| Tea-related excruciation and karate - elementary, really | 31/08
- 08/09/04 |
Overview
Monday 30th August was a mixed bag: the day was spent in the office, which is dangerously mind-numbing. Most of the day was spent compiling my last diary entry, though, so I did not really notice the passage of time. At the end of the day, Shobuke had organised for us to experience two massively contrasting Japanese cultural traditions: tea ceremony and karate. I expected tea ceremony to be relatively easy-going, and karate to be quite hard core. In reality, the converse was true. Tea ceremony would have been fine, except that the standard sitting position for it is seiza, which is essentially a stress position, where you kneel with your body upright for an extended period. It sounds simple, but try doing it for a few minutes and you will see what I mean. The tea itself was lovely, but the lengths the ceremony goes to in its production and presentation seem rather excessive. In olden times, tea-based meetings conducted between warriors occurred in places with doors so small that weapons could not fit through, so like many things here, the most important thing was the process, and not the result. We left the tea chamber unable to walk, and the chance to stretch our legs in a karate dojo sounded remarkably enticing.
On arrival at the dojo, we watched what was going on for a bit, and then of course, we were invited to join in, which we all did. The photos demonstrate my unremarkable degrees of flexibility and ferocity. We were just running through moves, but it was surprisingly energetic, and we all felt a lot better once we left.
On Monday Evening, I went for a drive in my car, with the aim of deliberately getting lost. My plan went swimmingly. So well, in fact, that I ended up in a dead end, able to hear the fact that I was next to the sea, but unable to confirm it visually because the thick fog made seeing beyond ten metres impossible. I took some photos, then hit the road again. It was the kind of fog in which your visibility worsens if you make your lights brighter, so I turned them off a couple of times. This did not really help matters, but it kept me alert. In the end, I came to Hachinohe port, where the fishing trawlers were unloading the day's catches. I took a few more photos, and headed home.
On Tuesday, we had our Japanese class in the evening, which seemed to be going swimmingly well, until we discovered in the interval that our group had gone to the wrong session, and we were meant to be in the room next door. We moved to the next room, and all was good. The main purpose of the class at the moment seems to be revealing how much we don't know, and thus shocking us into learning. I have applied to the Japanese Proficiency Test in December, so that is something to aim for. After the class, I noticed that the wheelchair ramp in the building is utterly ridiculous: judge for yourself.
Wednesday was my first day in Elementary school. I was dreading this: I can't speak Japanese, and the kids certainly cannot speak English. My fears were not greatly helped when the English teacher said to me, "How is your Japanese? My English not very good." I entered the classroom, and the kids went nuts. I was carried by their enthusiasm, and the lesson went really well. The language barrier was not a massive issue: gesturing works, and my gesturing abilities have actually improved to the point that I can discuss particle physics using my eyebrows.
On Thursday evening, we went to watch Aikido and Kendo. We turned up for Kendo, and it looked rather comical: there was a group of kids dressed in sword fighting armour, armed with pieces of bamboo. I was half expecting John Cleese to appear, and ask for one of the children to attack him with a banana. After the warm up, the scene turned altogether more nasty: the children took turns to pummel each other's heads with the 'swords'. One stood still, whilst the other repeatedly smashed him or her round the head with the cane. I assume this is to train the hitter in sadism, and the recipient in ability to take a beating around the head, both of which are valuable real-world skills.
After the Kendo, we headed over to the Aikido dojo, which is located in the hills overlooking Hachinohe. It's a beautiful situation, and the dojo contained four black-belts in Aikido. they proceeded to show Dahlia, Dave, Jaya and I their art. It was truly impressive: the sensei was able to counter any attack with intuitive-looking moves, all the time stressing that the martial art should be used to stop an assailant, and never to hurt them. Essentially, Aikido turns the aggressor's wrath against them, and the more aggressive they are, the more the Aikido user has to work with. He showed us moves with swords and knives too. It was truly impressive stuff, and I resolved to return.
Thursday and Friday were also spent at Elementary schools, and I concluded that I actually prefer them: the kids are so much more alive there. This is mainly because by the time they get to Junior High, most of them are working from before eight in the morning until at least eight at night, if you take into account the after school clubs, so the children spend practically every waking hour at school. From a disciplinary perspective, this is great. Unfortunately, it means the kids are permanently knackered, and their brains are so packed with information (especially if they also go to cram school to prepare them for their High School entrance exams), they are not as hungry to learn as they might be. Elementary kids are still pretty carefree, and are good fun to work with. On Friday, the school had a sign up for me which read, "Welcome! Mr Charles!"
On Friday meeting, we had the first meeting of the J-think cultural discussion group. After the meeting, we headed to Bon, a nicely chilled little bar in Hachinohe. I had not read all of the course materials, but I extemporised marvellously, when my knowledge was too lean. Saturday was good fun: Mike and I went to the beach, and met Ellie. Her friend Tammy arrived, and we paddled for a bit, and whilst we were discussing Clinical Psychology, a truly massive wave arrived, with the effect that I attempted to swim through it, then felt all my limb-control snatched by the momentum of the water. The next thing I knew, I was bent backwards, before being ejected onto the beach. When I took a look around, everyone who had been in the water was lying in disarray on the beach, looking shocked. Needless to say, we headed back into the water, and although that was the biggest wave all afternoon, there were a few more muthas. Alex and Stephan turned up, then Marvin and his friend. The group then disbanded, and Mike, Alex and I headed over to the Onsen to freshen up. Onsens are great. Where else could you find yourself lying on the floor, having fallen off a tiny plastic chair, in a room full of naked Japanese men, nude, laughing uncontrollably?
Saturday night was a biggy. I drove over to Misawa with Mike, picking up Charlie along the way. We arrived pretty late, but still in time to meet people before they left for town. We headed into town and went to a Karaoke bar frequented by US Air Force chaps. Nobody was singing, so first the girls got up and sang a song, then everyone got involved. Of course George Michael featured in the song line up. After much singing, we headed to J-Draw, one of Misawa's notorious hip-hop clubs. I was not expecting it to be particularly good, but it was. The crowd made it, and we had an excellent time, as I am sure the photos demonstrate. In the morning, we went to the Onsen, before heading to Misawa USAF base to see the air show. Unfortunately, since there was low cloud, the air show did not happen, but the weekend was good fun anyway. We headed back to Hachinohe, stopping at the main shopping mall after dropping Charlie off, to look at quaint artifacts.
click here for all of the photos from misawa
Monday and Tuesday were spent teaching at Minami Junior High School. It was good fun: I managed to persuade the head of English from "The projector does not work." to "Here is the projector." There were only two lessons each day, but the kids were cool, and I had lunch there the second day. Walking round the schools, you are approached by kids, who either say "Hello!" and run off, or just look at you. When this happens, one tends to wave and say "Hello." At this point, there are two general reactions: the first is for the kids to return the greeting, then run off screaming. The second is for them to just run off screaming. This happens especially with the girls for some reason. As the photos show, I was looking pretty formal in my suit, but it is early days yet: I am sure that they will eventually make allowances for my more exotic vestmental proclivities.
On Tuesday evening, we had Japanese class again, which was cool. the high point was when I managed to convince the teacher and other class-members that Alex's name was in fact "Rudy". Wednesday 8th September 2004 was spent in the office, doing this entry, amongst other things. Tomorrow, I should start Aikido for real, and Monday is the beginning of my Karate kareer. I'm not a violent person, I would just like to be able to kill with my bare hands and make the evidence undetectable.