Rainy Season

Right now is the rainy season in Japan. That means that it is cloudy or raining about half the time and hot and humid all the time. Even when it's cloudy or raining, it's pretty hot. My schools don't have air conditioning or, if they do, they don't use it. The offices all have a couple units, but they never turn it on while students are there. The result is I'm sweating all day long.

Japanese buildings are designed for the summer, at least they were before air conditioners. There are large doors and windows that allow a breeze to go through the entire house. Some really traditional houses can move or remove enough doors to function like a shelter with only a roof. In the winter, rooms are closed off and people stay in the most central room.

Schools are mostly the same. The rooms, at least where I am, don't have air conditioning. Many have fans, but they aren't allowed to turn them on before a certain date. There are large windows that are opened all year round to 'ventilate'. It's nice in the summer (at least, compared to roasting in a room with no breeze), but doesn't make for great insulation in the winter. Tile or linoleum floors (ie bathrooms) are often wet, covered in condensation from the hot summer air.

Sometimes it will rain really heavy and consistently for hours. The other night when I was going home in between rains I found a stowaway on my car:

World Cup

First of all, congratulations to Jason and Lindsey (if they read this). I unfortunately couldn't make it the wedding, but I'm sure everyone is having a great time in New York.

I've been pretty exhausted the past few weeks because I stayed up all night the last two Saturdays to watch the World Cup. It remains a strong possibility that I'll stay up all night tonight as well to watch the Ghana US game. At least this time I'll stay in my own apartment to watch it.

The first game I stayed out for was the US England game. We went to The Hub, an English pub in Kyoto, fairly early (around 7:15) to watch the Greece/South Korea game that started at 8:30. The bar quickly became packed with South Korea fans, including one very loud woman who would wave a flag from the second floor at any opportunity:



A lot of people left after South Korea won, but almost everyone left by 1 when the Argentina/Nigeria game finished. We stayed until the US/England game started at 27:30 (Japan does military time a lot of places for some reason, apparently 27:30 is a time):



The bar filled up again with mostly Americans about 15 minutes before the game started. I was at a table with about half English and half Americans. There was a lot of taunting back and forth. When England scored their goal my friend Bob stood up on his stool, took off his England Jersey and waved it above his head. Incidentally, when Bob tried to watch another England game at the same bar they said they weren't showing it. At the English pub that advertises they're showing every world cup game.

So the following week we went to the Pig and Whistle, another English bar not far from the Hub. This was for the Japan Netherlands game. We expected pretty much everywhere to be packed and charging cover, which was exactly the case here. It cost 3000 yen (about $30), but it came with 3 drink tickets and one food or drink ticket, which is actually really good for a Japanese bar. At some point a few people convinced me to stay out all night. Here's some pictures:





This is a blinking Zima badge that I acquired during the Japan/Netherlands game:

Some things kids say in my classes

This happens in about half of all classes:
Student: (in Japanese) How old are you?
Me: How old am I? I'm 24.
Random other student: Jack Bauer...

Every elementary school class:
Me: How are you?
Child: I'm happy!
Me: How are you?
Child: I'm Snoopy!
Me: I'm SLEEPY
Child: I'm SLEEPY.
Me: How are you?
Child: I'm English!

Every junior high first year class (7th grade):
Me: Any volunteers to do a presentation?
Students: (Blank stare)
Me: Anyone?
One Student: (meekly raises hand, gives presentation)
Me: Thank you! Here's a sticker.
All other students: Eeehhh!!!?!?!! (Raise hands)

Students in the hallway have learned a new word:
Student: Hello!
Me: Hi! How are you?
Student: I'm sleepy. And you?
Me: Me too.
Student: Shut up!
Other student: Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

At least they use what they learn in class:
Student: Sam-sensei! Hello! How are you?
Me: I'm hot. How are you?
Student: Me too. (pause) May I see your passport?
Me: What?
Student: Do you have any plants or vegetables?

Moss Temple

When Ben and Claire were here last week we went to Saihoji, or the Moss Temple. The whole area is shaded, allowing moss to grow all over the ground and up many of the trees. This used to be a popular site to visit until about 30 years ago when the monks running the temple closed it to all visitors. Apparently the exhaust from buses coming to the site was starting to damage the garden. It was completely off limits for a few years after that before re-opening for people who had reservations. At 3000 yen per person to enter, it is at least 5 times more expensive than any other temple I've been to in Kyoto.

Before you can enter the garden you have to write some sutras in Japanese. They have paper with an outline of the script on little desks next to an ink stone that you grind in water to make ink. You then use a little brush to trace over the letters. Traditional Japanese text goes from up to down, right to left, so you can't hold a brush like a pen (unless you're left handed). You're supposed to hold the brush higher up in what feels very awkward for someone who has no experience writing Japanese.

Being foreigners, a monk came over and asked if we understood what to do. Later he said we didn't need to finish and could go whenever we were tired. Appreciating this kind monk's gesture to let us opt out of a long and pointless ceremony, I started to get up from my uncomfortable sitting position to enter the site I had paid so much to see. Others in the party objected, choosing instead to finish tracing a script they could not read for a reason they did not comprehend. Afterwards we entered the temple:

Ben and Claire in Japan

Ben and Claire came to Kyoto for a few days last week to see me and access a human ATM machine. We went around to a bunch of famous sites and to restaurants that seem ordinary to me but amazed them (plus a dinner at a woman's house I know). I'm sure they've e-mailed many of you and have their own things to say about so I'll try not to repeat it here. Anyway, here they are at the moss temple in Kyoto.


Claire managed to make a friend.


This is how I saw Ben most of the trip. With a camera in front of his eyes. In most pictures taken of him, he took the camera off his neck to create the illusion that he wasn't carrying it around everywhere.





Looking forward to the next visit!