Oh yes, this is going to be a strange update becaue I`M writing it a day after in Okayama but that`s because I was too busy last night to do anything.  So my last day in Okinawa was a little strange.  I was going to spend the day taking more pictures and going to buy some おみやげ but that stopped when Mitsuyo called me and asked me to go to a good bye lunch.  She took me to this tiny restaurant on the edge of Naha City in a neighbourhood of her youth and we had some homemade Okinawan food, which tastes very similar to Chinese food my mom makes.  Maybe I`m really from Okinawa?  People there said I looked very similar to native Okinawans, more than Chinese and definitely more than "Canadian".  Anyway, the food was really good and it was like a shack of a house.  But Mitsuyo apparently gets guests of her restaurant to write notes about leaving and travel in a journal for her because she likes to have the memories of the people she meets.  She even took the day off to drive me to the airport.  Of course, she said she was there in the morning as well because her boyfriend was off to Tokyo for a conference.  With all the guests, I have to say she probably spends a lot of time in the airport and it appears that way too. She actually knows some of the airport restaurant staff and even some of the flight attendants and pilots that frequent that area.  Of course, her restaurant is advertised all over the airport, not that I could read it without her help. 

Anyway, that was my last day in paradise.  Now I`m back to living in pretentiousville.

 

 

Today I driove up and down the coaston Route 58 in the main island of okinawa.  Then I went back to the same zakaya and got drunk gain...that is the life...but not really drunk, but just enough to enjoy myself...that`s rpboaly all that really happened.  I fell alsppe on on e of the beaches...Araha Beach in Chatan Town, which is purety much America stuck ni Japan...everyone is Japanes, but I nevefr felt so closeot home as I was there...

 

Tomorrow is "Day 4" but really it`s short because I`ll be flying around and I have to check out early so that means I better give the pic an go...

 

okay, pic won`t upload cuz MSN requires software downloads...so boo...it`ll be on flickr.

 

 

Okay, seince the last mesage, I staid I was having a great time divng and now I`m drunk...wy?  because I went to an izakaya that Kat recommended me to and then I started to just sit quietly to eat alone and then people stareint to talk to me. 

 

Whater happened next is purely a japanese experence.  I went met a guy who sploke english very well and he introduce me to seom girls from san diego but were japanese so we spoke japliash and then we talked a bit more.  the Guy named Same went out of his way to show me around tiown and we went to all these olides bars cuz Sam was like 452 years old so he liked olides.  I met a younger girl around my age into that kind of stuff and then she startd smoking...

 

btw, befire I went to that izakay, I was walkirng around the ried light distrecit and I mean that cuz therwe were women with red lights on and houses nad they just sat there waiting for men to have sx with.  There were mayly older women though swomew were very pretty...anway, one actually tgrabbed me to try to force me inside...I ran away and found the drunk izaakaya instead.

 

So anyway, sam says he@ll show me around town so I think I`m going off to drin k with him and have to pay but we taxi and drive an dstuff with the desginated drivering compans  and os we drove around a bit and went to these bars where thatw ere an elvist impersonateing but the guy retired and some \due who loked like a frog but you could really twll he could sing!  And that was about it...and we went to two mroe bars and drank more and then some 50 year old women said I was like a hollywood star because I have a cute face and I have som絵asdf plaster of old women lipsitck on my face...it`sl ike being kissed by an aunt or something...ivery startnrge night...anwaysd I laeft my motorcycle somewhere...I mean scooter, owather, I ride something that gets me somewher.e..I hpoe O can fidn it tomorrow...it would sick otherwise cuz I rented it...but it should be okay...it said parking on the signasdf.

 

anways, as you can see, Ic an@t really ytpe....pleze read wtih cauthion....I canp@tu befliev I actually ltypeing like this when drunasdfk.

 

goasdfnight.

 

 

I have nothing to say about today.  I went to the Zamami Islands and I went scuba diving the whole day.  There is nothing to say because there`s no way I can use words to describe how beautiful it is to dive in a coral reef and see tropical fish.  There is nothing...I`m stunned...

 

I arrived about 8 hours ago to hot and sunny Okinawa.  For the most part of the day, I spent my time being lost.  Then I also had to decide to rent a vehicle or not.  I also lost the beach along the way, but I swear to make that up in the next three days by going to the beach only.  So tonight, I will go hang out downtown since my hotel is right on the main drag of bars, bars and bars.  However, it`s probably one of the nicest hotels in the area so I`m not too upset by the lack of water here.  The rest of the hotels around look like complete dumps.

 

So today, failing to find the beach, I headed off to Shurijo (Shuri Castel) which is where the old Ryukyu Dynasty was based.  It was really cool to see because it`s a completely different culture from the rest of Japan (that is, until the samurai came and figured that this would be a nice place to live).  The influence of Okinawa is mainly from Korea, China and South East Asian so it bares little resemblance to the culture of the rest of Japan.  However, now, they are pretty much similar, down to the language.  The castle itself is really nice and it looks more Chinese than Japanese.  It`s full on dragon and stuff...sorry, I can`t think of more colourful words.  And also the Emperor of the Ryukyu Dynasty wore similar clothing to that of the Emperor of China (But not so flashy in case a delegate of China came for a visit and saw the Emperor here trying to upstage the Emperor of the Heavens...).  Anyway, that`s about all I can say about the Castle.

 

They have a skytrain here.  They call it a monorail.

 

Also, I did rent a vehicle.  I rented a scooter so I can travel and park anywhere I want.  Now is this a good idea or bad?  During Day 3, we`ll find out when I travel 3 hours North, riding a scooter....

 

oh god...my butt hurts already...

 

 

I guess 13 is an unlucky number afterall.  Here I am, sitting in a foreign world, it seems, all because I went out to see a few friends for the day and ended up stuck in Fukuyama because the trains have stopped due to a typhoon, that is, Typhoon 13.  This is serious business for me because I`m sick so being away from a warm bed and being stuck in a weird room with strangers sleeping next to me isn`t my ideal way to spend a night.  Luckily, I`m not alone...there are many who are stuck here as a result and in about 4 horus, I have to wake up and try to get my act together so I can go back home.  I ended up spending more than I wanted today, but it`s better than sleeping outside.  I even have a nice flat room where I can lie down and rest.  I`m not going to say much more cuz I gotta sleep...goodnight, folks.

 

 

I don`t really have a clever title today but "Maniac" was the first word that popped into my head when I decided to write here. 

 

Well, I`m sick again, thanks to those little germbuckets invading my personal space and coughing and sneezing all over me.  I needed to get away from them.  Why is it that kids never learn to wash up?  Why is it that my students` parents don`t give me any sort of consideration and bring to school a bunch of disease infested monsters into my classroom, thus infecting the kids around them.  Sometimes, it`s just a matter of washing the child before bring it into the room.  There are things like sinks to wash hands and feet and all sorts of other body parts.  Also, excema is such a huge problem with the kids here, I wonder if the parents ever mind their children with open wounds wandering around the universe.  With Japan`s ability to grow fungus pretty much on any surface and the humidity to help, I`d figure they`d have cleaner children.  I guess this is what happens when a society literally considers children as gods.  Someone, everyone loses their god-like status when they reach puberty.  Maybe it has something to do with sex.

 

Speaking of which, I met with my Japanese teacher yesterday for our weekly conversation practice class and somehow we managed to talk about sex.  To tell you readers the truth, I pretty much learned not a single sexy word during the whole conversation.  In fact, I don`t think the japanese talk much during sex or talk about it at all.  They just obsess about it day in and day out, flashing pronographic images during commercial breaks meanwhile back on the show, the hosts are two stunning attractive women who got their big break by swallowing semen on some seedy cable television show, followed by magazines, adult movies and all sort of other adult related activities.  And to think, children watch the shows thinking that they want to grow up to be like these women.  They realize there is really no need for any real talent.  All you need is a cute face and ability to lose a sense of taste and touch.  (I mean, these women are porn stars and they are giving out the news on important issues like the Typhoons blowing their way through japan...no pun intended)

 

Anyway, it turns out that my Japanese teacher is quite normal and sex is just more open here.  They call a high sex drive "healthy" (asa genki) so it`s no wonder the perverts of this country are treated with some kind of respect and admiration.  But the perverts lack the sex appeal of the men in the rock groups with their mullets and plucked eyebrows.  Obviously, you cannot compete in this country if you are a barbaric looking foreigner, unless you are a barbaric looking foreigner.  If you are Asian and are a bit on the Genghis Khan side of Asian, you have almost no luck in finding a woman here.  Better head back to Mongolia and score yourself some Russians.

 

I think I`m done ranting.  There`s not much else to really say.  I`ve finished reading a book called Why Men Don`t Listen and Woman can`t read Maps but that book was awful.  I think the conclusion the authors wanted to note was:

1. Asian men are feminine.

2. Asian men, due to their femininity, can`t drive as well as Western women, who are in fact manly-er...even if they prissy little things...

3. I took a personality test in the book and my score indicated that I have a male brain, so I like sex and football and cars.  (Of course, the disclaimer of the test was, Asian men aren`t allowed to take the exam because then the authors will have to make a new study testing normal asian males instead of the small population of gay asian men they took for the study)

4. If you are a man and like fashion and hair, you are gay.

5. If you are a woman and like cars and beer and pizza, you are gay.

6. If you like fashion and hair AND cars and beer, you are going to commit suicide because you have gender identity issues.

 

I tihnk that`s about it.  The authors say the book isn`t intended to be sexist, but clearly they have issues against asians and homosexuals/transexuals...

 

 

I`m reading Lost Continent now.  It`s by Bill Bryson.  It`s about travelling in small town America.  Later, I`m going to buy his book called A Short History About Nearly Everything, or something like that.  I`ve been meaning to get that book.

 

That`s all...

Now that I`M no longer in a depressed state of homesickness, I have found something wonderful on the net.  I write this here for myself.

 

IT`s called TED.  www.ted.com . I am happy to have seen this website, and the conference, I want to go.  I`d like to see these people and talk to them.  They have something I`ve forgotten that people have: a mind.  This job is mindless but it`s good for me to know that I`d like to work towards a life where I`d be using my mind more and more.  But even now I`ve been finding outlets of my imagination in my classes.  But they almost always involve drawing things, or when I`m bored, I get my students to help design buildings for no reason.  I realized that I really enjoy trying to solve structural problems.  Maybe I should go back to school and be an engineer...

 

Oh well, I read YAY YOU again.  It`s true, my future is still wide open.  I am still young and even if I wasn`t, I`m not going to stop and slow down because I have to.  I am not invincible, but thinking that way seems to get me farther than ceasing my imagination and going about the daily grind of life.  Vince said he quit his job to follow his dream.  I have many dreams, I just have to pick one and go for it...the resolve to work harder is there. 

 

Sometimes I feel that maybe it`s childish to try to accomplish things that are difficult, without thinking, but I`m not liking this being an adult and having to do adult things like behave myself.  I can`t learn if I`m grown up...:)

I can`t believe it was a stingray of all things.  Oh well, it saddens me a little, but it`s not the end.  There will be others like him to inspire children to do crazy things.  But I think I feel that I`m more a scientist than anything after being here.  Maybe a naturalist is a better word.  Somehow I`ve developed a strong liking for the natural world.  Like my friend said, "When I stand on the beach after surfing, I just look out and see the vastness of the world and how small I am.  And I think `God, I don`t know how you`ve done this, but you`ve done something great.` That`s how I know God exists." Of course, being here in Japan, one would not understand.  There is no time to understand in this country.  Maybe when you grow old, but by then, you have no influence in the world to clean it up.  It`s "clean" here, but it`s artificial.  Everything is man-made.  It`s sad...

 

I just was listening to Inside by Moby on somafm...what a great website.  Japan is nice and clean and safe.  They are also free, yet not free.  Subtly, they cannot be individuals...

 

I just watched a movie, Hinokio, about a boy who uses a robot to get around and experience things for him.  He`s a 3rd party to the experience.  Sometimes I feel that way too.  I`m not really living this life here in Japan.  I`m stuck in Vancouver, in a coma, thinking I`m here.  Maybe I am a robot and my body is somewhere else.  As the movie asks, "Where is the real you?" In Japan, I think they are talking about their 3 hearts.  It is an expression here that Japanese people have 3 hearts: one for the world, one for your family and friends, and one that is you.  So where are you?  Where am I? 

 

I`m also reading a book called South of the Border, West of the Sun (???) by Murakami.  I`m only in my mid twenties, but I struggle to find myself all the time.  That`s why I`m here.  But I feel that I`m still lost.  My direction is science, but it is not a path I`m too keen on taking.  I don`t know what it is I want.  Happiness doesn`t cut it anymore.  I want an intense interest.  I don`t want to be bored with life or what I do or anything, but I feel that way. Eventually I become bored of work, study, relationships...then I slowly subconsciously try to destroy it all...I am getting bored with Japan and this job...I feel that last week, I had put it up for myself to destroy it, happily.

 

To rebuild and make something new again.  That`s what I want to do now.  I feel like cutting off certain ties back home.  Not for anything, other than my own necessity to be free...from what?  Nothing has ever held me back from doing what I wish to do, but I feel stuck. 

 

This week`s message at the church was about being selfless that what you want doesn`t matter as long as you`re doing good.  But I don`t know what is good anymore.  I feel I`ve lost it somewhere during my travels.  I want to bring that back.  I am still good, but somehow stuck.  To blame troubles on my supervisor is escaping the problem.  Talking to him is no help.  He has been sucked into whatever it is, or maybe he has never been on the same side as I used to be.  Whatever side that is.

 

It`s a challenge to be here sometimes.  Now, summer is over.  It`s cold at night and there is almost no humidity.  Autumn and the moon grow larger every day.  The future...ah...

 

Ambient trance music is awesome...I need more tunes, Justin.

 

:)

There`s nothing much to add on top of the day from hell except for the fax I got from my boss, exacting his reign over us again because I did something that sparked his need to affirm his overlord power over us.  Simple reason is this: I applied for a vacation request for one day to go on a trip to Okinawa.  I am taking one day off, giving myself a 4 day weekend on a weekend with a holiday to begin with.  The problem of course, is I went and talked to head quarters who told me to talk to HIS boss.  WHY?  Because HO told me that it`s the area manager (my actual boss) job to grant these requests.  Obviously, in the end, it is up to the AM to do this, but my supervisor (let`s call him god cuz he thinks he his) wants to be notified before anything.  Well, I told him that HO told me to call the AM and not him.  That pretty much shut him up but he still sent the fax.  After I received the fax, I wrote some nasty comments and sent the fax off to my friend in Fukuoka for her to read and laugh at.  I left the fax at the school (I guess I was supposed to go there the next day). 

 

The next day rolls on by and I get a call from HO.  OH SHIT, I think, I MISSED MY CLASS.  I`M FIRED.  But no, I am to switch schools to cover for a sick teacher (although I think she just went out too late the night before - her boyfriend owns a bar).  Anyway, that`s of no concern to me except it`s not my school, I only have 3 hours to find the place, plus I had to make a few errands (stuff that I have yet to do like apply to take my japanese proficiency exam which is due in a few hours).  Also I had to check on flights to okinawa but that`s taken care of too, so I`ll be going, despite what my PS says....pretty much can`t be helped.

 

Anyway, god and I have to switch schools and I don`t mind.  I have my clothes lying around and some cds, but nothing major.  but OH SHIT FUCK.  These are the words I uttered in class, as soon as I realized that I left the fax with the shit about G written on there.  I hold my head in disbelief and my students who`ve only just met me scramble to the corner in terror.  I don`t actually recover after that realization and the rest of my classes were hell.

 

Then I went out with Abe and got piss drunk and today I rode my bike to the top of a mountain and rode back down and talked to some nice people.

 

I really wish I could find confirming evidence that foreigners who come here to be English teachers are completely insane (including myself).  But we all are.  This country drives you mad...