Saturday, April 15, 2006
Men with fans, the dollar shop of paradise, Colonel Sanders walks the plank: Osaka 2 (September 2003)
My second letter from Japan, written about a month in.
"How is Sarah doing in Japan?", you ask. Well I'll tell you. I'm sitting in my apartment right now, waiting for a package from my parents to arrive. I am really excited to get this particular package because it contains several items that are difficult or impossible to get here (or get cheaply). My top two most desired items: peanut butter and floss. Do the Japanese not floss? If they do, they are perhaps buying it at a special secret floss store that I don't know about. The weather is finally getting a little cooler, which is a wonderful thing. This has been, without a doubt, the hottest and most humid summer of my entire life. And supposedly it's one of the coolest that Osaka has had in years. Apparently Japan is subject to extremes in temperature, something to do with the ocean currents. I think I mentioned this already, but all japanese people carry two things with them at all times: a towel and a fan. Even the men (especially the men!) can be seen fanning themselves vigorously on every corner and in every office building. This is accompanied by repeating "Atsui desu, nee?" (hot, isn't it?) at every opportunity. Well, at least this is one expression in Japanese I'm not likely to forget. But I guess I'm not one to talk since I go around with a water bottle practically attached to my left hand, and the Japanese expressions I use just about 95% of the time are "excuse me", "good morning", "I'm sorry", "good afternoon", "I'm very sorry" and "how much does this cost?"
I HAVE FOUND HEAVEN ON EARTH, AND IT'S A JAPANESE DOLLAR STORE
After much shopping, I finally have my apartment looking really nice. If I had to list my favorite things about Japan (which I'm not ready to do yet, but I'm sure I'll subject you to it at a later date) the "Hyaku-en" or "100 yen shops" would be near the top of the list. At these stores you can buy practically EVERYTHING for just 100 yen, which is about 80 cents. And it's not all cheap crap either. I've bought: nice dishes, olive oil, frozen vegetables, frying pans, bamboo placemats, a bike light, socks, tank tops, cute little purses, really nice floor mats, all manner of little boxes and baskets, plants, picture frames with glass, photo albums, a bulletin board, scisors, tape, nails, Q-tips, dish soap, towels, washcloths, a cutting board, paper towels, spices, pancake mix, a clock, a banana stand... and this is just what I can see from where I'm sitting. I have been pretty good about money so far, I haven't burned through my paycheck like some of the other JETs. But my o ne indulgence is definitely the Hyaku-en. Half the fun is checking out all the hundreds of differnet shops around the city. Some are chains and have basically the same stuff (but maybe with slight variations!) and they get new stuff all the time! Those who have ever been with me to PriceRight may have some idea of the gleam I get in my eyes...
On the work front: teaching is going really well. I have one junior high school that I am at 3 days a week, so I kind of regard them as my home base. There I am supposedly helping out with the English club once a week, and the other two days I've been invited to come to Judo practice and learn along with the students. It was that or Kendo (stick fighting). I'll start next week. I also participated last monday in the school-wide "swimming day" where all the kids spent the morning at the pool competing in races. I was on the female teachers' relay team. We practiced a few times before hand. The other teachers were very impressed with my ability to dive, to do a flip turn, and to swim a whole two lengths of the pool without stopping. Needless to say, we did not win, but we had a lot of fun. The best part of that day was that afterwards the kids were so much less shy around me, the difference was like night and day. Hopefully they will continue to get more talkative as t hey get to know me better. I've only been to one of my other three schools so far, it's an elementary school that I only have for half a day every week. But I really wish I could be there more, I had such a great day yesterday. Instead of forty kids sitting in rows of desks, there are only 20 kids in a class, and they all sit on floor in a big group. Furthermore, they are much less shy, and besides that they are so cute. I think I relate better to younger kids than older kids, maybe because I really enjoyed being that age (or maybe I never really moved beyond it?) Also it's a lot easier to get along without needing language skills. Silliness is pretty universal.
Speaking of young kids, I had my host family from the homestay over for or dinner about two weeks ago and I got another chance to play with Yuki and Taka. I spent all day getting ready (cleaning the floors, cooking, trying to make the place nice) and I cooked the Moroccan beef with prunes and almonds recipie that Douniel gave me. The food here, while really varied and interesting, does not rely very much on spices. In fact they only have one flavor called "curry" which bears very little resemblance to Indian or Thai dishes of the same name. It's basically a brown gravy with some beef thrown in... not terribly appetizing. So maybe they weren't prepared for the garlic, ginger, paprika, and cumin I served them. They were very polite, but I noticed them excessively patting the sweat from their brows with their hand towels when they thought I wasn't looking.
I wish you could see the view from the top of my apartment building. It's bright lights and flashing neon signs and the lights from cars and trains, all relected in the river that runs one block from my building. I'd also like to show you the view from the bridge that I bike across 3 days a week on my way home from Mikuni Junior High. I cross the river from the northwest, and I see the city in front of me, looking much prettier from far away. Also the setting sun is behind me, so all the bridges and bulidings along the river are glowing pink, and I can see kids playing baseball in the riverside park (one of the only green parts of Osaka), while adults stroll along. Or, as I saw one man doing today, just sit and watch the water with a beer in one hand and a tiny little dog in the other.
........................ Ok now it's four days later. The package arrived right on schedule with floss and everything. I had a really nice 3-day weekend since Monday was a bank holiday. I got up at 6am on Saturday to go stand in line and buy tickets for the world judo championships that were held in Osaka this year. The judo was really cool, we saw some really exciting matches, both mens and womens. There are no punches or kicks, just holds and throws. It's a lot like wrestling. On Sunday I went to a festival on in a neighboring town and saw these giant carved wooden floats weighing tons that big teams of people carried through the city streets. We missed the morning part where they do it at breakneck pace and mow down anyone unlucky enought to get in the way (four people killed last year). But the nighttime parade with the floats lit by lanters was quite nice too, and the hundreds food vendors selling everthing from bean-paste filled sweets to fried octopus balls (that's balls of dough fille d with octopus meat, not the octopus's actual balls, so get your minds out of the gutter.) On Monday I went to a "fiesta Mexicana" which was quite amusing. There were food stalls run by all four Mexican restaurants in Osaka, all staffed by japanese people in "traditional dress" and lots of cheap-quality, probably-made-in-taiwan "handicrafts". But there were also imported musicians and performers from Mexico, including a marimba band Anniela and I spent some time talking to whose members are a bunch of young guys who come here every year to play Osaka and Tokyo. I was reminded of (to reveal embarassing secrets from my past), our middle school bell choir's grand tour of the Reno, Nevada area, where we performed at the Roosevelt Junior High Cafeteria, the Motel 6, and other fine venues.
HANSHIN TIGERS: THE CURSE OF THE COLONEL
On Monday night I went downtown to celebrate because the Hanshin Tigers, Osaka's baseball team, just won the national championships! The last time the Tigers won was in 1985, and crazed fans thronged the streets and tossed into the river anyone who looked anything like the team's players. One player, the star of the team, was an American named Randy Bass. At that time there were far fewer foreigners in Osaka, and the only thing they could find that looked even remotely like Bass was a life-sized statue of Colonel Sanders in front of the nearest KFC. So they tossed the statue in, where it sank like a rock, never to be seen again. Legend had it that until the missing Colonel was found, the Hanshin Tigers would never again win another championship. Divers were even sent to recover the statue and break "the Curse of the Colonel", but they never found him. And for 18 years the curse has held. So this year, when the Tigers finally won again, the whole town went completly nuts . It was definitly a sight to see: Namba was packed with people, there were parts where I couldn't even move of my own accord, I could have picked up my feet and just been carried along by the flow. Actually there were times when I was even a little scared that I would be trampled if I fell, but most of the time I was just trying to take as many pictures as possible. All these Japanese people were acting completely un-japanese. They were all totally drunk (beer was being sold on the street for $1) and most were singing the Tigers' theme song at the top of their lungs. People were climbing up light posts, being held aloft by crowd and leading big groups in cheers, wearing crazy costumes (or no costumes!) and of course there was the aforementioned bridge jumping. This year it all seemed to be pretty voluntary: I didn't see anyone get tossed in. But there was definitely a bit of peer-pressure and probably a whole lot of alcohol involved in the decision. Incidentally heavy chains appeared a few weeks ago securing all the Colonel Sanders statues in the city firmly to their storefronts. But since there are now so many more gaijin wandering the streets of Osaka, they probably weren't needed. I definitely saw some gaijin making the leap, and some of the JET girls mysteriously turned up at our weekly meeting the next day wearing Hanshin jerseys that they said they got "for free" but refused explain why. ¶ 9:30 PM
"How is Sarah doing in Japan?", you ask. Well I'll tell you. I'm sitting in my apartment right now, waiting for a package from my parents to arrive. I am really excited to get this particular package because it contains several items that are difficult or impossible to get here (or get cheaply). My top two most desired items: peanut butter and floss. Do the Japanese not floss? If they do, they are perhaps buying it at a special secret floss store that I don't know about. The weather is finally getting a little cooler, which is a wonderful thing. This has been, without a doubt, the hottest and most humid summer of my entire life. And supposedly it's one of the coolest that Osaka has had in years. Apparently Japan is subject to extremes in temperature, something to do with the ocean currents. I think I mentioned this already, but all japanese people carry two things with them at all times: a towel and a fan. Even the men (especially the men!) can be seen fanning themselves vigorously on every corner and in every office building. This is accompanied by repeating "Atsui desu, nee?" (hot, isn't it?) at every opportunity. Well, at least this is one expression in Japanese I'm not likely to forget. But I guess I'm not one to talk since I go around with a water bottle practically attached to my left hand, and the Japanese expressions I use just about 95% of the time are "excuse me", "good morning", "I'm sorry", "good afternoon", "I'm very sorry" and "how much does this cost?"
I HAVE FOUND HEAVEN ON EARTH, AND IT'S A JAPANESE DOLLAR STORE
After much shopping, I finally have my apartment looking really nice. If I had to list my favorite things about Japan (which I'm not ready to do yet, but I'm sure I'll subject you to it at a later date) the "Hyaku-en" or "100 yen shops" would be near the top of the list. At these stores you can buy practically EVERYTHING for just 100 yen, which is about 80 cents. And it's not all cheap crap either. I've bought: nice dishes, olive oil, frozen vegetables, frying pans, bamboo placemats, a bike light, socks, tank tops, cute little purses, really nice floor mats, all manner of little boxes and baskets, plants, picture frames with glass, photo albums, a bulletin board, scisors, tape, nails, Q-tips, dish soap, towels, washcloths, a cutting board, paper towels, spices, pancake mix, a clock, a banana stand... and this is just what I can see from where I'm sitting. I have been pretty good about money so far, I haven't burned through my paycheck like some of the other JETs. But my o ne indulgence is definitely the Hyaku-en. Half the fun is checking out all the hundreds of differnet shops around the city. Some are chains and have basically the same stuff (but maybe with slight variations!) and they get new stuff all the time! Those who have ever been with me to PriceRight may have some idea of the gleam I get in my eyes...
On the work front: teaching is going really well. I have one junior high school that I am at 3 days a week, so I kind of regard them as my home base. There I am supposedly helping out with the English club once a week, and the other two days I've been invited to come to Judo practice and learn along with the students. It was that or Kendo (stick fighting). I'll start next week. I also participated last monday in the school-wide "swimming day" where all the kids spent the morning at the pool competing in races. I was on the female teachers' relay team. We practiced a few times before hand. The other teachers were very impressed with my ability to dive, to do a flip turn, and to swim a whole two lengths of the pool without stopping. Needless to say, we did not win, but we had a lot of fun. The best part of that day was that afterwards the kids were so much less shy around me, the difference was like night and day. Hopefully they will continue to get more talkative as t hey get to know me better. I've only been to one of my other three schools so far, it's an elementary school that I only have for half a day every week. But I really wish I could be there more, I had such a great day yesterday. Instead of forty kids sitting in rows of desks, there are only 20 kids in a class, and they all sit on floor in a big group. Furthermore, they are much less shy, and besides that they are so cute. I think I relate better to younger kids than older kids, maybe because I really enjoyed being that age (or maybe I never really moved beyond it?) Also it's a lot easier to get along without needing language skills. Silliness is pretty universal.
Speaking of young kids, I had my host family from the homestay over for or dinner about two weeks ago and I got another chance to play with Yuki and Taka. I spent all day getting ready (cleaning the floors, cooking, trying to make the place nice) and I cooked the Moroccan beef with prunes and almonds recipie that Douniel gave me. The food here, while really varied and interesting, does not rely very much on spices. In fact they only have one flavor called "curry" which bears very little resemblance to Indian or Thai dishes of the same name. It's basically a brown gravy with some beef thrown in... not terribly appetizing. So maybe they weren't prepared for the garlic, ginger, paprika, and cumin I served them. They were very polite, but I noticed them excessively patting the sweat from their brows with their hand towels when they thought I wasn't looking.
I wish you could see the view from the top of my apartment building. It's bright lights and flashing neon signs and the lights from cars and trains, all relected in the river that runs one block from my building. I'd also like to show you the view from the bridge that I bike across 3 days a week on my way home from Mikuni Junior High. I cross the river from the northwest, and I see the city in front of me, looking much prettier from far away. Also the setting sun is behind me, so all the bridges and bulidings along the river are glowing pink, and I can see kids playing baseball in the riverside park (one of the only green parts of Osaka), while adults stroll along. Or, as I saw one man doing today, just sit and watch the water with a beer in one hand and a tiny little dog in the other.
........................ Ok now it's four days later. The package arrived right on schedule with floss and everything. I had a really nice 3-day weekend since Monday was a bank holiday. I got up at 6am on Saturday to go stand in line and buy tickets for the world judo championships that were held in Osaka this year. The judo was really cool, we saw some really exciting matches, both mens and womens. There are no punches or kicks, just holds and throws. It's a lot like wrestling. On Sunday I went to a festival on in a neighboring town and saw these giant carved wooden floats weighing tons that big teams of people carried through the city streets. We missed the morning part where they do it at breakneck pace and mow down anyone unlucky enought to get in the way (four people killed last year). But the nighttime parade with the floats lit by lanters was quite nice too, and the hundreds food vendors selling everthing from bean-paste filled sweets to fried octopus balls (that's balls of dough fille d with octopus meat, not the octopus's actual balls, so get your minds out of the gutter.) On Monday I went to a "fiesta Mexicana" which was quite amusing. There were food stalls run by all four Mexican restaurants in Osaka, all staffed by japanese people in "traditional dress" and lots of cheap-quality, probably-made-in-taiwan "handicrafts". But there were also imported musicians and performers from Mexico, including a marimba band Anniela and I spent some time talking to whose members are a bunch of young guys who come here every year to play Osaka and Tokyo. I was reminded of (to reveal embarassing secrets from my past), our middle school bell choir's grand tour of the Reno, Nevada area, where we performed at the Roosevelt Junior High Cafeteria, the Motel 6, and other fine venues.
HANSHIN TIGERS: THE CURSE OF THE COLONEL
On Monday night I went downtown to celebrate because the Hanshin Tigers, Osaka's baseball team, just won the national championships! The last time the Tigers won was in 1985, and crazed fans thronged the streets and tossed into the river anyone who looked anything like the team's players. One player, the star of the team, was an American named Randy Bass. At that time there were far fewer foreigners in Osaka, and the only thing they could find that looked even remotely like Bass was a life-sized statue of Colonel Sanders in front of the nearest KFC. So they tossed the statue in, where it sank like a rock, never to be seen again. Legend had it that until the missing Colonel was found, the Hanshin Tigers would never again win another championship. Divers were even sent to recover the statue and break "the Curse of the Colonel", but they never found him. And for 18 years the curse has held. So this year, when the Tigers finally won again, the whole town went completly nuts . It was definitly a sight to see: Namba was packed with people, there were parts where I couldn't even move of my own accord, I could have picked up my feet and just been carried along by the flow. Actually there were times when I was even a little scared that I would be trampled if I fell, but most of the time I was just trying to take as many pictures as possible. All these Japanese people were acting completely un-japanese. They were all totally drunk (beer was being sold on the street for $1) and most were singing the Tigers' theme song at the top of their lungs. People were climbing up light posts, being held aloft by crowd and leading big groups in cheers, wearing crazy costumes (or no costumes!) and of course there was the aforementioned bridge jumping. This year it all seemed to be pretty voluntary: I didn't see anyone get tossed in. But there was definitely a bit of peer-pressure and probably a whole lot of alcohol involved in the decision. Incidentally heavy chains appeared a few weeks ago securing all the Colonel Sanders statues in the city firmly to their storefronts. But since there are now so many more gaijin wandering the streets of Osaka, they probably weren't needed. I definitely saw some gaijin making the leap, and some of the JET girls mysteriously turned up at our weekly meeting the next day wearing Hanshin jerseys that they said they got "for free" but refused explain why. ¶ 9:30 PM
