Engaged!

Yesterday I took Leah up to the Cave Shrine and asked her to marry me. The cave shrine is an interesting place. It was a secret place for christians to worship, and then after they were killed it reverted to a Japanese shrine. The Christians were fighting the rulers of the area and used old shrines to defend themselves. They chopped off the stone heads of shrines to throw and shoot at the samurai ordered to kill them. So many of the statues in this area are missing their heads.

So this cave has an important historical significance and the people worshipped in secret here trusting that God would protect them. I'm sure they became very close, those handful of worshippers. I think the cave has a spiritual significance as well.

So I got Leah to hike up to the cave (roughly 400 meters). She sort of knew was was going on, but didn't say anything. When we got there...

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I got my iPod and we listened to a song by the Old 97's called "Question" about a guy proposing to a girl. We sat on a rock in front of the main shrine in the cave. We shared the headphones, each with one headphone in one ear. The song is really beautiful. I let it play through two verses and then on one knee, asked her to marry me. She said yes!

I explained more about the cave and why I chose to propose in it. Then, I grabbed my camera.




As you may be aware, cave's are remarkably devoid of light, and naturally, the pictures are rubbish. But we gave it a shot. This is the ring.




In front of this shrine, I proposed.



I made Leah wear these pants because I didn't want her to get her own clothes dirty, hiking up the mountain. The cave has many little shrines along the back wall.




One of my favorite views is on the last bend in the trail up to the cave. We stopped for a picture on the way back down.




This is the same spot from a summer day a few months ago.



So there you have it. We are engaged!

Internet Cafe

Leah is coming tomorrow! I'm extremely excited! Right now I'm in an Internet Cafe in Fukuoka city. Tomorrow morning I'll hop on the subway an ride to airport. I'll spend most of the day waiting around the airport. But Narita airport is pretty huge, basically a city within itself.

Tonight I'm sleeping on a mat on the floor of a booth in the internet cafe and I wanted to share why this is so great. For about 1/3 the cost of a hotel, I get a place to sleep thats almost as comfortable. The beds at most hotels are pretty crappy. So this pad on the floor will get the job down without much sacrifice. Plus I get access to DVDs, television, a computer and tons of books. I also get free drinks, a tooth brush, a razor and shaving creme and even a shower here. The free drinks are nothing to scoff at either. Cola, tea, slushies, coffee, pretty much any liquid you need. 10 hours costs about 2,600 yen or about 22 bucks.

The downside of these places is that you have to sleep in a cubicle so the light and sound are never blocked out, but its a relatively dark and quite place. Also, they provide a pillow and a blanket but the pillow is rubbish, its a square sitting pillow.

Perhaps the best thing about these places is that you can walk in at any time, any day, and get a booth. I've heard they book up sometimes, but here I am, saturday night, just after school finished for the term and there are plenty of booths.

Please keep Leah and I in your prayers and thoughts because we're both traveling and prefer to arrive at our destinations completely intact.

Welcome to Rock Night

Last weekend, some of the JETs from my prefecture gathered in Nagasaki City to jam. We had a few bands play covers and even a few originals.

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I drove with Eric up to Isahaya, and took the train into the city with Tim, Lizzie and Kara. En route to the city, Lizzie had Tim "fix" her hair. The japanese girls in the seat across from them couldn't stop giggling.



Our friends rocked out to a bunch of really hip tunes, way to hip for me in fact, there were a few songs I didn't know. Still I really enjoyed it. Rob and Jen let loose some harmonies all up on us.


The bass player of the band stepped outside for a second during the set. I'm pretty sure she was text messaging while playing. The japanese can text anywhere, anytime. I'm surprised she wasn't riding her bike, holding an umbrella while texting AND playing bass. Minus the bass, I've seen that combination a few times.


The more Canadians I meet, the more I like that strange race of humanoids. Jess sings, plays guitar and drums all while managing to be Canadian. I know, I know! She looks just like a regular person, it's weird, but believe me, Canadian.


Earlier in the night, I showed Rob how stupid I was. Although I was told numerous times that Rob was a great guitar player and he was, in fact, playing guitar that night, I still asked him "Hey, wait, do you play any instruments?" He tells me, "I play a little." Then almost immediately, but without sarcasm or malice, walks over to his guitar, picks it up and beings the set with the rest of the band. Rob is one of my favorite people in the universe. One of the funniest and kindest people I've met. He's slightly odd in the way that a 5 year old kid is, you can't ever remember thinking that way but it makes so much sense when you get to the punch line. He is also a master (probably level 60 if this sort of thing had levels) at using "Engrish", the bizarre English phrases that many japanese people pick up and use everyday.


Jen holds masters degrees in education and rock and roll. She's a great source for data and tips on teaching and for sassy english retorts to dull witted American's (read: 'my') questions. She's also a legit singer. Also, she finds Chris's use of the word 'legit' to be hilarious, such as in the previous sentence.


After face meltage, Jen and Jess took it down a notch, the notch marked 'acoustic, but not wussy acoustic, not the whiney crap, i'm not gonna cry or anything, but I want you to hear what I say, but seriously don't worry, I'm gonna break out with some emo or something, just shut up and listen.' So we did.


At the end of the night I sat in a loud bar with a bunch of people I honestly feel close to. In between dancing, I talked with Tim about philosophy. It was a well rounded night. I was struck again by the difference in masculinity in Japan. Of the few Japanese that were met us on the dance floor, the guys clearly were way more into the deal. This has basically been the case everywhere I've been. I happen to love this cultural difference and feel much more comfortable dancing like a fool.

Phonetography

Acknowledging today that I've been seriously lacking in the photography department, I decided to upload some pics from my phone. These are rubbish pictures.

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The is the second day I got my phone, I snapped a photo of my face in front of school, grinning like an idiot.



Later that day, I saw a cabbie sleeping in his car near the Family Mart. The tree branches nicely forked the picture.



About a month ago, Chris's mom sent him a care package. Actually, it was two huge boxes of care. He got all sorts of goodies that he has been nice enough to share with us. We've had dinner at his house a few times, thanks to those enormous boxes.



In the next town over, there is a bowling alley. We've been a couple of times but this was the first time. Its almost exactly like an american bowling alley, only this one has a crib in it, and doesn't sell beer.



I am about to bowl a delicious gutter ball.



Just a few weeks ago, a coworker had a baby. We stopped in to visit and I made the kid give a piece sign.

How to Brighten Your Day In 1 Minute

Sometimes the subtle, low intensity stress that comes with living abroad can really get to you. I woke up this morning feeling stupid and alone and mostly angry. Normally I count on the few friends I have here to lift my spirits but last night I just felt like an outsider to them. My best and most important support person is a million miles away and we only get to talk a couple times a week at best. I kept holding on to these things today so it was all around negative.

Watch the Video...

But when I got home today I checked out a website called ZenHabits and they suggested a great video. It really did brighten my day.



Dwelling on the past destroys me. I get stuck there and I can't enjoy the present. I have to remember to stop and take time to release the stuff that blackens me. The best way I've know to do this is to make simple observations of things around me. I have to keep from narrating my thoughts to myself. I think the internal dialogue distracts me from the basic experience. For instance today I sat still and looked at the mountain and the flowers. I still couldn't quite force out thoughts I didn't want so I decided to sketch what I saw. Nothing quite pushes everything else out like trying to sketch something.

Please Take Relax

UPDATE: Sorry about the repeating paragraphs, I have since proof read this entry and tried to correct the mistakes.

This weekend was uneventful. Chris and I both decided to stay home and relax, try and save a few dollars. Last week Tim’s dad came to town and has been soaking up Japan. He lived in Japan 30 years ago, in Hokkaido. He notices that Japan has become much more western in the years of his absence.

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I asked him directly, “How has Japan changed since you were here?”
He answered, “Well, there is KFC, McDonalds and Starbucks all over the place.” I think it’s interesting that we often equate the soulless fast food and coffee chains as western. Is it progress to see these places creep up in Japanese cities? They certainly haven’t made their way to the smaller towns in Japan. It’s also interesting to see the change of menu these places have. For instance the theoretically disgusting yet shamefully delicious McGriddle is served here at McDonalds. My favorite menu item, the breakfast burrito is sadly absent. I think in general, the menus are slimmer, offering fewer but more popular choices.

Thursday, we drove up to Unzen, the city on the mountain. The city is known for their Hotels and Spas. It is by all means a small town, and the large hotels seem out of place there. But it turns out people drive in from all over the peninsula to retreat at the spas. We were guided to one spa by one of Tim’s coworkers. The spa was beautiful. It was an outdoor pool, beautifully landscaped and reasonably priced at about 500 yen. It sat uncomfortably below a hotel whose lobby we walked through to get to the spa. The water was cloudy with healthy minerals and was hot enough to sap away tension and frustration. I loved that the spa was outside. When I got too hot, I just sat with my torso out of the water to cool down.

Random photo of your photographer.

We drove back down the mountain to forage for food in Tim’s town. We found a small ramen place with two tables and a bar. One table was occupied by 3 older Japanese men. One of the men was apparently in the Yakuza, which we had seen before. Another man was wholly uninterested in us. But the last man spoke English quite well and grilled us about everything. He tried to convince us to go to another bar then karaoke to sing songs in English. We politely refused but the man was a bit drunk and kept asking. Eventually we just got up and left with a pleasant goodbye.


On Friday, Chris and I spent an exciting night watching ridiculous movies on YouTube. As it turns out there is a vast, worldwide conspiracy perpetrated by non-human shapeshifters in conjunction with the illuminati to impose their will on the unsuspecting idiot masses. Fortunately shapeshifting requires concentration and focus and if you film one of these things you can slow the video down and actually see them slip up. We watched and read about these creatures for nearly a solid hour.

If I turn up dead, it’s because I’ve helped to expose these wretched creatures and their plan to gain control of us. Please inform yourself, and don't forget to build as many Holy Hand Grenades as possible to keep these things at bay.

Kagoshima Trip

We set off for Kagoshima this weekend. We went to the island of, Sakurajima which is just a 10 minute ferry ride from the Kagoshima City.

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We took the ferry from Shimabara City. This is a view of Unzen mountain whose shadow all of us on the hanto live in.


We were able to check out maps from the library. We charted our route while riding the ferry.


When we finally got off the ferry we had a long drive ahead of us. Although the Japanese highways are expensive, they've got really cool rest stops. Lots of food and a souvenirs.


I liked the view from the rest stop. A few houses set against the mountains.


I am wearing a new shirt that Leah sent me.


When we got to Kagoshima we went for a ride on the huge ferris wheel. Sorry this picture sucks, but the seats were heating inside the ferris wheels.


The next day we left the city go to the island of Sakurajima. From the ferry port we could see the Sakurajima volcano.


When we got the island


These ditch things were all over the mountain. We guessed they were to direct water and LAVAAA.


This is some lava left over from the last eruption.


This sculpture was awesome, but wth.


Ooh thats pretty.


This is one of my favorite pictures I've taken so far.

Score!

Today, this chap I was talking to at a volleyball, and also bought insurance from, came by the school today and dropped off this:


He said "Please enjoy your hobby!" I was so amazed that'd he just come by and drop that off. Its old and not autofocus but beggers can't be choosers. And some awkward conversation in half english one quarter japanese and one quarter uncomfortable silence he told me to "enjoy" and went on his way! Such kindness! This is the second time someone in this town has given me something for nothing! When my bike was stolen, the local bike shop owner gave me a bike. Just like that.

I want

I want meaning and beauty. I want to live without regret and guilt. I want to give something that lastingly adds to the world. I want to know that something I'm doing is important. I want to give more than I take from the people I love. I want to shed the falseness from my life and be true and honest. I want to feel fulfilled and satisfied with the things I've done and the things I am doing. I don't want to feel the need to post cheesy stuff like this.

I think I'm number 7?

Some Pictures...

Summer in the Cave:


I love that someone took the time to make these:

Somen Fest

Somen is a type of noodle that is often eaten cold. The people a couple towns away have a festival celebrating these delicious noodles and we ALTs stopped in to enjoy the festivities.

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Similar to the town festival in Kazusa a few days back, this place had all sorts of games. You can win bouncy balls, candy, fish and even eels!


The streets were decorated beautifully. Japan is famous for its Tori Gates and they are all over the place. This shot was just off the main drag of the festival and some kids were being pulled behind a forklift in a hay "sled". The sled was basically a wooden pallet with some two by fours on the bottom. It looked like fun.


The festival was on a brick road. The town is more crowed on this weekend than at any other point in the year. All the shops put their own wares outside on tables and other people setup tents and tables. You can get all sorts of sweets and candy. There's all sorts of fried foods and noodles to stuff your face. And stuff we did.


There was this band playing just down the road. These guys looked cooler than they sounded to be honest but I enjoyed it all the same.I had to get a couple shots of them


The drummer was too cool and having a great time.


This kid makes me happy. He's a lot of fun and his mother is making sure he's learning English. Eric is our resident Dumbledore. He has been in Japan as an ALT for 4 years.


Chris says hello.


Up the street a piece was a stage. They stuck all these cute kids on stage and had them play a few songs. They played the wedding song and a couple others I didn't recognize.


After that some kids got up on stage and danced to a mashup of disney songs.


After the mickey mouse cuteness some other kids rocked it out on the taiko drums.


They were good! Taiko drumming is pretty incredible to watch and listen, I hope these kids keep it up so they can smash for real when they get older.


Next we walked down the road a bit more and across from the free somen booth was a bunch of groups of people costumed and made up. They got down to dancing together but the music kept cutting out. Eventually the music shut off completely and everyone just sang the song.


After all those festivities there was a short parade. It was led by a school marching band.


The bad rolls on.


Our friend and ALT Rowan lives on the street the parade and festival rolls down. He lives on the second floor.


The police helped to clear the way. They aren't butt holes about it though, they're generally pretty nice people, japanese coppers.


This was the one real floats of the parade. I have no idea what the big guy was about but I loved it.


These kids were carrying some sort of thing. I have no idea what it is, but I think you chuck coins into it for luck. I'll have to ask my coworkers about it.


The people on the float and walking in the parade threw this stuff to the crowd. I don't know exactly what it is but its pretty gross. It has no flavor and is generally an unpleasant experience.


Overall the parade was really great. We got to see lots of our students hanging out outside of school and they are always more warm to talk to us in that environment. My favorite thing about this festival by far however, is the free somen. They cook a bunch of noodles and serve it in small bowls with some pretty delicious sauce. I'm a fan.