Life in Japan

So everything is going well. One thing I want to record about my experiences here, I thought things would change a lot while I am here. My opinions about human nature and right and wrong, my thoughts about meaning and happiness, but honestly, some of that has changed, but A LOT hasn't. The things you learn about people's personalities while growing up stay the same, and especially the things that have personal meaning to you stay the same. At least for me. If anything, the things I used to care about I only care about more. Kung Fu, reading, fam and friends, those bonds with the things that hold meaning in my life have only become stronger. Interesting, since so many people say they change so much. Maybe I have, I definitely am picking up new hobbies like taiko and skiing, and have a different outlook on some aspects of human nature, this is really an interesting culture and I didn't think people good be so unselfish, but a lot of the things that hold personal meaning haven't changed. So no matter where you are, the things that are deeply important don't change.

I went to the Sapporo snow festival. It was cool, I mean cold, it snowed everyday I was there. Ridiculous snow. A friend took me to an Ainu culture festival which was awesome (definitely look up Ainu, it's good to see diversity in Japan), and he also took me to Otaru, which I thought was about ten times more beautiful than the snow festival in Sapporo. It has a canal which has lamps floating on it all along the canal, as well a snow path/bridge with lots of creative and beautiful lamps made out of snow. Amazing, I will put my pics up soon. I also have been fiending for a good book lately, I realized how much I have missed reading since I have been here. So I ended up buying a book of short stories while I was there, called Dubliners by James Joyce. I did the 5 page rule that Rocky once taught me, read the first 5 pages and if it's still interesting, than keep reading. Of course, every book I ended up interested in was of short stories, since that's the definition of a short story, a tale that just grabs you. But check this out, I feel like telling somebody whenever I see something that is truly amazing, check out this first paragraph. some people can just write, it's the first paragraph of "Two Gallants," by James Joyce.

"The grey warm evening of August had descended upon the city, and a mild warm air, a memory of summer, circlulated in the streets. The streets, shuttered for the repose of Sunday, swarmend with a gaily colored crowd. Like illumined pearls the lamps shone from the summits of their tall poles upon the living texture below, which, changing shape and hue unceasingly, sent up into the warm grey evening air an unchanging, unceasing murmur."

Ridiculous. I'm not trying to be nerdy or anything, but like I said, that's just ridiculous writing. "Living texture," "a memory of summer." He's just so free with his writing, he breaks loose of the whole make sure you are clearly understood style of writing and his thoughts flow so freely, so much so that you think it shoud be confusing, he just dives right into the lives of his characters and the language and culture of them, so much that you should be confused because you have no background knowledge, but the writing is so good that for some reason you don't need an explanation, it's the universality of writing I guess. I guess I just haven't been reading for such a long time, and been teaching where things have to be REAL clear. It's nice to read something non-textbook and think less segmented and expeditiously, which is something I seem to be doing a lot of these days, as I think all people who enter the real world (i.e. job life) start doing.

So what else is going on in my life. I got some books on teaching in which I am learning a lot about English, most of which I'm not sure I can share with my students because it is too difficult. I feel like I should be putting more into teaching, but I'm not sure. I wish I could cook better so I could do cooking classes with my kids. One thing I recently did with my 2nd and 3rd graders was teach them how to write their names in Hindi. I was a bit apprehensive about it because my job is not really defined, esp the "internationalization part, and I didn't want teachers to feel like the kids were missing out on learning Englsih, but they loved it (the kids and the teachers). I was so happy. Who knows, after I'm long gone, maybe they'll still have that, besides the English they have learned. It's nice because it's something only I can give. I am also planning on doing a little cooking at the gakkuen (orphanage), will be making the always very easy and cheap khir, otherwise known as rice pudding. It's cheap, it's easy, it's the only thing I really know how to make. But it takes 3 hours!!!!! Classes are going good, I still get a lot of ideas from other sources, but I don't really feel guilty about that anymore. As long as the kids learn English right? I'm becoming more and more like a regular teacher, I don't really care if the students like me anymore, it's more that they listen to me and do what I tell them to in class. I realized something, you can help somebody learn, but you can't make them or force them too. Just like everything else in life, learning is a choice. It's hard, even I didn't understand that as a kid, but it's reality right?

Alright, thanks to all my friends that post and keep in touch. I'll talk to you all soon, miss you guys, Japan is great but it's not friends and fam.