The end is near

Well, the semester is finished. I've taught my last class at this university, for both the kids and the "adults," and I've rarely been happier to be done with a job. I've still got to go in and take care of some things, like cleaning my office and doing various administrative paperwork. But in all the teaching I've done, little of it has been as frustrating. Largely that's because when I taught summer school, which was much more frustrating while I was doing it, only lasted five or six weeks, and as such, caused far less stress overall. Anyway, big sigh, I'm done teaching these students, who, for the most part, would have to TRY to show less interest and effort than I've seen over the last two years.

But I can't really blame that for my two month hiatus from this blog. Partly to blame is my impending departure, which always makes time seem to pass by faster, and thus everything seems to be in that much more of a rush. I just caught up on some email, and had a hard time believing that two weeks, or four or six, had gone by since I'd received an email from a friend; honestly, it felt like only a week or so had passed.

Also to blame, perhaps more so, is my ever increasing interest in rock climbing. Weather permitting, I've been getting outdoors once or twice a week this last term, and it's been fantastic. I love going out into nature, being among the trees and rocks, the mountains and valleys, the rivers and sky. But just to go hiking, well, I'll admit I don't have the motivation. But to go climb some rocks, yeah, I'm usually excited to go do that.

In the last two months, I've gone to two new rock climbing places that stand out as worth mentioning. The first, well, it's its own prefecture, and once even its own country: Okinawa. Most people wouldn't think of this as a rock climbing destination, but it's got some fun stuff and some interesting places. I think the rock is volcanic, but not like what we have in Hawaii, as this is far sharper (and so more painful), and it's more of a goldish brown color. Nevertheless, some fun bouldering was to be had. But it was HOT. I thought Osaka was hot, but when we got there, I realized no, Okinawa is HOT. And HUMID.

We only climbed one day, though, and went to the aquarium the next. I thought the Osaka Aquarium was great, and it is, but this one was really amazing. I can only imagine how great it must be for people who are truly marine life fanatics. If you ever get down to Okinawa, don't miss this. (However, you can, in my opinion, easily skip the dolphin show, which was distinctly unimpressive.)

The second rock climbing place worth mentioning I just went to a few days ago: Mitarai, in Nara-ken. It's located right on the river (we climb river boulders), and the water of the river there is stunningly clear. It runs a bit cold, but you can swim in the river, and you get used to the temperature rather quickly, and after a few hours bouldering in the summer heat, it felt GREAT to jump in. In fact, I think I regressed to 13 years of age for an hour or so as I splashed around and swam through the currents. The climbing and the swimming were fun, and I hope the weather will stop dropping rain on us and let me go there a few more times. Such fun!

Now, I'm in the process of getting ready to end my time in Japan. This means cleaning out my office as well as my apartment. I've already given much of my office stuff away to a colleague, and much of my apartment stuff will go to my friend (the younger sister of my friend who got married last year). Still, there's a lot to pack, a lot to give away or throw away. I hope to be 90~95% done by Tuesday of this coming week...then I can just relax and climb.

I leave Japan on August 13th to begin my round the world trip. I'll be gone for two and a half months, and I'll go to Hawaii, Reno, Vancouver, Washington DC, Europe (counties to be decided, but certainly including Germany, France, and Italy), Thailand, and then Japan...though I'm contemplating adding a short stop in Korea. I'm very excited for it all. I'll end up back in Japan, where I'll do some final paperwork and then head back to the US...first to Hawaii, then to Reno, then to Denver, where I'll try to find an apartment and a job. So much to do!!! I'm looking forward to it.

School (work), Golden Week, & (of course) climbing

I last posted just before school began. Already a month gone by, one-third of the semester, and I still feel as if the students are getting their feet under them. I can't say I don't completely understand their attitudes: when they leave college and enter the full-time workforce, they will have so much less free time than their American counterparts. Many full-time workers are expected to put in far, far more than 40 hours a week; one friend recently told me that at his first job out of college, his boss told him: "Most companies' work days are Monday to Friday, but here we work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Friday, Friday." He quit after a few years.

Yet, despite this reality, I can't help but feel frustrated with the shortage of motivation, with the poor study habits, with the often complete lack of any progress on the students part. The worst part is that this adversely affects my motivation: how do you plan a lesson for which less than half the class will be ready? Most teachers seem to simply assign no homework (since it will not be done anyway) or...what? I've no idea.

In any case, this last semester sees me at perhaps my lowest motivation to teach ever. I really need a job change, whether to a completely different field or not, I don't think it matters...just a new job, where people I work with care, be they students or coworkers.

Golden Week, for those not in the Japan know, is a grouping of national holidays when nearly everyone not in retail or service (food, entertainment, etc) are off from work. This creates the heaviest travel time of year. Typically families are not off together, since one or both parents are usually working during times when children are off from school, so at this time people take trips abroad or travel far and wide throughout the country. This year, as a bonus or a curse--I'm not sure which--the tolls for the national expressways were lowered (to help out with the economic crisis) to $10 per entry, as far as you can drive, but only on weekends and holidays. So, this year saw record traffic, sometimes stacking up for over 40 miles.

Luckily for me, I took the bullet train south to Kyushu, and with everyone driving, it wasn't hard to get a seat! I was invited by a climbing friend of mine to come with him and his wife to visit his hometown in Fukuoka prefecture, where it happens that some of my relatives are from, though I've no idea which part. Again, for those who don't know, Kyushu is the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan, and my friend is from Kitakyushu, just across the water from Honshu, the main island of Japan.

We planned to climb a lot, but the weather didn't cooperate (and we go stuck in some of that traffic), so in the end we only got in a little climbing. In spite of that, I had a great time. My friend and his family were fantastic hosts, showing me some beautiful areas, taking me out for wonderful meals, and hosting me in their beautiful apartment. I even went to a circus! First time in I don't know how long, and it was the whole deal, big top tent and all. Very fun! Made me feel like a kid again.

I also got to see some amazing caves, one with an underground river flowing through it, and some rocky landscapes I didn't think existed in Japan. One of the fun things in the cave, was the moss and small ferns growing there under the florescent lighting!

And, my first fireworks show of the year! It was small, and the laser lights (which didn't come out in my pictures) were really the best part of it, but still, it was a nice, unexpected event.

My last morning there, I got to fulfill one of my "while I'm living in Japan" goals: I ate fugu, or blowfish. Yes, the one that can be fatal if not prepared properly (you have to have a special license to prepare it). It was delicious, though I'll be honest, too, and say that I don't have the best palate...so maybe it was only as good as some other sashimi I've eaten...but I enjoy it!

I came back up to Osaka the second to last day of the vacation time, then headed back out immediately with friends to sleep near a climbing area and climb the next day. I spent most of that day (and energy) climbing a route at that I just couldn't complete. I could do all the pieces, all the moves, but couldn't do it cleanly from start to finish. Yet I wasn't too disappointed: I'd tried hard, and in the end just didn't have the energy to finish it. Next time...

Since then, it's just been gym climbing for me. Tomorrow is usually a day I go outdoors, but it may rain, so it may be the gym again...

On Sunday, also a day I usually try to get onto some real rock, I instead went to watch my friend Takeshi climb in a competition. The winner of the master class, in which he competes, represents Osaka in national competitions. He won last year, and this year he again took the top honors. He was amazing to watch, sailing up a route he'd only had 5 minutes to look at, but making it seem like he's done it many times before. I was happy to have been there to see it.

This month will be more climbing, of course, as much outdoors as I can before the rainy season in June drives me indoors, and the heat to follow will probably keep me there.

Take care, be well, be happy.

Aloha.

Seoul Trip..and school almost here

I got back last Thursday from my second trip to Seoul. Well, I guess it's really my third, since I went there the summer between eighth and ninth grade, but I don't really count that, since I don't remember much of anything except bartering for cheap watches and a leather bag.

This time around I went over with my friend Ayako, another climber, and a hapa kid--though she's from Texas. Ayako only stayed until Sunday, but we had a good time walking around the city, enjoying the excellent exchange rate (the yen was pretty strong when we went), and loving the good food.

We got there on March 26th, and on the 27th we went to the DMZ. That's an experience: Stand on the border of two countries at war; look out across 2 kilometers of land empty save for two token cities, the one from the north supposedly only for show with no one actually living there. Looking to the north, you see no trees: we were told this is because they cut them down for fuel. Imagine a world without trees...what a grim existence we would have, if only that were to change in our lives.


Click on the picture: You can see a band of trees, which is the DMZ; beyond, where there are no trees, is North Korea.

I don't know much history, but the way the tour guide made it sound was sort of like this: Korea was occupied by Japan from 1910 to 1945 (when they surrendered and promptly vacated Korea). At this point, there was a political vacuum, so the US and the USSR stepped in, dividing the country in two, the north going with communism and the south with democracy. Who knew war would break out? I don't know the details, but I can't help but wonder if maybe there would be no North and South Korea if a more diplomatic tact had been used.

Saturday Ayako and I met up with three of my friends as well as a Japanese couple we know from the climbing gym. The eight of us went out to eat bibimbap and ice cream afterwards. I love these kinds of nights: people from various parts of the world, sitting, eating together, talking, laughing.

Eugene, Peter, Ayako, Hye Young, me, Koji, and Fumiko

Ayako left Sunday morning, but for the next few nights I met up with different friends. I also watched a lot of movies during the day, as the price there, with the exchange rate, was between $3.50 and $5.50, as opposed to the $13 or $18 I'd pay in Japan. I only saw one good movie, though: Watchmen. I thoroughly enjoyed that.

So, I occupied myself with walking around the city (I know the part north of the Han river quite well now), watching movies, and shopping. I bought yet another pair of rock climbing shoes, which were so cheap...

Another great vacation...

Now I'm back, and school starts on Thursday. I'm trying to eke out as much as I can from my remaining days, so I went climbing at Fukube again on Sunday, and tomorrow I'm going to Eboshi-Iwa again. I really am borderline obsessed with climbing these days. If it weren't good for my health, a lot o fun, and the way I've made a lot of friends, I might think it was unhealthy.

That's all for now. Be back again soon.

Aloha.

The Importance of Friends

You'll have to forgive me if this is sort of "touchy-feely."


This past Sunday I went to visit my friends the Shimizus in the countryside of Hyogo prefecture. I've mentioned them before: Kurara is my former student and now friend, along with her husband Daniel and her parents and siblings. As usual, I spent a relaxing few days soaking in the peace of those hills and quietness of the air. As usual, I basked in the comfort of a family open to all people, truly open, regardless of race, color, or creed, in the truest sense of that phrasing. Theirs is a home that has adopted so many, and each time I visit, I know I am truly fortunate to be among those so blessed.

On this particular visit, I reflected on, obviously, the importance of friends. For better or worse, I've always felt I knew who my friends were, and who were, for whatever reason, close friends or just acquaintances. The difference between a friend and a close friend is a matter of degree, of course, and not one I disclose. The difference between a friend and an acquaintance is, I suppose, a combination of trust, loyalty, and reliability. I can have fun with an acquaintance, but I would not turn to one for help with a personal problem.

Once upon a time, nearly half my life ago, I laid claim to very few: I thought this made them all the more valuable for being of a select group. Perhaps had I stayed in Hawaii and lived there all this time, I might still think that. But as I have not, as I have traveled and lived in a rather broad range of places, I no longer believe that one must have a small group of close friends; that's merely typical. We all grow apart or grow close, but some bonds are there for life. I believe that. I have close friends scattered across the world, literally, from Hawaii to both coasts of the US and some in between, to Europe and east Asia. I am lucky to have so many truly good, wonderful people to call friends. Thinking of all these people, I realize that I must do some things right, to be so blessed. And I am all the luckier for those who feel the same about me.


"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

~ Anais Nin
~~ The Diary of Anias Nin, vol. 2, page 4

The end of the semester and China

The second half of January was hectic. I had meetings with students crammed in throughout the week so that, in sharp contrast with my regular schedule, I was in school six days a week until I left for China. That's only three weeks, but one quickly becomes bored with one's office, or at least I did. Also, since I was leaving for China only two days after my last class, I had to get grades computed and turned in quickly. I managed, by staying late a few evenings (which, for me, only means until 6 or 7). I got my grades in on Friday evening, taught the kiddies on Saturday morning, then was off to China on the 1st.

It’s a short hop there from here: only about two and a half hours. Of course I didn’t sleep much the night before, so I passed out on the plane for about an hour, struggled to consciousness to eat, then we were landing. My friend (former student) Chengcheng and her cousin met just outside of Customs at the airport in Shanghai. They had a driver there, a man who worked for her mother’s company, to drive us to the train station to catch the train back to Nanjing.

Nanjing and Shanghai, where I spent this trip, are south of Osaka by quite a bit, so temperatures were quite a bit warmer, maybe 10 degrees Fahrenheit, but much more damp, so that it felt as cold, or sometimes colder most of the days. And, unfortunately, it was also overcast or foggy. I’m from Hawaii, and we don’t really get fog, not serious fog, and this was some serious fog. Not every day, but quite a few days. Sometimes it was cool, making certain vistas seems like you were standing on the edge of the world, but it also gave me a kind of claustrophobic feeling after a week.



My friend’s family put me up in a nice hotel just down the block from their apartment, making it convenient to meet up in the morning to go sightseeing or afterwards for dinner. It was a far nicer hotel than I’m used, with a nice (hard) bed and a small sofa beside the window that was nice for reading. (I put away three books on this ten day trip.) In addition to this generosity (I was told it is Chinese culture to pay for someone’s expenses when they visit you…), I was treated to quite a number of nice dinners, and received some rather extravagant gifts, my favorite of which is a Columbia waterproof shell jacket. I was completely spoiled.

Chengcheng took me to a few places around town, two of which were about Sun-Yat Sen, a pre-Mao political reformer from Nanjing. (If I have any facts wrong, please forgive me.) One was located in a massive park in the city, which, along with another park I saw, made me wish I could visit again in the spring; I’m sure they would both be absolutely gorgeous. My favorite building was the new library: it’s architecture was fascinating, with a lot of glass letting in natural light. I wondered how hot it might get in there in the summer, but in the light was amazing.

According to my friend, there were quite a lot of new buildings, which fit with my understanding that the economic boom in China had been greatly about real estate development. (Sadly, according to an article I just read, that has ended along with, it seems, the world’s economic prosperity. As a short aside: Where do these billions that are lost go? How can everyone in the world lose money? SOMEONE must have it! Let’s rob them…) There were new shopping centers and a lot of construction, not only in Nanjing but Shanghai as well.

After four nice days visiting with my friend, I made the somewhat lonely trek back to Shanghai on a bullet train. Shanghai is a lively city with a lot going on in various neighborhoods: The Bund, Old Town, the French Concession, Pudong, etc. I toured around, usually one per day. I had a good time in Old Town, walking around the markets, the most unusual and thus most interesting was the insect, bird, and goldfish market. There were an amazing number of cricket-like bugs on display, and I couldn’t help but stop and stare and take pictures…these things were big, too, with bodies the size of my pinky finger. Pudong was ok, but the morning I went it was so foggy I couldn’t see the tops of some of the buildings, and so didn’t bother going up to get a view of fog at a higher elevation. My favorite thing in Pudong was a building that was free climbed by two people: one a Chinese shoe salesman and one a French climber, who did it dressed as Spiderman! So funny. But looking at the building up close, which now has signs declaring, one can only imagine, quite seriously, I can see why they climbed it: there are holds galore! (The French guy claimed you could climb it with just one arm…maybe.) But in the evenings, when sightseeing isn’t really what to do, I got a little bored (thus the number of books I read). I’m not much for going to bars or night clubs, so I usually tried to find a movie to take in (only a very small number of those) or I just grabbed some snacks and holed up in my room and read.

On a small, esoteric note: I found a place called 85 degrees C, which had pastries and various coffee and tea drinks. They had a wonderful loaf of break which looked and tasted like whole-wheat and had a bunch of nuts and raisins in it. I had one every morning for breakfast. Wonderful. (Japan does not have good bread, which is somewhat shocking when considering the number of bakeries.)

In retrospect, I should have stayed in Shanghai first, then gone to Nanjing. It would have been better, I think, but oh well, I still had a great trip.

Since returning, I’ve just been teaching on Saturdays, hanging out, and rock climbing. I climbed outdoors twice more. The first time was near Himeji, at a place right on the ocean. The weather was great that day, getting so warm that in the middle of one route, I had to take off my hat, fleece vest, and top layer shirt. I probably could have ditched my undershirt as well! I think it was at least 60 F, maybe more, and in the middle of a climb, I wasn’t cold at all.

The second place outdoors was bouldering at a park not too far from my place. I didn’t succeed in finishing a lot of problems, but still had fun. But I came home with red circles on all my fingertips: places where the skin had worn off. The rock was granite, which practically eats skin, so after 8 hours, seriously, I was just about down to nothing. (Picking up a hot cup of coffee, forget about it.)

I’ve got another six weeks until I go until I’m back at work in early April. My plans include climbing, reading, climbing, running, hanging out, climbing, and taking a trip to Seoul at the end of March. And then climbing.

Hope all of you are well. Take care.

Aloha.

Catching up

So, it's been a while, over a month, but I'll try to keep it somewhat abbreviated.

In mid-December, another friend from Virginia came to visit, a second Jessica. (The two are friends, I might add, and the first introduced me to the second.) We toured around quite a bit, going to Kyoto, Nara, and even up to Tokyo. The weather in Tokyo wasn't the greatest, a bit wet and drizzly one day, but we still walked around quite a bit and got in some of the sights, like Rainbow Bridge (a first for me), Ueno Park, and Shibuya. She departed just before my vacation began, leaving on the 21st. I had to work the 22nd, then pack, then I left myself on the morning of the 23rd.

I arrived in the afternoon and had to endure a nearly two-hour bus ride to my hostel. Thankfully, the hostel was up the reviews I'd read online: clean, new(ish), comfortable. I showered and went out for a movie, a rare treat since I try to avoid spending the $20 USD Japanese theaters charge. The movie, Twilight, was not so good, maybe even bad, but I enjoy going to the theater, so I had a nice time.

The next day my friend and former student Nina met me with her friend Bong and took me out to some of the sights around Bangkok. I should note that although I visited Bangkok eight years ago, I didn't take in any of the sights, not being in the best of mindsets at the time. So, first we went to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. These are really great. Thai people can enter for free, but I don't recall how much I paid, but I think it was around $10, a good deal for all that you can see. The temples, the architecture is so different from Japan: lots of color, gold leafing (or paint?), glass tiles, painted tiles, carved figurines. Japan tends toward the extreme of minimalism, which, I must admit, is an aesthetic I lean toward, but I found it fascinating to see another culture's temples, their vibrancy. It's telling about the peoples, too, who made these things: Japanese people are reserved, whereas Thai people tend toward much more lively, outgoing personalities. "The Land of Smiles" is Thailand's nickname, and appropriately so, in my opinion. Bong, whom I'd never met before this day, is quite the tour guide as well: he remembers much of the history and mythology of Buddhism in Thailand, and helped to explain much of what we saw. This informative narrative continued through this day and the next. Very nice.

After that, we went to the Temple on the Golden Mount, which houses some ancient Buddhist relics (I think a bone allegedly of Buddha himself). The views of the city from here are quite good. For reasons unknown, traffic was incredibly bad this day, and so I asked to just be dropped off and they made their way home (which took two hours!).

I met up with a friend of a friend from Japan, Katie, that evening. We'd arranged to stay at the same hostel. And another friend, MaryEllen (Mellen), would be coming the next evening. Katie and I went to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar for dinner, then retired early.

Christmas day took us to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, an island at intersection of three rivers about an hour's drive north of Bangkok. This was the capital for something like four hundred years before it was finally overrun by the Burmese about two hundred fifty years ago. There are numerous temple ruins, and you can easily feel the age of the place from the weathering of the stone and brick there. In certain areas, huge lights are mounted on the ground to illuminate some of the structures: apparently there was some kind of festival a few weeks before where they lit up these structures; too bad I couldn't have seen it. In addition to walking around these ruins, we took a short ride on an elephant...not the most comfortable of rides, I must say, but a novelty, no doubt.



Lunch that day was at a nice little riverside restaurant, where Bong ordered us all river prawns the size of small lobsters. Their meat was a bit tough, but I enjoyed it all the same, along with all the other dishes. I love Thai food. Of course, Nina stole the bill and paid for us all. That is in addition to having her company van pick us up and drive us up there, drive us to lunch, and then drive us back to the city and our hostel! Nina was a fantastic host.

That evening Mellen arrived and the three of us took in another movie, Pride and Glory, which was not quite terrible, but not nearly as good as it could have been. SIGH.

The next day was taken up mostly with getting to the bus station and waiting for our buses. We were all heading south, but to different bodies of water: Katie and Mellen were going to Koh Tao to learn scuba diving and I was heading to Railay to go climbing on its famous limestone sea cliffs. We arrived at the bus station around 1:30, got our tickets, and then waited around; the bus station was pretty far out of the city center, and we didn't want to risk traffic problems trying to get back. So, five and a half hours later, I was getting on my bus for a 12 hour journey. YUCK. You might recall my bad night on the overnight bus to Tokyo; this wasn't much better, the only good thing was the bus wasn't hot like the Tokyo bus. Nevertheless, 12 hours later, I was getting out in Krabi.

From there it was a cab ride to the pier, then a longtail boat to Tonsai and my room. I have to admit I was a bit worried, walking up this rutted, dirt road from the beach to my bungalow, but upon finding it and finding it clean, I felt better. I showered, read a bit, had some lunch, then walked down to the climbing school where I signed up for a three day class and a day of Deep Water Soloing (to be explained shortly).

The class for me was mainly about learning how to lead climb and belay. Lead climbing is where you clip the rope into bolts as you climb a route; this is differnt from top-roping where you have a rope anchored above you. Leading is harder, as you have to clip in, and thus have plan where you're going as well as balance in certain places while clipping in. Also, while leading, if you fall, you fall to the last bolt you clipped, whereas when top-roping you'll usually only fall a little from wherever you are. As for belaying, it's also different depending on which type you're doing. Lead belaying entails more concentration, as you have to know when to give slack (so that the climber can ascend) and when to take in slack, so that the climber won't fall as far; mostly it's the careful giving of slack that one does. For top-roping, you just have to take in slack as the climber ascends, not much to it.

So, on this afternoon, the other guy in the small class, Chris, and I learned the different knots we needed to know, how to clip in properly, theory on how to belay, and how to abseil down from a point by ourselves (in short, how to belay myself down after a semi-complicated shifting of ropes). The next day, we went climbing. We started easy, moved up to some stuff a bit harder, and I happily top-roped a semi-difficult route called Muay Thai that afternoon.

The day after, I went Deep Water Soloing (DWS). DWS is going soloing (climbing with no ropes) on sea cliffs above deep water, thus the name. I had a great time doing it, and although I thought it would be a sort of rest day, I ended up climbing pretty hard just the same. We went to one cliffside, climbed for an hour and a bit, during which time I made a few attempts to get up a wall and then a stalactite, finally making it when I finally understood the shouted instructions of the guide that the next hold was on the stalactite and not the wall. It was quite an exciting move to pull off, requiring a bit of a lunge upward and a reach up and back, knowing that if I didn't get the hold, I was probably going to fall about 35 feet. That may not seem like much reading it here, especially if you think it's just into water, but I assure you that it's high enough, and falling when you're not ready (as opposed to jumping when you are) is quite scary. That said, I made it and made it up the stalactite, but didn't climb much higher, as I felt it was already a long way to jump.

We broke for lunch shortly after, and then went out climbing again. This time I was out on the first boat, following a Swiss man named Reto up a long stalactite. I probably wouldn't have gone as far as I did if he hadn't been leading the way, but machismo goes a long way to making men dumb, and I followed past the point where I really felt safe jumping. He estimated it was 20 meters. I think it was farther. You watch the video and decide. (Sorry, the video is sideways!)



One of the best things about this trip, however, was the people I met. I met Reto, the Swiss guy, Mikel and Jeana, a French couple, San, a lady from Singapore, and Matej, a Slovenian guy. They were a nice bunch of people, and I ended up hanging out with them the next few evenings.

The next day was more climbing with the class, and learning a few more things, like how to belay someone up after I've lead a route. (Some climbs are multi-pitch, meaning much longer than one rope is, so you have to climb up to a point and then have someone come up after you, then climb on to the next point, and so on.) I was able to lead some more difficult routes this time, but was defeated by a route too difficult for me, coming in at a rating of 5.11. But I did lead that Muay Thai route (instead of top-roping), which is a 5.11a, as well as a pretty difficult route called Bad Boy, rated about the same.

My last day climbing, New Year's Eve, I went out with Reto and climbed a lot. By the end of the day, as I attempted my last route, a 5.11d, but couldn't make it. After four days in a row of pretty hard climbing, I just didn't have any energy left. Sad that I had to end on that note, but it definitely left me with a desire to go back, stay a few weeks, and finish some 5.12s. Someday. Someday.

That night I hung out with Matej, Mikel, Jeana, and Dan and Anais, an Englishman and a French woman, and Florianna, a Swiss woman. It was a tame night, but fun, with good people. I had to leave the next morning, so I went to bed shortly after midnight.

I had a ticket for an overnight train back to Bangkok, but the journey to the train station was LONG. First a longtail boat from Railay to Ao Nang, waiting, then a van to a small terminal, more waiting, then another van to another terminal, yet more waiting, before finally a bus to the station after about 7 hours. Unfortunately, I'd picked up a bug and began to feel quite ill by the time I got to the station, and I was lucky to not vomit. Once I got on the train and into my sleeping berth, I was ok. I slept most of the 12 hours back up to Bangkok, went to the hostel, showered, and met up with Nina and another friend of hers, B, who took me out shopping.

Nina, B, and I went to Pantip Plaza, a multi-level building where they have everything for a computer you could want, from the smallest components like processor fans to brand-new Sony and Apple laptops. I bought some DVDs. That's all I'll say. From there we had lunch and then went to the aquarium, which had good displays and excellent information (in English!). I went back early and took it easy, feeling tired and rundown from the bug I'd picked up, which had stopped making me want to vomit, but would continue working on my bowels until I got back to Japan.

Katie and Mellen returned the next morning, and Nina and B took us to the Chatuachak Weekend Market. There may be more impressive markets in the world, but I've not seen it. And by impressive, I mean size and breadth of goods. It's so big, I'm sure we saw less than an eighth of it in our three hours or so of wandering. If you see something you want, excepting ubiquitous items like Thai silk scarves, you really need to buy it there, because unless you have an exceptional sense of direction, you probably won't find the vendor again. It's a fun place to go, and I really wish I'd been feeling better. In any case, I got a lot of shopping done.

The next morning I was on a flight to Hong Kong. Here is a city that feels romantic. I don't know why. Maybe it was the clear skies and crisp, clear air with temperatures right around 70. Maybe it was the sudden appearance of couples hugging and kissing, so unlike Japan. I didn't meet any women to melt my heart, but I certainly felt that it would have been a great place to have a woman with me. Nevertheless, I checked into my small guesthouse room, a tiny thing but one that had its own toilet and shower, for which I was happy. I spent the next two days walking around Kowloon, where I was staying, and Hong Kong Island, just across the water. Not as cheap as I'd thought it would be, certainly nothing like Thailand, but still cheaper than Japan...but that's not saying a lot. I had a good time there, but the bug I'd picked up kept me from doing as much as I might have otherwise. I've written too much already, so I'll just post some pictures now.





Sorry for the L-O-N-G entry. I wish you all a Happy 2009.

Aloha.

November, and beyond

November didn't happen. I'm almost convinced of that. I mean, I didn't blog during that month, so it must not have happened.

I was in Hawaii for Halloween, and then the election. Don't know about you, but I'm very excited about the possibilities, about how our country might get back on track, get back to being respected and liked, not feared or hated. There are a lot of people who dismiss what other countries in the world think of us, but that's a poor attitude: we are the richest and most powerful country, so we should act kindly and with leadership, not arrogance. Anyway, I think Barack Obama is the man to get us there. And he's from Hawaii.

The other very cool thing that happened in Hawaii was that my niece was not afraid of me. She actually sat in my lap and watched TV the first night I was back! It was so nice. She's so adorable! I can't imagine what it'll be like when the next one is born! Two of them! What will I do with that much cuteness?!?!

Returning to Japan, I had to get cracking on work, preparing for a visitor at the end of November, and another in December. It's been busy, but not so much that I wasn't able to hang out with Jessica 1 (so designated because the second is also named Jessica). She hung around Kansai most of the time, making just one short trip up to Tokyo while I visited some friends in Hyogo and went rock climbing outdoors in Gifu (more on that soon). We made it Kyoto one day, going to Fushimi-Inari Shrine, which I'd never been to, but very famous for the innumerable torii (orange-red Shinto gates). We also trekked over to Tofuku-ji, but it was mobbed, the Japanese maples in full color there. For me, and for Jessica 1, I think Fushimi-Inari was by far the better. I'm going to have to go back to get some pictures.

Jessica 1 departed yesterday. After 12 days with a guest, my apartment seems strangely quiet now. But I'll soon have another guest, Jessica 2, so I probably won't get used to the apartment being just me again until January.

So, rock climbing outdoors...the place is called Fukube, in Gifu prefecture. It's apparently quite a famous place, and I can see why: there are tons of boulders around, numerous problems to climb. I was invited by my friend Kohei, who speaks fluent English; he drove and two other guys from the gym and me all went out there, three hours each way. It was Sunday on a three-day weekend, so it was crowded! I hadn't been climbing much since I got back from the US, so the skin on my hands had gone soft...not what you want when you're climbing real rock. After about four hours, my hands were just raw. I couldn't do more than just hold onto stuff before it felt like needles in my finger tips. So, I'm hitting the gym and trying to rebuild my callouses. I was only able to finish one real problem, but I still really enjoyed it...being outdoors, it was nice just being there, even if I couldn't climb very much.


This is the one I was able to do. Not too bad, got it on my third try or so. (Click for larger image.)


This one is called something that translates roughly as "Burn your biceps." I got a little farther up than this guy is pictured (he's a friend, Daigo, and he was able to finish it), but I couldn't make it up. Maybe the next time...

I was invited to go again, though this time to a place called Toyota in Aichi prefecture. Should be fun!

Only other news right now is that I've got a plane ticket to Thailand on the 23rd, but I'm a bit worried I won't be able to get there as the protests have shut down the airports in Bangkok. I'm hopeful that they'll resolve the problems soon...if not, I'll probably stay in Japan, maybe go climbing with the same guys...

My friend Jessica 2 comes in next week Wednesday, so I'm busy at work, getting stuff prepared. Between that and climbing, I'm pretty busy. But having fun.

Seattle: October 2008

Well, I'm about set to leave Seattle, 8:15 AM flight tomorrow morning. This has been my fifth or sixth, maybe even my seventh time here. It's a good city, maybe even a great city, although I'm really not fond of the prevalence of precipitation that the Pacific Northwest gets. Still, Seattle has a lot going for it. Two things that make it a far more attractive place to me than some of the other places I've lived: first, the landscape has a lot of hills and trees, and second, it has character in its neighborhoods, its abundance of independent coffee shops, restaurants, and retailers. The people are rather progressive as well (yes, you can probably read that as "liberal"), or at my friend's friends are. It's got a lot to offer, including a lot of rain, but I do like the town...could even see moving here for a stint some time in the future.

Got in Sunday, tired, but the weather was sunny and clear and it was just a good day to be reunited with one of my oldest, best friends, Cat. I won't kill anyone with too many details (as I'm sure I've done in the past), but Cat did manage to take off some additional time from work (she just got back to work after having surgery for breast cancer). We hung out with her friends, went to a pumpkin carving party, walked around the Seattle Art Museum Sculpture Park, had coffee and breakfast in eclectic, interesting joints. It was great. Great weather, great places, great sights, but most of all: great company.

Just for a little background: Cat has been my friend since our junior year of high school (graduated the same year, but from different high schools). We've kept in touch, but not well the last few years. The last time I saw her was probably 2002. A L-O-N-G time ago. Too long.





Earlier this evening, my last, we went over to one of her friend's homes for dinner. A very nice, very good, very simple dinner was made: salmon, salad, couscous, bread. Then, when dinner was finished, we watched Obama's 30 minute infomercial, which was surprisingly good, I thought, although the music was overdone. (I hope he wins. If he doesn't, I may never return from Japan.)

Tomorrow I head back to Hawaii. A week there, then back to the job. What a great job, that I can take time like this to hang out with old friends and family.

Aloha.

Riding in Japan

So, I covered some of this in my post entitled "FINALLY," but I thought I'd share a bit more about riding in Japan.

I've now gotten mostly used to the Japanese signs, stuff painted on the roads, weird placement of traffic lights (occasionally hanging over the oncoming lanes of traffic, initially giving me the impulse to move over to the right lanes), etc. I've even adapted quite handily to the prevalence of motorcyclists and scooterists (I made that word up) to squeeze down between lanes at traffic lights to get to the front. I'm sure my renowned impatience is partly to credit for my quick adaptation, but I've also had to fight my desire to avoid tickets. I'm not sure I'd get a ticket, since 99% of bikers do this, but I'm not sure it's technically legal. (In my defense, I'm not sure it's ILLEGAL either, since my "Rules of the Road" book says, riders "should not" ride between lanes, but not that they "may not.")

Getting used to riding on the left is a done deal. I think I'll be able to slip back into right lane driving without a problem, but I guess we'll see when I get back to the US.

As for navigating semi-long distances, I've found that it's not that bad. The minutiae are harder, the finding of a small road (almost none of which are named or even designated by number) or small building (again, not numbered in sequence). I've got a road atlas for this area, but as with anything, it's a compromise between size and detail. I'm pleased with what I have, as it's been sufficent for me to visit my friend in the countryside of western Hyogo prefecture, as well as getting around the city. So far, so good. I think having driving across the US a few times has helped, as I've gotten the hand of plotting a route out in my mind, remembering major road numbers and turns and landmarks, and then going.

The ride back on Tuesday was pretty bad, in the rain the whole way, and a bit of traffic at the end. In addition, I was taking an alternate route to try to find a cheaper way of going, but I didn't quite understand the instructions I'd been given and didn't manage to get off the expressway and ride parallel to it, so I ended up paying two more tolls than I should have. Oh well...I'll have to figure it out next time, as it would take a bit longer but save me about $15 each way.

The weather is perfect right now for riding: cool and dry. Right now, for the next straight week we're forecasted for SUNNY in the low 70s. PERFECT. If that holds, I may go for a ride next Tuesday and/or Wednesday.

Finally, I also bought a second helmet so I can take passengers around. This is technically illegal, since they've given me this ridiculous rating where I'm not quite at the one year mark of having a license....this is all tied to the snafu I had in exchanging my Hawaii license in Virginia, where they didn't notice my motorcycle classification. Anyway, I've been riding long enough, have packed people around without problem before on bikes a lot bigger, so I think I'll be fine. And it'll be fun!

10 days to my trip to Seattle and Hawaii! Looking forward to it.

Rant: Costco in Japan

It's an unexplainable phenomenon, but the Japanese become completely different people when they enter Costco. Or most of them, anyway. Usually, they are--in appearance and behavior at least--the soul of manners, of consideration, a model of being polite. But when they walk through the doors of that warehouse, a transformation of unknown cause occurs, and suddenly they are boorish. I don't know any other way to explain how it is that there and only there have I encountered Japanese people who seem to have nearly no consideration for the other shoppers around them. They take their huge carts, walk down the center of the aisles, stop anywhere they want, their carts helter-skelter, as if there were no one else around.

For those of you who've been to a Costco (most of you, I think), you know how big the aisles are, so you know that if carts are stopped along either side, another can pass easily through the middle. And there are usually two major "thoroughfares" leading from the from to the back, which can proabably accomodate four carts abreast. Along these larger aisles, they often set up food sampling stations, no big deal if you pull your cart into an aisle and go back for the food...but here, no, let's just stop and get ours NOW. And a big F-YOU to everyone who's behind me.

It's almost like, in this small, magical world that could, really, be called "Little America" (it's laid out just like Costcos back home and even the signs are in English), the Japanese who visit become not Americans, but what they think Americans are like at their worst. Or something. I don't mean to disparage Japanese people, who, as I've already said, are usually the most polite people you'll meet. But I've never encountered anything like this at the eight or so Costcos I've been to in the US.

More to come.