Rice Planting

On Fridays I teach at an agriculture high school. I was excited to learn about this assignment before moving to Akita, because I grew up visiting my Grandparents' dairy farm. I was even active in 4-H as a kid and in Future Farmers of America for one year of high school. So I was excited that I was able to participate in a little bit of Japanese farming - rice planting. Every year, the first year students spend a Friday afternoon planting rice. It seems that it is a tradition.

Here are the rice plants.


These students are planting the rice plants. Notice the standing water. All the rice fields have been flooded.



After the students left the rice fields, a teacher explained to me that last year people who live near the school's rice fields complained that the students did not do a good job of planting the rice. If you look carefully in the picture below, you can see straight machine-planted rows on the left and student planted rice on the right.


To avoid this problem this year, a teacher planted new plants on top of the student plants. Or the machine straightened the plants that were already there. I am not sure how it worked, but while he was doing this, he invited me to drive the rice planting machine. Unfortunately, in the pictures I have, I am only standing to the side. But, he did let me drive. I don't think my rows were as straight as his.



Here are some students washing their feet after standing in the muddy rice field.

I'm So Excited

Jonas was so excited for Mother's Day that he woke up at 4:30 and refused to go back to sleep. As much as she loves him, Tricia didn't exactly consider this the ideal Mother's Day present. So my gift to her was to get up with Jonas while she slept in a little longer. Eventually, though, the euphoria wore off. So much so that halfway through breakfast, pretty much mid-bite, Jonas fell asleep. If you look closely you can see egg on the tip of his nose. He didn't even get to his favorite part of the meal, the frozen berries. After he ate his egg and cheese, I left the room to fetch the berries (he'll eat those and only those if he has access to them first thing), and when I got back, he was snoozing away.




Part of the reason for Jonas' early rising is the ungodly time the sun comes up here, currently, just after 4 a.m. This often wakes me up, too, although I have the good sense to go back to sleep.

Once Jonas woke back up, we went to watch the Spring baseball tournament. I watched my main school play the day before. The main difference I noticed (aside from the Japanese obsession with bunting) was that these kids didn't make any mistakes. There was one error all game, and even that was a tough one. The ball took a bad bounced, and the second baseman still knocked it down and made a play on the runner. I guess that's what practicing year- round will do for you.



In the fifth inning play is stopped so members of each team can rake the field.


Tricia, Jonas and two players from one of her schools. Again, if you look closely you can see a pen and pencil clutched in Jonas' left hand. He's obsessed lately with drawing and wants to do it wherever he goes. Also, notice the kids' shoes. Didn't know velcro was still in here.

Crash Jonas

"Your shower shoes have fungus on them. You'll never make it to the bigs with fungus on your shower shoes. Think classy, you'll be classy. Win 20 in the show, you can let the fungus grow back and the press'll think you're colorful. Until you win 20 in the show, however, it only means you are a slob."
-- Bull Durham

About a week ago, we went over to a fellow teacher’s house for a curry dinner with his wife and 3-year-old daughter. During dinner, the wife, who spoke no English, smiled broadly, pointed over at Jonas and declared, “Kevin Costner.” So what do we think? Does Jonas look like a young, Bull Durham-era Kevin Costner. I intially dismissed this, as I’ve been told I look just like Matt Damon. But after a second look, I don’t know. Maybe she’s right.

 

A future Jonas?

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A young Costner?

The daughter was a full year and two months older than Jonas, though exactly the same size, and I think this confused her terribly, because Jonas, being younger and being Jonas, wasn’t much interested in talking with her. He ignored nearly everything she said and instead opted to play with all of her toys. She also appeared completely flummoxed that we couldn’t understand what she was saying. This happens to us a lot. Kids walk up to us and start jabbering away in Japanese. We tell them, in Japanese, that we don’t understand. And from the looks on their faces, and can just see them saying to themselves, “Why the hell not?”

 

She sat still from start to finish. He sat still for a few minutes.

We went camping last weekend, cutting the trip short after just one night. Jonas bolted awake at 3:30 a.m. and decided, instead of sleeping, he’d scream as loud as possible. This was a problem as the campground was packed. So I put him in the car and started driving, hoping he’d fall back asleep. He didn’t. He just sat there, staring out the window for the full two hours as I drove completely around Japan’s deepest lake, then drove to another prefecture, Iwate, before returning back to the campground. So we ate breakfast, went to Nyuto Onsen, featured earlier in the year in The New York Times for good reason, as it’s definitely the oldest and most authentic-seeming onsen we’ve been to, and then headed for home. Here is the photographic evidence.

 
 
 
 

I think anyone who does one of these blogs has to, at some point in time, apologize for neglecting it for a period of time. I wish I could say that I (Tricia has forbidden me from speaking for her in any way whatsoever in this space, so I will honor this directive by only commenting for myself) have been terribly busy and haven’t had the time. This would be untrue. I’ve been no busier than at any other point I’ve been here. Maybe less so. I’ve simply run out of steam. After nine months, Japan and all things Japanese are no longer new and interesting. They haven’t been for awhile. They just are. I’m still enjoying it all. But I think the end is in sight, and I’m ready to cross that line.

Finally, one of my schools canceled classes last week to honor all the sports teams and hold its annual river cleanup. This attracted the attention of the local newspaper. And if you look closely, that’s me in the middle of all that trash. Among the items discovered: a rusty, triangular saw, a Japanese wash basin and a hot tea dispenser. Thankfully, no bodies. This is Japan, after all.

 

Jonas runs to get his shoes

In the last few weeks, Jonas started a new thing at daycare. When he sees Jason or me, he runs to to get his shoes from the shoe cubbies. Here is a short video -



We are leaving for a camping trip in the next hour. The weather is beautiful and we have Monday and Tuesday off. Should be fun.

Goodbye, My Friend

From earlier this week ...

Teachers in Japan are forced to switch schools every seven to eight years, sometimes when they desperately don’t want to move, and sometimes at their own request. So it was my bad luck (although in the end, probably their good fortune) that two of the teachers I’m most friendly with were transferred, including my fabulously sweet and easy-going supervisor, Sasaki-sensei. She most definitely did not want to leave. Her school is probably one of the more difficult around. The students can get pretty wild and the atmosphere in the teachers room is surprisingly tense. Yet, I guess she’d gotten used to it. Also, the school’s five minutes from her house. Her new school is about 40 minutes away, just one example of the sudden change that is thrust upon teachers. They don’t find out until late March that they’re moving. Two weeks later, they’re gone. Like I said, this is bad for me because we got along great. As the baseball coach observed one day, “Sasaki sensei, she’s the only one who talks to you.”

Her replacement is fine, although she seems a bit overwhelmed. One day she was sitting at the public computer, which is right next to my desk. I noticed she hadn’t moved in awhile. I looked over, and she was asleep. At the end of the first week, I asked her if she had any plans. She told me, “I want to sleep all weekend.”

As it’s the new school year here, we reintroduce ourselves to all the students in all the schools. Here were some of the better questions I received:

May I have some comments about human right violations in China?
Who do you support, Mr. Clinton or Mr. Obama?
What do you think about my beauty?
Do you own any guns?
What is the current trend in U.S.?

And finally, my favorite:

What are your thoughts on the sub-prime loan program?

Finally, if you haven’t, read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Its stunning. Unlike anything I’ve ever read. I cant stop thinking about it.

If you don’t trust me …

“Trenchant and terrifying, written with stripped-down urgency and fueled by the force of a universal nightmare. The Road [has] stunning, savage beauty. This is an exquisitely bleak incantation–pure poetic brimstone . . . [Cormac McCarthy] gives voice to the unspeakable . . . Yet this narrative is also illuminated by extraordinary tenderness . . . This is art that both frightens and inspires . . . Its fearless wisdom is more indelible than reassurance could ever be.”
–Janet Maslin, New York Times

… even if it is an Oprah Book of the Month selection.

Sakura

Since we first moved to Japan I have heard a lot of talk about the infamous sakura (cherry blossoms). Sakura is a common girl's name here in Japan. On Friday one of my students asked me if anybody is named Sakura in the United States. The idea of someone named Cherry Blossom made me laugh and we then discussed the differences between names in Japan vs the US. Later at home, Jason reminded me that there are people named Blossom (I can only remember Punky Brewster's friend or is that a separate show?) and he named many people with the last name Cherry, so I guess it isn't that funny after all.

Recently I read hundreds of introduction essays and many students wrote that they love spring, because of the cherry blossoms. I also have learned that not only does the school year begin in the spring, but springtime and the blooming of cherry blossoms is considered a time of new beginnings in Japan. This weekend they are out full force and there is a cherry blossom festival at the main park in Akita City, Senshu Park. Yesterday we drove to Kakunodate to see the cherry blossoms and decided they are prettier in Akita City. Yesterday was gloomy, but today the weather is sunny and warm. Probably the prettiest day of the year so far.

Some people asked me about cherry blossom festivals and picnics in the states and I said we don't have any. Well, it turns out that there is a cherry blossom festival in DC. The trees were a gift from Japan in 1912.

Here are some pictures of us enjoying hanami. Yesterday in Kakunodate--


Jonas decided he liked these women and snuggled right up to them. This picture was taken a few seconds after the snuggle.



Jonas likes ice cream as much as I do.



Notice how Jonas is trying to escape my hold near a drop off above a river. This was the theme of the day yesterday. He wanted to just go, go, go without any help from me or Jason.



Here are some pictures from today (Sunday) at Senshu Park. First Jonas checking out the crowd.



The people picnicing next to us.



People had some serious picnic set-ups. This was group was friendly and invited me to take a picture.



Here is an action shot. You can see Jason trying to catch up to Jonas. Jonas had just knocked into this woman trying to get to the flowers. He is fast.



Jason and Jonas talking with a new friend.



Jason and Jonas eating yakisoba, a common festival food in Japan.

Kansai Vacation -- Bonus Coverage!

Jonas and his My Two Dads moment. As I said, he wasn't sure who was who, so he decided to latch onto both of us.

As if everyone hadn’t already seen and heard enough of our travels through southern Japan, we’re back with even more coverage thanks to semi-pro photographers Mer and Abe. The first picture below is one of my favorites from our entire time here. There is no question that the only reason this woman approached me to chat was because of Jonas. He really has opened up a unique side of Japan for us that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

Supposedly the most photographed image in all of Japan. Abe added to the pile.



Kansas and its ball of twine have nothing on Japan. How about a giant rice spoon?

Tasting some sake.


This is a pretty good picture of what the typical small-time hotel bath looks like in Japan. For those of you who haven't seen Mr. Baseball, you sit on the stool and shower before climbing into the bath. It doesn't seem odd at all to me any more.

Yes, that's a monkey grooming a deer. Not pictured: the monkey later came over and did Tricia's hair.

The monkeys … these photos are as close as I came to them. This was not a zoo situation. The monkeys were roaming around wild, and as many a sign warned us, if eye contact was made, the monkeys were absolutely not responsible for what followed, such as them gnawing off your nose. To be absolutely clear, large pictures of monkeys on the attack were prominently displayed throughout the grounds. There was no doubt in my mind that Jonas not only would make eye contact, he would do everything in his power to make actual physical contact with the monkeys. He has a stuffed Curious George at home, and if he can't tell the difference between me and Abe, I wasn't betting on him telling those two apart.

So, after enjoying not one but two gondola rides to the top of this mountain (where, let me tell you, I sweat bullets from start to finish. I’ve always had this idea that Jonas would manage to jump off my lap and leap out the window in these situations. This is why I stayed on the ground months ago in Hokkaido when Tricia and Jonas gondoled up a mountain. I would have done the same here, but it didn’t seem to be going along with the overall spirit of that day’s group activity) Jonas was sequestered in the visitors center. And that meant I was sequestered, too, because he flipped out every time I left the room on this trip (which you think would make me feel good, but in fact just made me feel tired). So, I was forced to sit with him while the others, as the Japanese would say, enjoyed the beautiful nature. At least I can enjoy the pictures.

Only the first of two gondola rides. I still have nightmares.

Some geisha in Kyoto that Mer for some reason thought were phonies. I wasn't even there, so I don't know the story behind that.

Here I am recreating Tricia's panicked expression when she thought I was heading to the wrong booth to buy chocolate ice cream. Even though I had seen a couple walk out of said booth with chocolate moments before, she insisted we go somewhere else, where it turned out, they only sold vanilla and green tea ice cream. Notice I'm eating chocolate. Tricia, vanilla. Jonas didn't seem to mind what flavor he ate.

Me, lighting a candle praying for familial harmony and happiness.

Wish granted.