04-16-02

So what's going on around here lately? Let's see. I've been doing some work type stuff, you know, organizing ideas for the new semester and stuff. Uhhhh, I've gone out to yakiniku with Fletch and Rory and Ben a few times. Managed to get a bit of Japanese language study in here and there. What else.... oh yeah, video games. Played some video games, but that should probably even go without saying.

Man, this week has been a wash!! It's so sad when I just have nothing worthwhile to put in an update. I mean, I started this site to keep my family and friends up to snuff and what happens? There's NO SNUFF!! Man, good thing this site hasn't gone subscription, or I'd be handing out refunds like potatoes at a U2 concert. (Because they're IRISH, get it? hahahahaha) Oboy, it's time to change the subject.

New Engrish photos just in! Get 'em while they're stupid!!! Honestly, you've got to see what's written on the side of one of my teacher's cars to believe it.

And speaking of the Engrish section, why did no one tell me that when I made the new navigation bar that it said 'EngLish' instead of 'EngRish' like it used to!?!? My friends, HA!! Well, I'm not going to go through the trouble of changing it now. You'll know why soon enough.

Oh why me!?! After classes today we had a 25 Point Meeting!!! Don't believe me, check out the numbered topic list to your right. The fun part is that if you're not Japanese you can probably read about as much of that as I can.

As if that weren't enough, you know how at the end of meetings there's always someone who has "just one more thing"? Well, today 11 people had "just one more thing," in addition to the 25 points we already covered!

The longest, most painful meeting I've ever had....in any language.

In other ramblings, who's up for some...um...ramblings from Fletcher? I know I sure am.

Only In Japan

Blistering Social Commentary by Fukuma Fletch

 

Soba Noodles

The other day my girlfriend Mihoko invited my friend Gareth and me to join her and her friend for an excursion to a local soba (noodle) restaurant. I thought it sounded like a good idea. It was Sunday, after all, and I didn't have anything urgent that I needed to do (do I ever anymore?). Why not take a quick drive to a local soba restaurant that Mihoko had heard was especially delicious? "Sign us up!" I told her.

Nearly three hours later, after driving halfway through another entire ken (prefecture), I realized I had once again made my near daily mistake of assuming I actually knew what was going on. When Mihoko had asked Gareth and me to join her for lunch, she wasn't talking about going to local restaurant down the street. She wasn't talking about a restaurant the next town over. The restaurant she wanted to eat at, the one she had heard was especially good, was THREE HOURS AWAY!!!

Were the noodles good? Yes. Were they better than the roughly forty-three other soba restaurants (before I lost count) we passed on the way there? Probably. Were they three hours better than the noodles in town? Probably not. Were they worth waking up at 9:00 on a Sunday morning that had seen me only go to sleep five hours earlier? Definitely not.

Apparently however, this is actually quite common.

I mean, seriously. This is like me driving from Portland to Seattle to eat at a Subway that I'd heard made especially good cold-cut combos. And I don't mean driving to Seattle for lunch and Mariners game. I'm talking about driving to Seattle, eating my super tasty turkey based chicken and bologna sandwich, and then driving back to Portland.

I will freely admit that the drive was very scenic and, in fact, quite enjoyable. The restaurant was very cozy, nestled into a small clearing in the woods with nothing else around for miles. But it better have been nice. The extremely high gas prices ensured that those noodles cost a tad bit more that the price printed on the menu.

Now, let's establish some facts and see if we can draw a logical conclusion to explain this phenomena (oops, I'm about to make another near daily mistake).

Facts

1) Mihoko wanted to eat soba.
2) We're in Japan.
3) For those of you who don't know, that means you could stick me in a straight jacket, shackle prison-issued ankle manacles around my legs, and while blindfolded, I'd still have a better than 50-50 chance of finding a soba restaurant in ten minutes or less.

Conclusion

1) I'm not Japanese.
2) Don't tell anyone, but I actually wouldn't mind doing it again. On a day that I'd gotten some more sleep the night before, of course.

 Recently Overheard in Fukuma:

"I'm getting heartburn. Rory, do something terrible!" -Ben

...a three minute tour, a three minute tour.

So how many months have I been here now and I still haven't shown y'all around my place o' work, Fukuma Higashi Junior High School. It's a pretty jazzy little Jr. High on the top of a hill (much to my bike-riding chagrin) which is far removed from the little town of Fukuma where I live. Don't believe me? Then you've obviously forgotten the pictures I posted ages ago highlighting my bike ride to school. That's okay, click here to take a trip down memory lane and all will be forgiven.

Anyway, I've put together a quick walk around of the school and some of it's common sights. So, less talk, more show.

 

 Welcome to Fukuma Higashi Chugako(Jr. High School)!

The front entrance, complete with clock(a common feature in most Japanese Jr. and Sr. High Schools) so you know exactly how late you are to first period.

Right around the corner is the side entrance where I park my bike and sneak in unbeknownst to anyone.

Sometimes on the way in, I'll pop my head in the office and say hi to the nice ladies that live there, Iita-sensei and Morimoto-sensei. Yes, I'm absolutely sure they actually live there!!

Heading back down the hall, we pass the pay phones and Kumate-sensei's goldfish and go to the Teacher's Room.

Shyokuin-jitsu. Since teachers don't have their own classrooms like most schools back home, they have to share one big office crammed with desks and all their teaching materials.

As you can see, it results in CHAOS!! ABSOLUTE CHAOS!!! OH, HOW I LOATHE THE DISORDER OF THIS ROOM!! I could write poetry about how much the state of this room pisses me off. >:-(

Here's my desk. My beloved laptop and indispensible electronic dictionary stand at the ready on the left, while my trusty USS Enterprise mug serves up caffeine-laden goodness to the right. It's actually neater than it looks. I think it's the color palette that makes it look chaotic.

Outside the teacher's room hangs keys to the clubhouses and classrooms which are looked up after each day. In the morning, the first student in each class to show up will grab his/her class' key and head on up.

The hall are so boring I almost fall asleep while walking to class.

Since the teachers change classrooms instead of the students, each room is labeled with the grade and 'kumi' or group that lives there. Yes, I'm absolutely sure they actually live there!!

Your basic ACME classroom. About what you'd expect; chalkboard, desks, you know some chairs and stuff. They're usually not this sparse, but it was spring break when I took the picture, what do you want from me?

As I've mentioned before, the students clean the school themselves, so in the back of each room is a closet full o' goodies to clean stuff and hit each other with. Yes, the boys play rough here. :)

This incredible device monitors degradation of the universe due to the entropic 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, by tracking progressive movement through the ubiquitous fourth dimension. Leave it to those wacky Japanese to come with an idea like this.

Communal sinks in the hall for wiping up during cleaning time, washing your hands before lunch and trying to drown your best friend in between classes. Did I mention the boys play rough?

The courtyard. Boring, ain't it? Why not put some trees or a pond down there? Or trees and a pond? Or a Taco Bell for God's sake! Am I the only one with vision around here!?

See all those flowers on the side of this hill next to the school? Me and the Principal spread all those seeds around last fall. This beauty owes it's existence TO ME!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!

<ahem>

On that same side of the building is the long stretch that students walk down as they trickle in to school in the morning.

The students have to walk all the way around to the back entrance to enter the school.

That building remind you of the Hair Flap banner by any chance?

Once inside, they have to swap their outside shoes(gesoku) for their inside shoes(uwabaki) before going any further.

Each student keeps a pair of uwabaki with their name written on the back, in their own section of these shelves called, gesoku-bako(outside shoes box).

Pools seem to be standard fares at most Jr. Highs that I've seen. I'm kinda hoping they clean ours before dumping students in it again this spring.

Out in back near the school entrance is the budojou which translates as 'martial arts place', but I'm not sure that's entirely accurate. Second floor is where the Kendo club practices (that's the thing where you put on a mask and armor and pelt each other with bamboo swords), but the first floor is where the Art club room and shop classes are so more goes on there than 'martial arts.'

And finally out back behind the budoujou is apparently Yoda's house. I don't know what it's doing there but I think he's stealing the school's electricity. Pointy-eared freeloader.

So after many months, you finally have enough mental imagery to imagine me at work, working away on work. Something I know everybody does all the time.

Salutations from Fukuma!

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