What Mie Said.

I am tired and about to go to bed. I just got off the phone with Mie Tsuji. She is the mother of one of my students, Shigetomo (whom I call Tom). She suffers from Collagen disease, a very severe and debilitating form of arthritis. As the weather gets colder, her condition worsens. This time of year and through the winter, she is practically bedridden. And she is still in her 30s.

But through it all, she keeps a smile on her face. And as we got off the phone, she said to me, "Wayne, take care of your body...It is a gift from God."

So I went out on a bike ride today, and wound up drinking green tea with a Buddhist priest in a temple. I figured that was a worthy blogspot opportunity. Tuesday is not my official day off, but there still aren't any classes scheduled for me on Tuesday, so I had lots of free time. And I had the sudden urge to get out of the apartment and just ride my bike. So around noon, I embarked on a journey. Not knowing where I was going, where I'd end up, or how long I'd be gone. It is just nice to be free. So after about 30 minutes of riding in one direction, I found an area that seemed to be a bit more quiet and cozy than alot of other areas around where I live. The streets were all narrow (barely wide enough for a single car to pass through). All the houses were very traditional looking. Some looked very old. I saw lots of beautiful gardens, and flowers blooming. I saw a pond with hundreds of frogs swimming around. And then I found a temple.

I have always been interested in Japanese temples. They have the most beautiful architecture and gardens. They all have a very tranquil feel to them. The Japanese refer to this feeling as "Wabi-Sabi". So I entered the temple gates, feeling a little uneasy because I am not sure if I am allowed or wanted to enter, especially since I am not Buddhist. But I didn't see anyone around, so I just walked around, and took a few pictures. But after a few minutes, a man in a black robe came around the corner. I started to ask him (in Japanese) if it was okay for me to be here and take pictures, but before I said a word, he greeted me in English. I was very surprised. I was not expecting anyone in this area to speak English at all, but to my surprise, his English was actually pretty good.

He invited me inside for some green tea, and I gladly accepted. So I took my shoes off, entered the temple, and enjoyed 2 cups of fabulous green tea. We talked mostly in English, but here and there, we both spoke in Japanese. He is still very young (34 years old), so he had learned alot of English at his university. He had lots of questions for me. Mainly just who I was, where I'm from, why I'm in Japan, what my interest in Japan is. So we talked. And since I told him I was a Christian, he ran off for a couple of minutes only to return with a really old book (printed in 1885) about how the Gospel of Christ had spread through the work of missionaries. And there was a whole chapter on Japan. It was fascinating. I asked him a little bit about himself, and so we talked a little bit about religion, and US-Japanese relations, and about his interest in the philosophy of justice in the law. It was fun to talk about some deeper things, but naturally, my Japanese and his English were not good enough to have a trully fascinating conversation (I hope to change that someday). But he showed me around the temple, allowing me enter areas that usually only priests are allowed to enter. And then we bid each other farewell, with a hand shake and a lot of bowing.

That was one of the most interesting things that has happened to me since I have been here. So I think I might go and visit him tommorrow.

His name is 松本宣秀(Matsumoto, Nobuhide).

明太子 (cod ovum)

I am currently eating cod ovums... Do you know what an ovum is? Can you guess? Well, basically I am eating a fish organ that produces and is full of eggs. Sound disgusting? Yea, it's pretty gross, but it's a present from a friend, so I'm eating it anyways. And my bowl is still really full.

Bringing you up to speed (kind of...)

Well, things seem to be settling down, although I'm not exactly sure what that means.

My Apartment
I have furniture now: Two big comfortable chairs, a sofa, a dining room table, four dining room chairs, and a dresser/wardrobe. I also have appliances: A refrigerator, stove, microwave, washing machine, and even a coffee maker. Everything I need. I still don't have a TV, which I don't really mind, cause I don't really like television that much to begin with, but Japanese television is much more interesting to me than American television, and plus it is good practice to listen to. But being that I still don't receive a paycheck (because I still don't have my work visa), these are luxuries that I cannot afford to buy. However, I am very thankful for what I have.

My Job
Every week, I get more classes to teach. So this week, I think I have 17 classes. Teaching is fun, but strenuous. I am always worrying if I am doing the best job, or if my students are learning anything. I just don't want to lose any students. I feel a lot of pressure to maintain and increase the school's reputation. But I really love teaching, but I don't like preparing for classes, especially for kids classes, because it is much harder to keep their attention, and you have to plan lots of activities and games, and it is usually hit or miss. Sometimes they really like the games and activities, and other days they hate them. In fact today, I have my hardest class. A class of 7 and 8 year olds, 4 girls and 1 boy. And what makes me more nervous is that today's class, their parents are invited to sit through the class. Pressure!!! So I hope that today's class will be okay, but I'm sure that it will be fine.
I teach at 2 preschools. I have two children's classes. I teach two highschool girls, several young adults classes (people in their 20's), and several adult classes, and I help teach an interpretor class, and I am also teaching 10 men at a plastics factory that makes car parts for mitsubishi (that one is a little intimidating).

All in all, I'm happy and glad to be here. I look forward to the year to come (especially once I start getting payed).