Hamada: Far Far Away Jewel of Shimane

At the beginning of the new year the city of Hamada likes to hold a Junior High School English Camp for their students. This is one of the most well organized English events I have been to and after going last year I signed up to go again this year. It is a full day on Saturday (8:30 till 3) but completely worth it. I usually spend all my time with high school students so it was fun to hang out with younger kids. Though, I don't want to give you the impression that I like kids at all, but it is fun making them try to understand the noise that you are shouting at them!

Then after the English camp, my partner in crime Sara and I stayed to party it up with Hamada JETs. We were pleasently surprised. First, Hamada has some good bars, unlike the filth that is Hydro! And, they have good people living there that we would have liked to get to know better but they live far far far far far away! Zanen! But it was great to mingle, drink, and sing karaoke with them. Special thanks to Donna for letting us crowd her cute apartment and stay the night!! :) Here are some photos as proof that we did visit that mysterious and hidden city of Hamada.


Say "P'nawn da" to Gemma and "Howdy" to Ken (known as Shimane - Ken, get it?). Two Hamadians!

Just a plutonic kiss between mutually respected peers. Stop thinking those dirty thoughts!

Lena and I taking a moment to reflect on what just happened!

Say "Guten Tag" to Karin! She is one of our German speaking JETs!

棟上げ (muneage)

Yesterday I had the rare pleasure of being invited to Muneage. It is a Japanese tradition that when someone builds a house to have a ceremony to ensure the longevity and sturdiness of it. Japanese people love their ceremonies.

Last year I met a woman who lives in Daito and I often run into her at the wonderful establishment of Green City, so we have hung out a few times. Miwa Tadai is married to the owner of a pachinko parlor right here in Daito and has three small kids. Recently her father started building a house in Daito. So she called me the day before the ceremony and asked if I wanted to come. Many Japanese people never get to participate in Muneage because it is going out of fashion and less Japanese people are building houses. So I was very grateful that she invited me so that I could see it.

The ceremony was not complicated or long. First, the men go in the house and say some stuff, drink some sake, and then pray with the man in charge of building the house. The interesting part comes when they start throwing mochi (rice cakes). From the top of the house they throw mochi from the four corners and the women and children stand below trying to catch it. Some of the mochi had money hidden inside so the kids thought it was fantastic. Mochi on its own is not very tasty. It is just this white block of hard rice. So it was funny to see children scrambling to get it. Also, it is really hard. So when they were throwing it you would try to catch it in a bag but if you looked down to pick some up that you missed you could possibly be hit in the head with a hard block of mochi. It was hilarious. I saw so many people get beaned with mochi! It was a good time. Also, I was informed that I should not bake the mochi to eat it because that represents setting the house on fire. I should therefore, only boil it to ensure the safety of the house. Todd pointed out that boiling might represent flooding but the Japanese did not seem worried about that!

Also, a note on Japanese houses. They are basically just wood and paper. The houses are built relatively quickly, in just a few months. They are not prone to insulate or other common necessities when building houses in the States. This makes Japanese house kinda like the kei-cars we drive, disposable. They build the houses quickly, easily, (never cheaply, nothing is cheap in Japan), and then instead of repairing the house when it is old, they tear it down and put up a new one. It is an interesting way to do things, I just wish I didn't have to be here in the winter! I think I am losing brain cells from using my kerosene heater all the time (as it is the primary way they heat homes/offices/schools!)

Ohio Christmas and Family

While I was freezing my tookas off eating gyoza and macaroni and cheese on Christmas, my family was enjoying their traditional holiday celebration back in the great state of OHIO! They partied at my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jeff's house this year which apparently had not one, but two Christmas trees from the picture. I hear they had ham, chocolate moose, and other delicious dishes. (Oh ham, how wonderful you are! One day we shall reunite in a country that knows how to prepare you and has ovens big enough to cook you!)

Apparently there were only three of the Harker clan missing from the festivities this year but all the babies came this time. In the picture is my second cousin Keldan, Dominic, nephew Cameron, Erica, and my Sister (not a baby) Colletta holding our nephew Tyler. So many babies!

I can tell that you are interested to see some of the Harkers! So here are some pictures.

This first pictures is Uncle Dave, Aunt Ann, and Katie. Aunt Ann is my Dad's oldest sister. Uncle Dave is in the military and recently had the good fortune to be stationed in Ohio! Katie goes to Beavercreek High School and Aunt Ann spends her days chasing after their pooch Tess!

These lovely people are my cousin Esther, Uncle Rex, and Aunt Bev. They live close by in the great town of Xenia. They are both in the medical profession. Esther is soon to graduate from high school.

These tall gentlemen are my Uncle Jeff, my dad Mark, and my grandfather Fred. My Uncle Jeff is 4th down the family tree of siblings and my dad is the baby. It goes Ann, Bev, Dan, Jeff, and Mark.

This is my cousin Mary Ann, her husband Jameson, Dominic, and Erica. Mary Ann and Jameson live in Xenia and Mary Ann is a beautician. I think Erica is enjoying elementary school and having a little brother!

This is my cousin Sarah with our grandparents Lola and Fred. Sarah lives in Columbus and is posed to graduate from college in May. Yeahhhhh!

This is my cousin Ari, Laura, and their son Keldan. Ari and Sarah are siblings. Laura and Ari live in Yellow Springs and have resisted getting Keldan's lovely blond hair cut. Isn't he cute!

This is my brother Kenneth and his wife. Kenny is holding my nephew Tyler who was born during the summer. They are doing quite well and from what everyone told me, Tyler was quite a hit at the party! Oh, everyone loves babies!

Finally, last but not least, is my cousin Heidi holding her cousin Dominic. Heidi is in the air force and is currently going through training to be a pilot. Suspiciously missing from all these pictures is Heidi's mom, my Aunt Nancy. She may have cleverly avoided the camera this year.

CHRISTMAS CAKE

It is part of the Japanese Christmas tradition to eat Christmas Cake on the 25th. Japanese people don't really celebrate Christmas as we do in the States, they just like seeing the lights and decorations. In Japan, Christmas is a couple's holiday, where they romantically exchange gifts and stare lovingly into each other's eyes over dinner for two. And here is a picture of it: the amazing, delicious, deceptive, and very christmasy Christmas Cake! I knew you were wondering what it looked like and how it tasted (yummy by the way). And it is important to know about it because the last question on my Christmas Quiz is, "Do Americans eat Christmas Cake on Christmas?" Well.... do they? Hmmmm, having trouble with this question? The only question that my students had trouble with was, "where does Santa Claus live?" They all think it is Norway for some reason. But don't worry I set them straight! And then had them write letters to Santa begging for him to forgive their ignorance!

Merry Christmas!!

More Fun Keitai Photos

Recently, while sitting at home trying to keep warm in my inhumanly cold house I began to contemplate the greatness of the Japanese cell phone. They are great. They have a ton of functions on them, look cute, and are not ridiculously small like Americans like them. And the best thing about Japanese cell phones is the camera. Everyone takes pictures all the time. It is perfect for those moments when you see the most interesting or hilarious thing and wish you have a camera on you. I know I sound like the official spokeswoman for keitais but it is one of the biggest things I will miss when I leave Japan. Consequently, the lack of heat that is prompting me to sit in front of the computer in the first place is not one of the things I will miss about Japan.

Anyway, here is some randomness that I recently caputred with my keitai.

This is a photo from the elevator in one of the nearby stores in lovely Unnan (Cheriba). Apparently, if you get one of your appendages caught in the door, they will send out a huge crab to pinch your finger as punishment.

I was standing in the train station waiting for Todd to get back from orientation in Okayama when I noticed this sign by the doors. They graciously translated it into English so that the foreigners who are around have no reason to disobey it's logic. While there is nothing wrong with the English, it is just a big odd, isn't it?

And it is enkai time here in Japan. Enkais are work parties where you drink copious amounts of alcohol with all your co-workers in the effort to bond. The end of the year party is one of the biggest and therefore has the best food and games. Yes, you heard me, games. So we played bingo and guessing which was the least important event to happen at the school, followed by an invigorating game of junken (rock, scissors, paper). Anyway, I took a picture of this cool fish they used as decoration for the sashimi (raw fish). Apparently this fish is quite rare and has

cool poka dots. I did the foreigner thing and took

a picture of it.

Funniest Exam Ever!

This week the end of the semester exams are taking place. So, like usual, I was put in charge of making the 3rd grade listening test. This semesters topics are weather, expressing opinion, and halloween. (By the way, not a single student got the date of Halloween correct. Either that means I am a bad teacher or my students are retarded, I am betting on the later.) Also, the third grade, since it is an elective class, can do special projects, like make an English movie. So we did. We have two groups in our class and two very interesting movies that are still going through the editing process. The theme of movie making was also included on their exam. The students were required to write about their role in the movie, what they thought of editing, and their overall thoughts on making the movie. One of my students wrote for his thoughts on the movie,

"I was excited to make movie. I'm a hot dog."

I found this incredibly hilarious for a few reasons, first there is no hot dog in any of the films we made and second, his English is excellent. My third grade elective class does not have the best English ability in the school as one would have thought. They were made to take an elective class and they hate all the other options more than English. It makes for an very enthusiatic class some days!&#*^@! So I have no idea why my student wrote this but he got full points for his response! Awww the power of being a teacher!

Happy Birthday Me!