Somewhere Else: August 2005

Bowling in Kokubu, Kagoshima

Bowling in Kokubu, Kagoshima
Originally uploaded by gogakuhei.

Went bowling the first weekend with much of the "local" crew -- many of us are spread out over a pretty good-sized area. First game I bowled a 142. I don't bowl. Ever. I don't know where the score came from. I haven't scored that high since then.

Now This is a Bath

Now THIS is a Bath
Originally uploaded by gogakuhei.

A friend and associate in a near town has a pretty cool apartment. The crown jewel? His bath. Note the two taps; the one on the left is regular water. The one on the right is onsen water. That's right -- piping hot natural spring water, right into the tub. Lucky devil.

Brush Your Teeth

Brush Your Teeth
Originally uploaded by gogakuhei.

"Brush your teeth." That seems to be all he wants... and frankly, that creeps me the fuck out.

Went to a prefectural orientation Tuesday and Wednesday. It was pretty good; not so much for the information, but more for the chance to meet the other CIRs from Kagoshima. There were... let's see: One guy from Malasyia, one girl from Singapore, one girl from Canada, one guy from Ireland, a girl from England, two guys from California (Northern and Southern), about four Chinese, and about five Koreans. Needless to say, Japanese is our common language, and so that's how we communicated. Believe it or not, I was standing on the bottom rung as far as proficiency goes.

Oh, on a proficiency-related topic... I've met a couple ALTs who graduated from UC Berkeley's Japanese department. They're really cool, but it has to be said -- I think our sensei might not have exaggerated too much when she said that we have a kick-ass program at state.

Yeah, sometimes the wrong side of the tracks does rock.

Kirishima Taiko Festival... Now With Senegalese!

I went to the Kirishima Taiko Festival on Sunday with a few friends, and we ran into a bunch of other friends/associates there. It was a good show; four hours of various taiko groups and one drum performance group from Senegal.

There were a good number of people there for the show, since the weather turned out to be so nice. The Senegalese group, jamming on stage with a Japanese jazz saxophone player and a large sample of the various taiko groups from throughout the evening, managed to get a good sized group dancing in front of and then actually on the stage.

I even did a little groovin' of my own while snapping a few picures.

The Day I Officially Got Lost

I arrived in Kagoshima on 3 August 2005. I was greeted by (from right to left) James, my predecessor; Chika, my supervisor; and Raka, my coworker. I think I was about the only incoming JET in this group with a large, full-color picture waiting for me. It seemed like half the group of new Kagoshima JETs came over to tell me about it while I was waiting for my luggage.

I'm sure there will be other pictures with Chika and Raka in them, especially once events and the like start happening. James has already moved on to other things, so there won't be many pictures of him. Regardless, I wish him well. He left quite the large, jovial impression on the community that won't be easy to fill.

For Refreshing Times...

For Refreshing Times...
Originally uploaded by gogakuhei.

...make it SUNTORY TIME.

("Kore ha takain desu yo. HIBIKI da yo!")

Post-post...

Okay, I should have explained that a little more. In the movie Lost in Translation, this is the whiskey that Bill Murray's character has been hired to promote. The little bit in quotes is my best recollection of one of the things the director says to Bill's character -- basically "Hey, this is expensive. It's Hibiki!" A bottle of Hibiki runs about $60 a bottle.

Is that better?

"Penguins are so sensitive to my needs..."

"Penguins are so sensitive to my needs..."
Originally uploaded by gogakuhei.

There are penguins on my house phone that engage in bubble-filled dialogue when I'm on the line. Ah, Japan.

On a related note, I now have internet access at home. My Vonage connection works BEAUTIFULLY. If anyone wants to call me on what used to be my cell phone number, it will ring here in Japan. Just... watch what time you're calling. I'm 16 hours ahead of California, so your days are very often my nights. A good site for figuring out what time it is here and there: www.timeanddate.com

(The quotation in the title is by Lyle Lovett. No, I don't have it bad for penguins.)