Every time I try to write about my last days in Tanegashima, I keep getting choked up. So rather than dwell on that sensitive subject, I'll focus on the present and recent past, on new experiences in a new land and the promise of things to come.


Youkoso Bay Area

On July 5th, I arrived bright, early, and loaded with luggage, at SFO. People were too rude, speaking too much English, and "too diverse." There were too many lanes on the highway, too many cars on the road, and the cars were all too big. Within the first five minutes, I had already decided I wanted to be back in Japan.

After some initial lapses in communication, compounded by my lack of a cellphone, my parents picked me up and we went to have an unceremonious lunch at Fresh Choice. I had a difficult time keeping myself from laughing, crying, or some bizarre combination of the two, due to lack of sleep and severe reverse culture shock. The faces of everyone waving and standing at the airport fence as the plane took off were still much too vivid.

That afternoon, I slept until approximately midnight, then hastily had dinner and rummaged through the piles and piles of boxes in the house, searching for my stuff. I stopped at around dawn and went back to sleep.

Later that morning (now the 6th), the exterminators came to fumigate the house. We had to vacate for the afternoon, eating lunch with my parents' realtor friends who had helped sell the Fremont house. That day, our whole family of 5 was reunited for the first time in more than a year and a half. Perhaps that says something about how "nuclear" we are as a family. After we came back and let the house air out (nevermind the smell of poison that hung in the air for days) for a few hours, I went back to rummaging and unpacking things.

Eventually, I did not get any sleep because I had too many boxes to go through. I managed to pack a minimum of necessities to take to Cleveland in two suitcases, hoping that I was not inconveniencing my family too much by having them move other things. I really wanted to bring the gifts and letters that everyone had given me, because I promised them I would read every single thing.

On July 7th, at a ridiculously early time, my parents drove me back to SFO, where this time I embarked on a 7 hour trip to my first experience living in the midwest (mideast?).


Hello Cleveland

To be honest, I arrived very apprehensive and alone in the Forest City. Driving the rental car out of the airport was the first time in a year that I'd put my hands to a steering wheel on the LEFT side of the car.

Everything after that seemed to go pretty smoothly. I was continually surprised at how polite people here are. It doesn't compare to Japan, of course, but it's certainly much better than the Bay Area. With the exception of accidentally driving into East Cleveland without a map, I have had no problems getting around besides my own mind second-guessing me.


Orientation

Not that much to report here. Orientation week was pretty light. Presentations and events were simple and sweet, and I feel like I have enough of a foundation to stay afloat.

I guess it's silly to say, but I was apprehensive about starting school, meeting people, and my new classmates. It's good to know now that I have no reason to feel that way.


White Coat Ceremony

The White Coat Ceremony took place today at Severance Hall, a grand venue with opera house-style decor. I'm sure others will have more eloquent words to describe it appropriately. There were a few speeches, which made me envious and resolve to develop better public speaking skills, and then the handing out of white coats. There was the recital of the oath, a concise but well-crafted document, which resonated beautifully in the hallowed hall. There was a class photo in the too-fair weather involving the meltdown of people's eyeballs. Then there was very good food and many conversations to be had.


I'm sure there is more I could say, but it's time to retire for the night and prepare for the first real day of class.



// jennifer.

When students' work ends
Then the teacher's work begins
Grading homework: whee

It might seem strange that I've been babbling a lot about leaving Japan, how much I'll miss it, and how busy I'll be with moving and settling down, but I haven't really said much about my actual thoughts and feelings regarding medical school.

It probably doesn't need to be said that I am very excited about starting school.

I expect to be wowwed by some things, driven crazy by others, and generally in a state of perpetual change, at least for the first month. I expect to learn a lot, be challenged, and feel under pressure a lot of the time. Overall, I think I will really enjoy it. But these are all conjectures; I can't say much until I actually get into the thick of things.

And I'm the sort of person with an endless imagination. If I let myself imagine what could happen, it's never going to stop, and I won't get anything done. So for now, I've been trying to concentrate on one thing at a time (arrange leaving details...pack...make it back to the States in one piece...pack...move...), and move on from there.

I do want to mention that I am very, very happy that Case granted me a deferral, and that this year off has been completely worth it. I feel that it's one of the best decisions I ever made, to come on the JET Program.



// jenn.

Yeah, in general I like liking things more than disliking them. But sometimes don't you just like to dislike certain things? I know that if we go on and on about all the illogical things people say on the internet, we'd never stop. But that doesn't make them less weird. One of these is the frequent comment following a great piece of music, art, or other work by a female artist, made by a male (usually): "Wow, she is so talented! I want to make babies with her!" This is seen most frequently with regards to music, on sites like YouTube, in the comments section of music videos or recordings of live performances. The comment's wording comes in different shades ("I wanna be your daddy!" "Start a family with me!" etc, etc), but the meaning is generally the same.

Maybe it's just me, but those comments always make me go: WTF? non-sequitur. I can't see talented singing (let's just focus the topic on singing, as opposed to talents like dancing/writing/drawing/sports/etc) as THE definitive element of attraction, unless you are a bird. I didn't know birds were that good at typing bad pickup lines. Not to mention it strikes me as an "interesting" way to compliment somebody, to say the least. I mean, do you think the best way to show your appreciation for someone's talent is to make them pregnant? Do you think that, as a person focused on using their talent to express themselves and affect people, getting pregnant with a random nobody is THEIR idea of the ultimate thank-you? Or, for some people, is any kind of appreciation inseparable from procreation?

I suppose it's marginally better that these men want to be responsible and start families, rather than just have some one-night "appreciation" stand with the artist. And it often happens the other way around; plenty of women have their let's-start-a-family checklist satisfied with a single criterion, like "rich and famous," "astronaunt", "football star" or "man with biggest biceps according to Guiness." Regardless, those are all pretty stupid reasons, if they are the ONLY reason.

This makes a perfect manga scene. I imagine that the artist is drawn with a sweat drop hovering above her head, with a thought bubble: "I appreciate your sentiment...but I don't share it."


// jenn.

I'm wondering if some people just naturally have more energy. Or, failing energy, more will power. I wonder what it is that keeps people going out and doing things all the time, because I just feel like I don't do enough. I mean, I have fun once I go out and do something, but the activation energy to get started is such a hurdle. And once I go out to do something, it's always half-a$$ed because I'm not good at focusing on more than one thing at a time. Why can't I put some energy into it, girl!?

That being said, the past few weeks have been pretty busy.


June 6th was the Kanji Kentei [漢字検定], town teachers' volleyball tournament and S-chan's birthday party. The Kanji Kentei, or Kanken for short, is a national kanji proficiency test. There are other proficiency tests, such as Japanese (the JLPT is the version for non-native Japanese speakers), English, and math. If you pass the test, you get a certificate and the right to pat yourself on the back. It's probably like certificates you can get in the States, like TEFL or Windows proficiency. I took the 8th rank test, which is approximately elementary school 3rd graders' ability. I think I passed, because I actually studied for it! Nevermind that it isn't useful at all. XD

Then I went to the town's Teacher Volleyball Tournament. They appear to have a sports competition [体育大会: taiiku taikai] for teachers once a term; this one was volleyball. The teams were divided by school. I played on the middle school's team for one round. We'd practiced all of two times prior to this event, so it wasn't a big wonder that we were eliminated after the first round (even though we had the most number of teams!). At one point, the BoE invited me to join their team against the middle school. I couldn't because, no matter how you look at it, I'd be betraying somebody [裏切り者： uragiri mono]. After all, I've worked at the BoE, the middle school, and all 7 elementary schools! After that, I watched the semifinals while chatting up some of the elementary teachers. It was refreshing because I hardly get to see the shougakkou teachers outside of the scheduled once-a-month morning English class.

After that competition (winning team: the Special Education School), I had lunch at the very good burger place in town. Then I lay down at home "to rest" and slept like a rock. I didn't get up till 6 pm...although S-chan's BBQ party had started at 5. OOPS. (Gomen nasai!! M_M;;;) Did I ever mention that I hate being late, but somehow I'm ALWAYS late!? The party itself was pretty cool. The food was delicious, for one thing. There were a lot of people, for another, and I met some pretty interesting people. I was still groggy from all the sleep, though, so I don't think I was at my best (nevermind being very late!).


The week of June 8th passed by in a blur of last-time elementary school lessons.


Then on Thursday, June 11th, I went to dinner with "non teachers" from work. It was unexpectedly fun, again proving the piece of common sense that you can't judge people by how they seem at work (especially here in Japan). The in-joke about the exotic and unusual dish called "ham kashi" will elicit laughter for months to come.


On Saturday, June 13th, I caught up with R-chan at R-chan and Y's house and give her a belated birthday gift. "Belated Birthday Wishes" should be my middle name. =P On an unrelated note, Y makes a delicious okonomiyaki.


June 16th was K-sensei's birthday. That night, A-chan, K-chan, and I had a "takoyaki" party. (We didn't buy any tako because it was expensive.) K-chan brought the takoyaki maker, which had an Anpanman lid! It was so...(cute isn't exactly the right word). We ate several rounds of takoyaki, then made a number of yaki equal to the supposed age of K-sensei, and went to his house to give him the takoyakis and a birthday present. He was surprised, to say the least. Especially at the prank takoyaki which had a liberal dose of chili sauce added to it. That was a lot of fun, although I am now sick of any kind of round starchy food.


Then, yesterday I went to T-san's house to record the English version of the Tanegashiman theme song. Tanegashiman is the local hero mascot of Tanegashima, and has a theme song titled "Kamase! TANEGASHIMAN." T-san is the original singer and writer of the song, back in 1999. Because I enjoy translating songs, I translated the theme song into English. After that, there was a month where they tried to find a native English speaker to sing it. After that failed, I agreed (reluctantly, as I have no confidence in my voice which sounds like a 5-year-old kid's) to sing it. T-san, who works in the agricultural machine business but enjoys mixing music as a hobby, had a studio with fancy equipment in his shed. After the recording, we had dinner at his house, which was cool. That was a fascinating experience. If I actually were good at singing, I wouldn't mind doing the whole band thing! It seems like fun. :D



// jenn.

This is the July new release digest from Melody Cafe, highlighting new CDs that I'll be watching out for.

**Click here to learn more about Melody Cafe**


Contents:
> Hatsune feat. KEN THE 390 - koi ni deatta natsu
> MONGOL800 - eight-hundreds
> Ueto Aya - Happy Magic~Smile Project
> school food punishment - butterfly swimmer
> Onitsuka Chihiro - kaerimichi wo nakushite


======
[July 1] Hatsune feat. KEN THE 360 - koi ni deatta natsu (single)
( more... )



======
[July 8] MONGOL800 - eight-hundreds (album)
( more... )



======
[July 15] Ueto Aya - Happy Magic~Smile Project (album)
( more... )



======
[July 22] school food punishment - butterfly swimmer (single)
( more... )



======
[July 22] Onitsuka Chihiro - kaerimichi wo nakushite (single)
( more... )

It's said that June is the rainiest month in Japan. Here they call the summer rainy season "tsuyu." While I'm not a fan of rain, it's the only respite for an otherwise hot and humid summer. Along with rain, June is known for being "insect month." I've seen a lot of flying ants lately indoors. I am told that gejigeji, mukade, and other things with many legs gather in numbers during this time, although I have yet to see them, luckily.

If it weren't for the musty smell in the air, I wouldn't mind the rain so much. It's just so damp and muted now.

I know it sounds obvious. If you don't unlock your door, no one can open it. But inevitably, I'm the kind of person who keeps my door locked. I'm not talking about the door to your house or car, although I keep those doors locked, too. I mean the door to you, as a person. It's a self-defense mechanism, of course. When it comes down to it, I have a delicate emotional core. I usually keep my doors very tightly shut to prevent, or at least mitigate, any potential harm.

There are times when I wonder why I don't have more friends. Sometimes I almost feel like something is wrong with me. But I know that there is nothing wrong. I don't have many close friends because I don't let them get close to me. And why not? Maybe because I think they can't, really. It's not because I don't want to. I'm a people-centric person. I care about people, and I want to make them happy. If I could, I would want to be close friends with everyone. But I don't think I can.

Let me explain. I think that in order for two people to be really close to each other, they have to connect on the same level, a level that is important to both of them. And different things are important to different people. People can probably meet each other on all these levels. It's just a matter of what meeting is important for both of them. Inevitably, what's most important to me is a shared understanding on an emotional and/or logical (thought-related) level. What is most important to other people may be having fun. I could probably make a lot of people happy by posing in skimpy swimsuits next to shiny race cars, and maybe their enjoyment of that would be the most important thing to them, but to me it would feel meaningless and empty.

On the other hand, what is important to me is probably not important to most people. Why would I want to expose things that I hold important to people who simply don't care? How could I connect on a truly deep level with people who can't value what I value? Suppose you are in a room full of people. Someone wants you to show the crowd something that you care about very much, say the watch your spouse got for your birthday. You toss your watch to the crowd, and they let it drop to the ground. How does that feel? If you don't mind that no one cares, I suppose it's not a problem. Just keep giving everything you've got to the crowd until you get somebody's attention, if that's the most important thing to you.

As for me, maybe I have too many things I hold sacred--beliefs, principles, that sort of thing. So I keep them safely tucked away, where people can't do anything to harm them. But then, going with the assumption that people can't connect with me on a level I consider important, I don't let them try.

Deep down, I do wish I could open up to more people. But as much as I wish people could connect with me, I also value making people happy, on their grounds. So for the most part, I'm okay with just trying to do things for other people.

It's just that sometimes I feel a little lonely this way.

This is a summary of May reviews and lyrics from Melody Cafe.

**Click here to learn more about Melody Cafe**

Lyrics:
> alan - BRAVE
> Arai Akino - hoshi no mokuba
> Arai Akino - Terminal
> Atsumi Saori - osanai bokura
> CORE OF SOUL - Flying People
> Fayray - hikari to kage
> Kasahara Hiroko - aoi sora to shiroi kumo
> Takaoka Ai - koi hanabi

Reviews:
> Ahane Ayano - A-ray
> Arai Akino - Sora no Sphere
> Kasahara Hiroko - BUTTERFLY
> the HIATUS - Trash We'd Love

Artist Spotlight:
> Arai Akino



====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'Liberty' by alan )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'hoshi no mokuba' by Arai Akino )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'Terminal' by Arai Akino )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'osanai bokura' by Atsumi Saori )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'Flying People' by CORE OF SOUL )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'hikari to kage' by Fayray )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'aoi sora to shiroi kumo' by Kasahara Hiroko )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'koi hanabi' by Takaoka Ai )




====== CD Review
( review of album 'A-ray' by Ahane Ayano )


====== CD Review
( review of album 'Sora no Sphere' by Arai Akino )


====== CD Review
( review of album 'BUTTERFLY' by Kasahara Hiroko )


====== CD Review
( review of album 'Trash We'd Love' by the HIATUS )




====== Artist Spotlight: Arai Akino
( Artist Spotlight: KOKIA )

The annual Middle School Music Festival [合唱コンクール: gasshou konkuuru] took place on Friday, May 29th. "Choral Contest" might be a more accurate description. Each class sang two songs with piano accompaniment at the town concert hall, and scores were announced afterward. I only watched the first two classes because I had to teach elementary school after that, but I had heard the students practicing their songs for weeks. It was the reason why the school theme song kept reverberating in my head during school hours.

The students sounded amazing, and the theater venue was impressive. I daresay middle school students here, as a whole, sound better than students in the US. But then, American students are not always required to sing in school choral competitions.

I also had a chance to exercise my rusty drawing skills.
( Picture under the cut )



// jenn.

We're getting into the summer music season now! This is the June new release digest from Melody Cafe, highlighting some of the new releases that I'll be watching out for.

**Click here to learn more about Melody Cafe**


Contents:
> the pillows - Rock stock & too smoking the pillows / Once upon a time in the pillows
> Ueto Aya - Smile for...
> YUI - again
> Quruli - Tamashii no Yukue
> GReeeeN - Shoi, Koshou
> BENI - Koi Kogarete
> Stereopony - Hydrangea ga Saiteiru
> Stephanie - Colors of my Voice
> Kimaguren - Sora x Shounen / Kimi no Inai Sekai
> Kumaki Anri - kimi no namae
> Shiina Ringo - sanmon gossip
> Kaela Kimura - Hocus Pocus
> Kitahara Aiko - AIKO KITAHARA BEST
> TsuShiMaMiRe - Ah, Umi da.
> ALI PROJECT - Gekka no Ichigun / DALI / Hoshi to Tsuki no Sonata

======
[June 3] the pillows - Rock stock & too smoking the pillows (collection album)
[June 3] the pillows - Once upon a time in the pillows (collection album)
( more... )



======
[June 3] Ueto Aya - Smile for... (single)
( more... )



======
[June 3] YUI - again (single)
( more... )



======
[June 10] Quruli - Tamashii no Yukue (album)
( more... )



======
[June 10] GReeeeN - Shio, Koshou (album)
( more... )



======
[June 10] BENI - Koi Kogarete (single)
( more... )



======
[June 17] Stereopony - Hydrangea ga Saiteiru (album)
( more... )



======
[June 17] Stephanie - Colors of my Voice (album)
( more... )



======
[June 17] Kimaguren - Sora x Shounen (album)
( more... )

[June 17] Kimaguren - Kimi no Inai Sekai (single)
( more... )



======
[June 17] Kumaki Anri - Kimi no Namae (single)
( more... )



======
[June 24] Shiina Ringo - Sanmon Gossip (album)
( more... )



======
[June 24] Kaela Kimura - Hocus Pocus (album)
( more... )



======
[June 24] Kitahara Aiko - AIKO KITAHARA BEST (collection album)
( more... )



======
[June 24] TsuShiMaMiRe - Ah, Umi da. (album)
( more... )



======
[June 24] ALI PROJECT - Gekka no Ichigun / DALI / Hoshi to Tsuki no Sonata (albums)
( more... )

The other day I was at an elementary school. This was at the beginning of the lunch period, with the third graders. The students were distributing the school lunch: one person conveyed the bread, another conveyed the soup, and so on.

The student was putting bread onto a tray when the bread tumbled off the dish, onto the tray. Although the food didn't hit the ground, the child immediately exchanged the tumbled bread with the pristine one on his own plate. He took the bread that had fallen and gave his classmate the untouched piece.

It's little things like this that stay in my memory and make me smile.

This post is related to an article about colleges using the MBTI to aid in their freshmen residential life programs. What prompted me to write was not the article itself or the contents of it, but the responses that it drew.

There seemed to be three main camps of people who responded after reading the article: one camp which hates MBTI, one camp which loves it, and a much smaller camp that doesn't understand why people love it or hate it so much.

The camp which hates MBTI with a passion had complaints along the lines of: it pigeonholes people, it's bogus, and it's useless for any kind of application. It seemed like the haters' hatred stemmed from the way the MBTI has been used (matching college roommates, and according to one responder, allowing companies to decide who to hire or fire). Now if companies did fire people because of their MBTI scores, without taking into account their past performance, ability to work in teams, and other similarly hazy qualities, I think that's a bit far.

The other camp gave some blind-faith and completely unsupported statements along the lines of the MBTI being very ("one hundred percent") accurate, stable, reliable, and not changing over time...effectively indicating that they DO believe in pigeonholing people!

I don't understand why the atmosphere is so viral. To me, the MBTI is just one framework for understanding a limited dimension of some of the tendencies of people. Notice how many qualifiers are in that sentence. It shouldn't be the ONLY framework, nor should it be the main one. But in my mind there's nothing wrong with using it for a harmless purpose like matching roommates. Is matching roommates by last name any better? And I don't consider it an invasion of privacy to make people score themselves on a dinky personality assessment. It's like a career assessment: it gives you suggestions. That's all. These suggestions are not meant to be obeyed like the Word of God.

( tangential babble under the cut )



// jenn.

The first week of May in Japan is commonly known as "Golden Week" [黄金週間: oogon shuukan], or GW for short. Three national holidays occur consecutively on this week, resulting in the longest chain of holidays (a 5-day weekend) in the year. In other words, it's the busiest vacation time of the year, next to New Year's.

During Golden Week, I didn't stray far from my island. The weather was nice, and I had no reason to escape to warmer weather. I went to Kagoshima City for one night, but it wasn't really enough time to go sight-seeing. Also, travel is relatively expensive during this time as hotels, rental cars, planes, and ferries are all fully booked with vacationers.

JK came over to visit, and we did more biking in that week than I'd done in the last month. I also hung out with friends for a bit and just generally relaxed. Some highlights:

2009/5/4

morning: Children's Fair.

Because May 5th is Children's Day, there is a Children's Fair [ちびっこふぇいあ: chibikko feia] here every year during Golden Week. Tanegashiman, the local superhero mascot, and his nemesis Jabacche (meaning something like "but" or "however" in the colloquial dialect) make their appearances here. I slept in and went to the fair in the afternoon, catching the end of the show. I debated for a little bit whether to take photos with Tanegashiman, and decided not to.

afternoon: Gone Squiding.

I went fishing for squid with some coworkers. Apparently their favorite fishing spot is at Shimama Port. The day's target was squid. Squid, of the large variety (upwards of 30 cm), appears to be very tricky to catch. The fishing method involves tying whole raw fish to the fishing pole, then attempting to pull the squid up while it's busy feeding on the whole fish. We didn't have much success, instead managing to feed several squid. It was an interesting experience, however, and I did get a glimpse of a giant, angry squid before it decided not to finish the fish and get reeled in.

2009/5/5

In the morning, we went surfing for the first time. This experience instilled respect, and not a small amount of fear, of the ocean in me. You realize when you're trying to paddle out against the waves, just how much stronger the ocean is than you are. When you do catch a wave, there is a profound sense of harmony, being in transient sync with the rush. Instead of battling all that power, you are flowing with it. I can understand how surfers sometimes have a mystical relationship with the ocean. I do think surfing is considerably harder than snowboarding. You have far less control over a constantly mutating and fickle element. It was a fascinating and humbling experience.

In the afternoon, we went up north to my favorite swimming spot on the island. While there were more visitors than usual, it was still a quiet, beautiful place. The water was on the cool side, but honestly I'd had enough of being battered by waves for one day. The summer facilities had opened up, and that languid summer dream atmosphere was definitely creeping in.



Overall, it was a good, relaxing week, and a great way to take a break from the bustle of April.


// jenn.

Gone are the days of soubetsukai, miokuri, kangeikai, and holding welcome banners at the ferry port. And gone with them is a part of me. Last year when I arrived here in August, I was fresh with the promise of meeting new people, making English fun, and learning about Japanese culture. After all the bustle in March and April with graduation, teachers transferring in and out, coworkers getting uprooted, it was great to have new experiences and people to look forward to. After all, the endings and parting speeches kept making me sad.

I've always hated endings. No matter how people feel or what they say, endings feel final. They mark a termination of potential. There may be a future after this, but the promise of those futures intertwining with each other is now broken and uncertain. With each parting speech, I felt like my short time in Japan was receding further away from me. It's not just a matter of having to say goodbye to good people. The teachers who have moved here since April are fun and good people, too. Everyone is unique, and I'm glad I have this short chance to meet and work with them.

Basically, the larger part of my one year in Japan is already over. My status as a novelty is wearing off. I feel like I have just begun to get used to things, just started to figure out how to navigate the system. Naturally it's at this juncture, when I'm starting to get comfortable and settled in, that I have to think about departing. I'm very excited about taking the next step, of course. I love beginnings. But it's with a certain amount of sadness that I will say goodbye, and it's harder and harder to prevent from thinking about it as July approaches all too fast.

At school today we had a emergency drill, aka "what to do if a suspicious person enters the school." A policeman played the part of the fushinsha [不審者], meaning "suspicious person" in Japanese, but in this case better described by the English phrase "crazy violent antisocial person."

I believe the students were warned ahead of time, which is why some of them didn't take the drill too seriously. I was pretty skeptical about this myself, but I have to admit that the police officers and teachers did a good job of getting into it. The fushinsha "broke into" a classroom wielding a "knife", which was the signal for students to flee to the gym. The teachers warded off the fushinsha with sticks while he tried to stab them, prancing around like...well, a violent, crazy person with the intent to kill people with a knife.

At one point, just after the students made it into the gym, the fushinsha made a "stab" at the doors while we tried to close them. It was unexpected and actually pretty scary! Even the skeptic in me was impressed by the efforts that were made to simulate a real intruder situation. Of course, the skeptic in me also notes that most intruders intent on killing people would act more deliberately, and probably have backup plans for hiding and escaping, but as far as hazard drills go, this one was pretty good.

...

On an unrelated note, earlier today I had some interesting insect encounters. I helped clean out a house for an incoming teacher. This house had probably not been inhabited in some time. In the closest, behold! A GINORMOUS spider. It was HUGE!! I'd say its leg span was about 5 to 6 inches (~15 cm), and the body at least 3 inches (~7 cm) long. I really wish I had my camera at that moment. We also found a bee hive (with its residents inside) in the space where the storm shutters were stored. This bee hive was made of mud, and is home to a type of bee called dorohachi [泥蜂], literally "mud bee." This is the place to be if you aspire to become an entomologist.



// jenn.

The weather is fantastic now. It's hard to concentrate on work when there's such a nice soothing ocean breeze wafting by!

I realize I didn't really post much in April. Truth be told, it was a very busy month. I now understand why the period between March and April is the busiest time of year here in Japan. April is the start of the fiscal(?) year. I'm not sure if that's the right word for it. In any case, everything "new" starts in April: new jobs, new school year, job transfers.

In April, I met and greeted new teachers at the port as they came off the ferry, helped with moving, and went to several welcome parties [歓迎会, kangeikai]. I also sat through many, many orientations and meetings. When I first arrived in August, I felt like I was out of the loop, that everyone already knew things and just weren't telling me. Recently, I realized that everyone did already know things, since they were all worked out and elucidated in April. People weren't deliberately withholding the information from me; they just had an extra term to get used to things.

The fact is, when you arrive in July or August on the JET Program, you are four to five months behind everyone else. Systems that people have started in April have already taken off, and you kind of have to bug people and watch closely to pick them up. It's kind of a shame that now I've started getting used to things, I will be leaving very soon. But my whole life has been one long transition. I've had a lifetime to get used to this kind of permanently transient lifestyle.


It's just hard to believe that May crept up so quickly. I wasn't really all that busy. That is to say, there was not so much things I had to do as that I was around people who had (and still have) mountains of responsibilities to fulfill. There is a condition here called gogatsubyou [五月病], or May Sickness. It refers to being out of the "honeymoon" stage of April and getting burned out from the overload. I can imagine gogatsubyou being a reality around here.

But on the other hand, there are also very tempting, deep blue oceans washing up on beautiful beaches just a short drive away.



// jenn.

This is a summary of April reviews and lyrics from Melody Cafe.



Lyrics:
> alan - Liberty
> alan - Yume no Garden
> Angela Aki - Fighter
> Angela Aki - Our Story
> Atsumi Saori - Morning Glow
> mirai - Butterfly
> OCEANLANE - Look Inside the Mirror
> Rie fu - Business
> Rie fu - Hey I'm Calling Up!
> Tiana Xiao - aquarium

Reviews:
> Angela Aki - ANSWER
> Rie fu - URBAN ROMANTIC

Artist Spotlight:
> KOKIA



====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'Liberty' by alan )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'Yume no Garden' by alan )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'Fighter' by Angela Aki )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'Our Story' by Angela Aki )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'Morning Glow' by Atsumi Saori )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'Butterfly' by mirai )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics to 'Look Inside the Mirror' by OCEANLANE )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'Business' by Rie fu )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'Hey I'm Calling Up!' by Rie fu )


====== Lyrics
( lyrics translation to 'aquarium' by Tiana Xiao )




====== CD Review
( review of album 'ANSWER' by Angela Aki )


====== CD Review
( review of album 'URBAN ROMANTIC' by Rie fu )




====== Artist Spotlight: KOKIA
( Artist Spotlight: KOKIA )

I hope April showers bring something good in May, because it's been showering aplenty. If not flowers (which there are already a lot of, here), then music is fine by me. The summer music season is starting soon, so enjoy!

**Click here to learn more about Melody Cafe**


Contents:
> May'n - KIMI SHINITA MOU KOTONA KARE
> BONNIE PINK - ONE
> Yuzu Guren - two you
> Chihiro Onitsuka - X / Last Melodie
> Tiana Xiao - Kanashii Uso
> Maaya Sakamoto - We Are Kazeyomi!
> Yuna Ito - Dream
> Yoko Kanno SEATBELTS - Bio Space Charge
> The Hiatus - (TBA)

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[May 6] May'n - KIMI SHINITA MOU KOTONA KARE (single)
( more... )



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[May 13] BONNIE PINK - ONE (album)
( more... )



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[May 13] Yuzu Guren - two you (single)
( more... )



======
[May 20] Chihiro Onitsuka - X / Last Melodie (single)
( more... )



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[May 20] Tiana Xiao - Kanashii Uso (single)
( more... )



======
[May 20] Maaya Sakamoto - We Are Kazeyomi! (DVD)
( more... )



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[May 27] Yuna Ito - Dream (album)
( more... )



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[May 27] Yoko Kanno SEATBELTS - Space Bio Charge (collection album)
( more... )



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[May 27] The Hiatus - TBA (album)
( more... )

If I were to put a date to it, I'd have to say the first day of summer started here on April 15, 2009. I know it's a bit early for summer, but closer to the tropics, warm weather comes in sooner. The sakura bloomed in February; rice fields were planted and flooded in March; and the mosquitoes began returning last week.

Waking up every morning to birdsong and the refreshing air is a wonderful feeling.



// jennifer.tsai