Things To Be Thankful For

It is three minutes to sunset on the Saturday after the American holiday of Thanksgiving. I am standing atop the tallest mountain in Nagasaki, looking from the roof of an outlook center down onto the mini metropolis I have come to love over the past eight and a half weeks. I’ve seen and felt many great things, yet there is still so much to be done. Every day I find myself tallying up the things yet unseen that must be seen. I have yet to see Nagasaki’s most important (purely my opinion) attraction, the Peace Park and Atomic Bomb Museum. I find that my mind is crowded with a sense of urgency. I cling to the feelings of surprise that come when a Japanese taxi driver impresses me with his level of English comprehension and I eat up every sentence of English broken by hand gestures, Japanese, and laughter that comes from my friend’s mouths. I have a mere four weeks left now and it seems like so little. This weekend I watched the neon lights of Nagasaki ripple through the valley like wind through tall grass as night fell, and I saw friends smile as the red, setting sun was lost behind mist and clouds.
On a lighter note I also saw many many penguins. K took 20 of the exchange students to the Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium. It was small and understaffed but the cute awkwardness of penguins overcomes feelings of discontent, and reflective aquarium glass makes for interesting picture taking. After watching these little guys for some time my friends and I all piled into three rental cars and strapped in for one of the scariest rides of our lives as EO drove us to Mount Enasa for sunset watching. No offense to EO but by the gods in heaven and Valhalla Japanese traffic is 10 times scarier than any driving I have ever seen in the States. Narrow roads and seemingly no speed limits equate to a mad cap race around bustle that keeps the passengers and drivers on their toes at all times. I’m sure it really is much less dangerous than I imagine it, but at the time, it felt like every red light was a gift from some divine force that allowed me to loosen my grip on the seat.
This weekend was quiet, but much needed. I have purchased my tickets for an overnight bus trip to Osaka to meet up with my dear friend Andrea. I will be gone this coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I’m also planning to visit Kyoto, which is the ancient capital city of Japan. Through World War II it was one of the few cities that sustained little damage so all of the temples and shrines are old as can be. I look forward to writing about that experience.
All in all this weekend was a much needed rest before the storm of my last few weeks. I can hardly imagine coming home on essentially the doorstep of Christmas morning. Strange to imagine that I will have to re-adjust myself to American living. Love to all those I couldn’t call and wish happy Thanksgiving. I miss you all, and wish I could share more. . . but some would argue that my silence says it all.

Until next time.

Enter Thunder-dome!

In a word Sumo is heavy. Laugh all you want. I’m not just talking about the girth of the individuals that practice this ancient sport. When I say it is heavy I mean, HEAVY: soaked, steeped, deep, multi-layered . . . I’m talking about Grateful Dead “Dark Star” heavy. Or, even maybe heavy like Freud’s philosophies. Anyway, Sumo is virtually built from the ground up in Shinto and traditional Japanese beliefs. The ring may only be made from special mud taken from a traditional spiritual center of a river that runs through Tokyo which is where the Sumo world’s epicenter is located. Everything is meticulously planned, down to the color of the floor cushions the viewers sit on. The indoor Sumo arena even has an artificially constructed period {Yayoi 300a.d.) hut roof suspended from the ceiling.
A Sumo tournament can only happen on the odd months of the year and lasts for a week, as I understand it. Each of the virtually thousands of would be Sumo stars wrestles once a day during this week. Their ranking is determined by the number of winning tournaments the have. The highest rank is currently held by two Mongolians who are seemingly unbeatable.
But enough of the specifics. . . plainly Sumo is a great time! It is tradition to bring a nice bento box filled with sushi and other tasteful treats and a nice 6 pack of your favorite beer or bottle of sake and spend the whole day at the Sumo match eating, drinking, and talking with friends. It was really great though because when you walk to the snack bar you actually walk though the Sumo’s waiting room, and these were some of the most intimidating men I’ve ever seen. Anyone who thinks they are simply giant fat slobs is sorely mistaken. These men are so large and muscular they make me feel tiny. Their flexibility is amazing as well. Just for fun try and squat as low as possible then lift your left leg, keeping it straight, to a parallel line with your shoulders, then repeat with the other leg. So after walking amongst these giants I proceeded to watch them battle it out for most of the afternoon. Their one shot is incredibly intense. If any part of their body aside from the bottoms of their feet touches the ring it is over they’ve lost. Strangely, I don’t think I’ve been as pumped up by a sporting event as I was when I saw my first Sumo flip. One man simply picked his opponent up and spun him over on his back. It was ridiculous. I’ve taken some pictures, but the lighting was terrible and they hardly seem to do the athleticism or impressiveness of them any justice. What fun! I’m finally done with the two huge projects that were due last week and am starting on the other projects I have so hopefully I’ll have a little more time to write. Love to all my friends and home.

Until next time!

God and the Golden Field

I’m sore and cold and my stomach may never be the same again, and I’ve just had probably the single most empowering and spiritual experience of my life. Just 24 hours ago I finished backpacking in Northern Kyushu. Mark T., Johnny (his son), Danny M. (older friend of Mark T.), Danny (my roommate), John-O, and myself decided to climb the second tallest mountain in Kyushu for fun. It was a two hour drive from Nagasaki to the base of the hiking trail. After donning our packs we headed off into a field of wheat-like 5 foot tall golden grass. These golden fields were accented by crisp blue skies and ominously tall orange brown mountains in the distance. We hiked a good hour and a half of hard up hill climbing until the mountain finally leveled off. Then, in a very Land Before Time moment, we crested the hill and looked down on a great valley of rippling golden grass, with a dark blue river cutting through it, and mountains steaming with volcanic activity on all sides. Add a quick forty minute hike down the hillside and with rubber legs we set up camp. This was easily the most spectacular place I’ve ever spent a night! The sounds of rushing water and wind rushing through grass made campfire chili that much better as we settled in for the night. As soon as it got dark it dropped to freezing and all the dew from the day froze creating a cold hard shell over everything. Luckily we had harvested a small forest worth of firewood to get us through a night of stories. The next morning came all too soon as we got up at 9 and ate a rushed breakfast. This was the big trek up the second tallest mountain in all of Kyushu. It was hard, but we didn’t have the packs this time so it went slightly quicker. After about three hours we reached the peak and oh what a glorious view it was. Clouds whipped around me and a frozen breeze chilled me to the bone, but I loved every second of it! At one point I mentally revisited my childhood fear of heights after looking down over a very steep drop off. So I crouched down between two rocks and watched the blasts of wind whip about through the ice encrusted azalea bushes that bloom pink in the spring. No fear, no remorse, just a sense of peace with the world and sheer wonder at the fact that I was having an experience like this. My sleep pattern needless to say has been greatly thrown off yet again and I’m drop dead tired. I’ve posted half of my photos from this trip and the days that led up to it. On flickr you’ll see some pictures of a family with a little girl dressed as a cat. They own a bar that loves Americans and serves the best fried chicken stomachs in all of Nagasaki. The man is hysterical, the woman is beautiful and 6 months pregnant and the little girl is cute enough to make your eyes explode! I’ve only been to the bar twice but they have come up and eaten lunch with me at the school many many times. There are also some pictures of my friends Charlie, EO, and K. Enjoy. I’ll put the other 50 up when I catch up on sleep. The weekend was such a joy! This trip is such a joy, and words will never do it justice. . . how can they.

do work!

Well, where to start. I’ll start with an apology for not having written sooner, but I’ve been totally exhausted. Last weekend was the university’s big student festival. During this festival students make international food booths and sell food for two days in the hopes of making a profit. This goes on as all the school clubs perform at a center stage that the food booths encircle. I made the ever American cheeseburger. It turned out wonderfully and we were completely sold out of burgers by 2:00 on the second day. It was fun and I got to know some of the other Jasin students a lot better however the festival days started early and ended late so sleep and relaxation did not happen. This week is also a big week in terms of my actual classes because I have several major projects due all at the same time so forgive me if this seems brief. I’m very very excited because this weekend I’ve been invited to go camping with Mark T., his son, John-O, and Danny in the middle of Kyushu’s deciduous forest. It also just so happens to be the peak of the leaf-changing season so it should be beautiful. I’ll have more later after things settle down a little.