festivals already, so I went on my last Japanese road trip.

Before going to Thi's place to spend the night, Richard and I went to a french restaurant in Matsumoto with Neal and Michelle. At Thi’s place, we planned our trip. Because it was a long weekend, everything seemed busy. We didn’t have camping equipment, so we looked for hotels, and the pickings were very slim. I went to sleep early, still feeling dizzy and sick, and Saturday morning we drove 6 hours north to Niigata, the only place we could find a place to stay, and it was only for 2 people, so we had to sneak me in; there was simply no where else to stay.

We had the chance to drive along the coast, and immediately we understood Neal’s deep-seated hate for tetra pods. Scattered for many kilometers along the coast, around 5 meters from the shore, were what must have been thousands of tons of very ugly concrete.

I enjoyed the ride regardless though, as I found a book at Thi’s place: “1984”. I never really knew much about it before, but am so glad I got to read it. The whole thing was so amazing, so frightening, and so engrossing, that I started to turn anti-social half way through the trip. I apologized for being rude with my nose in a book, but it really was a great way to unwind. I highly recommend it to everyone.

We didn’t really do much in Niigata, as we knew nothing about the city and it was dark when we arrived. We got some food, checked out some sights, and went to bed. In the morning we took a 2-hour ferry to Sado Island, where we spent the next 2 days.

On the ferry I tried Pachinko for the first time, and it really is a waste of money like people say. You spin a knob, dictating how hard it will throw out balls, and they fall and slide into slots for prizes. I was baffled at how such a boring mess could be so prevalent in Japan. Though, they did have a cool Nintendo station set up, where you could choose from a number of games to play.

Once on the Island, we drove around for a while at first, and were always disappointed with any beaches we came across due to the unwieldy piles of concrete making the small patch of sand look ugly. I was surprised with the Island though; it seemed rather empty. We drove for hours trying to find restaurants sometimes.

I found it peaceful though, and I like I said, I was wrapped up in a book for most of it. We made our way to Sado’s goldmine, and the tour was really neat. We saw how they excavated the thing, and how they burrowed around looking for new gold veins among other things.

We stayed at a Ryokan that night, a Japanese style hotel. I unfortunately haven’t stayed at them as much as I should have in the past, as not only do you stay with a wonderful family, but also they cook you amazing food made from local specialties. We had a huge feast, and loved it all; weird cone shells, BBQ fish, sashimi and more. It was interesting too; that we were eating for almost 2 hours and hardly noticed how the time had passed because we were enjoying it so much.

That night, we snuck out to the nearby harbor, where we lit off some fireworks Richard bought for a couple hours. There was a wide variety, and it really was a lot of fun. Some would spin in circles, while others propelled themselves in the air like helicopters before exploding.

The Ryokan made breakfast for us that Monday morning, and we went to the nearby tourist trap: “tarai-bune”, that looked like barrel boats. Apparently they were invented around the time of the gold boom, and are very hard to navigate around with the wood paddle on the front. Regardless we gave it a try and had lots of fun.

We spend the rest of the day at a local beach, having surrendered to the tetra pods for a chance to jump in the ocean. I greased myself up heavily with sunscreen, but still got a bit burnt. We had fun, relaxed as we splashed around, and started making the trip home.

On the ferry, over the ocean, we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. Like Richard said, it was a perfect way to end the trip.

"Most of today's worries are like puddles: tomorrow they will have evaporated." -Author Unknown

tnoy

The Cleaning Crazies

It feels like I’ve been cleaning for way too long. For two weeks I tried giving stuff away, and while I made great progress, the many piles of remaining items were wearing me down so I started throwing out perfectly fine items wholesale; I didn’t want to be stuck with the hot potato.

I haven’t had classes at Yayoi all week, so after coming in and doing everything needed, I was free to go home and continue cleaning… and go crazy. On Wednesday I finally made my way to the dump expecting the worst. It wasn’t so bad though; every 10kg would cost me around $1. I dumped 90kg that day, but discovered this dump only took large burnable garbage. The large non-burnable dump was a ½ hour drive the other way, also neither would take my old car tires.

After seeking help at school, by calling the town office, we have one day every 2 months to dispose of said tires. It would cost $4 a tire, a ½ hour drive into the next town over, Takato, and I only had 2 hours, from 9:00 to 11:00 on Sunday morning.

Well, there went any travel plans for the weekend; a group of folks were going to Nagoya to see a sumo tournament too. On Friday, I got rid of another 120kg, but haven’t really touched my kitchen yet. Brian came to stay at my place, and he helped me clean on Friday. After loading my car with garbage, I loaded his van with stuff I gave him for free. Though to make it up to me, he bought me lunch and made me breakfast a couple times. Like the other stuff, I’m just happy I could find it a home instead of throwing it into a garbage pit, like that huge box of used clothes I gave up on finding a charity for.

Speaking of which, the burnable facility was like a huge concrete war bunker. A monster claw would reach into its bowels, and dump it into the incinerator above. I didn’t have my camera on me, but almost felt like I was in the Death Star.

That Friday night, Ike had a BBQ at his place. I braved the rain to attend maybe his last party. The lucky guy has someone moving in after him though, and hasn’t started cleaning yet. We had burgers, guacamole, and other goodies while watching a movie made of nostalgia: “The Sandlot”. While watching, I had very vague memories of watching it before. I remember a quote about leaving nostalgia in the past, and while it’s true, it was still interesting seeing the movie again as an adult.

It’s getting harder to see off friends as well; as it becomes less likely I’ll ever see them again. I stumbled across that while shaking Brian’s hand, though on Tuesday he’s gone to Hokkaido for a couple weeks. Others are leaving on holidays within the next week or two; and I’m gone in 17 days. On a quick side note, Brian taught me why it’s very bad manners to hand off food from one pair of chopsticks to the other; because that’s how the remains of cremated family members are handled. Bones that aren’t ashes are picked and handed around to family members to fill the urn, and he took part in it one time. Ghastly.

What started as a farewell party from Richard's and my own Adult English Conversation Classes, this Wednesday may possibly be my one big farewell party. Needless to say there is lots going on, and even more that needs to be done. After I finished writing this, I filled out lots of paper work, and managed to prepare my farewell speech for the school that I’ll deliver on Friday. Soon I’ll be living out of my suitcase in my own house, and possibly sleeping on the floor…

With so much going through my mind, I tried to escape it all by going to Phil and Theresa’s BBQ in Okaya Saturday night after spending hours cleaning again. It turned out to be a multi-purpose party for various people, and Theresa said it could be mine as well. I had a bit of an embarrassing endeavor; I was cleaning out my freezer at this party too. Throwing out perfectly fine stuff is one thing, throwing out perfectly fine food is another. I brought a box of goodies though and Dougal took most of them off my hands including alcohol.

I had good talks with people, and bid many of them perhaps our final farewell. Instead of getting easier, everything is just getting more confusing; with my mind constantly straying, and conversations sometimes going full circle back to the nightmare that is cleaning my house. Perhaps this is my crutch for dealing with all this emotional turmoil; just keeping myself distracted on things that need to be done. On that note I forgot my camera at Ike’s so I don’t really have (new) pictures for you.

Sunday morning’s garbage run went successfully, and after I went to Honami’s potluck. I made the last of my instant dressing, and some instant gravy, and put it into pots I gave away to her. There was lots of food, and my odd inclusion was well received. We chatted and enjoyed the light rain for hours; a nice lazy Sunday.

I couldn’t sit around for too long though, I had lots to do. After bidding farewell I tried to give away one last thing to them; my monopoly board. I had found it years ago but haven’t played it once in Japan oddly enough. The entire campfire wasn’t interested the night before, and while Honami and her friend haven’t heard of the game, her husband jumped at the chance.

There are very few times in life when you can make someone that happy. I was afraid he would start crying at some points, and I was happy to I could find the game a nice home, as opposed to someone’s closet. I was assured they would play right away, so I’ll ask about it on Wednesday when I see them again. I left with such a great feeling, knowing I just made a good person’s day great.

On the drive home I passed a store I heard had Takoyaki makers. I definitely want to make some when I get home to Canada so I went in to pick one up. Before I knew it, I changed my car's oil, and I made a trip to the dollar store too, to get my sister Melissa’s sushi plate, and thus the very awkward switch from “throw everything away” to “buy presents” was briefly made. On the other hand, I don’t really know how much luggage space I have either.

I ended up stopping at 4 or 5 different stores, all of them perhaps for the last time. As for buying presents, maybe I’ve been here so long that it has become much harder for me to pick things that stick out that you can’t find in Canada. I even broke my personal rule and bought some cheap clothes at Uniqlo including a pair of pants that are just a bit too small; they are now my diet goal pants I guess, I’m down around 7kg.

Perhaps I’m just confused. I know life is turmoil now, and I’m somehow getting by each day. Now to make a farewell speech that’s good enough for its purpose, but won’t make me cry too much.

"He who moves not forward, goes backward." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

tnoy