August 2006 Archives

My JET life is a tough one. I've been spending the week at the office doing very little. We've all been showing each other the different ways to get to our new schools as well as helping the new JETs get situated. but that honestly hasn't been taking much time. Simon and I have been having a bit of a 'laptop party' off and on these past couple of days. Mostly just playing Civ 4. Which is a great time killer. I really should work on labeling my photos....

My Powerbook gets a free battery! Seems my battery is one of those 'exploding' Sony batteries that were sent out with several million Powerbooks, and in 4-6 weeks Apple will be giving me a new one. Free. Which is great because my battery has been sucking quite a bit lately. Recalls can be very fun.

Why is it no one told me my Japanese version Nokia cell phone had predictive text? Well... ok... I knew it had it, but I had no idea how to actually do it until one of the new JETs showed me how. I feel so dumb.... curse you Nokia...

I've added some more pictures to my Photoblog. Seems the new hard drive and a fresh install have cleared up the problems I was having with iPhoto and uploading pictures to my Photoblog works like a charm now. Once I finish labeling stuff... I'll start putting it online... Yes. Several thousand pictures late...

I've been getting some requests to do a video showing of the new Final Fantasy 3 game for the Nintendo DS. I would if not for several reasons. 1) My Japanese is bad and using an online translation sucks. 2) Its sold out in Japan. 3) Not a fan of RPGs as a whole. Plus reason number two(see above) trumps all. So please stop asking me.

I spent a week in Vietnam with Bill and Theresa. Heres my story.

Short Version: It was fun. I went in some tunnels. Shot an AK-47. Drank lots of fruit drinks. I got sick for like two days and threw up on a boat. We made lots of jokes about Theresa's last name. I had some clothing made. We all survived.

Long Version: The three of us left Fukuyama around 8 on Friday night. It took us around two hours to get to the airport, where we spent another two hours waiting in line for our tickets. Thai Airlines may be cheap and give you lots of food, but their lines are killer. Our plane left at 1 am Saturday morning and after a quick layover in Bangkok we arrived in Vietnam at around 10 am (local time). Upon exiting the airport we were immediately befriended, and stalked, by a guy offering us cab rides and hotels. Seriously. He wouldn't leave our side. (I guess we looked like easy marks) As per usual in Vietnam, the cab driver ignored our hotel request and took us to the hotel he wanted us to go to. Which was quite nice and very cheap. I will have found memories of the Saigon Hotel Pink 2 and our stay there. Seeing as how it was only noon and we had an entire day and city ahead of us, we set out to explore downtown Saigon (Or as its officially named, Ho Chi Minh City. Though no one calls it that.).

The cities in Vietnam are a bit crazy. Packed with people, all of whom own a scooter, you take your life in your hands every time you cross the street. In a city of 6 million people there seemed to be 8 million people on the roads zipping by on scooters. Luckily they all have perfected the art of dodging pedestrians and the controlled chaos seemed to work well. We got some food, which was GREAT, and wondered around some more. We eventually found the 'cultural' stuff downtown and we went into tourist mode.

We even wondered into a shopping mall (because it had AC) and took some risky pictures of Theresa and a statue of Cornel Sanders. It was a long day for us and we all turned in rather early. But not before having some more super good food.

Sunday morning came way too early for us all. We had a full day of guided touring ahead of us and a very long bus ride as well. The tour was like $8 (did I mention how cheap things are in Vietnam?). After several hours crammed in a bus with many other foreigner travelers we eventually arrive at the all seeing eye! Or the temple of Cao Dai as its called in Vietnam. Its a strange Vietnamese religion that started up not that long ago, and at the center of it all is the all seeing eye! Which is actually a left eye. With an eyebrow. Which seems odd to me. We wondered around and took some pictures

After another long bus ride we arrive at the Cu Chi Tunnels. These are the infamous tunnels near Saigon that were built during the war, which the US was never able to figure out. These things are crazy complicated. Trap doors. Hidden entrances. False tunnels. Booby traps. Plus they were originally really really small, though they have been enlarged to allow the average foreign tourist to crawl through. Along the tour we were shown the lifestyle of the rebel fighters, as well as a thrilling 1960's propaganda film. Bill and I even shot off some AK-47s to round out the visit. (Something everyone should do once in a while.)

Monday we took a flight out to Hoi An in the middle of the country. A $50 flight. Gotta love the cheapness of it all. Hoi An is a much more friendly and relaxing place to spend your time in Vietnam. Its very touristy and beachy. Plus a free gecko in every room. This was the city where Theresa went crazy having clothing made. Even I wasn't spared from it and spend a little cash having some shirts and shorts tailored. One of the most interesting things about Vietnam is that everyone seems to speak English. Even the kids on the street. Quite the change from Japan. The following morning we took a very long bus ride out to My Son, the ancient Cham ruins dating back to 700 AD. They looked bigger in the pictures. They probably were much cooler before the US bombed 90% of the buildings into dust. On the way back we took a short boat ride down the river and stopped at a fishing village. Somehow Bill and I ended up playing soccer with the local school kids. They found Bill's kicking amusing.

Tuesday was the day where I ate too much t-bone steak (my body rejected it after months of having a beef free diet) and ended up being sick half the night. The next day was very interesting as we spent it going out to an island, where I was sick again. At least Bill and Theresa enjoyed the sandy beaches and warm waters. I enjoyed laying down.

Wednesday we flew up to Hanoi on another $50 plane flight. Much like Saigon, Hanoi is a massive city that is bound to give you a head ache. We wondered around the 'old quarter' for a while checking out all the bootleged DVDs. We saw a water puppet show, which was interesting. Puppets on the water and all.

The next morning we took what seemed like a 5 hour bus ride to get to the Halong Bay area. Its extremely beautiful, but thanks to our luck, the only thing we could see was fog. After a much more pleasant boat ride through the many rocky island we got a guided tour of a cave. It was a nice cave, really. Anyway. The pictures can tell more than I can write. Plus this is already a bit long. At least the weather was nice.

Our final day in Vietnam was spent seeing the sights of Hanoi. We saw the Ho Chi Minh museum, complete with massive statue. We saw the mausoleum, though we didn't actually go into it. To get a look at the body of Ho Chi Minh you have to get up really early in the morning, and honestly, who wants to do that on a vacation. It was raining quite heavily, so the three of us finished up some shopping and random walking around, and we left in late afternoon for the airport. After 12 fun filled hours of travel, we arrived save and sound in Fukuyama.

So thats the deal with the trip. I'll eventually stick photos up... when I get around to labeling them. Seeing how I'm already 1,000 some photos behind on my labeling, it could be a while. I've been lacking motivation for the past week. Post vacation stuff and all. I really need a vacation after my vacation.

I'd thought I'd say hello and let everyone know that I am alive and well in Hanoi. I would have never thought this, but the weather in Vietnam is a whole hell of a lot better in the summer than Japan will ever be. Plus, who can pass up fruit smoothies for like 70 cents! See you all on Monday.

I could explain the 2006 Hiroshima JET Conference in great detail. Except even in great detail it would be rather short. The conference was as to be expected. It was more of a phone number exchange than an information conference. We showed off our Pocky video, which got a lot of laughs and also apparently needs a better ending (which I knew). Clearly we must do a Pocky II video soon. The evenings were filled with JET silliness. Drinking, video games, karaoke. Fun times with the newbes. For the most part the new JETs were a cool bunch. As evidenced by the videos you will see below.

As for me, this next week will be filled with the sights and sounds of Vietnam. Bill, Theresa, and I leave tonight (unless the typhoon changes on us and all our flights are grounded) and will be back in a week. Don't wait up for us. I'm sure I'll have a whole lot of video and a whole lot of pictures to show off on this blog when I get back. That or I'll have a lot of time recovering from a tropical illness, in which case I'll have even more time to be putting video and pictures up. Either way, it'll keep you entertained.

A large group of us went a few stops down to Mihara for some fun filled Japanese dancing. Well, parade dancing. Which lasted for around 2 hours. And it was really hot. But the upside was that we got to put on some really slick outfits. It was an interesting thing to do, and the large crowd of Japanese people watching us found us very amusing. Yeah. Amusing.

Sunday was Simon's 25th birthday. We took him out to see the new Superman movie and out for hamburgers later. Good times had by all.

I'd write something more but I'm heading to Hiroshima for the yearly ALT conference. I'll be back on Wednesday night, but gone again Friday night. How many days of Bill yelling "Good Morning Vietnam!" will I be able to stand?

Update: Its called Yasa Matsuri. So I guess I danced the Yasa.

Yesterday was spent picking up and getting to know the two new JETs in our office. The 7 of us from City Hall drove to the Hiroshima Airport (in two big vans) to meet the newbies. While in the airport I ran into someone very unexpected. James and I were sitting the the lobby playing Gameboys when I saw one of the new Hiroshima JETs walking by. We both recognized each other but couldn't put a finger on where. Turns out that the guy, John, and I both went to Gustavus and lived in the same dorm and now he's a JET and living in Hiroshima. Super small world.

The crowd of ALTs and Japanese bosses was teaming with anticipation. Most groups had signs and were yelling out names. Thanks to the artful directions of Jess and Natasha, our BOE had the largest and most colorful signs around. So large in fact that our newbies at first didn't notice them. Anyhow how new ALTs, Simon and Rose, found us easily enough and were soon heading back to Fukuyama so that we could overload them with information.

That evening we all headed out for dinner and some drinks. Proper Japanese bonding time. Our large group of JETs must have been quite a sight for the place we were at. For some reason the girls ordered a massive dinner of cheese based items. I think I ate more cheese last night then I have in the past 4 months. After dinner we headed to the ever so classy 'Jigger Bar' for a drink. There we learned that our boss had a hidden talent for playing the piano. Something we hope to cox out of him more often.

Thursday was our official induction ceremony, which meant that we all had to put on our suits and boil in the office for several hours. We all must have looked liked we were going to pass out in front of all the important BOE brass. So for any potential JET reading this just remember, you probably will only have to put a suit on once every summer.

It just occurred to me that this is my third summer in a row here in Japan. I clearly must be insane.

I guess I totally spaced out the fact that I've been here a year now. It hit me today as I was thinking about the new JETs coming in and how weird it was for me. The long plane ride. The constant stream of orientation seminars. The horribly messy apartment. The deadly weather. Somehow I survived it all and am sticking around another year. Weirdness.

A whole back I mentioned how Matt and I had managed to scare away one of the people living in our apartment block. It seems as if another brave soul has decided to tempt fate and move in across from me. As is Japanese custom, the guy came by my place and presented me with a large pack of tissue. Well, like 4 boxes of tissues. More tissue then I would need. He seemed a bit surprised to see a foreigner come to the door and he didn't know what to say. I mean, my Japanese is rather bad and I am a bit scary looking, so I can't blame him too much. We spoke a few sentences and off he went. Matt and I will be taking bets to see how long it is before he runs off.

I went to my school and played basketball again. The weather is still sucking in the hot and humid category. I know this for a fact because at one point during the morning I saw an ambulance outside the school. After inquiring about it I found out that one of the baseball team had collapsed due to the heat and was being taken to the hospital. Apparently this happens several times during the summer. This from the same pool of people who find it so darn horrible that people have died due to extreme heat in the US this summer. This is why I make my basketball boys drink lots of water. Or at least throw out random Japanese sentences telling them to drink. Don't know if it works or not.

A typhoon should be hitting Japan this Tuesday. Which may delay the new JETs flying into Hiroshima. Ok, honestly, why fly them down when they could take the Shinkansen from Tokyo? Its only three hours and stops in Fukuyama, which is a lot less time when you figure the wait at the airport and the long drive from the airport to Fukuyama. So if the weather suck they'll come in on Thursday.

The wonders of the Japanese bureaucracy. My boss sends an invite to all the middle school teachers in the area to come to this seminar. The teachers then ask the principal of their school if its ok to go. The principal then calls up my boss to ask if its ok for them to go. Today I came across a request by my boss asking the English teachers of one of my schools what days they want the ALT to come to the school during the next school year. When given a form like this, wouldn't the logical response be "every day"?

I've had to explain the whole concept of Summer Camps in America to several Japanese people in the past week (and the difference between this and regular camping). Seems the whole idea is lost on them. Japanese students spend the 4 or 5 weeks of summer studying or doing activities, and get a big shock out of the fact that American kids have a big long summer break where they are not required to do anything. I honestly think Japanese kids need some relaxation time. Or maybe just less time at school. It can't be healthy for them. I mean one kid went to the hospital today.

A nice reading/watcher of my DS Browser Review sent me a link which could possibly fix the slow render speed issues the browser has. Well, maybe. Looks like some people have done overclocking mods of their DS Lites which would probably speed things up. I would love to see if it actually works or not, but seeing as how I'm unwilling to mod my DS I'll just have to wait and see.

As much as I love the new Starfox Command multi player wi-fi mode its a bitch to actually play. Being a new game hardly anyone is online playing. Trying to get a game going took me half an hour tonight. When it hits the US and Europe maybe I'll get some use out of it.

I did get my laptop back in working order again. Got it back on Wednesday actually. Very quick turn around. Took a while at work to reinstall everything and get my settings back in order. Its nice to have it back.

Spent a lot of time this weekend hanging out with my friends. Michael, Julia, and Maija. Maija is heading back to Canada this Monday. Her departure is a rather sad thing to have happen around here.

Sunday was the 61st anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. I went to the big memorial last year, but didn't feel like I have the energy or money to go this time around. I'll make sure to go next summer if I'm around.

I made some video reviews of Rockman ZX, Mario 3 on 3 Basketball, and Starfox Command. I'll write up some reviews later this week. Click on the above names to see the reviews.

New JETs at my office come on Wednesday. Rejoice.

Spending tomorrow playing basketball all day. Japanese Weather + Middle School Basketball = Killer weight loss program.

I`m still lacking a laptop. I hope, seriously hope, that the little bugger will be brought back to me by Monday. I need it to get my affairs in order before heading to Vietnam at the end of the month. Plus I am hopelessly addicted to the internet and e-mail. While my DS does give me some fun filled web browsing time, it has it serious limits.

I`ve been keeping myself busy by playing basketball at one of my Junior High Schools. I was invited by one of my JTEs (who heard me sad pleas for excuses to escape my City Hall office) and for the past two mornings I have been spending my time playing 5 on 5 basketball with the boys basketball team. My lack of skill is quite appearent, though my height advantage and overall size does make me a challange. All the kids are at school over the summer. They`re either studying, playing in the band, or outside in the sun doing sports. I don`t know how they do it. The basketball team plays in the gym, which is at least shielded from the sun. But even then, I am drenched with sweat within half an hour. Now the basketball team seems to only be concerned with playing non-stop 5 on 5 games all the time. It seems that running drills isn`t something they do too often. The kids are good, but need work in several areas. I was able to get several boys to run through some running and shooting drills, but the majority of them were not at all interested. Good lord guys, you need some work on your defense! Anyways I`m back at the office now because of an upcoming workshop that needs to be put together. Hopefully I can spend more time playing basketball and less time sitting around doing nothing.

Once I get my laptop back I have several things to do. I have a bunch of photos that still need to be put online and stuck in my photoblog. I also need to do some video reviews of several DS games that just came out. Mario 3 on 3 Basketball seems to be all the rage, and the new Starfox Command comes out next week. My video camera finger is getting itchy... (Plus I would LOVE to play around with that cooking DS game. It looks so cute.)

Oh, and I`ve been reading about how the E3 Gaming Convention is now a dead deal. Well luckily for me I`m already putting plans together to go to this years Tokyo Game Show (which kicks E3`s butt). Its being held September 22-24 in Tokyo, and I will have tons of fun video to show off. I`ve got a video put together from last years Tokyo Game Show up in my video area. I`m make a link to it, but I`m lazy and only have a half our of net access a day. I need my laptop back....