This is why I love Japan

I was going to make a blog about my Kagoshima/Yakushima adventure today.  Then the following happened, and I decided it was much more important and amazing:

Hopefully most of you know that the city of Nagasaki is one of two places in the world that knows what a nuclear weapon attack is like.  The atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, after the United States had waited three days post-Hiroshima to hear whether Japan was willing to unconditionally surrender.  With the government still mum, Truman decided to release the second monster.

Because it was a smaller city than Hiroshima, and because of its scenery (surrounded by mountains), it did not reach the same destructive power as the earlier bomb.  Immediate casualty eatimates range from 45,000 to 70,000.  By the end of the year, that number had reached a fairly agreed-upon 80,000.

Iki, my tiny, beautiful island, is part of Nagasaki Prefecture.  (They gave all the northern Kyushu islands to Nagasaki, pretty much.)  I’ve been to Nagasaki City several times, and it’s a beautiful, fun place.

As many of you know, I’ve been fundraising for my favorite charity ever, charity: water, for the last two months or so.  I’m attempting to raise $5000, which is about the amount needed to build one well.  That well serves approximately 250 people and lasts for 20 years, which if you do the math means one person’s water for twenty years costs a measly $20.  After feverous writing and editing, I’ve appeared in the Iki Newspaper, Iki magazine, and the Nagasaki Daily Newspaper. Despite the language and cultural barrier, I’ve raised (to date) about $1350.

This is a lot of introduction for the main event ahead.

On Monday I got a call at school from what I could tell was a very old man.  I could tell because 1) he sounded old, and 2) I really did NOT understand his Japanese.  At all.  I ran the phone over to one of my English teachers, and once they hung up she told me that we were going to visit him on Wednesday to pick up a donation.  She didn’t say so, but I realized we needed to go pick it up because he can’t move very easily.

Great! I thought. I love getting donations, and it’s always wonderful to meet new people.

Today dawned windy and rainy.  It is the most blustery day I’ve had on Iki even counting our “typhoon.”  At roughly 4:45pm, Nice-sensei and I braved the elements and the winding, confusing Iki roads to make it to this man’s house.  He gave me an envelope with his donation, said something in Japanese that took a bit to process in my brain, and then sent us on our way.

As Nice-sensei and I drove away, my jaw dropped as comprehension finally dawned.

Here’s what he said:

I lived in Nagasaki during the war and survived the atomic bombing.  I came to Iki shortly afterwards.  I remember the heat after the bomb, and walking for hours from my shelter to get water every day.  When I learned about the charity, I decided I needed to donate.

And that was it.  No self-righteousness.  No self-pity.  Just the cold hard facts from a man who has more kindness than I know what to do with.

Seriously, I’m close to tears right now.  Japan: I love you.

 

Crazy Times

Usually my time spent on Iki is pretty empty.  Not that much to do on an island where everything closes at 9pm (that’s also when the street lights shut off).  I do a lot of reading.  A solid amount of writing (when my muse cooperates).  I go to Fan Dancing, Flamenco, and Taiko practice (when Taiko is happening).  Sometimes I have school activities or parties.  And then on Friday the ALTs meet for curry.  I’d say overall it’s very satisfying, but there’s often plenty of time for me to sit and twiddle my thumbs.

Not so much this week.

Before I left Iki for Korea, I wrote an article for the Iki newspaper about charity: water.  (I’m trying to get Iki people to donate so we can fund the digging of a well.)  Since I got back I’ve been trying to get the article even more into the spotlight.  This is harder than it sounds.

• TRANSLATING!! It takes a ridiculous amount of time.  I spend hours just figuring out a page, then I have to ask someone to fix it, then I fix it, then I ask them to check it again, and then I fix it again.
• Fliers, cards, posters, etc.  All have to be pulled together.
• One of my teachers wants me to give a speech in front of the school.  That must be written.
• I want to go to the other schools on Iki to talk to the teachers there.  That means I have to write another speech.  (My Japanese on the cuff is understandable, but very clumsy.)

It’s slow going.  I’ve gotten two donations so far (but that’s better than none!).  One of my principals agreed to do the “All You Can Drink: Water” pledge–each time he goes on a drinking party, he’s donating 2000 yen.  I just have to get it out there and try to get past the language barrier.  It takes time.

THEN I have lesson planning.  Not just regular lesson plans, either.  I need to prepare for Halloween, which involves cooking food at very high temperatures with hormonal teenagers.  That’s dangerous.  More time.  More translating.  More hoops to jump through.

I’m planning a trip to Yakushima (a gorgeous island that was the inspiration for Princess Mononoke).  I really need to start making reservations for it.

I’m planning a GIGANTIC Thanksgiving dinner to thank the myriad of Japanese people on Iki who have helped me over the last year.  I’m guessing there’ll be at least 20 guests.  That means I need to

1. Order food (including, probably, two turkeys)
2. Make invitations (which also requires me going back and forth with the other ALTs to be certain the days are okay)
3. Find a venue (my house is not big enough for that many people
4. Figure out logistics of food making (my fridge is not large enough to hold a turkey, nor is my oven big enough to cook one)
5. Make sure I don’t forget anyone.

And I need to make copies and keep my life going in other areas.  I can’t believe I’m so busy.  Today I didn’t stop moving and just sit until about 8:30pm.  At which point I watched Glee.  Best new show on TV!  It’s so good.  Go watch it.  Full of funny.

Then here are the other things I need to do (when I can fit them in):

1. Practice for the Flamenco show — It’s October 18th and that’s coming up fast.  Just two more Tuesdays of practice, then the night-before practice.  And I’m still confused on parts of the routine.
2. VISIT THE FREAKING POST OFFICE.  I have two letters that I really need to send.
3. Eat lunch with Etsuko.
4. Write.  I really want to work on the WIP.
5. Study Chinese.
6. Study Japanese.
7. Study for the Foreign Service Exam.  (This involves buying several books off Amazon, working through them, then writing summaries of them for review later when I take the test in June.)
8. Plan some sort of big informational meeting about charity: water.  I’ve got some half-formed ideas in my mind.
9. Buy my plane tickets back to the states for Sarah’s wedding.  (I should have done it this last week–RT to Seattle was at a low of $819!!! With Taxes!!! And now it’s $1009!  AGH!  Oh well.  I just have to cross my fingers that it goes back under $900 before December.)
10. Relax.  (Okay, I do this already.  I need breaks!)

Hahahaha… Good times.

 

What I’m getting up to

As I told my parents over skype the other day, Aperture and I have created what I refer to as a “detente”.  It chooses to still not allow me to view my pictures from Hiroshima.  I choose to not reinstall it, as I can view all my other photos.  At some point I’ll have to figure something out, as I will want to view those pictures… but we’ll see how it goes.

In any case, it’s been awhile since my last post.  Not too much has happened in my life.  Same old, same old, or as much as a “same old, same old” can occur in Japan.  We’ve been on “vacation” for the last couple of days, and since most of my Japanese friends are busy, I’ve had this weird feeling.  It’s like I’m in America.  English movies.  English books (I’ve read three books in the last five days).  Surfing the web in English.  Only speaking to my American friend, Christine.  

Yeah, I feel like I’m in America.  Minus when I drive around and everything’s in Japanese.

But in any case.  It’ll go back to normal once I start school again tomorrow.  Which reminds me that I should prepare the lessons…

I’m attaching some random photos that I haven’t shared with you fine folks yet.  Hopefully they’ll keep you entertained until I can come up with something more interesting to talk about.  How I’m going to fail my driving test to get my Japanese license?  Hahaha…. Oh god.

 

An example of the baked goods I make. Chocolate cupcakes with Mexican Hot Chocolate frosting.

One of my students had a mishap during our Easter lesson.

 

But all of them turned out pretty okay in the end.

A little blurry, but the one on the left was my favorite from the whole day.

The next few are from Oita, where Christine and I went over a weekend to visit our friend Yoko’s sister and brother-in-law.  They live really close to an onsen town called Beppu, which is very famous throughout Japan.  I had a wonderful time there, though while we were there, Yoko’s family got into a car accident!  Luckily, no one was hurt because, compared to the flimsy yellow-plate cars, their white-plate was like a hummer to a smart car.

Anywho.

 

Hiro and his adorable son Takumi.

We got to meet Hello! Kitty! WIN!

 

They raise crocodiles in the Beppu hells because, apparently, they like the heat. I guess having cold blood would do that to a reptile.

So I hope everything is going great in your lives.  Mother’s day is just around the corner, and I know exactly what you want to get that special lady in your life…

The gift of water.  (Sorry mom, I’ve spoiled the surprise.)

 

FYI: Stimulus Package

I discovered this wonderful article whilst perusing the news at work (what I do when I’ve finished teaching and lesson plans for the day).  I thought it was  a really great and thorough summary of what the Stimulus Package would do, and how it would affect people.

I’m sure my father will be very excited about the $1500 green credit for homeowners, though no doubt he’ll still have to wait on installing those solar panels.

As a side note, the $500 billion per year interest payments that the United States currently spends on our accumulated national debt made me want to faint.  Holy guacamole, that’s a ridiculous amount of money.  And that’s just the interest!  It made me almost sad that I wasn’t paying more taxes for the 2008 year… even if most of my income was earned abroad.

But hey, I’m doing my part.  Not only am I paying off my loans on a timely basis (and therefore, hopefully, providing for a pool of future loans for others–RIGHT WELLS FARGO?!), but I also am donating a bit of money here and there.  Feels good.  And technically I will pay some taxes for the money I earned while working at Ritz.

 

Rock for Awesomeness

When I was in Spokane, I volunteered for nearly two years at a wonderful place called the Women’s Hearth, part of a program called Transitions that helps women and families in need.  The Women’s Hearth is a drop-in center for women who maybe don’t have a home to go to during the freezing/sweltering Spokane days, for women who do but don’t have the training to get a job (yet), for retirees, women in need, really, anyone could go–even college students like me if they had a day off!  The women there taught me practical things: how to knit, how to paint, how to make a terrible cup of coffee, but they also taught me more intangible experiences: that changing someone’s life can boil down to a single conversation, that beauty is all in the eye of the beholder, and that we have far more strength than we can ever imagine.  Most of those ladies had been to hell–but they made it back, and better than ever.  I admire what they did, and hope that if I ever have to face the same things they had, I can do it with equal grace.  And if I am lucky enough to make it through fine, that I will have the humility to thank the world for it.

It is for the latter point–as I’ve been damned lucky so far–that I am so pleased I found this blog through Janet Reid’s agenting blog.  Called Spread Change, it features affordable and small ways to better the world–good ways for people like me who are living on a budget.  The author is very clever and creative with her donation/volunteer opportunities–I encourage everyone to go check it out.  I already plan to donate a bit of my paycheck next month to Modest Needs.  Since I left a larger community that offers more volunteer opportunities, I’ve really missed helping others.  When I get back to America, I’ll really look closely into other opportunities that involve more personal interaction. 

So go forth, my minions, and spread change!

:)