minnesota new year
It is hard to believe that 2006 is done already and that my blogging skills post-japan have failed miserably. Hopefully this year will be better in terms of blogging and keeping people a little more up to date on my life. Even though Minnesota is not Japan, there are plenty of exciting things around. Since I have been home, I have been working two jobs: waiter at the Sunny Side-Up Cafe (my college summer job) and coaching diving at Eden Prairie High School. Both have been a lot of fun, especially coaching. Currently, I live in St. Paul with three other guys, just across the river from Minneapolis.
Anyway, the holiday season was a great opportunity to see family and friends. Most of my friends were back from a variety of places around the country and world. For the first time, my parents decided to take a trip over Christmas and New Years so, with my consent since I was in San Diego over Thanksgiving, they were of to Mexico on Christmas Eve. Instead, my parents, sister, and grandparents had an early Christmas at home. It was admittedly nice to open some presents a little early and I was happy to get what I had asked for.
On Christmas Eve, I was at my grandparents house with all my extended family. It was fun to see everyone again although most of us talk to each other somewhat frequently. After a huge dinner, there was a huge exchanging of gifts among the grandchildren where the chaos of paper throwing and screaming ensued. In following tradition, we played plenty of board games. This year we chose Pop 5 which is a new version of the Cranium games. The game was hilarious and it was a blast winning with my cousin Keiko.
The next morning I was invited over to my cousin's house for some brunch with my grandparents. It was nice to have somewhere to go on Christmas since my parents were gone. Once we finished eating, Nichole and I played a lot of Dance Dance Revolution, which is this awesome video game that involves a dance pad. I need to buy that game soon!
Over the next week, I got together with a lot of my college friends that I normally don't get to see. Sadly I still had to work so it was interesting trying to sqeeze everything in. One thing in particular that happened was the third annual present exchange. This year there was ten of us that bought gifts for under ten dollars. We all ate at Buca DiPeppo's for dinner and opened the presents there. It was just a chance for all of us to reconnect over the holidays and needless to say the food, drink, and gifts were great.
Skip forward to New Years Eve. Ben, Reid and I had a keg at our place. I had to work earlier in the day and head back to Blaine to check up on my parents house and take a nap. Well my one hour nap turned into three and by the time I woke up it had begun to snow pretty hardcore. Plus I hadn't gone shopping for food at our little party. Over an hour after leaving Blaine, I got back to our place in St. Paul where everyone had already begun to drink. In order to catch up, I took a quad shot of Captain Morgan, my christmas present from Ben, and had a beer in the shower while I was getting ready. By the time I got out of the shower I was ready to go! Slowly people started to filter in but just as the party was rolling I went to another party with a friend, Travis. We went to his friend Beau's place for a smaller little party. After about an hour there we headed back to my place to drink more and see the ball drop. Needless to say I don't remember parts of that night but overall it was awesome!
It was sad to see all my friends go their separate ways and hopefully I will get the chance to go visit them in their various parts of the world. In the meantime, it is back to grind of work and next week i am starting a couple pre-requisite classes for my graduate program this May. It seems that I manage to stay a little bit busier than I did in Japan. Happy 2007!
all good things
On Monday it was back to sleeping in and relaxing. We decided to do a little bit of hiking, that was more like glorified walking, around Discovery Park, which is the biggest park in Seattle. There are a few beaches there along with a lighthouse that is on the Puget Sound. Then we visited the troll under Fremont Bridge, which is a little known landmark that is made out of concrete and a Volkswagen Beetle. After walking around and taking in the scenery we eventually went back to Mark's apartment to relax. It was nice to lie around before we left to hit the volleyball around and play some ultimate frisbee. Unfortunately I tweaked my knee early on in the game so I was sidelined for the majority of the game. However, eventually I ended up just walking the field and throwing the disc whenever I got the chance. That night we made some beer brats for dinner and Katherine Walters came over to visit for an hour. It is ridiculous how many people from St. John's and St. Benedict's there were around Washington. Apparently we are everywhere. Then Mark and I headed to a local bar to do some more competitive games. There was darts, table shuffleboard, video games and billiards. Somehow Mark won the majority of the games we played but it was still a blast.
Again we slept in on Tuesday but managed to get out of bed to go to another beach, Alki beach, on the Puget Sound. There were some awesome volleyball players there but sadly my knee was still sore from the day before. However, we still walked around, watched them play and even hit the ball around a bit ourselves. Mid-afternoon we went to another area, called Greenlake, which was very similar to Lake Calhoun. All we did was walk around but it was fun just to people watch. That night we met up with my cousin's, Ko and Shu, and their wives. It was actually my first time to meet Meredith and Rhoda but they were so much fun. Hopefully we will all be able to hang out again in the near future, either in Washington or Minnesota. The night was spent packing and the next morning was very early so I could catch my flight back to Minneapolis. It's true, there is no place like home.
the land of cougars
Five hours after leaving Seattle we ended up in Pullman, which is basically a college town for Washington State University. Our friend Jennie was in town having a drink with some friends so we met up with her there. Of course I was in sweat pants and getting lots of fun stares but I was just happy to be hanging out with my friends again. Later that night we went back to her apartment but stayed up pretty late just talking and catching up on life.
The next day we all slept in but eventually got up to head to Sunshine Park. We spent the next couple hours hitting the volleyball around and laying in the sun. Then we went into town to get some smoothies and sit around before Joy got into town with her parents. That evening we all made dinner together salad, rolls and lobster corn chowder with yogurt and strawberries for dessert. Of course we had beer and some good red wine to go along with it. Afterwards we got ready for a night out in Pullman. Zzu, pronounced zoo, was the bar we chose to drink at, mostly because of the drink specials, but it turned out to be a fun place. It wasn’t overly busy but there were people to fill the place for a little while. Plus there was air hockey, billiards, and darts. We ended the night on a drunken walk home and an episode of Boy Meets World on TV.
Joy and Jennie got up for church the next morning while Mark and I slept. Around noon they got back so everyone got lunch at the Old European that oddly reminded me of the Sunny Side-Up Café. It was still good food and we all walked out of there stuffed. Then we got to help Joy unload all of her boxes into Jennie’s apartment. It wasn’t too difficult though and afterwards we took a short trip to neighboring Moscow, which is actually in Idaho. Everything ended up being closed in Moscow because it was a Sunday but we still got some Baskin Robbins, actually the first Baskin Robbins I have ever had in the states, before going back to Pullman. Sadly Mark and I had to get going so we could get back to Seattle at a decent hour so we said our good-byes to the girls, at least until Christmas time, before beginning our long trek back to Seattle.
no worries
Usually when you get off the plane to meet a friend; they are there waiting to welcome you home. But sometimes days get mixed up and people end up at the airport for five hours. Such was the case when I ended up in Seattle. Thankfully all my baggage and I made it there safely. Plus there was wireless internet so I was able to email Jennie Schei so she could try getting a hold of Mark. Eventually he picked me up and we headed straight to Chipotle. It definitely hit the spot. Later it was time to shower and then we went to get a frisbee and volleyball. When we got to the park some random people asked us to play ultimate frisbee with them so we gladly joined. Since neither of us had tennis shoes, we had to play barefoot but it was still a blast. Afterwards we had a few beers and headed to the local watering hole, the Ram. We ate some cheesy bacon fries and nachos with our beers before going back to Mark’s apartment to crash for the night.
The next day we got to sleep in because Mark had taken the day off of work to pick me up from the airport. Instead it was off to Lake Washington so we could canoe around the lake and the nearby arboretum. Then we had an amazing mango curry and nan (Indian flat bread) lunch at an Indian restaurant, called Cedars. After it was off to the beach with our frisbee and beach volleyball to lay out in the sun. There was also a floating platform with a one and three meter diving board on it. Of course we both had to play around on them for a little bit although it has been a long time since I have been on a board. I actually have relatives in the Seattle area, on my Mom’s side, so we met up with my cousin Shu for dinner. It was great to see him again since the last time was six years ago. That night we headed back to the Ram for some more micro brewed beer and the awesome cheesy bacon fries before bed.
Mark had to work on Thursday so I basically slept in and played around on the internet. Once he got back we decided to see downtown Seattle. First we went to the Seattle Center, which is home to the Space Needle, Key Arena, and some various museums. It was a gorgeous day so we went up the Space Needle to have a look at all of Seattle. After we were done we visited Pike Place Market but everything had just closed for the day. Instead we ended up walking and shopping around downtown for a while. Later we went back to get ready for the night and took a taxi to the Fremont area of Seattle. Our friend from college, Steph Green, met us at the Triangle Bar for some drinks and food. Eventually we hit up some other bars as well but it was great to see her again, especially since she is staying another year in Seattle continuing Americorps.
For the past couple days I had been trying to get a hold of my relatives so I could meet them for their usual Friday lunch. Finally one of them called Friday morning but Mark and I slept through the call. When I called them back I didn’t know whom I was talking to but he picked me up near Mark’s house and brought me south to the Tacoma area. Most of my family that goes to Friday lunch doesn’t have work so basically they were all older than my parents or out of school for the summer. It was still fun to catch up and see people that haven’t seen me since I was in diapers. Afterwards I did some shopping before meeting up with Mark so we could make the five-hour road trip out to Pullman where our friends Jennie Schei and Joy Strunk are living.
grande finale
The past week has been a roller coaster. I went to all my schools for the last time and every school was a completely different experience. First was Ojima and I just about cried the whole day. The third years had a cooking class at a nearby community center in Sanjo so I joined them for the morning. They all cooked various desserts and, for better or worse, I got to try them all. It was just fun to be with them outside of English class, since I find my student act a little different when we aren't in class.
When we returned to Ojima I got to eat lunch with the first years and then have class with them. I almost cried during their class because each one read a goodbye letter that they wrote to me. However, I held it together and had my last class with the second years. At which point we made tacos in a bag. It was a fun way to end my classes there. Finally I had my farewell ceremony that involved lots of speeches: the principle, two volleyball players, the class president, the new volleyball captain, and me. They gave me flowers, a jinbei (Japanese traditional clothes), and made a slideshow. During my speech I almost cried again. It was a really sad day for me and I am going to miss Ojima a lot. They made teaching in Japan amazing.
Next was Yonchu, which oddly enough,didn't even have a ceremony for me. In fact, I only went to two classes and went home 4 hours early. My farewell speech was delivered over the intercom at the end of the day and I think some of had even left at that point. To be honest, I was not too sad about leaving Yonchu that day.
On Thursday I went to Sanchu. I only had a few classes but I got to see the students that I had connected with over the past year. One of the third year classes was my favorite so I ate lunch with them. Also, I had to say goodbye to a set of girls that want to marry me someday, too bad they never found out they didn't stand a chance. Oh well, it was just a junior high school crush... I think. Later on in the day I got to say goodbye to the smartest kid in the school, Taiki. Maybe someday he will come to America someday and I will show him around but I wish that about all my students.
My base school, Nichu, was on Friday and Monday mornings. Friday I taught my last two classes which were pretty uneventful but Monday was full of goodbyes and ceremonies. First I had a meeting with my principle about everything from the price of gas back home to how tall Mount Fuji is. He is one of the nicest principals so I was happy to have the opportunity to talk to him one last time. Then they had the closing ceremony for the trimester and after was my ceremony. They made me walk through the center of the students while they clapped, which was slightly embarrassing but thoughtful. After words they gave a couple speeches before I gave mine and we got to end it. Finally, I got to take pictures with all the third year students. I was happy to see them all one last time because they were always crazy and fun with me. Especially Yoshinobu, my next door neighbor, who pulled my pants down in the middle of class but it was hilarious. He ran up and hugged me and said he'll miss me, in Japanese of course. It was a sad morning but a good way to end my time in Japan. I will never forget this place.
farewell for now
Basically every night was with a different set of teachers. On Friday, Ojima had their enkai (drinking party) for me. I was pleasantly surprised that thirteen teachers, out of around fifteen, showed up. Plus a couple other random teachers from other schools were there as well. We had yakiniku (grilled meat and vegetables) for our food while we all drank plenty of beer. This was probably the saddest of the parties because I definitely feel a huge attachment to Ojima. Sadly I finished early because of exhaustion from the week. Saying good-bye is draining.
It all started on Wednesday with one of the English teachers at Yonchu asking me out for a drink that night. That was actually the first, and only, time I drank with teachers from Yonchu so it was interesting to see how people handled their alcohol. Since it was my last week in Japan all my teachers insisted on drinking with me. Ironically enough I ended up at the same izakaiya (bar and restaurant) the next night with Nuria, Sarah, and Rosalind. Just some low key last minute hanging out. We even did some print club before the night was over
Saturday I got to sleep in and clean house a little bit. That evening Melissa and Phil had a wedding to attend in Sanjo so later I joined them out in Honjikoji, the bar district in Sanjo. We had an all you can drink night at a new bar in the area. After we had enough awkward Japanese socializing, we went to a nearby ramen shop and I ate some of the best gyoza (potstickers) I have ever had. Then we decided to walk back to my place and crash. The next day we got some hung over McDonalds before heading to the beach for the afternoon.
The enkai Sunday night was nice because two of my former teachers, who transferred to different schools at the start of the new school year in April, came back to Sanjo so we could see each other one last time. This party was a lot smaller than the other ones but we still had a great time. We even ended up at karaoke later in the night to sing some drunken tunes. Unfortunately I had to give my final farewell speech the next morning. I am going to miss most of my teachers a lot. They have taught me so much over the past year.
i did it
One of my unspoken goals while in Japan was to read twenty books. For those of you who don't know me well, I usually don’t read for recreation. There just isn't enough time in the day when I am at home. However, being slightly under used in Japan gave me the opportunity to read for enjoyment. It was a nice change of pace and I am glad I reached my goal of twenty. I doubt that there will be time to read as much this upcoming year but it was fun while it lasted.
1. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone by J.K. Rowling
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
6. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
7. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
8. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
9. Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre
10. A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham
11. NP by Banana Yoshimoto
12. The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper
13. Looking for It by Michael Thomas Ford
14. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
15. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
16. The Risks of Sunbathing Topless edited by Kate Chynoweth
17. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
18. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
19. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
20. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
