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.