Japan - Update Overdue

Hello Friends!

Well it sure has been a long time, apologies. I know many of you check the site regularly and by hook or by crock, I promised I'd get an update out.

People who I have had the esteemed privileged to meet along my way, perhaps some who are just being lazy, or maybe for having better things to do, say there is no good reason for having put off this or that kind of work for such a long time. There is not always sufficient explanation for why so much time passes between calling home, getting that essay done, or going to the gym. Things that need to get done, chores that need attention; just not right now. If you haven't already, Google "structured procrastination" to see that there are always good reasons.

Then, maybe it is because the coffee tastes tastes especially well this morning, maybe its the looming destruction of an oncoming typhoon, maybe its the enjoyed readings of Rajiv and Clara's blogs, maybe its that tremendous excitement for the Giants making the Post-season (again! Maybe next year Dodgers), or maybe its just that I have not stretched these muscles in a while. For any reason, its time to fulfill the accumulating requests, and put out a new bog post.

My sister Gabi is home again, making money as a mechanic at a shop that - get this - sells bikes and chocolates, how perfect is that?! You can look up the site, and awesome pics of my sis in action, here: www.Chocolatespokes.com

August was a true free paid month off vacation and although I traversed Kyushu (thus knocking another island off the list), there was plenty of fun to be had back home as well - namely hanging out with these two lads. Akkun and Yuusuke are cycling teammates on Kochi city's best group; these two are high on kinetic energy and always know the best place to hang out in the big city. Not bad at racing up hills either. Among the many end of summer festivals (you can not really see it, but there is one behind them now), you can be sure to see us walking around, beer in hand, playing psudo-tourists like it was our first day in town.

And here we have the best people working for Tosa city. I've said it before and I will say it again, Tosa is a small enough town where you really get to know everyone, even the mayor is completely approachable and seen walking to the local food stalls. All professionals by day - but as soon as work is over, most people love to have a cold beer to combat the hot summer dry heat. Unlike Thailand, the people here are completely able, without prejudice, to understand that we are not our jobs. We have personal lives; personal priority lives. As long as the two don't overly conflict with another, well, lets say its not uncomfortable for a city officer to be seen having a few beers in the street, or worry what people might "think." Just good times ahead. 

Also, you wont find traditional bar seating layouts in these watering holes. No black stools sticky with yesterdays beer stains to wipe off, nor crumpled peanut shells for you to walk over to ask the bartender for another drink. As in many other varieties, Japan fosters clean, communal appeal whenever possible. This means more often than not, open and outside drinking at tables with friends, or the new strangers who want to share your table with you. Loving it.

You all remember Yoshi. We met by chance near Ako and cycled a ways over Honshu before making the cross into Shikoku, where I had to leave my own way for Kochi to start work. He made his tour and stayed with me a few weeks later, inaugurating a set of wild days and wilder nights. We met again in Amakusa on my tour de Kyushu in August. Now, he has made his way to the southern most island (its very small) in Japan, in Okinawa ken. He's picked up a job tending a local bar and chance may just have me visit him sometime soon. So stay close. 

The man who cycled with me up mount Fuji, Go, finished his schooling and has taken up job with an amazing view. He is literally the wise man at the top of the mountain. 

Talk about overdue updates, my Bali brother Piter - the very first Couch I Surfed - is doing exceptionally well for himself, despite being laid off by Blackberry. No work, and denied a last fully earned paycheck, he didn't stutter, didn't flip out on a rampage, didn't start a list of who was to blame. Instead, he opened a bakery for orphans (being one himself). Now, there are plenty of self proclaimed saints out there but Piter needs no praise. Or, let me say, he doesn't need it although he certainly deserves it. 

Also, he is the proprietor of my favorite product, solar powered chargers...that actually work! Such a simple idea. If you are, or know someone who will soon travel, take a glance at what Piter has here, because it is an invaluable piece of equipment: free electricity. http://jamesawesomedude.weebly.com/ 

Since bidding my good friends adieu in Uthai Thani, Thailand, Nick and Harmony are living the American dream in Cambodia. I say this because, honestly, creating your own business in the good ol' US of A is nothing what it once was. Forget the incredible in-home competition, it is the regulations, and taxes, and licences, and city compliance that a new business must go through that ensures a type of frustration ironically non-existent in "developing" countries. You might even consider them in this regard to have a greater degree freedom.

One of the very cool perks of having a place to call home is the opportunity to register my pad on Couchsurfing and WarmShowers. That is how I met Arnold. He lives on the island of Kyushu in Fukuoka and is studying for his Masters. He took a little time off during summer break (like most of us) to do some healthy cyclo-touring. I am telling you, nothing beats academic/work stress like cranking out a few hundred kilometers over a beautiful stretch of country roads. 

Arnold stayed with me for a night to do laundry and get a good meal in him before turning out another long day around the island, on his way back home. I'm invited to visit and take a tour of the campus, so I just might =)

Here is a rare picture because it actually includes me, celebrating a birthday out with some new friends. Whats great about parties on this end of the globe is that they tend to be hosted at places that provide as much food, and drink, as you'd like to consume.

It's worth taking a little time to comment on this. To me, pumping out thousands of calories a day, eating as much as I would like is not the same as eating as much as I can. The difference being that the latter instigates certain challenge. However, as you might have already correctly guessed, the Japanese do not stuff sushi rolls down their throats till their belts require loosening, they don't chug miso soup by the gallons, nor is it the standard practice in any way to eat more than the person next to you or even hint at taking the last piece of food. This has nothing to do with a lack, or supposed lack, of food. Nor does it stem from an outdated tradition under which conditions of war of famine necessitate a conservation of meals. Hardly. Japan's consumable economy is not hurting. On the other end actually, there is a lot of waste produced, although it may not be for the reason you think. 

So whats the deal? Well, remember that dude Confusions? It turns out that the spirit of his old teachings when it comes to consumption is still alive, reinterpreted. Eating enough, as is the decorum here, means not stuffing yourself and refraining from taking the last piece of food (a great deal of waste multiplied over several dishes) not because its rude or are ill natured but because doing so activates conscious impulse control to show restraint.

The term is Hara Hachi Bu, but the literal translation does not quite get the message across. The modern colloquial translation is"eat until you are 80% full."  It took me a lot of practice to suppress that impulse control, to not go back for a second plate even when I knew I could get another two in me, to undue years of "clean your plate and then you may have dessert" attitude that we Westerners inoculate our children with. 

Now I am not saying that eating smaller portions is better for you, or that I always stop myself at 80% - and not to get overly political about the health issue here - but - I've done us a bit of research and would feel incommodious to leave without pointing to a very strong correlation between eating less and living longer life. That is, today the people on the Okinawa islands are the only, by the methods of Hara Hachi Bu, self imposed caloric intake culture-population. Well, it just also happens that they also have the highest World population of centenarians. 

And well if you are planning to live into your hundreds, then you better keep a sharp mind. That will be the only real part of you that outlasts anything else, if you choose to exercise it regularly instead of binge watching television shows. (Side note: The television station representatives actually come to your house to collect money for public broadcasting. A little invasive, a little outdated method for collecting duties. Though, as I have no television set, I eventually took one by the hand and gave a tour of the apartment to demonstrate, finally, why I've never paid. They have since not bothered to knock on my door). However I also understand, conversely, the psychological benefits of indulgence. Good morale. Here we (end of term coworker party) are having a chat over good local bands, stiff drinks, and lots of laughs. Not much of an indulgence you say? I forgot to add that this was just one group of co-workers; and that I teach at eight different schools.

The most frequent question I get from people back home is: so......what are you doing with your time? (Which, I admit, the concept of "time" thought into a unit of economic currency interests me, but there is another place for that). And the answer is: a whole lot of everything. Here is one way I spend my afternoons: volunteering. 

In theory, I teach closed book sessions of conversation English to a rotating group of adults who need a step beyond what they were taught in the classroom oh so long ago. Its no stretch to say that English is a hard language to learn on one's own; we all need a little help. Students show up irregularly and I don't get paid - unless you count the free sandwiches and coffee (which I argue is better than free cash because at its most basic, simply tastes better).

That is all for now. I know the length is not representative to the time lapse since coming off my Kyushu stunt. There is so much more to tell. At least, I will hold myself to a once a week update, even if I feel there is not that much to say. Which, of course, is lie.

All my love,

-A