The Wayfarer Blog

I only have time for a short post now, but I want to wish my readers a happy and successful new year. Like everyone, I have been thinking a lot about the ups and downs of the past year, and how I can make 2007 an even better one.

Every day is like New Year’s Day–we can always start anew. We can learn from our mistakes, and capitalize on our successes. This might be my last post of 2006. Best wishes for the New Year. Let’s make 2007 the best year ever. Happy New Year!

As you, my faithful readers probably know, I am back in the USA for the holidays. Christmas Day came and went in a flash. I meant to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas, but I didn’t really have time to stop for air after I got here on 12/23. I wore myself out and the cold I had a couple weeks ago came back. Hopefully, I will be back to normal in a day or so. I already feel much better.

Now, as 2006 winds down, many of us are looking back on the past year, and looking forward to 2007. What will the new year bring us? More laughter and more tears, just like every year. But there is something special about this time, this last week of the year–the eye of the storm. I hope these words find you happy and healthy. Take a deep breath to appreciate the many challenges and gifts of 2006, and prepare yourself to make 2007 your best year ever.
Happy Holidays!

Until Japan adopted the western (solar) calendar system in 1873, it used a modified version of the Chinese (lunar) calendar. Even now, the Japanese calendar is a rather complex mix of traditional and modern systems. For example, many places, including banks, still use the Imperial Reign system for years (This year, 2006, is Heisei 18–the 18th year of the current Emperor’s “Reign”).

Another tradition that has continued is the naming of months. This month, December, is called, “???” (“Juu Ni Gatsu,” or “The 12th Month”). But another name for this month is “??”, (“Shiwasu,” or “The running monk/teacher”). It means that everyone is so busy in December, that even monks and teachers must run.

The New Year Holiday is the most important holiday in Japan. Thanksgiving, of course, is an American holiday. And Christmas is mostly a commercial holiday. Ironically, Christmas in Japan is more of a romantic holiday, like Valentine’s Day in the US.

To be honest, I don’t have much first-hand knowledge about New Year’s Day in Japan, because I am never really here to celebrate it. I have left Japan for the holidays for the last couple years, but I was here for New Year’s Day in 2004. It was an amazing thing to see: Tokyo was as close to a ghost town as I’ve ever seen. Many people go back to their hometowns to be with their families. New Year’s is a time for families. People go to Shrines and Temples, which is why monks and priests are especially busy. People who practice traditional art forms, such as calligraphy, music, art, etc., celebrate their first action of the new year. There seems to be an idea that the first view of the new year is important. Some people go to a mountain to see the sunrise.

At any rate, today, I will be heading the airport very soon. For me, Shiwasu is more like mid-November to mid-December. Actually, most of the year is that busy! But I am finally on vacation now. As soon as I make my flight and I am in my seat, my month (or longer) of running will be over. It’s almost time…

My next post will be from the US. I might not post for a couple days, so Merry Christmas!

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese Calendar system, check out this Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_calendar

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I teach at a community center. Last night (Tuesday), I forgot that the students were going to take me out for dinner. We always go to a Chinese restaurant near the center on the last day of each session. That was nice.

And today, I got several gifts from many of my students. It was very nice. I have been teaching some of these students for 2-3 years, so they are used to me.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t have too much time left before I head back the U.S. for the holidays…

We met at Asagaya Station on Saturday morning, and walked to the school. Asagaya Station is just one station away from me, and the high school is actually not far from where I live. We took two buses to Gunma Prefecture, which is to the northwest of Tokyo. It took about three hours.

The Camp lasted three days, from Saturday through Monday. Ten teachers went from my company, along with the Japanese teachers from the school, and about 90 students. The days were long, but the food was good, and we could eat as much as we wanted. (The one constant at every meal was shredded cabbage.  The food was buffet style, and the menu was always different, other than the cabbage.  We started making jokes about how we hadn’t had cabbage for hours!)  On the second day, we took our classes out for a walk. This year, it was unusually mild, so we didn’t have any snow or unreasonably cold weather to contend with.

The actual facilities were on a mountain. I didn’t get much time to enjoy looking outside, but the view was very nice. The air was clean, and the sky was clear. It was nice. Every night, we took a shower and soaked in the Japanese style hot tub. Even though we didn’t sleep a long time, I was so relaxed from the bath that I woke up feeling very relaxed and refreshed.

The school is a private girl’s school. Half of the students had just returned from studying in England, and the other half are preparing to go next year. They were very well-behaved and they worked very hard. Most of the classes almost taught themselves, though the material was a bit dry at times. It is hard for anyone to stay focused for long periods of intensive study. By the second day, Scrabble tournaments between classes, nature walks, and games were creeping into the lessons…

On the way back, just a few minutes after we started our trip home, one of the girls got sick. I don’t know what happened, but we pulled over the side of the road and called an ambulance. By the time the ambulance got there, I think she was fine. She was able to walk by herself. But they took her to the hospital, just to be sure. After that, we had a relatively uneventful trip back. When we got back, I went to a private company class that I teach, then I went home.

I was really tired, but now things are winding down. I still have classes and some paperwork to complete before I leave on Saturday, but nothing like what I typically deal with. I almost feel like my vacation has already started…

Well, the intensive was…well, intensive. But I made it, and actually had a pretty good time. I will write more about that tomorrow. For now, I am off to bed.

Things are starting to slow down. I am still busy, but it is manageable. A new beta version of the upcoming Photoshop CS3 release is out. Maybe I can spare a few minutes from my end-of-the-year paperwork and grading to check it out…

Well, the intensive was…well, intensive. But I made it, and actually had a pretty good time. I will write more about that tomorrow. For now, I am off to bed.

Things are starting to slow down. I am still busy, but it is manageable. A new beta version of the upcoming Photoshop CS3 release is out. Maybe I can spare a few minutes from my end-of-the-year paperwork and grading to check it out…

Am I taking another last-minute trip somewhere fun? I wish… No, I am going to go to Gunma Prefecture for a 3-day intensive English Camp. It will be in the mountains, so it will probably be interesting to see. But I don’t expect to enjoy myself. Mostly, I will be teaching high school students, preparing lessons, and going to teacher meetings.

I don’t know how much internet access, if any, I will have. At any rate, I will try to take some pictures. I’ll be back on Monday night.

I was off to bed, but couldn’t resist one more glance of my RSS feeds…and I saw the latest news from the FlickrBlog.

Until now, the monthly upload limit for a pro account was 2GB, and 25MB for a free account. It is pretty hard to upload 2GB in a month…I’ve never come close! But 25MB is not so much. But now, they have gotten rid of the Pro account limit! So if you have a pro account (only $25/year), you can enjoy unlimited uploads. And they quadrupled the free account limit to 100MB.

If you have ever thought about putting your pictures online, it’s a great deal. Even with the free account, you can upload 100MB a month. You can interact with people all over the world, or you can keep your pictures private. Now, with the guest pass feature, you can put up private pictures, and choose who may look at your pictures.

Flickr’s website is here.

I remember hearing a few months ago from a co-worker that Krispy Kreme is coming to Japan, but I forgot about it until today. I was on the train, and as we left Shinjuku Station, I saw a Krispy Kreme sign on the side of a building. It’s an area I often go to; it’s right by a Starbucks where I often teach private students.

I have never been a huge fan of Krispy Kreme, but it is interesting. I found out from this site that it will open on December 15th.

I remember when Krispy Kreme opened in the Seattle area a few years ago. The first shop wasn’t even in Seattle. People were driving 30-40 minutes out to the suburbs to get a donut. Strange. I wonder if people will be so enthusiastic here.

Traditionally, Japanese are not so fond of sweets, but younger people’s diets and lifestyles are changing. Perhaps it is inevitable. Will Japanese people become burdened with obesity in the future? Looking around, most people still seem fairly thin. It seems hard to believe that Japanese people could become fat, but people are getting taller and heavier than in the past.

Of course, an occasional donut isn’t a big problem. But they should be careful. There aren’t so many fat people in Japan…yet.