The Yamaga Lantern Festival, just lookin' for a good time.

Towards the end of August, I was getting settled into life in Kumamoto City. I was calling home less and I was getting to know the area pretty well. Shop owners were recognizing the new foreigner and I was feeling like a community was sprouting up around me.

Little was required of me at school that I was able to go out and get acquainted with the city until late at night, and show up to school the next day in whatever condition I could muster. Most of my days were filled with searching through the treasure that was left behind for me from the previous JETs. My desk was a pinata of candy, stickers, dice, hourglasses, and any number of other items. The books left behind were helpful in giving me an idea of what to expect to teach during the coming year. There were three or four different sets of information from ALT's, who, subsequently, were from different cultures and backgrounds. One of the binders had lessons divided into alphabetical order, obviously this JET was more anal than others. Another JET had some random lesson plans with worksheets, but the worksheets didn't go with any of the plans. My predecessor, a nice guy, was more like myself in his methods of planning, had a binder with plastic sheets stuffed with cut out pictures and partial lessons that were never finished, many of his own construction.

After wading through the various types of information trying to figure which, if any, would best serve my needs, I would spend a lot of time on the internet. Even though I could not visit my social networking sites, I was able to check my mail and look at news sites. I usually check around 10 different sites for news, because you can't really trust any news source anymore. I look at both domestic and international sites. Election news and economic news was difficult to read for me, because it made me go through the multitude of reasons for my exodus. I was able to stay in communication with my family and friends through e-mail, which was helpful yet time consuming. I spent most of my day writing e-mails.

It was during this time that I got a message on one of the 5 listservs that I belong to telling me about the Yamaga Lantern Festival that was fast approaching. The local ALT in Yamaga sent a message out inviting anybody who wanted to see their first cultural event in Japan to come for the Lantern Festival. Still apprehensive about getting around by train and bus I didn't respond. Another ALT, from Kumamoto, did respond to the listserv, asking if anybody wanted to go to the festival. I responded, and we coordinated a time to meet at the international center. There were 5 JETs who were all thinking about attending the event, but when Saturday came only two of us showed up at the international center.

Holly is from New Jersey. I met her one day while riding my bike home from school. She lives on the route to my school. I remember talking to her a little in Tokyo before coming to Kumamoto. I didn't know she was the girl who sent out the e-mail coordinating our trip to Yamaga, because I am really awful with names.

We left from the international center, which is only a few blocks from the main bus terminal in Kumamoto City. Luckily, she knows a little Japanese, which helped in the purchase of our tickets. We talked at the station, not knowing whether we were going on the right bus, but we were excited to get out of the city. She had found a map of the area of Yamaga. It was all in Japanese, and she didn't know exactly what it said. Most proper nouns in Japanese are written in Kanji and since the Kanji have a multitude of meanings it can be very confusing.

We spoke a lot on the bus. We chatted about many different things. She majored in communications at Rutgers and she knew a lot about music, video games, and comics. In Kumamoto City it was overcast and it had not rained all day, but on the bus ride to Yamaga it started to rain. When we got to Yamaga it was only sprinkling, but the rain was the least of our worries because now we had to figure out how to get to the festival grounds. Luckily, I am pretty good at reading maps and Holly can read some Japanese. She told me where the bus terminal was on the map, our starting point, and then she pointed to the festival grounds. Problem #2: Japanese streets aren't linear and in most cases aren't numbered or named. The main streets usually have a number, but unlike America there isn't a sign on ever corner. I found the main street and we started down that street. We started to see some things being set up and others being taken down. We started to worry that the festival had been canceled on account of rain. We kept walking and walking but did not come to anything that looked like it would host a large festival.

Holly brought her phone and the e-mail with the number for the ALT in Yamaga. She spoke with him and we found out that the festival had been canceled, but there would still be some activities. The main show, which is a few hundred un-wed woman dancing with lanterns on their heads, was canceled. Stephen, an ALT from Australia, said that he would meet us in town and we attempted to give him an estimate as to where we were in Yamaga. She an I were standing under a yellow awning, across from a large Japanese house that had a large spillway running beside it. Stephen gave us an estimate of about ten minutes.

As we waited, we started to realize that we were in one of those towns that, as a JET, you hear about often. Both Holly and I are from the city, which means that, even though we get our share of stares and glares, we are mostly left to our own devices. In Yamaga, we started to believe that we were part of the show or, at least, we had brought a new show to town.

As we stood under the awning of this tiny barber shop, tens of buses of Japanese tourists from across the country were descending upon this small town. They had most likely heard that the show had been canceled. At the cross section of this small town, we had become superstars. Old women looked out the windows of buses and witnessed two white people standing in shorts and sunglasses...talking. The women and some men even stared and watched with scientific zeal. After the first bus passed, we didn't know what to think, but as more came we did the only thing that seemed normal. We smiled and waved. Oxymoronically we stood like a couple of prom queens waving and smiling. After the first bus of pointed fingers and whispers, like good entertainers, we gave them what they wanted and what they wanted was a show.

After our 5 o'clock show, we were tired of waiting for Stephen. We started back towards where we came from and Holly called Stephen. We finally found each other and he informed us that while the main show was canceled we could do many other things. He took us to the kabuki theater in Yamaga. He then took us to a temple near the theater. Stephen knew a lot about Yamaga, and it was like we had our own tour guide to the town. He told us the history of the festival and he told us that the kabuki theater was the last theater of its kind built in Japan. Holly and I were very hungry and we became tired of the tour. We were very grateful but also very hungry, so we went to get something to eat.

Dinner was good. I ate my first basashi, which is raw horse. It is a Kumamoto specialty. After leaving, we were in better spirits and we went back to the kabuki theater which we heard was going to have a performance of the lantern dancers. When we got to the theater it was packed with people, so we decided to walk around until the line dissipated. When we got back to one of the main streets we heard music, and found that there were some groups of young girls that were performing for small groups, probably families. I was really happy to see the dancing and I was glad that I was able to see it in a less than conventional way. The girls spent a long time preparing their clothes and practicing their dance, it was really nice that they could still perform.



Holly and I got to see what we came to Yamaga for and we had a long day. We just wanted to get back to Kumamoto City. I think Stephen wanted to make a night out of the whole thing, but we needed some rest. We got back to the bus depot and waited for the next bus. There were two English-speakers at the bus stop as well, but they weren't JETs. When we got back to the city we parted ways and I got on my bike and went home. I had a good time. And even though the evening didn't turn out to be everything that it was supposed to be, it was different, which is why I am here.

First Weeks in Japan. Or, Oh Crap! There's no turning back

It has been a week since arriving in Kumamoto, and a little more than that since arriving in Japan. One would think the cultural differences would be the main point of interest to a gringo/gaijin like me, but I have been focusing on the similarities between my home culture and my adopted culture. The Japanese have similar tastes in drinks and food. They have a thirst for beer and whiskey, which is good for me, but they also like fried foods, which is bad for me. There are many differences in cuisine, but the differences are not as shocking as many Americans would have you believe. Kumamoto has been the first real Japanese experience that I have had thus far, Tokyo was completely different. I was almost always surrounded by English speakers, which lubricated my acculturation, but also kept me from experiencing anything uniquely Japanese. Landing in Kumamoto, I finally had to 'survive' as a foreigner.

My first weeks in Kumamoto have been exhausting. Waking up at 6:30 everyday, I have come to understand that the early hours of dawn do not fit my biology. Even though, I do go to sleep much earlier than I used to in America, I am still not a morning person. I usually don't wake up early enough to have breakfast, but I still have some source of caffeine all day long. I have been getting to school early enough to attend the teachers meeting, but once I start teaching I will not go to school that early anymore.

My apartment is large for just me. My predecessor left me a futon mattress, but try not to think of the over-stuffed futons of America, my futon is maybe a inch thick. But, after many years of sleeping on the floor at Mom's house, I have quickly become accustomed to the feeling of the floor once again. Most apartments in Japan have tatami mats, which are straw mats placed in most rooms. The mats are very comfortable and they have a warmth to them, but the new ones that were just installed in my apartment have a very strong, distinct smell to them; not bad, mind you, just different. William, my predecessor, also sold me a TV, VCR, DVD player, refrigerator, microwave, rice cooker, and a lot of dishes for about $250. I got a really good deal, considering how screwed other ALT's have been buying new or even buying from their predecessor.

August is the month Japanese students have summer vacation. I have been spending my days getting lessons ready for school and checking my e-mail. It takes a few weeks to get set up with internet, so, as many of you may guess, I have been going insane. I usually take my bike downtown to the international center in Kumamoto to use their internet, because the internet at school is blocked from many of my sites.

I have been getting to know many of my co-workers. They have taken me out to eat, and my supervisor has helped me get all of the things I will need in the coming year; i.e. bank account, internet, and phone. I got him a bottle of Jack Daniels (He said it is his favorite.) to thank him for helping me get everything set up. Presents are almost a requirement in Japan, for many occasions. My first week in Japan, I went out to have dinner and drinks with some of my co-workers. It was a going away party for William-sensei, my predecessor, and a welcome party for me. The food was really good. I tried everything, even the raw chicken that was served. Yes, it was supposed to be raw. It is specially prepared and it was actually very good. I had a lot to drink and so did William-sensei, he called me the next day to tell me that his morning started with his face in the toilet. He was sure that he drank more than me because I didn't start my day the same. I told him how much I drank though and he realized that my Irish heritage beat his Mexican heritage in a contest of drinking. I wish we would have gone out after dinner, because I have not gone out with them again since that night. I work with a lot of young teachers and also a few really beautiful teachers, hopefully I will have more opportunities to have fun this year.

I ended up taking the air-conditioned train to work because of the heat, which works out well because my long sleeve shirts and slacks are soaked in sweat just from walking the block to the train station.

I am a little apprehensive about travel. My supervisor showed me how to use the train during my first week, but I was not shown how to get to school by bike. But, I also did not have a bike yet either. I really do not want to be the usual stereotypical American, who expects to be understood and expects to be led by the hand by the locals. Also, I am a pretty self-sufficient person, so I will usually try to figure things out for myself, especially when confronted with difficult tasks. My predecessor took me downtown one Saturday to get a bike, it was kind of expensive but it has everything a person in Japan needs on a bike: a basket, a light, and a sweet bell. My supervisor drove me home one night when we were out and about getting some things for my house, so I finally figured out how to get to school from my house.

Many students still come to Kumasho (Kumamoto Shiyogo) everyday for clubs and to study for entrance exams, but since there aren't classes, I walk around the school property and watch the students play tennis, baseball, or kyudo (Japanese archery). A few students have come up to me and used the English that they know to start a conversation. I usually try to keep my parts very limited to keep up with their abilities, it is amazing how excited some of the students are to use their English.

It was “hotter than balls” for the first month I was in Kumamoto. Much like Omaha, the humidity percentage usually nears the temperature , in Fahrenheit. These crazy people keep trying to get me to learn metric, and I can't wrap my head around it. I guess I should have paid more attention in science class, maybe I wouldn't have had to take Biology twice in college.

Like most ALTs, I get home from school, strip down to my underwear, and sit in my apartment in front of my air conditioner. Most Japanese apartments and homes do not have central air, but only room air conditioners. The Japanese usually only run them for a few hours a day, and it is unheard of to run the air conditioner all day long. Running it 24 hours a day, would also cost you an arm and a leg because of the high cost of utilities. I have become quite accustomed to Japanese ways, they are very conscious of the environment and our impact on nature. It is very popular to live an eco life, which means that you are very careful about the products you buy, the things you eat, and even, in some cases, where you live.

Since I don't have internet, I have had to watch TV to entertain myself. I have been watching the Olympics on TV, because it is the only thing that makes sense without paying attention to the broadcasters. Japanese TV broadcasts more Japanese friendly Olympic sports; like judo, badminton, table tennis, and judo. I know that I mentioned judo twice, but they not only watch the live events but they replay the judo matches over and over again. I don't usually care about the Olympics, but this year I was pretty interested in the USA men's basketball team. I was hoping that they would find their way out of the gutter, and take their place, once again, on top. I had to check their progress on the internet, because most Japanese don't watch basketball and I'm not even sure if they have a national team. There are a couple of nights where there are movies in English, but I usually watch movies on my computer or play video games. I get about 10 local stations just from the antenna, so there is actually a lot to watch and once I start picking up more Japanese I will watch local TV more.

Next week there is an orientation in the city, for all of the JETs in Kumamoto-ken (ken means prefecture). The first two days are workshops and the third day is an intensive language course. The first night has an enkai (business outing where eating and drinking are involved) and a pub crawl afterwards. I am really excited to see some of my JET friends and compare stories of our journey so far.