Here Is My Present. Take My Daughter.
It’s been way too long since I’ve posted. I apologize. The past couple of weeks have been very busy. On Oct. 28th and 29th, I helped the Yamanashi International Center in Kofu with a Halloween program. On the 28th, I helped get the International Center ready for the poor, deprived Japanese children. We set up a trick-or-treat room, a “there-are-human-remains-in-the-box-that-are-really-nasty-feeling-food-products” room, a haunted house, a jack o’ lantern room, and some other cultural rooms. I was in the haunted house. My friends and I got to scare the crap out of little Japanese kids. If they weren’t already afraid of foreigners, they sure will be now. We made several cry and were even able to scare a few parents out of the room. I think it was a good day of international exchange.
On Oct. 30th and 31st, I had a boring set of conferences to attend. There wasn’t much useful information. The only beneficial thing was the exchange of lessons plans. The other information was just a repetition of things I’ve already heard. The only interesting thing was the good hotel we were lodged in. The hotel was set-up like a traditional Japanese hotel. Nice tatami mat rooms, comfortable futons, and a nice onsen (public bath) on the top floor.
Part of the JET Program involves international exchange. I’ve been teaching Halloween to my elementary school students. I’ve talked about the origins and how much kids in America enjoy it. Too bad they don’t have trick-or-treating here. Houses are so close together that it would take no time to get a crapload of candy. The candy would probably suck, though. One of the activities was to color their own jack o’ lanterns. Here are a couple of pictures from the lesson. You can click here for the full album.
This past weekend was another busy weekend. On Friday, Nov. 3rd, I had no school due to Culture Day. That day, I ran 15 km in the morning. I’m trying to run more often and longer. I’m interested in running a full marathon of 42 km. So, I’m setting up a plan to run every morning before school. My weight hasn’t changed since I’ve been here. My eating habits in America weren’t that much different from what I’ve done in Japan. Running several times a week will probably drop my weight from the current 72 kg (160 lbs) to around 65 kg (145 lbs). I’ll lose some of my muscle gains in the process, but I’m interested in trying a full marathon. That night, I went to a friend’s party in Kiyosato and made some new Japanese friends.
On Nov. 4th, I administered a math test in the morning. I have been teaching a girl Mathematics over the past month in preparation for her qualifying test. Hopefully, she did well. Maybe I should try to find someone to teach Chemistry or Biology to. That afternoon, I went to play badminton and table tennis with the teachers from Akeno Elementary School. I dominated everything with my American Power. That night, I went with the elementary schools teachers to their office party. I got to show off my awesome karaoke skills again. I think I need a Grammy for my stirring renditions of YMCA and Detroit Rock City.
On Nov. 5th, I went leaf viewing with my friends Megumi and Kazue at Nishizawa Valley (Nishizawakeikoku) in Yamanashi City. It was a very beautiful area with many waterfalls. I want to go to Kyoto for leaf viewing, but my schedule for this month is too busy. Here are some good pictures from the day. You can click here for the full album.
Megumi, Me, and Kazue. Please note that one is wearing a jacket and the other is wearing a sweater. It wasn’t that cold. I’ve heard too many Japanese people say it’s cold now. It’s not cold. Since weather is a major conversation piece in Japan, I’ll just have to put up with it.
Me, Megumi, and Kazue.
Yamanashi is a very pretty area. It’s a lot like Kentucky.
All of Nov. 5th was spent with a bunch of women. Just as what would happen in an English speaking situation, I had to endure long conversations of women issues in Japanese. I understood maybe between 60-80% of what was being said. I just pretended not to know. Everything from menstrual issues to dieting. I only chimed in on the diet and exercise part since I don’t have experience in the menstrual field besides memorizing the hormones for Biology classes. There were also some other things I heard that are just a little too spicy for some of the people who read this…
After hiking, we went to Megumi’s mother’s house in Enzan. Megumi’s mother was very interesting. She’s the inspiration for this post’s title. I got the usual, “You’re cute and cool,” from her. What I wasn’t expecting was this line I heard later in the evening:
- I like you. Here’s a present. Take my daughter.
- OK. Thank you.
From what I could gather, Megumi’s mother was single. She reminded me of one of those single mothers that try to stay hip and cool. She drives a sports car, doesn’t dress like other women her age, and doesn’t look like she’s 53. At Megumi’s mother’s house, I had to endure more women conversations. These were actually interesting, though. It was a lot of discussion about kimonos. Megumi’s mother owns some very nice kimonos.
Megumi’s mother can cook a good meal. Thanks to my many Japanese friends, I have had to cook and buy very little food this month. I always feel bad taking all this stuff, but at least I politely refuse before gorging myself.
I have many friends in Japan. In three months, I now have more phone numbers in my cell-phone here than I did in the U.S. Here are some pictures of my other friends that I haven’t introduced yet.
This is Eri.
Minami and Izumi. College students from Kofu.
Akiko
Eriko
Aiyama
Reiko and Menami.
Killer Panda and Kazue
Now, for a fun little game of speculation. Which one am I engaged to be married to in the next couple of months???
Here is the usual Japanese moment of zen:
This is an old commercial with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many American actors can make A LOT of money by doing the silliest commercials ever over here in Japan. This was the concept behind the movie Lost in Translation. There are many different examples, but this is one of my favorites.
