Although most of my current focus is on my health/happiness/adjustment to living in Japan, this article in the NYT speaks to much of the work I previously did in America.
As many of you know, I spent my first few years as an adult working with cons, ex-cons, and troubled youth. My favorite job in college was leading the Prison Ministry program for my school, working in a close-security men`s prison in Minnesota. Immediately after graduation I attended a conference of artists, activists and prison employees, concerned about the U.S. system of incarceration. After university I spent several years mentoring youth-of-color in Portland, many of whom were at risk of falling into the `criminal justice` system. Most recently I volunteered for a Portland program assisting recently-released ex-cons as they adjust to life on the outside. This work is meaningful, rewarding, humbling, and so painful. The disproportionate number of inmates that identify as people-of-color is troubling; racial profiling and economic disadvantages are just two possible reasons for this American travesty.
September 30, 2007
Op-Ed Contributor
Jena, O. J. and the Jailing of Black America
By ORLANDO PATTERSON
This full article is at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/opinion/30patterson.html?th&emc=th. My selected excerpt:
"America has more than two million citizens behind bars, the highest absolute and per capita rate of incarceration in the world. Black Americans, a mere 13 percent of the population, constitute half of this country’s prisoners. A tenth of all black men between ages 20 and 35 are in jail or prison; blacks are incarcerated at over eight times the white rate.
The effect on black communities is catastrophic: one in three male African-Americans in their 30s now has a prison record, as do nearly two-thirds of all black male high school dropouts. These numbers and rates are incomparably greater than anything achieved at the height of the Jim Crow era. What’s odd is how long it has taken the African-American community to address in a forceful and thoughtful way this racially biased and utterly counterproductive situation.
How, after decades of undeniable racial progress, did we end up with this virtual gulag of racial incarceration?"
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Autumn Equinox
The First Full Moon of Autumn
Donald L. Engstrom
September 26, 2007
The first full moon of Autumn
Stirs the awakening of distant deeply sleeping snow.
The first full moon of Autumn
Shines upon the icy bed of the Snow Queen,
Calling Her to arise From Her long Summer's slumber.
The first full moon of Autumn
Calls Brother North Wind from His coldest cave,
Calls Jack Frost from His glacial home,
Calls the Snow Ponies to begin
Their long seasonal migration.
The first full moon of Autumn
Reminds all of the Greenbloods
That their very leaves,
Their summer flesh,
Their verdant dreams,
Will soon be touched and transformed
By the powers of red, orange, brown and yellow.
The first full moon of Autumn,
Reminds all who have the senses of the awake and aware,
To prepare for the coming reunion of the Living and the Dead,
To prepare for the annual Dance
That reweaves the fabric of existence,
To prepare for the shinning pumpkins
That will soon fill the Halls of Halloween,
To prepare for the thinning of the veils,
The Great Opening to Opportunity.
The first full moon of Autumn
Touches my red living blood,
Reminding me
Of the long tasks of Last Harvest,
Of the cold rains of transition,
Of the first touch of frozen breath
On the cheeks the waning children of the Sun,
Of my love's warm embrace between cold sheets.
The first full moon of Autumn
Stirs the awakening of distant deeply sleeping snow.
And I am glad,
My heart filled with contentment,
I await expectantly,
Bathed in the magical light of the first full moon of Autumn.
Donald L. Engstrom
September 26, 2007
The first full moon of Autumn
Stirs the awakening of distant deeply sleeping snow.
The first full moon of Autumn
Shines upon the icy bed of the Snow Queen,
Calling Her to arise From Her long Summer's slumber.
The first full moon of Autumn
Calls Brother North Wind from His coldest cave,
Calls Jack Frost from His glacial home,
Calls the Snow Ponies to begin
Their long seasonal migration.
The first full moon of Autumn
Reminds all of the Greenbloods
That their very leaves,
Their summer flesh,
Their verdant dreams,
Will soon be touched and transformed
By the powers of red, orange, brown and yellow.
The first full moon of Autumn,
Reminds all who have the senses of the awake and aware,
To prepare for the coming reunion of the Living and the Dead,
To prepare for the annual Dance
That reweaves the fabric of existence,
To prepare for the shinning pumpkins
That will soon fill the Halls of Halloween,
To prepare for the thinning of the veils,
The Great Opening to Opportunity.
The first full moon of Autumn
Touches my red living blood,
Reminding me
Of the long tasks of Last Harvest,
Of the cold rains of transition,
Of the first touch of frozen breath
On the cheeks the waning children of the Sun,
Of my love's warm embrace between cold sheets.
The first full moon of Autumn
Stirs the awakening of distant deeply sleeping snow.
And I am glad,
My heart filled with contentment,
I await expectantly,
Bathed in the magical light of the first full moon of Autumn.
Foraging and Feasting
Our other goal for the Asahikawa Adventure was in search of food.
Along the drive we stopped to taste a seasonal delicacy: Santa`s Beard. This is something unique to Hokkaido, and might not be attractive to the average American tatebuds. But we're really starting to enjoy Japanese-style sweets, which are markedly less sweet than the corn-syruped foods of America. Santa's Beard is a half-cantalope, filled high with softserve ice cream (made with cream, not frozen white crap), and azuki sweet red bean. It's good, really!
After visiting the Ainu museum we went to a giant mall and found Mecca: the foreign foods store. O, we are happy. I bought molasses, Celestial Seasonings tea, BBQ sauce, yellow mustard, pickle relish, olives, musli, coconut milk, thai curry, indian curry, habanero hot sauce, corn meal, and THREE things of peanut butter. Hooray! We've been pretty content to eat Japanese food exclusively until now, but peanut butter is delicious and such a convenient protien source. And potato salad just isn't good without yellow mustard and capers.
We returned to Furano to begin cooking and cleaning in preparation for a potluck we were to throw on Sunday evening. We provided potato salad, a huge pot of cream-of-mushroom-soup, and fruit salad. Others brought home-grown grapes, sweetpotato cakes, kimchee nabe (Japanese stew), sesame bread with camembert filling, Tostitos chips and salsa (!!!!), a hot sandwich maker, Japanese shochu (like whiskey), Coronas, and Kirin Black beers. It was a great night with really fun friends.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Ainu Adventure
How cool! Today Nick and I traveled to Asahikawa, the second largest city on the island of Hokkaido. Asahikawa is about an hour away, and approximately the size of Omaha. Asahikawa is historically home to a large settlement of Ainu people.
The Ainu people are the indegenous of Japan, possibly related to Mongoloids or even Alaskan/American Indians. There are conflicting theories, but they've been on the northern islands of Japan for about 10,000 years. In the recent history of Japan, 2500 years ago, the islands were populated by people of Chinese ancestry, their culture developing into the modern Japanese culture. As the Japanese settlements spread northward, the Ainu people were pushed up to Hokkaido. According to Wikipedia, "Japanese policies became increasingly aimed at assimilating the Ainu in the Meiji period (mid 1800s), outlawing their language and restricting them to farming on government-provided plots and as labor in the Japanese fishing industry. As the Japanese government encouraged immigration of ethnic Japanese to populate Hokkaido, the Ainu became increasingly marginalised in their own land. The population was greatly reduced due to hardship and diseases introduced by the inmigrant Japanese." Pretty similar to American and Australian treatment of indegenous peoples on the continents. So there's about 25,000 people remaining who claim full or partial Ainu heritage, although that number is questioned because some people are ashamed/afraid to admit their own ancestry. Most live in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan.
This museum was particularly insightful, tho humble, because it was built and sponsored by the Ainu people of Hokkaido. A super-great lady let Nick and I dress up in traditional Ainu costumes. I'll post pics when I can figure out the damn Mac-to-Blogger situation.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Mistranslations
Warning: the following post may contain offensive words.
Apparently it is cool, in Japan, to wear clothing with English words on it. Or American icons. Doesn`t matter what is says, or even if you understand it. If you google other blogs of gaijins living in Japan, you can find many humorous examples. http://www.engrish.com/category_index.php?category=Clothing Lots of awkward Engrish with cutesy words like `smile love is happiness`. But we`ve also seen some horrifying/shocking/embarrassing examples of this:
Apparently it is cool, in Japan, to wear clothing with English words on it. Or American icons. Doesn`t matter what is says, or even if you understand it. If you google other blogs of gaijins living in Japan, you can find many humorous examples. http://www.engrish.com/category_index.php?category=Clothing Lots of awkward Engrish with cutesy words like `smile love is happiness`. But we`ve also seen some horrifying/shocking/embarrassing examples of this:
- All junior and senior high students wear uniforms. The girls` uniform sweaters have small embroidered emblems on the chest. Many choose a dolphin, or the Statue of Liberty, or the Playboy Bunny. Huh!?! Apparently the bunny does not have the same cultural connotations here?
- One American told me he saw a toddler girl dressed in a t-shirt that read "F#$& This" with an arrow pointing down. . . He of course pulled the parents aside and told them what the shirt read. The were shocked and very grateful to know, and covered up the child immediately.
- You know that icon often found on the mudflaps of Confederate trucks? The one of two curvy naked ladies sitting back-to-back? Well, you can buy tracksuits with that icon all over it. One of my teachers wore that to work yesterday, much to my amazement. I indicated my surprise to my English teacher/friend, explaining that that emblem is considered both sexual and sexist in America, and certainly inappropriate for school. Things are different here. . .
- A student wore a t-shirt for a band, or maybe a fake band in the style of concert tees. The band was called "The Mothaf#$%&ing Group" with a list of songs such as `I Will Drill Your Heifer` and worse.
- Perhaps worst of all, there are t-shirts that mix languages and colloquialisms so that even fluent speakers of English might be tricked. We saw a high school girl wearing a shirt that said "Esta puta will give you the shirt off her back for $19.95"
It seems that some t-shirts are designed by well-meaning Japanese designers with limited Engrish skills. And surely, some foreigners are designing shirts to fool and insult. Ouch.
Portland`s Food is Famous!
OMG, how I miss Portland`s food scene.
As much as I love the open skies of Nebraska, the food is crap. The only grocery I was able to eat from was Whole Foods (the produce at Omaha`s Wild Oats was wilted and rotting - no joke). There is one gem: The falafel at Amsterdam in the Dundee neighborhood. http://www.afkdundee.com/
And here in Japan, the produce is lovely and seasonal, and we`ve already found a few excellent restaurants in our small town. Difficult for vegetarians, but possible. My four favorites:
Soul Terrace, a Korean restaurant run by our friend Mike. They have sophisticated food, beer on tap (rare because beer laws are so archaic in Japan), and striking modern architectural design.
Doxson Curry House http://personal.furano.ne.jp/f795km/curry/shops/doxon.htm The micro-brewery beer is wonderful, the atmosphere unusual and charming, and the curry delicious. Nick likes their home-made sausage (I admit I nibbled a bit too).
Bistro Le Chemin, serving French cuisine with a lovely wine list. http://www.le-chemin.com/ The chef trained in Paris for many years, and the food and service were excellent.
There is also a great little sushi-go-round place called Tropical. I ate the most delicious roasted eggplant maki, with dark miso on top. The sushi is seasonal (sadly, asparagus is now out-of-season!).
This all brings me to a glowing article about P-town`s culinary culture in the New York Times. Yum!
In Portland, a Golden Age of Dining and Drinking
By ERIC ASIMOV
PORTLAND, Ore.
THEY come but they don’t go.
In the way New York drew artists in the ’50s, this city at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers seems to exert a magnetic lure on talented chefs who come from almost anywhere else and decide to stay right here. About the hardest thing to find in Portland these days is a homegrown chef.
Portland may seem an unlikely place for such status, a city destined to play second string on the West Coast to San Francisco and Seattle. But in the last five years or so Portland has grown and evolved.
At first it was a sort of underground stop for food and wine lovers who had heard word of small, fascinating restaurants run by young, talented chefs serving a bounty of local produce. It’s underground no more. Portland has emerged from its chrysalis as a full-fledged dining destination.
This is a golden age of dining and drinking in a city that 15 years ago was about as cutting edge as a tomato in January. Every little neighborhood in this city of funky neighborhoods now seems to be exploding with restaurants, food shops and markets, all benefiting from a critical mass of passion, skill and experience, and all constructed according to the gospel of locally grown ingredients.
In close proximity is a cadre of farmers committed to growing environmentally responsible produce with maximum flavor, delivered to restaurants and to the gorgeous farmers’ markets that dot the city. There are local fisheries and small beef, lamb and pork producers. Not far away is the Hood River Valley, with its myriad fruit growers who supply glistening, fragile berries and stonefruits of every stripe and color.
World-class wine is produced in the Willamette Valley, the center of the Oregon wine industry, just a half hour’s drive away. Portland has six micro-distilleries making any kind of spirits you can name and, if you’d like a chaser, more breweries than any other city on earth. Just as important is a receptive populace, demanding yet eager to be wowed. . .
[see full article at http://www.nytimes.com/]
As much as I love the open skies of Nebraska, the food is crap. The only grocery I was able to eat from was Whole Foods (the produce at Omaha`s Wild Oats was wilted and rotting - no joke). There is one gem: The falafel at Amsterdam in the Dundee neighborhood. http://www.afkdundee.com/
And here in Japan, the produce is lovely and seasonal, and we`ve already found a few excellent restaurants in our small town. Difficult for vegetarians, but possible. My four favorites:
Soul Terrace, a Korean restaurant run by our friend Mike. They have sophisticated food, beer on tap (rare because beer laws are so archaic in Japan), and striking modern architectural design.
Doxson Curry House http://personal.furano.ne.jp/f795km/curry/shops/doxon.htm The micro-brewery beer is wonderful, the atmosphere unusual and charming, and the curry delicious. Nick likes their home-made sausage (I admit I nibbled a bit too).
Bistro Le Chemin, serving French cuisine with a lovely wine list. http://www.le-chemin.com/ The chef trained in Paris for many years, and the food and service were excellent.
There is also a great little sushi-go-round place called Tropical. I ate the most delicious roasted eggplant maki, with dark miso on top. The sushi is seasonal (sadly, asparagus is now out-of-season!).
This all brings me to a glowing article about P-town`s culinary culture in the New York Times. Yum!
In Portland, a Golden Age of Dining and Drinking
By ERIC ASIMOV
PORTLAND, Ore.
THEY come but they don’t go.
In the way New York drew artists in the ’50s, this city at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers seems to exert a magnetic lure on talented chefs who come from almost anywhere else and decide to stay right here. About the hardest thing to find in Portland these days is a homegrown chef.
Portland may seem an unlikely place for such status, a city destined to play second string on the West Coast to San Francisco and Seattle. But in the last five years or so Portland has grown and evolved.
At first it was a sort of underground stop for food and wine lovers who had heard word of small, fascinating restaurants run by young, talented chefs serving a bounty of local produce. It’s underground no more. Portland has emerged from its chrysalis as a full-fledged dining destination.
This is a golden age of dining and drinking in a city that 15 years ago was about as cutting edge as a tomato in January. Every little neighborhood in this city of funky neighborhoods now seems to be exploding with restaurants, food shops and markets, all benefiting from a critical mass of passion, skill and experience, and all constructed according to the gospel of locally grown ingredients.
In close proximity is a cadre of farmers committed to growing environmentally responsible produce with maximum flavor, delivered to restaurants and to the gorgeous farmers’ markets that dot the city. There are local fisheries and small beef, lamb and pork producers. Not far away is the Hood River Valley, with its myriad fruit growers who supply glistening, fragile berries and stonefruits of every stripe and color.
World-class wine is produced in the Willamette Valley, the center of the Oregon wine industry, just a half hour’s drive away. Portland has six micro-distilleries making any kind of spirits you can name and, if you’d like a chaser, more breweries than any other city on earth. Just as important is a receptive populace, demanding yet eager to be wowed. . .
[see full article at http://www.nytimes.com/]
Monday, September 24, 2007
Hiking, Camping, Eating
The past two weekends have been quite eventful for Nick and I. We are very fit!
Last week we hiked for three intense days in the mountains of Daisetsuzan National Park. The rainstorms on the first day would have discouraged most sensible people, but I had $3 plastic pants! Who could ask for anything more? The mountain views were spectacular, but my favorite part was a beautiful valley with melting glaciers, a rocky stream (we had to wade through, as it had no bridge), and lovely autumn colors. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6776.html
After a long challenging weekend, the onsen was most welcome. Japanse onsens are amazing. The one we visited was in a very modern/clean youth hostel. http://park19.wakwak.com/~shirakaba/ The onsen had both a tiled indoor pool and outdoor rock pool nestled in birches and ferns. Heaven.
We missed the Furano Cheese Festival this weekend, but instead drove to Lake Shikotsu, a crater lake in Western Hokkaido. http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/hokkaido/sikotuko.html The purpose was to party/camp with our Kiwi friend Leon and our JET friend Catherine. Wow, did we eat! We had various fish and vegetables on the BBQ from 4PM until noon the next day. I even grilled my banana. Yum.
On the drive back, Nick and I celebrated our anniversary with a great Chinese dinner. I don`t know what we ate, as Chinese food is even more mysterious than Japanse, but it was good. For desert we had the most amazing tiramasu parfait made with ice cream, corn flakes, tiramasu cheesecake, whipped cream, caramel, and pudding. Wow.
Ethics, Religion and the Religious
Here in Japan I have encountered many gaijins (foreigners) like myself, from various countries. Most of the gaijins in Japan are non-religious, and some of them ardently so. They know that most Americans are religious, and our country seems to be famous for the fundamentalist Creationists that wreak havok on our educational system. Troubling.
However, when they ask `are you religious?` I must answer `Yes`. I do not ascribe to the Fundamentalist Christianity they seem to fear, but I admit that religion does play a significant supportive role in my life. The religion of my upbringing inspired people into action: Francis of Assisi, Catherine McAuley, the Berrigans, and Mother Jones were all amazing Catholic Christians. My chosen religion now, Unitarian Universalism, honors diversity and the right of the individual conscience. UU`s were abolitionists, civil rights protesters, peace activists, and continue to work for the rights of women, gays, immigrants, and the economically underpriveledged.
In the past weeks non-religious people have asked me interesting questions: What is the purpose of religion? Isn`t it old-fashioned and unnecessary? If the purpose is to form community, can`t one do that without ascribing to someone else`s beliefs? If the purpose is to seek answers to life`s big questions, can`t one do that alone? How much does God/Compassion/Goodness have to do with modern religions? Why is there so much judgement and violence in the name of religion?
These are imporant questions. In the end, for me, my selection of a particular religion was informed by the social justice element as acted out by the UU community. And I must believe that most religious people, inspired by the Compassion of their God, will attempt to work for justice. Justice, I hope, is the ethical basis that inspires religious people of all faiths.
These Buddhist monks in Myanmar inspire me.
The New York Times
September 24, 2007
Monks’ Protest Is Challenging Burmese Junta
By SETH MYDANS
BANGKOK, Monday, Sept. 24 — The largest street protests in two decades against Myanmar’s military rulers gained momentum Sunday as thousands of onlookers cheered huge columns of Buddhist monks and shouted support for the detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Winding for a sixth day through rainy streets, the protest swelled to 10,000 monks in the main city of Yangon, formerly Rangoon, according to witnesses and other accounts relayed from the closed country, including some clandestinely shot videos.
It came one day after a group of several hundred monks paid respects to Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi at the gate of her home, the first time she has been seen in public in more than four years.
The link between the clergy and the leader of the country’s pro-democracy movement, the beginnings of large-scale public participation in the marches and a call by some monks for a wider protest raised the stakes for the government.
So far, it has mostly allowed the monks free reign in the streets, apparently fearing a public backlash if it cracks down on them in this Buddhist nation.
Monks were reported to be parading through a number of cities on Sunday, notably the country’s second largest city, Mandalay, where an estimated 10,000 people, including 4,000 monks, had marched Saturday.
Myanmar’s military government has sealed off the country to foreign journalists but information about the protests has been increasingly flowing out through wire service reports, exile groups in Thailand with contacts inside Myanmar, and through the photographs, videos and audio files, carried rapidly by technologies, including the Internet, that the government has failed to squelch.
The state-controlled press has carried no reports about the monks’ demonstrations.
Since the military crushed a peaceful nationwide uprising in 1988, killing an estimated 3,000 civilians, the country, formerly known as Burma, has sunk further into poverty and repression and become a symbol for the outside world of the harsh military subjugation of a people.
Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, has been locked inside her home for 12 of the last 18 years, and the government has arrested thousands of political prisoners. . .
(see the full article at http://www.nytimes.com/)
However, when they ask `are you religious?` I must answer `Yes`. I do not ascribe to the Fundamentalist Christianity they seem to fear, but I admit that religion does play a significant supportive role in my life. The religion of my upbringing inspired people into action: Francis of Assisi, Catherine McAuley, the Berrigans, and Mother Jones were all amazing Catholic Christians. My chosen religion now, Unitarian Universalism, honors diversity and the right of the individual conscience. UU`s were abolitionists, civil rights protesters, peace activists, and continue to work for the rights of women, gays, immigrants, and the economically underpriveledged.
In the past weeks non-religious people have asked me interesting questions: What is the purpose of religion? Isn`t it old-fashioned and unnecessary? If the purpose is to form community, can`t one do that without ascribing to someone else`s beliefs? If the purpose is to seek answers to life`s big questions, can`t one do that alone? How much does God/Compassion/Goodness have to do with modern religions? Why is there so much judgement and violence in the name of religion?
These are imporant questions. In the end, for me, my selection of a particular religion was informed by the social justice element as acted out by the UU community. And I must believe that most religious people, inspired by the Compassion of their God, will attempt to work for justice. Justice, I hope, is the ethical basis that inspires religious people of all faiths.
These Buddhist monks in Myanmar inspire me.
The New York Times
September 24, 2007
Monks’ Protest Is Challenging Burmese Junta
By SETH MYDANS
BANGKOK, Monday, Sept. 24 — The largest street protests in two decades against Myanmar’s military rulers gained momentum Sunday as thousands of onlookers cheered huge columns of Buddhist monks and shouted support for the detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Winding for a sixth day through rainy streets, the protest swelled to 10,000 monks in the main city of Yangon, formerly Rangoon, according to witnesses and other accounts relayed from the closed country, including some clandestinely shot videos.
It came one day after a group of several hundred monks paid respects to Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi at the gate of her home, the first time she has been seen in public in more than four years.
The link between the clergy and the leader of the country’s pro-democracy movement, the beginnings of large-scale public participation in the marches and a call by some monks for a wider protest raised the stakes for the government.
So far, it has mostly allowed the monks free reign in the streets, apparently fearing a public backlash if it cracks down on them in this Buddhist nation.
Monks were reported to be parading through a number of cities on Sunday, notably the country’s second largest city, Mandalay, where an estimated 10,000 people, including 4,000 monks, had marched Saturday.
Myanmar’s military government has sealed off the country to foreign journalists but information about the protests has been increasingly flowing out through wire service reports, exile groups in Thailand with contacts inside Myanmar, and through the photographs, videos and audio files, carried rapidly by technologies, including the Internet, that the government has failed to squelch.
The state-controlled press has carried no reports about the monks’ demonstrations.
Since the military crushed a peaceful nationwide uprising in 1988, killing an estimated 3,000 civilians, the country, formerly known as Burma, has sunk further into poverty and repression and become a symbol for the outside world of the harsh military subjugation of a people.
Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, has been locked inside her home for 12 of the last 18 years, and the government has arrested thousands of political prisoners. . .
(see the full article at http://www.nytimes.com/)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Internet: Coming Soon
Just a quick update: we expect to get internet at home soon. When that happens, I can finally add photos to this blog and to our KodakGallery. Hooray for technology!
There are some amazing pics of harvesting grapes with my students, river walks in our town, and the incredible hike we took this weekend in Daisetsuzan National Park. Check back soon!
There are some amazing pics of harvesting grapes with my students, river walks in our town, and the incredible hike we took this weekend in Daisetsuzan National Park. Check back soon!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
What Do You Think?
Dear visitors and friends, especially non-Americans,
Please give your opinion! This website http://www.whowouldtheworldelect.com/ asks for your input as to who you wish the USA would elect for our next president.
I am suprised to see the votes for Obama over Hillary, and confused about Ron Paul, as I`d honestly never heard of the dude. Whaddya think?
Go Green!
Please give your opinion! This website http://www.whowouldtheworldelect.com/ asks for your input as to who you wish the USA would elect for our next president.
I am suprised to see the votes for Obama over Hillary, and confused about Ron Paul, as I`d honestly never heard of the dude. Whaddya think?
Go Green!
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Homemaking
"My cup overflows. Surely goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life."
Nick and I are extremely grateful for our setup in Furano. Our predecessors left us with nearly everything we could need: bedding, dishes, spices, hangers, furniture, a bike, a car, skis for Nick, art supplies, tools, sleeping bags, etc. Thus far, my two favorite new posessions are:
1. My orange bike. I will definitely take this baby home with me, as it FOLDS IN HALF. No kidding. I can fold Orangey up and fit it in a duffel bag to easily transport on train/plane/car. A special note of thanks to Mom and Amalia for teaching me to ride, and to Elizabeth for providing bicycle-inspiration.
2. I`ve already managed to amass a beautiful set of matching ceramic dishware. There is so much lovely (and affordable) pottery in Japan.
Our supervisor is an amazing, helping us negotiate the extensive paperwork necessary for my car, mobile phones/robots, bank cars, government paperwork, etc. He is also generous enough to include us in his family outings to the seemingly endless weekend festivals taking place in Furano. On previous weekends we attended a Shinto religious festival (with loads of free food/drink) and the Furano Food Festival (best tasting milk ever). This weekend we attended a neighborhood BBQ that lasted 9 hours and included games for the kids and lots of food/drink. Yesterday at the ski resort there was a huge flea market with food, music, hot air balloon rides, moon walking for the kids, and amazing views of the mountain valley from the gondolla.
Next weekend is a long weekend in celebration of `Respect for the Aged Day`. There will be a (assumedly unrelated) Furano Wine and Cheese Festival. We will, sadly, miss this festival as we`ll be on a 2-3 day hike in Daisetsuzan National Park with my new/dear friend Catherine. Fun!
I live in gratitude.
"We have one solid comfort amidst all this little tripping about. Our hearts can always be in the same place, centered in God, for whom alone we go forward or stay back." - Catherine McAuley, Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy
Monday, September 03, 2007
I`m Genki
This weekend was a big one.
On Friday night there was a fun and enlightening office enkai (welcome party) in honor of Hayden and I. Required attendance for all the people from our office, it was an interesting cultural experience. The evening began when my supervisor picked me up to ride bikes together to the restaurant. If people in Japan have plans to drink, they ALWAYS ride their bike or car-pool so as not to drink-and-drive. We went for an amazing nomi- and tabe-hodai (all-you-can-eat-and-drink). I ate lots of delicious and weird foods. Speeches and formail `cheers` were exchanged. I learned about my coworkers and laughed a lot. After the restaurant we went to a karaoke bar (properly pronounced kah-rah-oh-kay) and performed fantastic musical feats. Who knew the movie "Aladin" was so popular? I belted out a few and ducked out around midnight.
The next morning at 6AM, Nick and I met a group of fellow sojourners for a mountain hike. I had no idea what we were about to do. We hiked Teshiodake mountain. 5 hours up (straight up), and 3 hours down. It was spectacularly beautiful, and I feel incredibly proud that my body was able to get me up there to see it. Nick is in such great shape from rafting that the trip wasn`t as much of a challenge for him. He`s a good one. After that amazing hike we went to our first Onsen (natural spa) and learned some of the many official rules for how to onsen. And then ate the most delicious bowl of soba I could ever ask for. Yum.
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