Surviving the Rainy Season Blues

First, an apology. I have just realized it has been over TWO MONTHS since I last posted. I am truly sorry. It is due to a variety of reasons, but perhaps the biggest reason is simply that the longer I am in Japan, the less of an adventure it becomes and instead turns into that thing called “real life”. Which is a pathetic excuse from the girl who tries to live by the motto that “Life is an adventure”, but sometimes even the greatest adventurers get distracted from their adventuring by tedious things. Though I can’t really count work as tedious, it has been taking up a good deal of my time these days.

So, rainy season. If you are thinking, “But Caroline, I thought rainy season was in June!” You would be correct. However, this year it has blended seamlessly into typhoon season, leading to weeks of gray-drizzly-pouring-hot-muggy days. Not only is there very little sun, but the humidity is absolutely through the roof. How muggy is it you may ask. Laura and I have created this list to demonstrate:

How Muggy is it in Kumamoto?

• I have decided to make the frizz halo a fashion statement, because fighting it is a lost battle. It has taken off swimmingly in the foreigner population, but somehow Japanese women continue to have flawless hair.
• Who needs lotion?
• It’s a good thing it’s not sunny, because putting sunscreen on “twenty minutes before getting wet” isn't even remotely possible.
• Staying in bed is actually less comfortable than getting up. Sheets are hot!
• Every day is a vinegar/bleach scented war on THE MOLD
• Sweat towels are fashionable and come in many sizes – never leave home without one!
• You greet your friends with air hugs.
• Stores have whole aisles of body deodorant – meant to be spread on your whole body, not just under your arms
• Every day, at least once, someone will announce that it is hot, like this is a revelation
• You think longingly of the days when, every day, at least once, someone would announce that it is cold, like that was a revelation

How is a girl who loves the sun to survive? Well, I’m still trying to figure that out myself, but most importantly, I find that a good sense of humor, and the knowledge that everyone is in the same boat, makes me feel immeasurably better. Also, the knowledge that I will be (hopefully) going to seminary in St. Paul with Minnesota winters in the near future so I should really stop complaining.

It hasn’t been all bad of course. Two weeks ago I went with our English Speaker’s Society to the beach. Two beautifully, sunny days, and it only rained at night! I have the sunburn lines to prove it. Also, even though it has happened almost nightly for weeks, I don’t think I will ever tire of rain on the roof lulling me to sleep (though I did have to cave to lack of sleep and leave the air conditioning on at night).

It has also led to some fun adventures! I got well and truly caught a few Sundays ago. I was headed out to church and the sun was brightly shining. Sure there were clouds in the distance, sure it called for rain later that day, but after church I was headed out by car to Aso, for a church getaway/retreat, so I took my bike without a second thought. It is a twenty five minute bike ride from my apartment to church. After ten minutes it started to sprinkle. About fifteen minutes out, I was ineffectively chasing the sun that I could still see, so lovely, just ahead as the dark clouds directly above my head opened up and poured. I was drenched pretty darn quick and had to take shelter in a parking garage. It only lasted maybe fifteen minutes and when the downpour stopped I took my sopping wet self home. Eventually, once I was dry, I headed out again, this time armed with an umbrella, and I took the train to church.  

All in all, it’s been rough. Days upon days of grey can really get depressing. It’s hard to have the energy to get out and do just about anything in the heat and the wet. All we can do is just keep… swimming!

And now… because that was not a very cheery blog post, and I am all about finding something cheery these days, allow me to introduce a new character into the Japan story to you. His name is Brent Wilkinson. Yes, I know. A BOY!

Brent is the new J-3 (new being a relative term by now). He arrived in Kumamoto last January and I have just realized that he needs an introduction as he, Laura, and I are headed out on quite the adventure soon and I will be sure to blog about it next. I’m not gonna lie, his literary tastes on Facebook had Laura and I concerned before we met him (his favorite book is Moby Dick, I mean really?), but it turns out he is very nice and balances out the Laura/Caroline show quite well. He keeps us grounded. Brent enjoys politics, history, and classical literature. He is very interested in Japanese and studies hard. He already speaks like five languages and enjoys reading classics in French. Or German. Or something other than English. What a weirdo J Just kidding Brent! Best of all, he kills spiders! We have had one too many of those large Japanese Huntsman spiders in the apartments recently (TWO in my BEDROOM!!!) and Brent has very graciously chased them down, killed, and disposed of them for us. I think we’ll let him stay. He earns his keep. Bwahahaha!

Random Pre-Posting Note: I just signed up to run a half marathon in November!! How exciting is that! I can’t wait! I’ll be running with two good friends in Amakusa, the islands near Kumamoto. Cheer me on?

The Road Goes On...

Ah, the stories I have to share, but so little time to share them! This is what happens when I don’t blog for a while. It’s my own fault I know. I really should be more loyal to this blog. Where to begin?

Shall I start at the beginning of March?

At the beginning of March I attended graduation and watched as my first batch of third years students left Kyushu Gakuin and headed out into the world. I hope I have made even a fraction of the impact on them that they have had on me. I understand that I will probably never know the answer to that question, but I can’t help but wonder.

Then I wrapped up my first year of teaching in Japan! How crazy is that? One year down and one to go. It’s mind boggling really. I don’t think anything in my life has seemed to pass by quite so fast.

During spring vacation my aunts came to visit! Jennifer and Kippy arrived on March 26^th for a week of touring in Japan! First I showed them around Kumamoto and then we went to Yakushima, Hiroshima, and Kyoto. I saw wild monkeys in Yakushima! I saw tame deer in Hiroshima! And in Kyoto I saw… no wildlife, except for the human variety. It was a wonderful week and an excellent vacation. See the multitude of photos below for proof. Though to really understand the beauty of Yakushima you will simply have to go yourself one day. Truly, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Kumamoto Castle in the spring

Stepping back in time. Doesn't he look fierce? Look closely. He's got a sword in one hand and an umbrella in the other :)

Aunt Kippy and Aunt Jennifer

Yakushima was gorgeous!

Don't feed the monkeys!

Monkey Crossing!

Our first monkey sighting!

How cute are they!

A gorgeous sunset that just couldn't be caught on camera.

But I did try...

Hiking in the ancient cedar forests of Yakushima

On to Hiroshima. This eucalyptus tree survived the atomic bomb.

So did this willow. There is a powerful feeling of light in darkness when you look at these two trees that survived something so horrific.

Hiroshima Castle

Cherry Blossoms!

Atomic Bomb Dome

Children's Memorial. The color you see are paper cranes sent by people all over the world.

Sadako and her paper crane

This flame will not be extinguished until all nuclear weapons on the Earth are destroyed.

Atomic Bomb Peace Memorial

Don't feed the wild deer they said. Where are the wild deer is what I wanted to know. This was certainly not one of them.

This little boy was too cute

Aunt Jennifer asking the deer for directions. He was very polite! 

Miyajima Temple. I totally understand now why it is one of the most photographed spots in Japan.

I asked some school girls, in Japanese, if they would take this picture for us. Their reaction was priceless and I switched back to English immediately when they decided they wanted to practice.

On to Kyoto! The Golden Temple was gorgeous and sadly, I do not think it would stay golden were it in the States. That is actual gold leaf that it is covered with.

Kiyumizudera Temple

Love this picture. Old Japan meets new.

There were so many young people in kimono!

The Silver Shrine

Cherry Blossoms!

This is one of the gates to the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. We wanted to get in, but apparently you have to arrange tours well in advance. Good to know.

So with that, our trip was finished and it was time to return home.

So my spring break passed, and for the last six weeks I have been settling into a new school year. It is going to be a more difficult year than last year I fear. My planning and grading load are a bit weightier, but I think I can handle it. I hope so anyway.

A few weeks ago was Easter as you know, and I was able to take the time to do an Easter lesson with my third year students. It involved telling the story to them and having them read the story in their Japanese bibles, after which we played Easter Bingo (Whoot!), and then listened to one of my favorite Easter songs, He Reigns, by The Newsboys.

They were interesting to observe during this whole thing. While they have had three years of hearing these bible stories, I think they have rarely hit home. Personally I think it’s because it has been too bible based. They haven’t been told story teller style. Think about it. You are an eighteen year old. You are not a Christian and you have not been raised in a Christian society. Prior to three years ago you barely even knew the name Jesus Christ and you probably, almost certainly, did not know what Easter was. Then imagine that you attend a Lutheran school and you have religion class. Religion class involves a lot of reading from the Bible and lectures on Christianity. While I love the Bible, and I truly do, it is often a difficult read. For most non-Christian eighteen year olds, it is almost impossible to make heads or tails of it. Hard to blame them really. A lot of the Bible escapes even biblical scholars. So I tried to meet them on their level. The Easter story has it all: betrayal, conspiracy, murder, and, best of all, a man coming back to life and having His reign announced by angels. A snooze fest it is not.

I get way into the Easter story. We started at the betrayal of Judas in the Garden and went all the way through the resurrection. Most of them were quite interested. Or maybe they just were wondering what I was so excited about. They were disturbed during my telling of the crucifixion and crazy confused/didn’t-even-know-what-to-do-with-this-information during the telling of the resurrection, but I think my most important point, Jesus died to save us all, was completely and totally too much for most of them. They have heard it over and over again, but I believe that until you have a relationship with God the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit, it is a concept that is hard to truly grasp and understand. However, I do think that I achieved something. I think I got them curious. And really, that’s the best you can do as a teacher. You can’t make students learn anything. But if you get them curious, then half the battle is won. You’ve lit the spark. It’s up to them to fan it into a flame.  Also, they loved the song. We were all jamming out to it when the principal walked by.

One last adventure to tell you, it was Golden Week recently so I had a few days off of school to relax, get caught up on some things, and take another trip with Laura out to Aso. See pictures below. We got lost out in the rice fields of Aso! It was quite the adventure. I got a little sunburned, but we were very pleased with ourselves on the train ride home. That’s all for now! I’ll be in touch soon. Sooner than last time I hope! I’ll do my best. Ja ne!

Back in Aso!

I've been so excited to try an Aso Burger ever since I heard that they were real, honest-to-goodness burgers. They were being sold during Golden Week! I got my chance!

It was indeed delicious

The start of the open air museum tour... it started off so innocently... little did we know we would be walking for 3 hours! 

Carp flags for Children's Day!

"I'm sure we will get to the shrine soon."  - Laura

The sports complex that gave us shade and a place to sit down. It was also really randomly in the middle of nowhere.

Yes! Hydration!

In any adventure its the road and the people that matter not the destination...

Onward!