May, 2011 (Spring Issue)

Food for Thought

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Yomoyama

The Spring Issue 2011

Editor-In-Chief Molly Conner

Layout and Design Daniel Pierce

Associate Editors Shannon Lough and Tonya Kneff

Cover Photo Daniel Pierce

Events Photo Emma Pierce

Contributors Hcir Semog Lee Denhaan Emma Pierce Nick Mckay Dan Whitehead Shannon Lough Ike Glinsmann Jen Cammarn Kitsune Noah Rection Erin Street Daniel Pierce Justin K. Ellis www.yomoyamamagazine.com

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Dear Readers,

S

pring is upon us! As I write this letter, the sakura outside of my office window are just beginning to bloom.

The entire culture around sakura is incredible, when you get right down to it. Parks upon parks, acres and acres of land in a country that doesn’t have much of it, all dedicated to flowers that only bloom for two weeks at most. It’s a celebration of the beauty of impermanence, something that takes on a more sobering meaning after the events of the past month. I think that, for all of us, spring is going to mean a little more this year.

Inside these digital pages lies a guide to spring living in Shinishu: hiking trails, finance, physical fitness, reflections on love and heartbreak, creative work, and much more. We’ve also got voices from the past: former Nagano ALTs who have offered up advice and insight for the many of you that are making preparations to leave our fair prefecture. I know it’s an obvious metaphor, but an ALT’s life in Japan is not so unlike the cherry blossom: its own beautiful state of impermanence.

We arrive, we flourish, and then we go.

The time to part will come soon enough – but that doesn’t mean we can’t make the absolute most out of the time we have together!

Thanks for sticking with us. I’ll see you at the next hanami!

-Molly

Contents

04 06 09 11

Events Happenings in Nagano............................................…………..04

Work Kids Write the Darndest English by Hcir Semog………......…..06

Travel Hozawa Onsen by Lee Denhaan…………...........……………..09

Finance JLPT on the Cheap by Emma Pierce…………………...............11 Budgeting with Nick by Nick Mckay Money Matters…………………………………………........…...12 Investing for Dummies…………………..…………….......……13 Yen Yikes……………………………...…………………......……16

18 22 29 33 48

Special Feature: Spring Sports Running Your First Marathon by Dan Whitehead..............…...18 A Beginner’s Tale by Shannon Lough………………….............20

Special Feature: Leaving Japan My Last Year in Japan: Reflections…………………..............…22 Flashes of Yesterday by Ike Glinsmann………….................…28

Special Feature: Love in Japan The Skype Relationship by Jen Cammarn………….............…29 White Day by Kitsune!………………………………............……30 I’m a Cheater by Anonymous………………………..............…31 Single and Happy by Noah Rection…….…………...............….32

Photography / Art Moments in Shinshu by Erin Street………………………..........33 Sadness and Hope by Daniel Pierce.........................................36 Venus by Justin K. Ellis…………………………………...….......46 The Soul’s Flight by Justin K. Ellis…………………………........47

Gourmet Dangerously Delicious Taco Dip by Shannon Lough……........48

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Events

Food for Thought

May

IYC Adventure Weekend!

Date: May 21st and 22nd.

Description: Come for a weekend of fun and adventure with IYC! Locations are still being decided upon, but events maybe include kayaking, white water rafting, biking, and paragliding.

Further Information: Details forthcoming, email naganoajet@gmail.com for questions and input.

ALT Touch Tournament Date: May 26 and 27 Description: Come participate in the ALT touch rugby tournament in Tokushima ken! Practices in Nagano are ongoing and we’re always looking for players. We practice every Sunday at various points around the prefecture. You don’t have to attend every practice. We’ll be taking 2 mini buses down to Shikoku on the last weekend in May to show everyone what Nagano is made of!

Further Information: Talk to Lee Den Haan. leedenhaan@hotmail.com or naganoajet@gmail.com June ALT Soccer Tournament.

Date: June 3-4 Description: We need players for a girls and guys team. All levels accepted. Just bring fighting spirit, shin guards and studs.

Location: Sugadaira.

Further Information: naganoajet@gmail.com Leaver’s Conference and Disorientation Party Date: June 3 Description: The meeting is mandatory for all non-recontracting JETs, but the party is welcome for all!

Come say farewell in style!

Location: Conference is at Nagano Kencho, party Nagano City (TBA) Further Information: ...will come later. But save the date! 世界文化体験キャンプ aka, the CIR International Camp Date: June 11-12 Description: Put on by the Nagano CIRs, this camp was a resounding success last year! Send your students our way for a weekend of fun and international exchange. Open to students in Elementary 5 to JHS Location: Probably Nagano City Seishounen Rensei Center Further Information: ...will also be coming later, but please feel free to contact any of the CIRs for more information.

Ongoing Language Tables at Monzen Plaza Date: Every Tuesday evening, 5:30-7 Description: Have a chance to practice some of your J-go, or converse with some pretty fluent English speakers! No signup required, and you can come and go when you please (only got a half hour to spare?

No worries!) By the way, if you happen to be a speaker of Chinese, we also have a Chinese/Japanese table, so feel free to join that too!

Location: Monzen Plaza, 3rd floor International Center, Nagano City Further Information: Grant Peterson, Nagano City CIR TEL: 026-224-5447 Email: koryuin@city.nagano. nagano.jp)

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Kids Write the Darndest Engrish

by Richard Gomes

Let me ask: has this happened to you? I’m in the Eiken (English Department Office) marking students’ worksheets, when I come to one that makes me just want to cry with laughter. Whether it be creative, funny or just plain out of this world, our students can write the awesomest things, dessho!?

So, Nagano ALTs, here is a quick glimpse at what your students are writing! Please enjoy!

Valentine’s Day Lesson, SHS

Question: What don’t you like?

Answer: I don’t like human beings because めんどくさい*.

*めんどくさい = “Can’t be bothered!”

Write about your Families [JHS]

1. My father gets up early in the morning. He’s fat. He doesn’t like animals.

2. I like cat. I had cat. I had cat is ded.

Essays about Future Jobs [SHS]

1. I want to be a farmacy in my future. It was my father’s dream, but he couldn’t be a farmacy.

So, he wants me to be a farmacy.

2. I want to be a police officer in my future. Because I want to help young male and female crimers.

3. I want to get marry someone I love. But this is not job. But I want to marry to be a happy wife. Because I don’t want to work a hole day.

4. I want to be a professional flurtist in my future. Because flurtist is make people have a happy. I want to play a flurt to make a happy.

Rewriting Dialogue about Commands [JHS] In the textbook: “Look! A deer!” “Be careful, Lisa.”

Student notebook: “Look! A beer!” “Be careful, Lisa.”

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Make a Comic about Apologizing [JHS]

Mad Libs – A Trip to Disney Sea [SHS] …It was crazy love (adjective) trip, and I bought a real pair of Mickey and Minnie (What kind of omiyage?) as a souvenir. Next year, I want to go to world tour Matt’s house (place). On the way home Matt kissed me in the car by the sea.

Note: “Matt” refers to Matt Damon.

Graduation Advice [JHS] Advice: Hang yourself.

Note: Apparently this student meant something like “hang together” or “stick together.”

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Panel 1: Well ! Keruhodo Panel 2: Man: My coffee… It’s so late…Coffee cup: [Frying] Waiter: [fall!!]

Panel 3: Man: Ouch! You spilt hot coffee on my head!

Waiter: I’m very sorry. This is my fault. Circle: [Tray] Panel 4: Man: It’s very hot. It seems as if sauna bath!

Waiter: Really? It’s good to fall.

Panel 5: Man: ??? What’s?

Waiter: Because, now season is Winter. Are you hot?

A Letter to Santa [ES] Dear Santa Class, This year, I would like many things for Christmas: First of all, I want all things…

Diary Entry [SHS] Janualy 2.

Today I eat banana.

I was very happy Because banana is my life.

Three good things I have done are: (1) I was fighting everyone very hard. But lose…

When you come down the chimney, please look in the kitchen. I [ Has/ Have] left humans and blood on the table for you.

Thank you Santa, I am very excited.

If you’re me, you’re probably suffering from a case of the giggles right now. It goes to show that even though students may not like English, they can enjoy it. If they are allowed to be creative and are motivated to express this creativity who knows what you’ll find next under your red pen.

Furthermore, a special “THANK YOU FOR BEING SOO FREAKING COOL!!” goes out to the ALTs that sent in their students’ work. I greatly appreciate the effort. Otsukaresama!!! (All student and ALT names remain anonymous for privacy purposes) Sincerely, Semog Hcir

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HOnZAWA ONSEN

by Lee Denhaan

L

ocated in the South Yatsugatake Mountain Range on the East side, you can find the small Rotenburo (outdoor hot spring bath) of Honzawa Onsen nestled in a high river valley. Sitting at 2150m, Honzawa Onsen is the highest Rotenburo in Japan.

Although being the highest, Honzawa is definitely not the most easily accessible or the biggest onsen you can find. But when you sit in the 2 x 3 meter wooden box constructed on the side of a cliff, you`ll definitely appreciate the awesome back drop, despite the smell of the sulphuric, murky water. At a 360 degree glance you can see the Yatsugatake peaks to the West and look down the Valley into Minamisaku (Koumi/Minamimaki) to the East. Some notable peaks of Yatsugatake that tower above the small Rotenburo include: Mount Aka 赤岳 (2899m) and Mount Io 硫黄岳 (2760m) to the South, and Mount Tengu 天狗岳 (2646m) to the North. Take in this awesome view while enjoying Japan`s highest natural Onsen.

With an even surrounding of deciduous and coniferous trees, the adventure up to Honzawa makes for a delightful trip during any season, whether it be in the fresh growth of spring, the lush green of summer, the kouyou (autumn leaves) of autumn or that thick blanket of snow in winter.

Access By train: Take the Shinkansen or local train to Sakudaira station. Change to the Koumi Line and get off at Koumi Station. Take the bus from Koumi

Station to Inagoyu. From Inagoyu it’s a 3.5 hour hike. The hike is easy to moderate.

By car: Get off the Sakudaira exit and take route 141 (coming from south, get on the Route 141 at Chino). Go past Koumi and take a right (left if coming south) towards Matsubarako Lake. At the Umijiro intersection next to Matsubarako Lake, go straight and follow the road towards Inagoyu.

Before reaching Inagoyu there will be a sign posted road to the left for Honzawa Onsen, take this until you reach the car park. If you have a 4wd drive, you can actually drive up the trail in the trees for another 3 km and park at Motosawa carpark. However, during the winter this will be impossible and you will have to hike the Honzawa path from the main car park. This will be an easy 4 hour moderate hike.

Fee: For onsen standards, Honzawa is very basic.

However, you will still need to pay the 600¥ for maintenance up keep. You can pay this at the Honzawa Onsen Lodge. An English guide for staying overnight at the Lodge can be found here, http:// www.mountaintrad.co.jp/nagano/hnzw/honzawa/ data.html?lang=e.

What to bring: Standard hiking necessities, (good boots/shoes, water, food, appropriate clothing for the weather) onsen towels. *Note: The outdoor Rotenburo at Honzawa is a mixed onsen, so expect to make a few onsen buddies, male and female.

If you happen to brave it during the winter, you can get away with not paying anything, as they don`t expect many guests passing through, due to the snow.

Having been through Honzawa Onsen on my way up to the peaks in spring and autumn, and actually stopping and taking a dip in winter, I would recommend visiting during winter. The hike will take longer and you can expect to be hiking through knee deep snow at some points (unless you`re equipped with snowshoes) but there will be no one around, and to sit in a Rotenburo in the middle of nowhere covered in snow is the pure epitome of Nagano.

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Compiled by Emma Pierce

Make your Japanese Skills Grow Without Making your Wallet Shrink: 日本語 self-study resources

2 http:// www.jlpt.jp/e/index.html - Japanese Language Proficiency Test official site: commit to study hell by signing up for this July! Check out what is new with all test levels, and even try practice tests.

2 http://www.mlcjapanese.co.jp/index.html - The Meguro Language Center has a lot of freebies you can download here.

2 www.renshuu.org/ - This site has study material from popular textbooks, JLPT, Kanji Kentei, and more. You can create a username and track your progress on vocab and kanji quizzes, write and save sentences, check grammar points, etc.

2 http://jisho.org/ - Online Japanese-English dictionary: look up the meaning of words, kanji by radical, or sentences.

2 www.readthekanji.com - Free up to JLPT N4, this site is an endless kanji quiz based on reading in context.

2 www.kanji.koohii.com - A site that compliments Heisig’s text Remembering the Kanji. Read stories that help you remember kanji and make up your own stories. Weird? Dirty? No problem; all the better for remembering!

2 www.ankisrs.net - Anki = a downloadable flashcard program where you can find already-made decks for JLPT study, etc.

2 www.speedanki.com - like Anki but online (no downloading).

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4 Genki textbook series – Good for getting started; JLPT up to N4.

4 Japanese for Busy People textbook series – Another series that can help you up to about level N4.

4 Nihongo Sou Matome series- Recommended for JLPT test preparation, N3 & up.

4 Kanzen Master series– For more advanced studies; JLPT N2 & N1.

4 Dictionary of Basic/Intermediate/Advanced Grammar by Makino/ Tsutsui – Grammar guide for all levels.

4 Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji – text for studying kanji meanings for all levels.

4 Basic Kanji Books 1, 2 and Intermediate Kanji Books 1, 2 by Kano/Shimizu/Takenaka/Ishii – Kanji study books for all levels.

9 Japanese-speaking friends via ketai & PC email, social networks (Facebook & Mixi) online chat, Skype, and in person of course!

4 Manga, movies, & internet interest sites (in Japanese).

9 Make your own audio mp3 files! (I used Apple’s GarageBand and vocab clips from renshuu. org to turn all my JLPT vocab into tracks I can listen to while driving, cleaning, eating, sleeping…)

2 Planning events & traveling in Japan; volunteering to exchange language lessons; martial arts, cooking, etc.

Name: Grant Peterson Last goal achieved: employment as a Nagano City Coordinator of International Relations (CIR) Next goal: professional interpretation Study recommendations: Anki, Remember the Kanji with http://kanji.koohii.com/, and the Kanzen Master series for “specific JLPT studies.”

Name: Thirim Son Last goal achieved: JLPT N3 Next goal: JLPT N2 Study recommendations: Anki, speedanki, renshuu.org, and Nihongo Sou Matome for JLPT test prep.

Name: Niccolo Paqueo Last goal achieved: JLPT 3 Next goal: JLPT N2. Maybe Kanji Kentei.

Study recommendations: Dictionary of Basic/Intermediate/Advanced Grammar: This book is god. Nuances and subtleties are listed. Basic Kanji Books 1, 2 and Intermediate Kanji Books 1, 2: This is the demigod. Also, get a Japanese girlfriend/boyfriend. It helps with conversational skills, which matters a lot because the JLPT doesn’t test them!

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MoneyMatters (Unfortunately)

By Nick McKay

Yay! Financial things! For some, this subject makes people into soulless beings, and for others it makes them lose all track of time. For me, personal finance has become a passion and I want to help others who want a little advice or an initial direction to be pointed in. Hopefully this stuff will be useful to you. I'm going to provide a simple guide as one way to make a budget for your own personal situation. The links in this column are my actual numbers, nothing rose-colored about them. So please don't blackmail me later! I would also suggest having a paper and pencil handy, or a spreadsheet program ready to start creating your first budget.

Step 1: Standard Stuff If you are serious about managing your money you need to create a budget. It can't be some magical thing floating out in CandyLand either. You need to write one down and use it actively.

It's best to start with the easy stuff first so we can get some results and stay motivated. Think of categories for expenses you have every month: taxes, rent, utilities, phone, etc. These are things you need to pay for every month and they probably change very little, if at all.

Step 2: Lifestyle Stuff Next, think of categories unique to your situation. In my budget I've included things like: food, drinking, entertainment, transportation, education, housekeeping, traveling, health, and so on. Everyone's situation is different so use mine if you want as a starting point and tweak it as necessary.

Step 3: Debt Stuff From here you should account for your debts and their related expenses. Do you have a school loan? Car loan? Credit card bill? JET husband? Alimony!?!? All of these require you pay 'x' amount of money a month. For now just write down the minimum payment for each one you have, even if you are paying more than that now. If you want any, I'd be glad to give you mine!

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Step 4: The Big Stuff Now the next part is a little bit tricky and the hardest to hold yourself accountable for. We should set money aside each month for the large, periodic payments we might have to make. The easiest examples are car-related: yearly insurance and taxes, and bi-annual shakken. If you don't know the exact amount, make an educated guess or talk to your buddies to get a general idea. To me this is the most essential part of budgeting. If you don't want to be always scrounging under the tatami for change or being at $0 (Tear of Liberty!!!) financially you need to plan for expenses such as these.

Voila! Your cute little budget skeleton is all complete and lots of fun to look at! You should congratulate yourself on getting this far, few people do. From here you should take a step back and see if there is anything else you think you need to add.

Step 5: Number Stuff Now you need to add the actual numbers to your budget to see where you are. For some items on your list this will be easy, you know how much goes to taxes, rent, school loans and such.

For other items you may need to ballpark as best as you can. There are two important things to remember during this step. One, unless you are a financial whiz kid your budget will be a work in progress, probably for several months. Two, I still don't have my expenses 100% under control. You need to leave some flexibility in your budget as well. A rigid budget is boring. I have a category aptly named blow (open to interpretation) just in case I want to get a little high...on life.

----Whew...finally done with budgeting are we? The last thing is all 100% willpower. You need to stick with the budget you made and be meticulous with it. I keep all my receipts when I can get them and at the end if each day I record everything while I'm watching T.V. before bed. If I don't I get discouraged and get an urge to give up or leave little gaps in my accounting.

So that's all I have to write about on budgeting. I've included some spreadsheets to get you started. One is my actual budget for the month of January and a budget template for the months onward. The other is one I made for this column. In the top-most entry you can include your current monies and a place for income so you can track your expenses and how much money you have on hand after each purchase.

I encourage you to make your own budget. If you want to, print it out or create your own spreadsheet and tailor it to your situation. I have two more articles on finance in this issue.

One relates to budgeting for travel and basic investing and the other about the yen and furikomi.

Also, if you have questions, want help creating a basic budget, or want to chew me out for being an idiot send an e-mail to mckay935@hotmail.com.

Investing for Dummies Here I want to talk about budgeting for big trips we want to take. Summer is close by and I think Christmas is coming again this year. These are times people like to travel and if we budget for them now we can lessen the strain on our finances. I also want to mention two ways to begin investing: the debt snowball method and paying yourself first.

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Traveling Let’s face it, most of us are here because we like traveling in one extent or another. Not too many people leave their lives behind just because the pay might be decent. Another fact is that long extended trips are expensive. There are the costs of airfare, lodging, food, travel, and fun stuff, to mention a few. I went on a 6-week tour this summer and about 3 weeks into it I wished I had planned it out a little better.

The best way to plan financially for these trips is to set aside money each month. You shouldn’t make a ball-park estimate either. Do the necessary research beforehand to know how much everything is going to cost you. Believe me, having less to travel with than you thought sucks.

One point of a trip is to relax and enjoy yourself. It sucks having to check yourself because you brought over less than you actually needed.

After you know how much money you need for your trip you should know the general time frame, something pretty simple to do. I plan on taking a trip to Malaysia this summer just before school starts. So I have 5 months left to plan for the trip. The best thing to do from here is divide the total cost by how many months you have left to save for it. If you don’t want to blow everything or come back in the same financial situation you found yourself in when you left, spread out the cost by the time left. My Malaysia trip will cost approx. $3,000. Spread out over 5 months that is $600 a month, which is much easier to do than trying to come up with $1,500 or $2,000 in the last month.

Well most of the above is common sense, but very few of us have the discipline to do that.

Investing 101 Pay yourself first. Sounds easy enough to do right? The sad fact is most of us don’t. I was one of us (guess I still am in a way) until I came to Japan. I left Korea, where I was teaching, February of last year with about $10,000 to my name. A good sum, but long story short I came to Japan with about $1,500. It was a sobering realization being 26 with almost no money and a negative net worth. I have finally resolved to pay myself first, at the beginning of each month. The way I do it is pretty basic and easy to follow once you make the commitment.

When I receive my paycheck I immediately take $300 and “give it” to myself. I have three categories I put my money into: savings, investing and charity. I put $100 in each every month.

It may not sound like much but it all adds up pretty fast. Practicing this very simple step should help you get started if you are finding yourself without much cash put aside.

Hopefully you can figure out what to do with each category. With savings I obviously save it for emergencies. My overarching goal is to have 6 months worth of expenses in savings, so I can survive in case I lose my job or get hospitalized, crash my car, or a million other bad things that could happen to each of us. For investing I put it somewhere and don’t touch it until I want to invest it in some way. And with charity I donate it each month to the high school I went to.

These are good habits you can adopt which actually require little to no effort on your part. All you need to is the willpower to do it. Following the plan is pretty brainless (in a good way).

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Debt-Snowball Method This is a really good way to get rid of debt quickly and start investing more money. The concept is easy to follow once you commit to sticking out the plan. It will cut the time it takes to pay off each loan and save you considerable amounts of money in the form of interest you don’t have to pay. I included my actual debts and payment plan as a spreadsheet to follow along with as I walk through the steps one at a time.

Step 1: Organizing Debt Here all you need to do is make a list of debts you owe. Make sure to write them all down, even the tiny ones you may owe to family or friends. I personally had three debts: school loan, car loan and credit card. After that write the total amount owed on each debt. Mine were: $684.38, $2,000 and $9,854.20, respectively.

Step 3: Find Some Extra Cash For this step you need to find extra money. It doesn’t matter where or how just come up with $150-$200 a month. For me I simply drew $150 from the excess in my budget.

Step 4: A Little Extra Now that your debts are in order, pay the minimum payment on each one except the debt on the top of the list. Add the $150 or so to your smallest debt. For me my school loan payment jumped from $50 a month to $200 a month. Now instead of taking 14 months to pay off my school loan it took 4 months to completely pay it off.

Food for Thought

Step 2: Create a List Here you need to list all the monthly payments on each debt in order. Make sure to list the debt with the smallest payment first. So for me my school loan was $50, my car loan was $250, and my credit card is $284. This plan is most effective if we focus on paying off the smallest loan first.

Step 5: Implement the Snowball...baby!!!

Once your smallest debt is paid off you should celebrate. I played some Catan and kicked butt!

Here it is important to note not to go out and spend the money. What you do is you move to paying off the next debt. So take the minimum payment of your next debt, for me it was my car of $250, and add to that the payments you were making on your first debt. Now the total I was paying on my second loan jumped from $250-$450. Instead of my car taking two months to pay off, it only took one. I found the extra $50 somewhere.

Step 6: Keep Going Repeat this process with all of the debts you owe, rolling the amount you were paying on the previous debt onto the next debt. Many people who adopt this kind of program can be debt free within a matter of years.

--Now I know many of you are probably thinking you should pay off the loan with the highest interest rate first, or can’t afford to make more than the minimum payment each month. It’s more effective to take the debt with the smallest time frame and pay that one off first. You get to see

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results quickly. This helps you stay focused and motivated, plus, rolling the debt payments onto one another harnesses the power of compounding in your favor.

To show the naysayers I have included spreadsheets with three possible payment plans. One is the minimum payment, the other paying off the high-interest loans first and using the snowball method and the other using the method above. Also included is a comparison between all three.

Two things are important to note there. One is the time it takes until I would be debt free. The other is the amount I can save over just paying the minimum payment each month.

Now the numbers don’t look that impressive with my debts but it looks much more shocking the more debt you have incurred. If you have more school loans, credit cards or mortgages the amount of time and money you can save becomes staggering. And time is by far the more important thing of the two.

Yen Yikes Yay for living in Japan, this place is awesome! We’ve got onsen (my personal favorite), sake, kissaten (well I do so hah!), and a super-strong yen! For those of us furikomi-ing this is a great boon to our finances. Hopefully this exchange will remain strong for the rest of our time here.

I’ve thought of a few ways to squeeze a little extra benefit from the exchange, as well as some pitfalls to be wary of in case the yen gets a little weaker.

Tip 1: Home-Country Debt Do you have debt you’re paying off each month back home, or just putting some aside? One way of adding a little cushion is to convert your debt from your native currency to yen. Constantly referring to your native currency is too wordy, so for simplicity I am going to use dollars for the rest of my examples. We are paid in yen each month so thinking about our debt/desires in yen will give us a little extra firepower. Continuing on, if I have a $284 monthly debt I simply think of it as 28400円. Then if I use the exchange rate of 83.83 (according to GoLloyds) that amount is converted to $338.78. To me I consider this to be $54.78 bonus. Use the rate to your advantage.

Tip 2: Furikomi Fees There are fees galore nowadays. Everyone wants a cut of your cash and that blows. Given that, you are paying for convenience so to me it’s a little stiff but worth it. So that I’m not disappointed, I include the cost of the fees in my total furikomi amount. My bank charges 420円 and GoLLoyds charges 2000円. Using the example above, I would send over my debt plus the fees: (28400円 + 420円 + 2000円 = 30820円). If you budget for these fees you won’t miss the money and won’t be pissed when you check your bank account back home.

Tip 3: Use the Correct Exchange This seems like a no-brainer, so I’m including this for people with no brain. This is another “fee” so make sure not to short-change yourself. Every institution will tack 1%-2% on the current exchange rate. For example, when I furikomi-ed yesterday the normal rate was 81.80 but GoLloyds charged 83.83. Use the normal rate as a benchmark but use the institution’s rate when sending money. This number fluctuates daily so be sure to use the rate from the same day you send the money. GoLloyds is pretty timely about this, and their rate is e-mailed to me by around 10:00A.M.

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Tip 4: Run the Numbers Lastly, you should run all the numbers together to make sure the correct amount ends up in your account. I haven’t messed up yet but I imagine some people have. Remember my no brain comment from before? Stomaching all those damn fees again to cover a mistake probably sucks and is the last thing you want to do.

This process is probably a little confusing so I have created another spreadsheet to use here to do the math for you. The first one is my actual furikomi from March and the second is a blank one for you to fill in your numbers. Side note: my “dumb dad” cashed a check I sent him maybe three months ago, that’s why my home account was negative. I forgot about it.

--Things are nice and rose-colored right now, but we shouldn’t take these conditions for granted.

Here are a couple points to watch out for, points are sharp you know!

Food for Thought

Avoidance 1: Don’t ‘Scale Back’ I don’t bother thinking about my debts back home as dollars, rather I think of them as yen amounts. The exchange rate is a benefit and I treat it as such. Use the extra amount as a cushion or to buy pretty things. I actually use the extra to buy Time magazine for my iPad. This kind of thinking will give you flexibility in your furikomi. This can cover mistakes if you accidentally make one (you won’t if you use my calculator). Trying to work with a shoe-string budget is no fun, so leave yourself room to breathe.

Lastly, thinking this way will give you wiggle room in case the exchange rate gets worse over time. Scaling back now might make it difficult to come up with more cash later. It’s a kind of insurance policy. Having extra cash to cover the market fluctuations means you don’t have to worry about them and you can sleep easier at night.

Avoidance 2: Fees Like I mentioned earlier, fees, commissions, cuts, and adjusted exchange rates are a fact of life right now and it’s pointless to worry about them. Don’t worry about something you can’t change. Plus, you are paying for a convenience and to me it is worth it. Once I determine how much money I am going to furikomi I enter in the numbers in my calculator to make sure they are okay. Then I use Internet banking to complete the transaction in 2 minutes, from log on to log off. The best thing is that the money is in my account the ‘same day’ after adjusting for the time difference. It’s a killer service in my mind.

--Well that’s all I got about the yen right now. I hope the calculator provided is helpful to some of you. Comments and feedback are always welcome too, which you can post in WordPress.

[As mentioned in the article, Nick included some incredibly useful spreadsheets with his submissions, showcasing his own monthly financial planning. To view the spreadsheet for Money Matters: Budgeting 101 go to http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SAROF6W0. To view the spreadsheet for Investing 101 go to: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RKIG9HZB. To view the spreadsheet for Yen Yikes go to: http://www. megaupload.com/?d=L5PR7sFZ ]

17

Running Your First Marathon

By Dan Whitehead

Prepare to be exhausted, angry, humiliated and, by the end, most probably hooked.

I

’d always wanted to run the London Marathon. I don’t really know why. I guess something about the sight of thirty thousand skinny, shivering people dressed in ill-fitting shorts and sleeveless vests must have made an impression on me as a child. But also, I think I just really, really wanted to find out what it felt like to run 26.2 miles. It was a sort of childhood curiosity of mine, I suppose.

Like the toddler who just can’t resist sticking his hand into that bewitching, dancing, orange glow beneath the mantelpiece, I knew what I wanted to do would probably hurt, but I had to go ahead and do it anyway, just to make sure.

Finally, in the spring of 2007, I got the chance to sate my curiosity. Come the morning of the race I was a littlenervous. The farthest I’d ever run in my life was fifteen miles - eleven miles shy of the full marathon distance - and so what, I wondered, was awaiting me in those extra miles? I had no idea. But I assumed it would most probably involve blisters, muscle ache, nausea, and/or a humiliating fainting episode somewhere in the vicinity of Tower Bridge. My stomach churned over a little at the prospect that pretty soon I was about to

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findout.

Despite my fears, it all began extremely well.

At the start line the sun was shining and as the gun went off and thirty thousand people tried to squeeze through a small gate in Greenwich Park, I was struck by a thought that this is probably not the worst way you could spend a Sunday morning. The streets around the park were lined with people clapping and cheering and the sense of exhilaration at being amongst it all, being part of such an event, carried me through the first few miles before I knew it.

Even though there was obviously still a long way to go, I began to think this whole marathon thing was going to be a bit of a breeze.

Up until fifteen miles it sort of was. I’d never experienced a better atmosphere. Everyone was on a high: other runners, the crowd - it was all like one big, happy carnival. Live music was being played at the side of the road, people were handing out homemade cakes and sweets, and, for one day at least, a sort of marathon utopia seemed to have enveloped the streets of London.

And then, around mile seventeen, I started

to notice a pain in the back of my calves. It wasn’t a sharp pain, more a cramp-like stiffness, but it was enough to slow my running. I began to find it difficult to stretch my legs and my stride shortened dramatically. Suddenly the cheerful pace I’d maintained for the early miles was a thing of the past and pretty soon, much to my annoyance, other runners began to pass me. At first it was just a few, and then, before long, I realised I was being passed with alarming regularity. And not just by fit, healthy-looking runners either - but also by out of shape, knackered-looking runners or, even worse, runners weighed down by several layers of fancy dress. I watched helplessly as runner after runner streamed by: septuagenarians, Ninja Turtles, the Playboy bunny, George Bush, Tony Blair, and countless others who looked as if they should be struggling more than I was. Even the Grim Reaper made an appearance, before he scythed his way mercilessly through the field and disappeared (and yes, that pun was intended).

Pretty soon it began to rain. I had some jellybeans in my pocket – for energy – but in the rain they started to go mushy and some of the red food colouring began to run down my leg, making it look as if I’d just been shot in the thigh. I saw some friends at mile nineteen, which cheered me up a bit, but by this time I was really beginning to suffer and the pain was growing progressively worse; by now it had migrated up both hamstrings, like hospital anaesthetic, and was busy numbing and stiffening my muscles, until it began to feel as if I was running with my legs in a pair of splints.

The worst part of the race was at mile twenty.

I felt awful, but I knew I still had six miles to go. I knew London pretty well and I could picture the six miles of tarmac that lay between where I stood and the finish line near Buckingham Palace. It seemed an impossibly long way given how I was feeling. So, rain-soaked and angry, and for the want of any better plan,

I started to berate myself: Why the hell did you have to enter this stupid thing? Why the hell did you not do enough training? Why the hell do you have to be such a daft prick sometimes, Daniel? All these thoughts, plus a load more unprintable ones, went through my head, but I swear that anger - and the thought that the sooner I finished, the sooner I could sit down was the only thing that kept me going.

I staggered on. Miraculously, the miles began to tick off. Glaciers have moved quicker than I did at times, but slowly, little by little, I began to get closer. Around mile twenty-two I saw two friends in the crowd. ‘How’s it going?’ they shouted. Lacking the strength for much of a response I simply pointed at my legs and shouted ‘fucked,’ with as much energy as I could muster, and then continued on my way. I think they understood.

On and on I trudged. There was nothing else I could do. I simply put one foot in front of the other and cursed every living thing in sight.

Even the atmosphere failed to cheer me up.

Despite the fact it was over four hours since the starting gun had fired there was still a huge crowd and, even though it was raining heavily, they remained incredibly vocal. But they began to be less and less of a help to me. I guess I knew deep down that the only person who could really get me to the line was myself.

Finally, after four hours and twenty minutes of running, I entered the final mile. Predictably, inevitably, I ran that final mile almost neck and neck with an impossibly cheerful, smiling Batman. How he was still smiling I don’t know, but his infectious bonhomie was enough to push me over the line. I’d done it. I could finally stop running. No single thought – either before or since – has ever made me so happy.

So happy, in fact, that I immediately started to wonder about which marathon to sign up for next.

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A Beginner’s Tale:

The First HalfMarathon

By Shannon Lough

I

ran my first half marathon last autumn in Saku. I had been running steadily every morning, five days a week since spring so I felt like I was ready to make the attempt.

Before the race, I made the classic mistake of a beginner: over-training. I felt that if I missed a day, I would be slowing my progress. Every week I pushed my distances further and allowed less recovery time. I built up my endurance without building the strength needed in my legs to support my body, particularly my knees. I didn’t even consider looking for a training plan online. I would just run every morning, and once a week I would work up towards running the full 21km. Eventually, my knees began to give way unexpectedly when I walked, and movement become slightly painful. I had to take a break from my daily runs, and I began cross-training by swimming and doing yoga instead.

After my body recovered from the initial overtraining, I researched more on what I should do to prepare for the next three weeks before the race. About a week and a

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half before the race, I tapered off my running by doing shorter distances at an ‘easy pace’ (where I could carry on a conversation with a running partner). I took more full-rest days, without cross-training. I ate more carbohydrates. Although I had read that simple foods are best, I foolishly gave into my love of green Thai curry the day before the race. Heavy food, like a cheese burger, or creamy food, like a coconut based curry, doesn’t do your GI tract any favours when you’re running 21km the next day. Even pasta can be dangerous if you eat too much, something I will be more aware of the week before my next race.

In spite of my beginner’s errors, I surpassed my own expectations during the race. I finished in 1hour 47minutes, and came in 6th place for my division. I think the trick for me was being able to push myself competitively alongside other trained athletes, and to main My advice for beginners: First of all, you can do it! Just find your pace, and you’ll surprise yourself. You can run a lot further than you think.

tain a steady pace throughout. I lost a lot of steam during the last 6km, which is where I want to work on this time around.

Crossing the finish line was the best part. I felt a combination of pure exhaustion, relief, elation, nausea, confidence, and reward for all the early morning runs. Volunteers then wrapped me up in a towel and guided me towards the drink station. After which, I was given a bag of goodies to make miso soup (with the most delicious miso paste I’ve ever used).

Then I was guided towards a giant cauldron of miso soup, or suiton, and I can’t remember exactly but it was amazing and perfect for my depleted body.

After the race, I took a few days off and completely rested. Soon after, I began swimming again, and then getting into my runs slowly. The race was completely worth the effort, and now I’m training for my next half marathon. Eventually, I’d like to tackle a full marathon, but for now I’m just trying to improve my running, one step at a time.

My Advice for Beginners • • • • • • • •

•

• •

Find your breathing rhythm. I draw in two deep breaths through my nose, and two short breaths through my mouth.

Try to run 5-6 days a week, mixing up your routine. Long slow paced runs, then shorter and faster paced runs, and easy runs. Change your route so you never get bored.

Mix up your runs with long runs, short, fast tempo runs, long tempo runs, intervals with sprints, and easy runs.

Take a total rest day off.

Use MapMyRun.com to find your route, and judge your distances and elevations, while recording your time to see how you’re improving.

Increase your distances gradually, 10% a week is recommended, and after your long run (as you start to increase up 10+ km) make sure to follow with a recovery day with rest or low impact cross-training, like swimming or biking.

Always stretch after running. I usually follow a run with a 20-40min yoga routine.

Eat and drink after a run. Within 15-30minutes of a run you should consume at least 100 calories to prevent low blood sugar levels, sore muscles and stiffness. It’s also when your body begins to rebuild glycogen, so your muscles can re-fuel for the next workout session.

I usually can’t eat right after running, so I’ll have a protein shake (vanilla whey powder mixed with water and milk).

Running shoes are very important. They cushion the impact on your body caused by running. The more you wear them, the more that cushioning affect wears out. Generally, it’s recommended to get new running shoes after every 300-400miles (approx. 482km-644km, or if you run about 30km a week around every 5-6months), and to only use those shoes for running and not for cross-training or for strutting around downtown Tokyo.

If you have any more questions, please email me at s.a.lough@gmail.com Also, a lot of my information comes from www.RunnersWorld.com, which is a great source of information for runners at all levels.

Ganbatte!

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Final Year Reflections Is this your last year in Japan? I asked some former Nagano residents to reflect on their final days in Japan, to let us know what they’ve been up to, and to offer advice for those that will soon find themselves in a similar situation.

Name: Chris Chu Former City: Maruko (Town in Ueda) Years in Nagano: 3 What are you up to now? Just finished my CELTA (an ESL teacher certification), am looking at Europe for teaching/living/working, and am now vacationing in JAPAN! I decided not to recontract because: I had reached a professional ceiling as to what my job would allow me to expand on as far as being a teacher. Additionally, I knew there were/are still more things to explore and develop as a person, and a fourth year would have seen fewer rewards than a leap of faith into the next chapter of life.

The best part of leaving Japan was: Knowing with confidence that I'd be back, and having friends/family (my J-foster family) waiting there for me.

The hardest part of leaving Japan was: Leaving my life, my community, my school, my team (coached the girls' volleyball team at one of my junior highs) my J-family (see above), a super secure job, apartment, and lifestyle.

My final year in Japan, I wish I’d…: Done absolutely nothing differently.

But I’m glad I took the time to…: Once I made the decision to leave, to make sure I took the right steps to leave a great last impression on my schools, students, community, fellow JETs, and anyone else who'd helped me along the way, and an exhaustive informational packet (videos help so much!) for my successor!

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Name: Big T Former City: Tatsuno, then Ina Years in Nagano: 3 What are you up to now? Working at a restaurant, while still searching for Engineering work :( I decided not to recontract because: I was ready for an Engineering job again, and wanted to see more of the world. My reasons to go finally outnumbered my reasons to stay, and it had been a very fulfilling three years, which I tell people were the best of my life so far.

The best part of leaving Japan was: Central heating, English everywhere... PIZZA! Oh my god the pizza is so good in Regina.

The hardest part of leaving Japan was: Saying goodbye to all the friends I made, and the local kappa sushi My final year in Japan, I wish I’d…: Seen Hokkaido maybe, but it was never a huge priority. I did so much, and I try not to live with regrets. If there was a regret, it would maybe be not applying for more jobs before I left, but I don't regret having spent that remaining time with the friends I made.

But I’m glad I took the time to…: Write a travel blog. At first, it was a great motivation to go out and do stuff for fresh stories, but eventually it became a habit to live an exciting life and not play too many video games :P Name: Meredith Habermann Former City: Chikuhoku-mura Years in Nagano: Two wonderful years What are you up to now? Well I guess it depends on when you publish this article. I came back to Japan to hang out with some of my favorites, but soon I will be working on a vineyard in Napa valley, then hitchhiking across the US of A. Followed by getting my SPCW95 certification so I can be a stewardess on some rich man’s yacht and make lots of dough so I can pay off loans.

I decided not to recontract because: There is too much of the world to see.

The best part of leaving Japan was: Going back to America. Soleil, Krissy and I flew to Alaska, bought a beat up 1989 Ford Areostar and drove down the Alcan Highway through British Columbia, checked out Burning Man and a couple of cities along the way, ended up surfing in San Diego with a friend I met in Hakuba last year. Car's wheel fell off (literally) in Yuma, Arizona. Found a rental and the journey ended in Breckenridge Colorado where I crashed at my friend’s ski bum shack until it finally felt like it was time to go home to my parents’ house in NJ. The hardest part of leaving Japan was: Saying goodbye to my students. I grew really attached to those buggers.

My final year in Japan, I wish I’d…: Made it up to Hokkaido. But no regrets. I will someday.

Lived it up.

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But I’m glad I took the time to…: Build a veggie garden even though I wasn't going to get any of its benefits. I ate one cherry tomato, a little under ripe, on my last day there.

Name: Holly Hanneman Former City: Good old Shiojiri-shi (Kiso-Hirasawa) Years in Nagano: 2 What are you up to now? Right now I'm substitute teaching at the Elementary school level around Wausau, WI. I also waitress at a fine dining restaurant at night. Gotta pay those bills somehow. Also trying to figure out everything that goes into planning a wedding!

I decided not to recontract because: Living in Japan was wonderful, but it was hard to be apart from my fiancé, family, and friends back home. I wanted to start my career in teaching, which has been a slow start, but something I'm working towards. I also missed a lot of foods here: cheese curds, and cheese fries (not cheese with french fries, but the garlic and cheese type pizza that you dip into tomato sauce)...pretty much cheese. I am from Wisconsin.

The best part of leaving Japan was: coming home to my fiancé! Before I left though, I was so excited and ready to get out of Japan; I couldn't wait. Then I spent one of my final days with my family on the top of Mt. Zao (near Sendai) as a storm rolled through. We were in pretty poor spirits with pouring rain and no visibility, but we decided to stick it out in this tiny hut for when the clouds finally rolled out. The crater lake Okama was just a magnificent sight that I got to share with my family. It reminded me of why I loved living in Japan. So while I knew I was ready to leave the country, I was able to leave appreciating its beauty.

The hardest part of leaving Japan was: Leaving all the amazing friends I made from all over the world! I miss you guys! Also, my wonderful school community, my JTEs, the teachers, and especially the students and all our crazy cooking projects. They really let me do whatever I wanted and I appreciated that trust and freedom. They also made me feel like I was part of a family. I was invited to what were called “Princess Dinners” monthly with all the female teachers, I got to attend two weddings, and go to kimono parties with my coworkers. Also, knowing that back home it would be impossible to participate in a shrine carrying festival one weekend and then go fishing in the ocean the next. I do miss the spontaneity of sharing all those adventures with some great people!

My final year in Japan, I wish I’d…: I have no regrets! Except for maybe not sending home more 7-11 snacks. I miss that place. It's kind of pathetic.

But I’m glad I took the time to…: Really live it up. There was always so much to do and see and I took advantage of those opportunities to the best of my ability. My wallet was pretty depressed about that, but I had an amazing time and some great, crazy, and ridiculous stories I will never forget.

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Name: May Vang Years in Nagano: 2 What are you up to now? I teach high school math.

I decided not to recontract: Because it was time to teach what I love and not just teach.

The best part of leaving Japan: Was gaining access to a variety of food again. I love Japanese food, but when I craved a burrito, it was difficult times.

The hardest part of leaving Japan: Was knowing I would probably lose all the Japanese I learned.

My final year in Japan, I wish I'd: gone to a baseball game and climbed Fuji.

But I'm glad I took the time to: learn more about Japanese calligraphy and eat as much Japanese food as I could.

Name: James Reid Former City: Chikuma Years in Nagano: 1 What are you up to now? In grad school/ job hunting I decided not to recontract because: I only intended to do one year on JET. The best part of leaving Japan was: Seeing friends and family again.

The hardest part of leaving Japan was: Leaving behind all the friends I made there and realizing I probably would never see some of them again. I had an awesome life in Japan - my own apartment, car, job, and friends. It was difficult to leave this behind. I also regretted that I wouldn't be able to take up my new found pastime, snowboarding, with such ease and regularity as I did in Nagano. Same goes for lake swimming and other outdoor activities. I also really miss the little things like convenience stores, drinks machines, karaoke, etc. I know everyone moans about cold winters and hot summers but I really miss the weather in Nagano. Being able to sit outside wearing just a t shirt in the evening was great. I also feel that Japan is much more fast paced generally than Scotland, I really felt like I was in a different world when in Tokyo, Nagoya, etc. Scottish cities aren't quite as exciting. Ramen.

My final year in Japan, I wish I’d…: Since I only stayed one year my final year was also my first year but will answer this question anyway. I wish I had made more of an effort to get to know my work colleagues and the people that lived near me. I also wish I had seen more of Japan (e.g. kyushuu and hokkaido) but time constraints, plus my desire to travel to other Asian countries, prevented this. I also wish I had made more of a conscious effort to improve my Japanese.

I feel like I did improve drastically, however I could have made much more of an improvement.

I also wish I had seen more of Nagano - whilst I did see a lot of it I could have been more pro active in seeing some of the “off the beaten track” stuff. That said, hindsight is 20/20 and I feel like I made the most out of a short time in Nagano.

But I’m glad I took the time to…: Get to know some awesome people. Hang out with types of people I would never normally. Try new things, e.g. mountain climbing and snowboarding. I'm glad I took the time to be part of something wonderful for a year.

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Name: Jose Rodriguez Former City: Kiso-Fukushima Years in Nagano: 2 What are you up to now? Currently I am studying hard to take the certification exam and become an Elementary School Teacher. Meanwhile, I am working in a Translation and Localization company as a Quality Assurance Coordinator, working with people from around the world, including Asia.

I decided not to recontract because: Life, love, and the future do not wait. ;) Being in Japan was wonderful, but I never made it my life goal to stay. It was a dream of mine that became a reality. Sometimes I look back and it feels so surreal to me. The people I met, and the places I visited are forever engrained in my memory and heart.

The best part of leaving Japan was: To be able to be with my partner (long distance is not easy, as many JETs can confirm). To make a home from scratch for the 1st time with the person I love has been an adventure greater than moving half way across the globe. Having a washer and dryer! Eating Cuban food again! Having my family and friends! Not in that specific order of course...

The hardest part of leaving Japan was: Saying goodbye to my students. I hear the music they sang and recorded for me, see the graduation photos, remember the countless school enkai and festivals. I was truly blessed. It was also bitter-sweet to leave the amazing support group that I found in the Dirty South =). May, Holly, Jeff, Chris, and not-so-south Shima, Tonya, Erin, and Ashley (and many more). These boys and girls acted as my family for two years. I sometimes wish I could share things with them, as if they lived around the corner, and again grab a drink and tell our stories of woe and triumph as the almighty gaikokujin that we were.

My final year in Japan, I wish I’d…: Travelled Asia some more. I was quite the home-buddy!

I had to mind the money since I knew I was moving out on my own right away after returning home. But it is not the last time I am traveling, so, no harm done!

But I’m glad I took the time to…: Let's be honest here, I am glad I did everything I did. Onsen, temples and shrines, sushi, teaching English to old ladies, falling on my ass walking to school in the freezing winter, failing the driving test three times (never passed), falling asleep in the train and missing my stop, getting lost for thirty minutes inside Shinjuku Station, having one of the worst New Years of my life, forgetting it was X-Mas Eve - just to be reminded by a talking vending machine, getting soaking wet every morning during rainy season, getting caught in the inaka without money on a Sunday afternoon after all the ATMs closed, having the loveliest mornings walking to school, students grabbing my [your choice of body part, with or without hair] out of nowhere, getting fruit/vegetables/any food from random old ladies or coworkers, having to go to the doctor and relay through a coworker how you feel, fireworks, OMG fireworks, and more!

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Name: Krissy Werner Former City: Iiyama Years in Nagano: 2 What are you up to now? After Japan I traveled with 2-3 of my friends from Nagano in the US, then with a university friend down to Colombia, and then to Chicago to visit my sister and another JET friend. I applied to jobs with organizations doing development work, and worked non-stop in catering to maintain my unhealthy addiction to the non-profit sector. Unable to get a job I wanted, I decided to do get experience in development work from a different direction, and used up my air miles to move to Nicaragua. I'm currently studying economics online, Spanish 4-6 hours a day, living in a homestay in a pueblo, while volunteering with various community service projects here. (Farming is the best!) I'm still applying for jobs and researching graduate schools focusing on development work.

The best part of leaving Japan was: Reconnecting with old friends, re-discovering the United States, and taking the "life lessons" and resourcefulness I gained from my JET experience to new places in the world. The hardest part of leaving Japan was: My students. So much so that I promised them each postcards (though it seems as though they still haven't received them.) And I miss the communities I had just started to form.

Food for Thought

I decided not to recontract because: While I love the kids at my school and more than appreciate the amazing experience I was given, I felt like it offered no more job growth for me in the areas I wanted to pursue professionally.

My final year in Japan, I wish I’d…: Pushed myself more at the beginning to learn more Japanese, be more proactive about visiting places I never got to go to, hung out with my Japanese friends more, and saved much more money. I definitely think these wishes are mutually exclusive.

But I’m glad I took the time to…: Join Japanese communities I really enjoyed, like the African dance group. Be a creepster and linger talking to my kids after school, or my ex-students at their high school. Plan that ZaZa Arts Festival. Say yes to many things, and get to know the amazing other English teachers placed in my prefecture.

I know I will go back to Japan some day, and I'm looking forward to that day.

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Flashes of Yesterday

I

By Ike Glinsmann

t happens at the most random times. On the highway en route to work, as I’m looking at the Yosemite Sam mud-flaps telling me to ‘back off’. Walking through the produce section of the grocery store, looking at what passes for fruit as winter winds down in Wisconsin. Even during Futurama reruns on Netflix.

The veterans warned me about this. I was a wide-eyed greenhorn, overwhelmed by my surroundings. There was Jesse, with his grizzled beard and suspenders, saying things like, “Watch it rook, things like this will creep up on you.” Or Matt, in a suit and with a graceful woman hanging off each arm: “You don’t think about it now, but it will come back when you least expect it.”

Of course, they were right. So here I exist, eight months removed from Japan, the full impact of my time spent beneath the rising sun dawning on me.

In that brief flash, it’s no longer semi’s and SUV’s passing; it’s me standing at the Iijima bus stop, cars whizzing by with necks craned to see the bearded oddity.

It’s no longer the weary fruit of Copp’s; it’s Molly, Stephen and I eating peaches so juicy you have to tilt your head back and start at the bottom so you don’t lose any nectar as we watch the moon set on the mountaintops.

It’s no longer Fry and Lela telling jokes; it’s a crowd of eight year olds swarming around me, hugging, laughing, pulling, poking (always poking) as I try and keep them at bay without smearing them with the five colors of chalk that coat my fingertips.

I am completely disarmed by their intensity.

Here I am, a Bodhisattva, my flashes of enlightenment memories of a former life.

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The

kype Relationship

By Jen Cammarn Online

Going from seeing each other all the time to seeing each other whenever your CO decides you can have internet can be rough. So far it hasn’t been so rough for me. True, in August I spent a lot of money I didn’t have on iced tea and iced lattes at my local café that has wi-fi (one that actually has a barista) and miming gestures at the camera because I wasn’t sure if it would be socially acceptable for me to talk.

I’ve done the long distance thing before. It didn’t quite work out. The trick this time was that with my current relationship, our romance started with Skype, not with being face to face. Let me elaborate. My current boyfriend was my best friend through my last two years of college. It was only after graduation when we had returned to our respective parents’ houses separated by several states that we started talking more. Only in July, two and a half weeks before my departure to Japan when he came to visit me did we start dating. That’s the secret right there to success: don’t go from seeing each other daily and hanging out to suddenly being half a world away. There’s less of a shock to the system and to the relationship. While working out time differences can be tricky, you’ll end up better for it in the end.

As far as keeping the relationship interesting, we both enjoy destroying zombies in Left 4 Dead (1 and 2). It gives us more to talk about than, “How was school?”

“Oh, no one took me to class so I sat in the office all day.” Instead it’s more like, “Get this Smoker off me why are you over there getbackheredon’tshootmejfeil;afjelak;f!!!”

Once Portal 2 is released we’ll probably do that as well, hopefully with less brain-chewing incidents.

I won’t say that it’s super easy, but it could be a lot worse. The advent of the internet and technology has made it possible for relationships to survive across continents with a lot more ease than back when written letters took about a month to get from one continent to the other. I’d say my situation is pretty good. I’d be nice to have him here, but I’ll take what I can get.

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I Love Days that Celebrate Chocolate!...

I Mean, Love!

You’re probably all familiar with the origins of Valentine’s Day. Like many modern holidays, such as Halloween, Easter, Christmas, et cetera, Valentine’s Day has deep roots in the Christian religion, but like most modern holidays Japan has taken from the west, the theological meanings are thrown to the side in favor of the more “fun” aspects of the holiday, thanks to the marketing efforts of greeting card companies and chocolate manufacturers.

Kind of like how Japanese people associate Kentucky Fried Chicken with Christmas… you can thank the large corporations for that!

But don’t let the religions roots and cold commercialism of Valentine’s Day jade your perception of the holiday. It’s a day to celebrate love. It’s a day to tell your significant other how much you love them. After all, how would your loved one possibly know how much you care for them if you don’t shower them with gifts and chocolate? And what better way to say “I love you” than a cleverly concocted greeting card? These days you don’t have to be witty or original to please the love of your life; just throw down a couple large bills and let people more original than you do all the walkin’ and talkin’.

But Japan has really nailed the art of expressing love with your wallet. Not only do you get to tell your partner how much you care for them in ways of confectionaries and cards,

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but thanks to the corporate geniuses sitting in their high-rise penthouse offices in Tokyo, we get to do it TWICE with the inclusion of White Day. It’s like a freakin’ double Christmas in the land of the rising sun! Hell yeah!

But you see, I’m way too smart for all these try-hard Japanese girls thinking they can get me to buy them some choko in March. They really think they can give me a note telling me how much they care about me, and how they have secretly loved me for the past three years, but because of their extreme shyness only now they have finally been able to work up the courage to express their feelings for me with a tiny-ass thing of chocolate I can nom down in under 20 seconds? Oh hell no, Ms. Kawaii-chans! I see through your one-dimensional ploys to try and get me to buy you that luxurious 40 piece set of Godiva Truffles!

Four girls tried to pull this crap on me, and you know what I did to each and every one of them? I took the box of chocolates, chucked it at their face, broke their tiny Asian noses and screamed “nice try, bitch!” as I walked away laughing manically.

But, when I say four girls, I really mean two.

And when I say two, well, I really mean zero.

Oh God, I’m so lonely it hurts.

Anyone want to give me some chocolate?

Confessions of a Cheater

By Anonymous

I’m a Cheater.

I’ve had sex with two different girls in the past month while dating my girlfriend.

I tell you this up front so you can hate me. I’m the asshole that gets written about in bitter love songs. I’m the bastard that makes women distrust men for the rest of their dating life (and possibly all throughout marriage). Yeah, I’m the guy that can’t take himself seriously enough to keep his magic mushroom confined to one female.

I’ve never told anyone. It’s nothing to brag about. Bragging gets you caught. That’s the mistake most guys make. They choose to go trumpet blowing to their friends at great length about how they shagged this buff girl when their girlfriend wasn’t around and blabber on even further about their next planned meet. Eventually, word gets around and it all comes back around to the cheater.

You talk, you get caught. You keep exchanges short and private. You tell nobody. And you certainly don’t add who you’re cheating with to Facebook.

I don’t think of Japanese girls as disposable. In fact, I care for my girlfriend very much. But when the opportunity arises to try a different blend of coffee, it becomes very difficult to turn down having a sip once I get a whiff of the warm, enticing aroma. I’m not quite convinced that human beings were meant to be monogamous, and when you’ve spent the majority of your adult life outside of committed relationships, it’s easier said than done to automatically shut off the switch that commands “no sex with other women.”

If I had to guess, cheating feels a lot like committing murder. Like killing somebody that has no friends and no family: as long as you wipe away all the evidence, it’s a victimless crime (except with murder, you know, there is the guy you murdered. But let’s ignore that little detail). How does one get away with murder? Well, this is my MO: 1. Girl meets for drinks. During the time spent with the girl I tell nobody my plans for that evening. And if somebody does ask I have an alibi at hand: Whatever my usual routine is for that day is that’s what I state. I take the girl to a small place where the probability of me being spotted is slim to none. And any messages I get to my phone are responded to in the usual time.

2. Girl comes to the house. I keep a mental note of every spot in the house she has been. We get cozy. When undressing, all of her clothes are put in the same place just to make sure there are no socks or panties to be found at a later date. The condom wrapper is opened only half way, because I don’t want that tiny upper-flap of the wrapper escaping somewhere.

3. Girl goes on her way. It’s cleanup time. I get a plastic bag and put all evidence inside of it: receipts left behind, hairpins, condoms, wrappers, etc. I get a sticky roller and backtrack everywhere in the house she has been. I start rolling to remove any hair.

The bed is gone over twice. You can’t vacuum; a clean house in the middle of the week is suspicious, especially if you’re a slob like me. I also don’t empty my trash, also suspicious. I put the sticky paper in the evidence bag and make a quick car ride to the conbini to empty it.

4. Girlfriend comes over. Suddenly my heart jumps to my throat, and paranoia sweeps over me. What if I missed something? Does she suspect anything? What if I missed a hair?

But everything goes as normal. She suspects nothing (I think). At that very moment when I’m convinced that she didn’t find out, relief sweeps over me. And I swear to myself that I’ll never do anything that stupid again. I couldn’t bear to see the pain on her face if she did find out. I think the expression she would wear would be the same if I did murder somebody close to her. I suddenly feel like I miss her, even though she is right next to me. I wrap my arms around her and give her a kiss, and of course she gives me a puzzled look.

“Why kiss,” she says in not-so-perfect English.

“Why not,” I reply.

I feel closer to her than ever before. God, did I really risk this relationship for some quick fun? How stupid!

And then next week comes around, and a new girl presents herself.

I really need to get caught.

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Single and Happy Noah Rection takes you through the thrills of single life in the country.

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o, how is it being a single guy in a small rural town in the mountains of Japan? Not lonely!

As you are about to see, there are plenty of opportunities for young lads.

“Hello” she says, grabbing my right arm.

I’m walking along the main road of town. Somehow I didn’t notice her. Perhaps my attention was caught by the dimly lit, sparsely populated store on my left.

“Where are you from?” She continues, in not-so-fluent English.

She is still holding my arm, and I notice her bare left ring finger. After a minute or two of conversation, she opens up. “You are very handsome. Like a movie star.” I hope she doesn’t mean Sean Penn, because I don’t think he is so “hansamu.” We talk for another minute or two. I tell her about my work, my life. The spring breeze rustles her skirt. The conversation could have gone on for hours, but I have to leave, as my supervisor is waiting at the station.

She musters up all her strength and energy for a farewell. She takes a deep breath.

“Ok, See you aga---” At that moment, her top dentures fall out, but are quickly and quite adeptly caught and put back in, at a slightly unforgiving angle. She laughs unstoppably and walks away.

I stop and think for a minute: she called me handsome!

The truth is, I like these encounters. Elderly ladies seem to find me attractive, and I don’t let their age get in the way of inflating my ego. I mean, they have obviously seen a lot of guys in their 70-odd-years, and to stop me and compliment me on my looks must mean I am outstandingly attractive.

Noah Rection is an expert at being single and happy. Don’t be fooled by his short stature and matted hair, he is extraordinarily handsome and could have a girlfriend if he wanted.

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Moments in

Shinshu Photos by Erin Street

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SADNESS and HOPE Photos by Daniel Pierce

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Hope. Shizugawa, Japan

uring Golden Week, I took my second trip to Tohoku to volunteer in Ishinomaki and Minamisanriku cho. I worked for countless hours clearing debris, digging mud, and shoveling dirt, but my most memorable moments were staying in a shelter with refugees who had lost their homes in Minamisanrikucho, and listening to their stories.

Pain and suffering was obvious behind their smiles, but no one can deny the strength of their character, and the immense will power these people have shown in the face of this disaster. Despite the pain and sadness, I saw HOPE. For more photos you can visit: www.flikr.com/photos/danielpierce/ To read about my experience: http://daniel-and-emma.tumblr.com/post/4524954967/volunteering-inishinomaki

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Train in the rubble, Shizugawa, Japan

All that’s left, Shizugawa, Japan

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Ruins of Nagashizu village, Minamisanriku-cho.

Broken Tracks, Shizugawa, Japan.

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Splintered trees. Shizugawa, Japan.

Roof-top parking. Shizugawa, Japan.

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In the way. Ishinomaki, Japan.

A sad fate. Ishinomaki, Japan.

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Collapse. Ishinomaki, Japan.

Hard day’s work. Ishinomaki, Japan.

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Man & Child. Nagashizu hostel, Minamisanriku-cho.

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Grateful. Ishinomaki, Japan

Beautiful Oblivion. Nagashizu hostel, Minamisanriku-cho.

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Children living in a Junior High. Shizugawa junior high school.

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Survivors. Ishinomaki, Japan.

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Venus

by Justin K. Ellis

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The Soul's Flight How often like a god we feel When Love does nourish us with Hope And feeds the ivory wings within

That spread unto the day.

Those mighty wings, that reaching out Into the wide and azure sky Rustle bravely in the wind

And carry us aloft.

Aloft and higher, and higher still To chart experience unknown, And in the heavens, behold with mind

The great and universal.

How quick we rise, how quick we fall When wings are at once crushed.

They send us down unto the Earth

To tend our aching flights.

By Justin K Ellis

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Dangerously Delicious Taco Dip

By Shannon Lough

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ince learning to make my Aunt Vicki’s taco dip recipe, it has been the most demanded appetizer in Canada for Sunday Football and in Japan for the odd get together. It’s really simple, and it makes a lot, but I had to alter a few ingredients once coming to Japan.

Ingredients: 1 1 ½ or 1 2-3 1 250 g.

3-4

250 g pkg. of cream cheese 250 g. carton of cottage cheese pkg. taco seasoning green onions, chopped small head of iceberg lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded tomatoes, chopped

Directions: In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, cottage cheese and taco seasoning. Mix well, spread into a quiche dish, top with chopped green onions, chopped lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese and chopped tomatoes.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Alterations: I use one package of cream cheese and two little packs of cottage cheese. I find the cottage cheese drier in Japan, so I add about 1/4 of a cup of plain sugar-free yogurt. Cheddar cheese is hard to come by, so I use whatever pre-shredded cheese that’s on sale in the supermarket.

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

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