St. Louis Weekend Adventure

St. Louis was nothing short of great!

After moving to Wyoming, I realized that the next time for me to see my dojo boys again would be if one of them, ANY of them, not only came to Japan, but braved public transportation out to my tiny peninsula. Feeling rather down in the dumps about the whole thing, my parents suggested that I go to the upcoming Jigoku Kai seminar in St. Louis. Not only would I see all of my dojo guys, but the Witt Kids, and the St. Louis dojo, too! It was perfect!

But expensive. With a move to Japan only a month after the St. Louis trip, I wasn't sure how I was going to make my hard-earned Panera money work on both excursions. I tried to figure out some way to catch a bus from Casper, but when I couldn't purchase a bus ticket online, I decided to go to their office and see what was going on. Only to find that the bus office was closed and there were no close stops to my city. Cue tears as I call my mother with the news and then drive home in silence. That is when Daddy came in for the rescue!! In exchange for my helping to unpack, he agreed to pay for the flight out to St. Louis and I could handle the rest on my own. Woooohhooo!!!

I was able to go down a few days early and stay a few days late because two of my dojo guys were going to be there too. My total time on the trip was about a week, but it felt like two with all of the people there to see and talk with, the places to go, and the Budo to learn! My head was swimming after the weekend, so I'm glad that my flight wasn't until that Monday. This was the first time that I even had time to go around St. Louis during a seminar, too. Usually we only come down to train, but with the extra days (except the Thursday we were snowed in) there was plenty of time to hit the mall, have lunch with the other budoka, and just relax!

I don't think that I could explain how it was to have everyone in the same room again. Thanks to Facebook and the internet, we can still keep in contact and see what everyone is up to, but since they all stayed together and I was the only one who left, it felt like I was a ghost, in some ways. I was able to see what they were doing and think to myself how nice it would be to go back, but I knew that I couldn't. Since I wasn't around anymore, it was like my relationship with everyone was put on freeze, to be thawed out when we meet again; our relationships turned static. My dojo boys message and call me, trying to keep me from feeling so lonely, but distance does change how you interact with someone. That was what made that weekend so wonderful! I was learning from some great teachers, interacting and training with people far better than I, and enjoying not being on the other side of the glass divide; actually in the moment with everyone, not gazing at the photos of the time I missed out.

A truly great trip, all thanks to my Bujinkan friends and teachers and my parents!!

I hope that we can all meet up in Japan sometime. :)

The Cultural Side of Casper

"Home, home on the range.
Where the deer and the antelope play."

In such a relaxed and rural area, I was initially worried about finding events that would keep me busy or entertained. Hiking in the mountain trails and watching the deer and the antelope play (they are in my front yard and all over town) are very nice and enjoyable, but I love going to shows, concerts, and lectures of all kinds. Luckily, it seems that there were others who came here before me with the same concern. Different museums, cultural groups, and rather rich individuals have already equipped Casper with these luxuries. Since arriving, my family and I have made it a point to go out and see the city life, wherever it may be.

A Part of the Sky Called Orion

Mom and I get ready for the show to start at the planetarium.
Here, it doesn't matter if you have front row seats or not,
because the show is overhead!

Having been infatuated with stars from an early age, I was ecstatic to hear that the Casper Planetarium was hosting several movies and "tours" for only $2.50 per person! Sit back and learn about space, how great does that sound? GREAT! We stayed for just the first presentation about Orion's Belt as seen from the viewpoints of other cultures. Before the show, there was even a star walk with the Dr. Sheldon Cooper of the Casper Planetariums, Kevin! He tried to start his speech about several of the winter constellations  but got interrupted and a little flustered, so he had to start again. The chairs were a bit too comfortable, though, and we couldn't stay for the second movie "Amazing Astronomers of Antiquity." Leaving, the family made sure to stay clear of the dangerous bunnies and headed off to D.Q. for some dipped ice cream cones.

Japan Arts Day

Exciting the kids in the front row with dancing and music.

The first half of the show was made up of a taiko duo named Toni and Lance. They were a very energetic wife and husband with great stage presences (both had been performing musically for for a long time). Some of their songs were originals, and one even featured Lance on his jazz clarinet! They danced about in the front row, explained a great deal about the drums and taiko tradition, and even had some audience members come up and try their hand at it. However, their traditional songs, including yatai bayashi made me a little "homesick". I was taping along on my lap as they played and thought about my group back at ICU. Jorren and Alice never did get to perform at the concert, but we all know how much they worked on it.

Mrs. Yamamoto makes her paper crane fly as she plays
as flute song for it.

The second half of the evening was performed by Kuniko Yamamoto. The storyteller used some pre-folded oragami pieces to explain her stories and add to her performance. She also had a bamboo mat that unfolded into a long string of sticks that I had seen once before when visiting her home area of Osaka, Japan (Jan. 2011). Constantly stating that her English was flawed, she had the audience laughing for almost every story, save for the tale of the dragon who lived in the lake. After the performance  I was able to talk to her in Japanese and even get an autograph! Since she lived in the south, I asked her about the area I was going to and she recommended the scenery and food there. She did admit it was very much like Casper. But if Wyoming has fun events like this, I hope Shima can do the same!

These folks came to the temples and shrines right after New Years.
They let us borrow their sticks and were very friendly.

Latin Percussion Concert

Some friends of my mother's offered to take me to a percussion concert on Afro-Cuban music. I like a good rumba, so why not? The lady who invited me was well known at the college, so besides a good show, I was also introduced to several members of the Casper community who had already met my parents and had only heard about me. The speaker, Michael Spiro, was very educated and was able to melt into the groups extremely easily. He wasn't showy, though and would stop playing to help the students who had fallen off rhythm or who were not playing out loud enough. He helped to show us how the music in Cuba developed along with the country and the population, he then played popular Latin music from the 1950s and 1060s with the latin band. People were dancing in their seats and having a real ball listening to everyone on stage perform. From what I could see, he had arrived in town that morning and worked with the students and the band for only a little while before showtime. His student was the percussion instructor at the college, which is why he came. The professor made a brief appearance on the news to help bring awareness about the event.

Skiing

I have been able to get up to the mountain once since I arrived, and that was to go skiing with Little Laura and her father one Saturday morning. Laura has downhill skiing lessons at that time and I've been skiing, well, once, so we decided to all go on the easy slopes together. Her dad was able to give me a few pointers that gave me more control of my skis, but the hill was soooo different than the one I went to in Cleveland. Cleveland was like a giant mound of snow with lifts. Mt. Casper (yeah, it is right on the mountain) is more like those ski and snowboard video games that my cousins used to play: curves, trees on either side, jumps, and lots and lots of obstacles (children!!). But, persistently  I made it down the slope and didn't hit a single person! I did lose my skis a few times, but then I started taking everyone's advice and skied nice and slow, focusing on form and control. I didn't have a chance to take pictures while skiing - I was a tad preoccupied at the time - but these are the sights on our way up to the top of the mountain. A wonderfully fun day, beautiful scenery, and good workout. Still, I think the guys at the rental place were surprised I came back alive.

Night at the Museum(s)

This was actually an event that my parents attended as their St. Valentine's Day Date. For a set fee, you were given dinner and tours of different museums here in Casper. This gave my mother a great chance to hit lots of the local culture spots, and gave my dad a chance to take in some good food with his art and science. They seemed to have a really nice time, and are even planning on attending the date night this summer as well to finish off the rest of the museums.

Artist Guild

Recently, the Artist Guild here in Casper had an open gallery. My mother and I were planning on attending, but completely forgot about the even until the day it came. We were downtown anyway and swung on by the West Wind Gallery. Inside, we found a collection of paintings and photographs by local artists along the walls of the little house-turned-meeting-place. Many of the themes were natural - obvious given the local setting is rural and set around so many natural parks and reserves. Most of the art was also for sale, and we were encouraged several times to stop in for any lessons. We enjoyed looking around at all of the different styles and mediums used by the artists. The event was not as busy as I would have hoped it would be, but we came in at the very start, so i'm sure they had more visitors once we left.

Girl Scout Cookie Start Day

 Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout! And always addicted to Girl Scout Cookies!! What a great (worldwide) experience and tradition! CJ, Mom, and I made our way to the Montana and Wyoming Girl Scout Center on the start of the cookie sale season to speak with the members of the scouting team and get some free samples. Different regions of America use different cookie bakeries, so some of the flavors out here are not what we Ohioans are used to. And some of these cookie types have changed since I was a scout back in Kansas. The Thin Mints still stand strong, though, and that is all I care about. Mom really liked the Thank You Berry Much cookie, while CJ is quite the traditionalist with his Trifoil.

Moving Mono In

We did not think that my mother would be able to move out West so quickly - that I would be able to help her pack up our old home but not actually move to Wyoming. However, her new employers asked that she begin work at the start of the new year, which meant that we had to leave Ohio right quick! My friends were able to help us clean out the fridge, and Mom and I packed up the home as fast as possible. All throughout the move, I had a special helper: Namake-Mono.

Namake had her nose in all of the activity and was sure to sniff and investigate all of the boxes. She danced about our feet and helped to....what would be best to say here....organize our efforts. Once the boxes were taken away from the house, all of the free space was utilized as new play areas for her. She loved having new tracks for running and took even greater joy from jumping off the stairs. Every remaining couch and item became her domain, and bounding over furniture became her new favorite challenge. Life was good to be a puppy.


And then came the car ride.

Poor Namake-Mono was not very good at car rides, frequently getting ill after 20 minutes or so, and we planned on driving all 21 hours (her longest car ride before that was an hour and a half). Tensions were high on the first day as we kept checking for any signs of doggy distress. We made a little nest for her to be comfortable, kept the window down to help her breathe, and made the ride as smooth as possible. She got better with each day, and that meant that we were even able to keep the window up, and ourselves much warmer.

She had lots of stops along the way and wanted to meet all the squirrels in each state we passed through. They, however, were not so pleased to see a traveling puppy. Stopping at hotels had to be her favorite part of the trip, though, and she relished jumping from bed to bed in the rooms. The hotels were a hit for the human members of the family as well. One even offered a wine and cheese bar followed by a cookies and milk set! Good times, overall.

Once we arrived at the new place, she took to the new place quickly and made her space everyone she could drop a chew toy. Seeing her so comfortable in a new place made it easier for me. It is difficult for someone not to feel good when a puppy dog is happy. The move has also been good for me to get ready for my own move. There are so many things to remember and get used to (finding places to shop, work out, shop, and just getting a feel for the area). But she makes it look so easy, so perhaps I'll be fine in Japan as well.

Shima, Mie - The Basics

As I said in my last post, my assignment from Interec has been as one of the four English teachers in Shima, Mie, Japan. Since that is one of the places I didn't get to on my tour with Gina (we went for the Ninja Village in the west of Shima, but it was closed for the New Year), I thought that I'd look up some info on the area. Shall we begin our tour? Yes, lets!

Anyone who knows Mie knows it for two things: oysters and pearls. This lovely little area is set on the Pacific side of Japan's lower half and has a distinguishing feature, the nicely curved Ago bay, where most of the oyster farms are located. Of course the city's webpage has a list of interesting tourist locations (various hot springs, bridges, and lighthouses), special foods from the area (including tiger puffer fish and Ise ebi lobsters), and a list of festivals (including the "Splash Seawater at Others" Festival which I will be sure to join in!). The Japan National Tourism Organization had this to say about Shima:

The Shima-hanto Peninsula is situated at the eastern edge of the Kii-hanto Peninsula. It juts out straight into the Pacific Ocean from central Mie. It has a complex saw-toothed coastline with a number of bays and inlets, including Matoya Bay, famous for cultured oysters, and Ago Bay, often called the "Aegean Sea of Japan." The entire peninsula, with its diverse coastline, is designated as Ise-Shima National Park. It is an internationally famous sightseeing spot, along with Ise-jingu Shrine.Ago Bay, located in the southern Shima-hanto Peninsula, has over 60 islets of various size. It is famous as the first place in the world to have produced cultured pearls. The sight of the pearl rafts floating on the calm sea is truly impressive. It is also called "Bay of Pearls." You can also enjoy the view of Ago Bay from the sea aboard a pleasure boat on the Espana Cruise that starts from the largest islet in the bay, Kashiko-jima Island.There is a theme park called Shima Spain-mura Village, which reproduces famous places and townscapes of Spain. Visitors can sample the charms of Spain in the buildings, food and parades, and enjoy the rides at the amusement park. It is always packed with people of all ages.

Thank you, JNTO.

And, luckily, Shima's bay comes with an array of beaches. Most notable is the Goza Shirahama beach, whose white sandy beaches and lovely waters made it one of the  the “100 Selected Comfortable Beaches.” (see below)

The area is definitely rural, with a small population of around 53,000 it is smaller than the city of Casper, Wyoming by about 2,000 people. I've been told that it is very quiet and pretty, but that public transportation to larger cities require a great many connections and transfers. True, I will have a car, but perhaps staying in town will be better until I adjust to my life over there.

For all those who are interested in more about the bay, I now present you with this youtube clip:

At it Again

So, I really haven't blogged in, let's see, over half a year now. I look back on all the fun and adventures I've had and think, "What was I waiting for?! Another trip?!" Since getting back from China and doing ALL of the part-time work to earn more cash to move back to Japan, I also moved out with my family to the wilds of Wyoming. Ooooh! I know, exciting, right? Well, it actually is! Not in big-fun-Cleveland ways, but in quiet-I-have-time-to-finish-this-project-now ways. I figure that this blog can be one of those projects. Just like blog I had last time I was in Japan, this one can get me back in the habit of writing so that when I go overseas I don't have to constantly update everyone individually about what I'm doing and where I'm living and what my job is like.

Ever since getting a job with Interac, I have been asked (and at some points hounded and nagged incessantly about the details of the job. May I state once more for the record:

When I find anything out, I'll let you know. If I haven't let you know anything yet, it is because I don't know. Yes, I realize that you are interested about this information, but you asking me about it once a day does not bring the knowledge into my head.

To that extent, here are some things that I do know.
Arrival date in Japan: March 21st
Location of teaching: Shima, Mie, Japan, which is known for its oyster and pearls.
Will I have a car? Yes.
How many schools? Around 8 elementary and middle schools.
Are you near Tokyo? Hardly.
Are there other foreigners in your area? There will be at least 3 others within city limits, but I don't know how often we will be able to be together.

Things that I don't know would include, but are not limited to...
Where will you be living?
Will you have internet right away?
What kind of car will you have?
Is there an Orthodox Church nearby?
Is there a dojo nearby?
Will you be able to take a fluency test this summer?

Hopefully I'll be able to have lots of good news to share, but in the meantime, I just need to get back into the habit of writing. Maybe I'll do some videos like my sister, but we'll just have to see!