Death by Cashews

It's been a while, ne?

I seriously can't believe it will be June in a few days... time is going by too fast, and I'm not liking that. In fact its going so fast that in just two months I will have been in Japan for a year! What?!?!?

So... what have I been up to recently? To be honest that's kind of a difficult question to answer. In fact I know that I've officially become accustomed to life here because I'm sitting here and struggling to write this blog. At first these blogs were easy as pie to write... everything was so fresh and so new that I knew instantly what would be interesting to readers (with most of you living outside of Japan). But now I've ...habituated, if you will.

The first thing that comes to mind in terms of what I've been up to recently - which also happens to relate to the title of this post - is that I've been eating boatloads of cashews. In fact, I was eating so many that my local grocery store ran out for a while there. There were riots in the streets.

And by streets I mean my house.

Luckily the stock has since been replenished, and the checkout clerks are once again commenting on my unnatural obsession with these fine delicacies. At this rate the mostly likely cause of death, were I to die in Japan, would be death by cashews (not earthquakes, difficult language barriers, or the encroaching brutality of Japanese summer).

Let's see... what else?? I had a great weekend a little while back in Nagoya. I went bowling, saw a movie in theaters (The Descendants), went to a game center, and had REAL Mexican food. Oh, did I mention it was good? It was good. To be honest, the food I miss the most from home is actually Mexican food. I miss burritos, enchiladas, tacos, chips & salsa, chimichangas... okay tears are falling on the keyboard... better change the subject

lol... seriously though. its not funny. you're probably eating chips and salse whilst laughing at me. rude.

Recently I've been hanging out a lot with a teacher I used to work with. It's been great! It honestly feels like the first true friendship I have with a Japanese person other than my friends in Tokyo. But it's a bit confusing, because I would honestly like to be more than just friends... but I also don't want to ruin the friendship either. Dilemmas. I have no idea how a Japanese person would act in such a situation or what I should do according to "modern Japanese norms"... but at the end of the day I'll probably just go about it the same way I would back home. In Japan, this could very easily turn into an epic fail. But that's alright I suppose. At least I will have tried and hopefully I will have learned something in the process.

Oh! I also finally made it to the AMAZING beach in my town. It's stunning. I was lucky enough to have gone on a day with perfect weather (not too hot and not too cold) and yet there was almost nobody there. It was so relaxing and just what I needed. I'm going to try to go at least 1 or 2 times every month.

This weekend I'll head north, and depending on the weather I'll either be heading to an amusement park and riding roller coasters or visiting a jail-themed restaurant.

I'll say that again: a jail-themed restaurant.
Its exactly what it sounds like.

If I don't go there this weekend, I'm definitely going to go there some other time. It's a must. Details once I've done it.

Well.... I guess that's it.... I don't really know what else to say. Sorry that this has been a short one. I just wanted to update everyone back home. I'm sorry these aren't more regular.

Have a good morning/day/night in whatever corner of the world you live!

Oh, What a Journey!

Let's get a little bit serious.

Lately I've been somewhat.... unhappy? depressed? unfulfilled? And up until last week I never really had the time to just sit down, think it through, figure out why, and come up with a solution.

Fortunately, last week was Golden Week (which means I had 9 glorious days off of work in a row) and I had plenty of time to just stop and think. What follows is the conclusion that I came to:

Throughout my life, at least from the age of (about) 15 and onward, I've always had a goal. I've always been moving towards something. There was a path ahead of me and it was clear. But I would argue that I didn't really choose the path, it sort of just came to me, and I followed it. From 15 years of age, the goal was to get a job and make money so I could afford all the nice things I wanted. From 17 years of age: finish high school and prove all those wrong who thought I would most certainly drop out. From 18: go to a respectable college, get a degree, prove to myself that I can do it, make up for senior year of high school. From 22: get into the JET Program and go to Japan.

Much to my satisfaction, I have completed all these goals. And don't get me wrong, it feels great. So why am I... less than content? 

Is it Japan? Culture shock? The language barrier? Am I homesick? Lonely? 

Yes, its probably a little bit of each of those. 

But what it all really boils down to is this: I currently do not have a goal towards which I am moving.  I feel as if I'm stuck in limbo. I'm at a point in life where I've pretty much got everything I wanted and asked for thus far (and for that I am eternally grateful)... 

But what's next? Where is the path?

I came to Japan for a number of reasons - the main ones being: 1) an interest in Japan, 2) to delay real life and important life decisions, and 3) to save money.

But the real problem here is that second reason: to delay real life and important life decisions.

For some odd reason, I thought that coming here would be like an extended vacation; a brief sojourn that would effectively delay the inevitable inconvenience of growing up.

But I can't escape it. I have choices that need to be made... and soon. At the very least, I need an immediate goal to work towards.

During my Golden Week brainstorming (and I quite literally spent a whole day doing nothing except sitting, staring at a wall, and thinking), I came up with the following goals:

• Study Japanese... Hardcore: while this seems like the obvious choice, its actually something I sort of find myself leaning away from the more time passes. It's sad to admit, but I find myself wondering if I will ever use Japanese again once I leave Japan. This shouldn't be an excuse, and I know I should be diligently learning the language of the land I live in... but I have limited time and energy.
• Study for Law/Grad School: this is probably the goal I am most leaning towards, with the end result being getting into a good school and studying again for another 3-4 years. But honestly, where does that leave me? As of now, I only see this as delaying real life even further. Add to this the problem that I don't even know 100% if I want to do Law School or if I want to do Grad School (heaven forbid having to choose a field to focus in)... and this option slowly becomes less and less appealing. Yet still, I continue to lean very heavily in this direction.
• Get Ripped: this one is easy. Work out. It takes up time, makes me look better, feel better, and there is really no way to lose. 
• Indulge in the Arts: this is something I've been toying with for a while as well. Do I want to learn a new musical instrument? Do I want to learn some other artsy craft that I would otherwise never have the time for? Yeah... I sort of do...

All these are great ideas, and if I was crazy, I would certainly attempt to accomplish all of them. But I know that such a task would be impossible. So I need to choose 1 or 2... But which to choose? I honestly haven't yet figured it out. I still need more time to think about it. I feel as if once I put my eggs in one basket, they are locked in, and taking them out means I don't pass 'Go', I don't get $200, and I have to go directly to jail.

I guess in the end, it all boils down to my dreading the day when I have to return to America. What happens if I haven't figured it out by then? Will I be 27 years old, single, unemployed, and living with my parents? I love my parents and all, but quite honestly this is a doomsday scenario that basically stamps a big giant red "LOSER" into the middle of my forehead. To prevent this, I need to think NOW. I need to plan NOW. This problem needs to be solved before I leave Japan in a little over 2 years.

So yeah. This is where my mind is currently. It's in purgatory. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, relishing where I came from and how I got here, only to be haunted by the fact that the numerous paths ahead of me are shrouded in fog and irreversible once chosen - and sooner or later one must be chosen.

I guess to make a long story short...

I'm growing up.

And I don't want to.

Of Holy Matrimony

Disclaimer: This blog is opinion and observation based solely on my own experiences.

As with most Americans of my generation, I've never really been too concerned about getting married just quite yet. In fact, I feel as if the general consensus among Americans my age is that marriage doesn't need to be (and quite honestly shouldn't be) a concern when one is in their early to mid 20's. That is of course if one even intends to get married at all.

In Japan, at least in the rural areas, this doesn't really seem to be the case. I can't speak too much for the young men of Japan, but I've noticed that a large part of the women in the 18-25ish age range are either already married or actively seeking to get married and have a child. To me, this active pursuit and interest in marriage is a very strange departure from what I perceive to be an overwhelming disinterest in marriage on the part of most young Americans.

But I've found myself slowly getting sucked into this mindset that one should be trying to get married at this age. For me personally, there are a number of factors which contribute to this. The biggest, and most obvious factor for me (I think) is that I work with young kids. And let me tell you, they are SOOO freakin' cute. While teaching at Elementary School isn't exactly my favorite, when I get the chance to go play with the kids outside or just hang out and talk with them, I sometimes think to myself "You are so cute! Why aren't you my kid?!"

I think the other factor which plays into my changing mindset is the fact that "Do you have a girlfriend?" is probably the most common question I get asked, aside from "Where are you from?" and "What is your name?" And don't just think that its women in my age-range that ask this question... My students ask me this. Old ladies ask me this. Middle-aged men ask me this. Complete strangers ask me this. Basically, everyone asks me this. But why?

To be honest, I don't quite have an answer. All I can say, is that (at least from my perspective) there seems to be a much greater concern about whether or not someone is single, dating, or married in Japan. In America, the question "Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend?" is quite heavy and carries with it the implication of "I'm interested in dating you" or "I know someone who is interested in dating you." In Japan, the question seems to carry no such weight and really isn't all that different from asking "Do you like apples?" 

But despite the question not seeming to carry any significance whatsoever, I do feel that it contributes to the desire (pressure?) to marry at a young age. It's almost as if being asked this question is a constant reminder of either A) the fact that you are single, have no bf/gf; therefore cannot get married, or B) the fact that you have a bf/gf combined with the implication, "Then why aren't you married yet?" It's a vicious cycle. Basically, my opinion is that this light-hearted, no-ill-intended question actually plays a lot more mind games on the young Japanese people than they think.

So yeah, its all quite a different change from America. And while I say that I've been swept into this mindset (and I can just see the looks on the faces of my family and friends back home), let me assure you that I recognize the fact that I am still young, foolish, am in no way ready to make any big life decisions (this a large part of why I'm in Japan in the first place), and that most importantly I want to stay this way for as long as possible. 

Now... trying to find a Japanese girl to date? That's an entirely different, complicated, and confusing story. lol

But yeah, that's it for this blog. I hope it was interesting? Oh... and I've gone back and added the answers to the blog about Japanese emoji or smiley faces.

Be seeing you next time!

Toyota Duet!

I got my car!! Here's the features:

• 2001 Toyota Duet (1,000cc, automatic)
• 5-door Hatchback
• 50,000km (~35,000 miles)
• Forest Green
• Leather Seats
• A/C
• Power doors/windows/mirrors
• CD/Cassette player
• 40-50 MPG

Watch me on YouTube in HD!

In Japan, there are two types of cars. There are white plates and yellow plates. Yellow plates are referred to as "Kei" cars, and are basically advanced go-karts. They have really small engines, and they are much lighter (and less safe) than their white plate brothers. Kei cars are much cheaper to own and operate, as the reason for their very existence is to take advantage of certain loopholes in car laws/regulations in Japan.

Fortunately, I got a white plate. It's got more kick, has airbags, and feels a lot more sturdy than a Kei car does. And here's the kicker: I pretty much got the car for free. I paid ¥120,000 for it (which is about $1,500 at todays exchange rate), but this cost isn't for the actual car itself. Because I know the daughter of the man who owns the car shop who "sold" me the car, they gave it to me for free. The ¥120,000 breaks down as follows: ~¥100,000 for mandatory taxes, inspection, etc. and ~¥20,000 to file the necessary documents, change ownership, etc.

So, yeah! Awesome!

I took it out for my first drive in over 8 months yesterday. It was also my first time ever operating a vehicle with the handle on the right side, and also my first time driving on the left side of the road. Overall though it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, it seemed somewhat natural.

I'm definitely looking forward to the increased freedom that owning a car will bring. No longer will I have to wait around for 2 hours to catch the next train if I want to go somewhere. Best of all, living in one of the rainiest regions in all of Japan, this baby will REALLY come in handy on days when the sky is practically falling and I HAVE to go to the grocery store because I am out of food.

Finally, I hope to go and visit friends in northern Mie much more frequently, and I definitely want to plan some road trips as well.

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

Well? Can you figure it out??

It's an angry (or frustrated) person flipping over a table. It's only one of countless hundreds of "emoji" (the Japanese word for emoticons). It's also one of my favorites!

In the west we seem to have developed a system of emoticons which pretty much all require the reader to read the emoticon horizontally - think along the lines of:
:D  &  =P  &  :*( 

In Japan, emoji utilize a whole host of characters and symbols that most of us westerners don't even know exist. These emoji are much more interesting, pleasing, and descriptive than their western counterparts. However, many of them are downright confusing, and a lot of the time I cannot even figure out what they are trying to convey.

As you can see from the title of the blog, Japanese emoji are read vertically (i.e. you don't have to tilt your head to read them). There are a whole range of emotions/actions that can be conveyed including: happiness, anger, sadness, kissing, dancing, singing, confusion, shock, evil/plotting, apologizing, drinking, and writing.

That said, I thought it might be fun/interesting for me to list some Japanese emoji and see if you can figure them out! And I thought it would be interesting if I didn't provide you with the answers until my next blog post!

So... without further ado, here are a handful of Japanese emoji! Can you figure out what they are trying to convey??


Ψ(´▽｀)Ψ  ***eating; holding two forks 


d=(´▽｀)=b  ***two thumbs up


ヽ(＾Д＾)ﾉ  ***general happiness


(ヘ。ヘ)  ***whistling


 (♡∀♡)  ***in love


【・_・?】 ***confused


ヽ(ー_ー )ノ  *** think "Whatever, I give up!"


щ(゜ロ゜щ)  *** think "WHY!?!"


(*´∀`*)  ***shy


 (⌒_⌒;)  ***embarassed


（￣へ￣）*** think "I'm better than this/that!"


(¬､¬)  ***annoyed; to be fed-up with


凸(｀0´)凸  ***giving the fingers


(＃｀д´)ﾉ  ***really angry; shaking a fist


^(#｀∀´)_Ψ  ***feeling evil or sneaky


☆⌒(＞。≪)  *** think "Ouch! That hurt!"


o(╥﹏╥)o  ***crying


(´∩｀。)  ***general sadness


(シ_ _)シ  ***bowing or apologizing


ヽ(´ー`)ﾉ  *** think "I don't understand!"


〜(￣▽￣〜)  ***dancing


┏(＾0＾)┛ ***more dancing


(　 ゜Д゜)⊃旦  ***drinking or serving drinks


（*＾3＾）***kissing


ヽ(○´∀`)ﾉ♪  ***singing


ヾ(。￣□￣)ﾂ  ***yawning


＿〆(。。)  ***writing or taking a memo


￢o(￣-￣ﾒ)  ***holding a gun


ლ(´ڡ`ლ)  ***licking lips; lust


Ｏ( ｀_´)乂(｀_´ )Ｏ  ***fighting


ヽ(^o^)ρ┳┻┳°σ(^o^)/  ***playing table tennis


( ^o^)ノ ．．．…___ｏ  ***bowling


＼（＾∀＾）メ（＾∀＾）ノ  ***friends holding hands



I hope you enjoyed!

Two Schools, Two Experiences

Fair Warning: This blog might be a little negative or depressing to read. Also, spelling errors. ごめんね。

Let's start with a little backstory. In Japan, the school year starts on April 1st. Each year, near the middle of March, certain teachers are informed that they will be changing to a new school. As far as I can tell, there is very little rhyme or reason to who gets transferred... but on the whole, the younger a given teacher is or the longer a given teacher has been at the school, the greater the chance that he/she will be transferred.

I can sort of understand the reasoning behind it, but a lot of what I see makes no sense at all. Sometimes I feel like someone somewhere picks a name from one hat, a school from another, and "PRESTO!" those are the changes to be made.

That out of the way, I have two very different stories to tell.

As I have said many times before, I teach at 7 schools. Five of them are Elementary Schools (ES) and two are Junior High Schools (JHS). I enjoy my time at ES, but in all honesty, it is not where my heart is. I much prefer my days at JHS over my days at ES. The kids are more mature, they tend to take English more seriously than their ES counterparts, and I get to work with teachers who have studied and speak English.

Yesterday and today were the farewell dinners for both my JHS. This type of dinner starts out really formal, with the Principal and Vice-Principal each making a speech. Then, each teacher that is leaving makes his or her speech. Then the eating and drinking commences. Through the course of the night, more speeches are made, presents given, and one-on-one chats take place. I'm not going to go into too much detail, but let's just say I've had wildly different experiences at my two JHS.

At one of the schools, the teachers are incredibly nice, friendly, and I feel like they actually want to get to know me as a person. At this school, 5 teachers are being transferred. Two of the teachers were part-time, so I didn't really get to know them that much (as we were rarely at the school at the same time). But the other three I'm really sad to see go.

One is a PE teacher who is almost like a motherly figure to me. It's really difficult for me to put into words, but something about her really reminds me of my mom. I wont lie - I got a little choked up when we said goodbye. The second is the Vice-Principal. The only word I can think of to describe this man is "jolly". He would often come to my desk to chat with me, or ask me about this and that, or tell me jokes. He's just a really good, well-rounded man. Finally, the music teacher. I think I'm most sad that she is leaving, because I really only started talking with her a month or two ago. This is mostly my fault that we didn't speak as I was too shy and my Japanese is still really bad. I'm really starting to regret it now, as she can sing well, play piano beautifully, is interested in English, is younger than 30 years old (this is RARE in my town), and is unbelievably pretty. Lesson learned: don't wait around.

Now, let's switch to the other school. At this school, the teachers barely even acknowledge my existence. I don't think its that they dont like me, I think it may just be that they are really busy. Still, there are days at this school where I quite literally talk to NO ONE, except to announce my arrival to and departure from school and a couple sentences here and there with the English teacher about the days classes.

With that in mind, let's jump to the farewell dinner of this school. Seven teachers are leaving, most of whom I have never even shared a word with. Two of the younger teachers came over to talk with me, but other than them (and the English teacher), I pretty much spoke to no one. I know part of it is my own fault, as I probably need to be more outspoken in Japan than I currently am. But a lot of the time, I think I get lost in the madness of the school day, and as a result I end up at my desk bored to tears. Sometimes I just wish a teacher, any teacher, would come to my desk and say "Let's go clean!" or "Come play tennis with us!" At least that way I would feel more included than I currently do. Yesterday at this school, I kind of just thought "Screw it!", and I basically followed my English teacher throughout the whole day and just did whatever she did. It definitely beat sitting at my desk, so I will probably be using this method next year as well. Still, it would make me BEYOND happy just to be asked, even if it was just once or for some menial task.

So yeah: two schools, two experiences. And that doesn't even include the FIVE elementary schools I go to every week. It may sound kind of weird when you consider that my schedule is the same every week, but I feel like there is very little consistency in what I do. That is to say, when I visit my Wednesday school, the time between this Wednesday's visit and the next Wednesday's visit encompasses 6 other schools, some 16-odd classes, with about 700 students ranging from 6 years old to 15 years old, with class sizes ranging from 2 students to 35 students, and all this with teachers who have wildly varying levels of English and drastically different teaching styles. Granted each week is practically over in a flash, but each week also takes me from the start to the end and makes sure nothing, and I mean NOTHING, gets lost in between. While it is rewarding, it is insanely exhausting. I've never been so tired before in my life than I am currently feeling. Some nights, even with 10 hours of sleep, I wake up and feel like I didn't even sleep at all.

So yeah... this wasn't really a rant or anything, just a way for me to put things into perspective, and hopefully others can find it interesting. If it came off depressing as I thought it might, I'm fairly confident it's because of the things happening around me. Teachers leaving, students graduating, the return of the unrelenting winter cold, RAIN, etc. etc.

While I will miss many of the teachers and students, I pretty much have to force myself to move on for my own sake.

In that sense, I am ready for spring, the new year, the new teachers, and new chances.

That's all for this time.

JJ, signing off.

A Video Grab Bag of Sorts

Welcome! Step right up!

Today I present to you an assortment of videos which I have been sitting on for quite some time. None of them have any particular relevance to anything, and most of them border on being tedious and boring... but we can't be picky now, can we?!?!

I will present them to you in the order in which they were filmed. The oldest one goes back to October 2011, and I just filmed the newest video today. So without further ado, step right up and grab a video!

Video 1: Random Concert in Akihabara

This was filmed on October 9th, 2011. Not sure who is performing... but you can see fan dedication at its finest (aka creepiest) in this video. It is not uncommon to see grown men in their 30s and 40s cheering for, dancing with, and singing along to concerts performed by 16 year old girls.

Video 2: Riding the Bullet Train

This is what it looks like to travel ~200mph on the ground. This was taken aboard the Nozomi Shinkansen (fastest Bullet Train in Japan)... and as you can see, the ride is smooth as silk. It's also very expensive.

Video 3: A-Fishing We Will Go

I went fishing out in the bay of my town and Owase. You can see Owase as marked by the giant tower near the end of the video. Shortly thereafter, I pan the camera to the right, and you can just barely make out the presence of my tiny little town.

Video 4: New Apartment Tour

I took this the day I moved in. We basically moved everything from my old place to my new place in one day (from 8am to about 6pm). This video was taken in the aftermath... so things were still all over the place. On moving day, I was pretty much the luckiest guy ever - an army of older ladies came over and cleaned the entire place floor to ceiling. Since taking this video, a lot has changed (namely, I got the bed and couch I spoke of). I plan to take another video soon to show all the changes.

Video 5: Riding the Local Train

These are the gorgeous views as you venture away from the civilization of northern Mie deep into the untamed wilds of where I live. Welcome to rural living!

Video 6: A Finnish Choir... in Japan?

Uhm... yeah.... this is easily one of the most unusual things I've seen so far in Japan. Who would have ever thought that I would spend an evening with a Finnish Choir group (let alone in Japan)?!?! I guess it's just another item I can check off of my "things I didn't expect to experience in Japan" checklist. And yes, they are singing in Finnish.

Video 7: I'm Not Really Sure...

I took this video today at a local carnival type thing that was held today in Kii-Nagashima (the town about 20 minutes north of me). I think everyone in this video is a man... but some are dressed like woman, others like clowns, one like a green leopard, and one as a fireman of sorts??? It was interesting... and it was also raining quite heavily.

That's all for this time around. Hope you enjoyed!