Big In Japan

Today is Tuesday, October 8, 1991.



I'm an assistant English teacher (AET) on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme living in the sleepy city of Ohtawara (about 200 kilometres north of Tokyo) in the prefecture of Tochigi, Japan.



It's my last day of work at Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School), as I have permission to attend a team-teaching demonstration put on by my friend Matthew tomorrow, and then on Thursday, I'm on a short vacation to Sendai with my ex-girlfriend, but current friend-with-benefits, Ashley.



I have no idea why we are going away on a vacation together. It was her idea. As mentioned, while I can have a dominant personality and can get lots of people to do what I want, I prefer that they decide what they want to do, and if I agree, then I can get everyone else to do it. Control without being the known leader, I suppose. God I hate being introspective, sometimes.



Or, in this case... Ashley asked, I, like a good little puppy dog who is still in love or lust or severe like with her, readily agrees. I assume there will be sex. After all... we're friends - with benefits... and the only important benefit I know of from being anywhere with one's ex-girlfriend, is sex.



Going on a vacation together with someone who is your ex... well, isn't that what couples do... or just friends... not friends-with-benefits!



If I still had any blood left in my brain, I would have not gone with Ashley tomorrow... but I'm thinking about sex, and I'm thinking that her asking me to accompany her means she wants to get back together. Right? Am I right? I'm not sure...



It's still raining today.   Like yesterday, I help the kids with some English listening comprehension tests to help them prepare for a big exam. It's still fun, and it's still very much interesting to me.



However, lunch is quiet as the class I eat with lacks the guts or gumption to talk to me... although one young boy (this is a 3rd year class - Grade 9's), Suzuki-san is always peppering me with interesting questions. He's always a pleasure to talk to at this school...



Kanemaru-san and Hanazaki-san drop by the school while Suzuki-san and I are talking (that's lucky... show's I can talk to the kids!). Those two old guys (who are about as old as I am now in 2011 - 46), are my bosses/supervisors with the OBOE (Ohtawara Board of Education). Two nicer men I have yet to meet on this planet.



They bring along (from the teacher's lounge), Shibata-sensei, the young, hip, good-looking English teacher  who has all the female students swooning after him. Along with being brilliant and charming and funny, Shibata-sensei is also one heck of a good English speaker and very quick translator.



I'm telling... I got very lucky to be posted - or chosen - in this city. Actually... I think the Board offices get a say on who they want. I think Hanazaki-san once told me that they liked the fact I was a journalist with the Toronto Star newspaper... one of North America's best newspapers. I'll admit it was a selling point.



The three of them tell me that I have to pay a personal and city tax. Nertz.



On the plus side, the OBOE says they will cover that for me. They will put the money directly into my bank account (The Ashikaga Ginko (Ashikaga Bank), Ohtawara Branch) for me. That money will then be withdrawn by them to pay the two tax bills.



That is so cool of the OBOE. I also like how they came in person to tell me, rather than just calling up Shibata-sensei to tell me.



I go home, write a letter and relax. It's still bloody raining. I hope it won't tomorrow when a score of other AETs will be coming here to Ohtawara to watch Matthew do his team-teaching demonstration. Cripes... I hope my OBOE doesn't see too much of a disparity between what he does and what I does... otherwise they might actually make me do real work!



I watch some television and crash to bed at 12AM.



Oh... Karen Irwin called. She's a new AET (high school AET like Ashley - so she won't be there at Matthews demo) living in Yaita-shi (City of Yaita), 10 kiometers to the south. She's originally from North Bay, Ont... and arrived here two months ago. In that time she has made it clear that she would like us to slow down (IE no sex!), became buddy-buddy with my visiting mother going on little trips together, and even went on a 3-day trip to Nikko-shi (Nikko City) with Ashley.



I don't know what they talked about... the ex, and the girl who would eventually be my ex, if I let her (all women everywhere could eventually be my ex-girlfriend if they try hard enough).... but this evening... it is apparent that they talked.



Karen seemed to know a little too much about me. My mother - while she did like Karen very much - was no dummy, and I know she would never tell anyone anything about me. Ashley... she might, seeing as who we weren't together anymore... I expect that Karen would want to know the ugly stuff. Me being moody and crap like that. Truth is... I was only moody after Ashley caused me to be moody. But Ashley doesn't know that... and neither does Karen.



Karen attempts to psychoanalyse me. Really? This chick is going to try and get inside MY head? I'm already onto her clumsy attempts about 15 seconds into our telephone conversation! For me... this is like a battle of wits against an unarmed opponent.



Because I know what she's doing - and why (she wants to know what makes me tick, and why Ashley and I broke up - perhaps so she can avoid the same mistakes), she pisses me off.



You know what led to Ashley and I breaking up? It was her pissing me off. Congratulations Karen. You've managed to piss me off even before we've become boyfriend/girlfriend. I guess there'll be no sex, now. Crap.



Regardless of the tempest raging inside my skull... I play it cagey and play it cool. She has no idea just how angry I am.



It's the real reason why I go to bed early today. I lie there and wonder...



Okay... Ashley came back from her trip to Nikko with Karen in a bitchy mood. Karen is acting inquisitive towards me. That means that Ashley knows Karen and I made out. It also means she knows Karen wants to go out with me... and if I know Karen, she probably asked Ashley if that was okay.



That probably put Ashley in a bad mood. It could also explain why Ashley suddenly asked me if I wanted to accompany her to Sendai... it's a little jealous revenge thing against Karen... who I don't think knows that Ashley and I are still sleeping together on occasion.



Great... all I need now are more women to start talking with each other about. That could never happen, right? Am I right? Even I don't want to think about the real answer.



Somewhere thinking about tomorrow and tomorrow,

Andrew Joseph

Today's blog title is by Alphaville: BIG  Lyrics are right below the video.

Pull My Strings

Just the one blog today... I'm doing too many things at once: writing a piece for work, watching a movie, playing Final Fantasy XIII on my PS3, and making myself dinner, as everyone is out.



So... let's look back at October 7, 1991 in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan where I am still an assistant English teacher (AET) on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme.



It's a Monday and it's raining. I'm feeling tired still - probably more of a mental thing, or an alcohol-fueled binge thing. Whatever. I don't ever get hang-overs, and I only seem to need about 5 hours sleep to function what I consider normally.



I'm at Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) for just two days, as I then get to watch a team-teaching demonstration put on my my buddy Matthew, who lives in town but teaches at the junior high schools outside of it. After that, I'm going on a little vacation with my ex-girlfriend, but current friend-with-benefits Ashley - out to Sendai to the north. It should be exciting - both the time with her and the area of Sendai. There's a castle there... and where else should a prince be but with his princess in a castle?



Yeah... I'm still hung up on her. She has her problems... but then again... so does every single woman I've met and or slept with in this land. I'm not just sleeping with American women. Nope... this Toronto boy has slept with women from more countries than Hitler invaded. I added another notch on the old bedpost last night. I have no idea what her name was... Kimiko, maybe. A nice girl, but not too nice, if you know what I mean.



Hell... I wonder if we'll ever see each other again. They always seem to come back... but maybe it's just me. Maybe I get bored easily... or, I'm still hung up on Ashley. We broke up, and I don't like it. Actually... I think I hate the concept of not getting what I want even more.



I'm not painting a very flattering picture of myself, am I? Truth be told, until I arrived here in Japan, I had never slept with a woman. I had dated maybe five women, one of whom was my girlfriend for three months before she went back to school in another city 200 kilometres away. Maybe that's why I like convenience in my relationships with women. Give me convenience or give me death! That's an old Dead Kennedys album name, and where I got the song that inspired this blog entry's title.





I have four classes today. Figures. Six periods, and I always have a busy day after a night of shagging or drinking. Oh well... it's better to be busy than bored.



All my classes are with third-year students (Grade 9). We all have a good time as I provide them with listening comprehension tests. I then give advice on how to pass an English exam. It's bizarre... because although I am an English teacher (and in 2011 am a writing professional), I did fail Grade 11 English... there's some silly rule here in Canada which says you have to show up for classes and then apply yourself. I did eventually.



I really feel good because I actually think I;ve helped the students learn something worthwhile.



Lunch is pretty good, too. I spend it with some girls who want to know about my sex-life.



Really? Even here in school/work I can't get away from it.



Still, the girls are all cute and funny, and aren't interested in the gory details. There's no pretensions... just honest questions.



I suppose I 'm breaking the mold by answering these so-called objectionable questions. Ha! I pity the next AET who will eventually take my place.



During my spare time, I write a few letters home, watch the rain fall while pretending to study my Japanese conversation homework I've given myself. I'm useless at it. Whatever I'm doing now seems to be working fine enough to get me drunk, fed and or laid. What else is there for a 27-year-old single guy in Japan?



I ride my bicycle home in the rain, not quite oblivious to all of the students who smile and wave at me as I pass them walking home. At least I don't get hit by a car like i did around this time last year... the first of two such accidents in a week's span.



I go to my night school English conversation class that I teach on the side for fun and profit. My Ohtawara Board of Education (OBOE) office is cool with me doing this. A lot of other Boards are not and don't allow their AET to do anything outside of regular Board activities. I'm very lucky to have such a liberal and kind office.



At the night class, I chat with all of my students and try to teach the 20+ women (and 5 guys) in my class. Most of them make goo-goo eyes at me. It's tough to teach when you know that.



Yukiko Matsuda (Matsuda is the surname that is anglosized into the Mazda car company - though, AI'm pretty sure she's not directly related) gives me a letter top take home and read. It's all about what she is up to, and how we should get together for a dinner soon. Ohhh-kayyy.



Shoko, the giel I went out with last Thursday, but who brought along a girlfriend to translate for us, looks very cute and sexy, but keeps averting her eyes when she knows I am looking. She has great legs, so I'm looking a lot!



Unfortunately three's a crowd, and I'm unsure if I want to go out with her again. Besides... I'm going to be busy for the next little while.



I go home (no one calls) and crash at 12AM. That's early for me. I guess I'm just a bit jaded and tired today.



Somewhere alone in the city,

Andrew Joseph

Today's blog title is by The Dead Kennedys: SELFRESPECT

PS: I've always loved punk music. I've never had the hair or the look, more of a suburban punk. I guess we all rebel in our own way. The point is to keep your self respect. At this point in my life in Japan, I don't think I have it. I only think I do. 

No Time

Time to grow up, according to Seiko.

Today, October 3, 1991 is a sports festival day here in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan. It's  something all of my junior high schools are participating in. As such, since I'm an assistant English teacher on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme, there is no need for me to go to school.



Unfortunately, I have to go in to the Ohtawara Board of Education Office (OBOE) instead of having a vacation day.



Anyhow, I could go to the school - in this case Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) and watch the events and have lunch there if I want to, but I decide not to. Eight hours watching others play sports kills me just a little bit inside.



Although I'm only 27, I am now nine years removed from playing my last game of soccer. Two years from my last game of baseball, and maybe 13 years from my last judo tournament. It hurts to watch others doing what I feel I should still be doing... if only I had more talent. I have the desire and the attitude for sports... but my dad's sports gene didn't get passed down 100 per cent. Maybe just 50 per cent. As such, I had to work my butt off to be any good at sports, and I did and I was... but effort will only carry one so far.



It's why I coached and am now a teacher. Those that can - do. Those that can't - teach. Those that can't teach - become guidance counselors.



At the OBOE office, I write eight letters to family and friends, and one to Kristine who lives out a mere 500 kilometres away in Shiga-ken. I tell them everything that is going on in my life. Not. Why bore them with how crappy my love life is, or how decent my sex life is. I would trade some of the sex life for a decent love life... but that doesn't seem to be something that is going to happen here. I need to get away from the gaijin women, and start moving forward with the Japanese women (Kristine is half-Japanese, so I'm unsure if I should try or not). It's just as well as I have my first date - a real date with Shoko (a student from my adult English class I teach), I think, with a Japanese woman... with  no expectations for sex.



At lunch I go out and buy a video game, but before that, I meet mister Yashiro-sensei, a teacher formerly with Kaneda Kit Chu Gakko (Kaneda North Junior High School) and now with Nishin Chu Gakko (Nishin Junior High School) in Kuroiso-shi (Kuroiso City) about 10 miles north of Ohtawara.



He is wandering around Ohtawara for some reason - the sports festival, I imagine.



As we begin talking, two of his students - both ah-mazingly cute 14-year-old girls come strolling over and begin asking me questions in English.



Since they ask in English, I have NO problem whatsoever in answering whatever they are going to ask.



It's the standard fare, however: my name, age, country I'm from (these girls live in Kuroiso, and while they may have heard of me, they may never have seen me), girlfriend status, blood type, and... wait for it... "Do you have a big penis?"



Yashiro-sensei and I fall to the ground in shock. When I nod my head in acquiescence, the cuter of the two  reaches up grabs me about the neck and kisses me on the cheek.



Yashiro-sensei and I both agree that she (and her friend) are going to be a lot of trouble for men in four more years. If not sooner.



Back at the OBOE, I write a few more letters and then head home at 5PM. I am sort of excited about my date with Shoko, and I force myself to calm down by trying to ignore all other stimuli by playing my Nintendo video games.



She rings my doorbell at exactly 6:30PM on the dot. The exact agreed upon time. You have to hand it to the Japanese... they are very precise with their time... it's like they invented it or something. Hmm, I do wear a Seiko watch... one that I bought in the Bahamas about eight years ago. (I still am wearing it, in fact, in 2011 - that's photo from today up at the top).



Shoko looks radiant. She's about 5'-8", and maybe 120 lbs. Wavy black hair just past her shoulders, has a large smile, sexy eyes. She's dressy, but not slutty, in keeping with her overall demeanor. In short... she is dressed for a date and not sex. Fine by me.



For some reason, I show her my new video game system, but step on a wire and break it, rendering it inoperable for the moment. She sudden;y remembers that Naoko (mutual friend) is waiting for us at the restaurant. Damn! I was really hoping we were going to have a date alone. Two is company, and three's a crowd!



I guess she figures we need help with our language skills - or she doesn't really want to date me. Crap. I think, crap. Shoko is nice, but is she the one for me, or merely the first one who has shown me any interest in anything other than sex?



Still... dinner is cool. Shoko eats like a bird, while I eat like the pig of a man that I am. We small talk. I teach them the words 'bitch' and 'bastard' and when it's all over, I pick up the check. I did ask them out. Well, actually, I only asked Shoko out. Whatever. It's only money.



The three of us then head fore the 4C bar. I have a beer and a couple of whiskey's! Blah! I hate whiskey. I guess my palette isn't grown up enough.



I chat with Mark, the New Zealand bartender and give him some money to get me a bottle of Southern Comfort. Ashley likes Southern Comfort.



(What the hell am I doing even thinking of her, when I'm sort of on a date with Shoko?) (It's not a date, is it?)



I chat with Naoko and Shoko - and then another friend of Shoko's joins us... Tomiko. She's very, very friendly - in that hi, An-do-ryu-sensei, I want to have sex with you kind of way. She's sukebi (a pervert) - but I have to admit, I find that charming. Or is it highly suggestive?



I flirt back with Tomiko, but damn it all.. I have to be a gentleman and be careful to mind that I am with Shoko!



At 11PM, we head home... or at least back to my apartment, where Naoko has parked her car. Shoko, and Shoko alone walks me back up to my apartment door.



I want to kiss her, but I don't. It didn't feel like a date, It felt like friends going out, and I wasn't alone with her. Friends don't kiss their friends - especially female friends. I don't really believe a man can be friends with a women without him thinking about screwing them.



I'm unsure if that's going to come as a shock to any of my female readers or not. It's just how I feel - and maybe not indicative of the entire male species.



Maybe I'll kiss Shoko the next time... if there is one.



I relieve some of my frustrations on the Nintendo video game system after I spend an hour re-wiring it. I have no idea how to re-wire anything, so I am merely satisfied that it works and that I didn't start a fire.



Somewhere looking to save a video game princess,

Andrew Joseph 

Today's blog title is by Canada's own Guess Who: SUMMERFRIEND

Ignorance Is Bliss

It's Tuesday, October 1, 1991 and I sit here in the teacher's office of Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) here in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan where I am an assistant English teacher (AET) hired via the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching Programme).



I've been here 14 months and am pretty much enjoying myself... hence the name of this blog.



I have two classes today to team-teach - which means I have a lot of free time to sit on my butt. I have to remember that not only is this an opportunity for me to learn about japan, and an opportunity for the kids to get schooled by a native English speaker, it's also an opportunity for the Japanese teachers to get to know a gaijin (foreigner).



Takuda-sensei transferred to another school, and in his place is the very cute 31-year-old Miss Kyoko Watanabe. She was very deliberate in telling me she is a 'miss'. I didn't miss that. She used to work at Nishinasuno Chu Gakko (Nishinasuno Junior High School is not one of my schools, as it's located in the town north west of Ohtawara, in Nishinasuno-machi), but she has heard of me.



She has apparently heard I was dating (she used the correct past tense) Ashley, an AET who lives in Nishinasuno but teaches at the Ohtawara Boys High School. We were together off and on for about 10 months, and now just sleep together whenever the mood hits hit... which is about once every week and a half. I guess I can't complain... it allows me the freedom to see whomever I want, without feeling guilty that I am cheating on her. Trouble... a big part of me wants us to still be a couple. Shes off on a short vacation in Nikko with Karen, another AET who wants to be my girlfriend. The whole thing makes me feel ill, as I look at kyoko and think I'd like to see wheat I am miss-ing.  



Kyoko talks to me more than the Japanese teachers of English (JTE) today... perhaps they have backed off as they are watching yet another woman chat me up. I don'yt think she's being anything but friendly, but you never know. The last time a woman (Junko) did that to me here at this school, she ended up stalking me. We had some wonderful monkey sex and I forgo sleep, but her following me around (on the sly) was a little unnerving. She was always easy to spot, as I could not only could I smell Junko's shampoo, but I'm a guy. It's my duty to scope out a room to see what babes there may be.



Kyoko seems flabergasted when I tell her (the music teacher) that I used to be a piano and clarinet teacher and a journalist back home in Toronto. She thinks I am talented. I am but that's not my talent. Just give me two-and-a-half hours...



Young Katsuhisa Suzuki-sensei does sit down to talk with me when Kyoko goes off to teach a class. He tells me all about his adventures in mushroom picking this past weekend, telling me how he spent three hours in the drizzling rain picking mushrooms, brought them in to school yesterday only to be informed by the resident mushroom expert that every single one of them was poisonous.



He's not filling me with much as he wants to know if I want to come with him next weekend for another try.



When it's time to go home, it begins raining heavily. Of course it is. Land of the rising sun, my ass. It rains all the time, it seems! I know it's typhoon season, but really, it seems to have rained more during this past year than been sunny.



Still.... it's the weather. I ride out with an umbrella given to me by Kyoko and head over to a hobby store and buy myself a Nintendo Super Famicon Video Game System. Screw the hand-held Sega system... I want a real game system!



But, back home after setting it up, I can't get a perfectly clear screen. It's still cool, and I play Super Mario.

Then Shoko calls and my heart jumps with glee.



I had asked her out yesterday on her birthday. She's an adult fox student in my night school class that I teach for fun and profit.



She asks if I am free this Thursday for our date! Not only am I free, but I'm cheap.



Hell yeah!



But then she says she wants to bring mutual friend Naoko along.



Hell no!



But, I guess Shoko is worried about the language barrier, as my Japanese skills are best left in the bedroom (or wherever), while her English skills are nothing to write home about. I have it in my head that if she brings Naoko along, then she's not really serious about the two of us dating, and I may not ask her out again. At least that's what floats through my disappointed mind.



James Dalton (another AET) originally from Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada calls and invites me yet again for a poker party. I have had to back out of all of his invites. It's not because I don't like the guy - I do - he's a very good friend - but I actually have to give a speech in front of the Ohtawara International Friendship Association that night - something about my views of Japan after a year here.



Do you think I have anything to say on that topic?



I stay up late into the morning and play video games. 



Somewhere knowing Ashley and Karen are back tomorrow,

Andrew Joseph

Today's blog is by Jellyfish: PRINCESSTOADSTOOL.

PS: The video features characters from SuperMario. When I wrote this blog and had all of these elements together... video game, Mario, mushrooms (IE Toadstools), ignorance (Shoko asking Naoko), teacher not knowing anything about me except my social status, and me not knowing what is going on with Ashley and Karen - well... I love it when a plan comes together!

When The Levee Breaks

I'm going to combine a couple of days here because not a lot happens



Sunday, September 29, 1991. Ohtawara-shi (Ohtawara City), Tochigigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), Japan.



I'm an assistant English teacher on the Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Programme, and arrived here back in late July 1990.



... I'm kind of waiting to see what fallout there is from Ashley (my ex-girlfriend but current occasional sleeping partner) and Karen (who wants me for a boyfriend) going to Nikko-shi (City of Nikko) together for a few days.



At this time, I am unaware if either really knows anything about my involvement with the other. Ashley and I had hooked up on our second day here. Karen arrived a year later and hung out with my mother a month ago when she came for a visit. Worlds colliding!



Here's what is going on:

Ashley is from Augusta, Georgia, USA, brunette:

1. Ashley and I broke up about four months ago; 


2. We decided two months ago that we trusted each other enough that we could still sleep together;


3. She doesn't want a boyfriend... or not one who was crowding her;


4. She always came to my place, so I am unsure what crowding I was providing.

Karen is from North Bay, Ontario, Canada, redhead:

1. Karen and I met after I was part of Tochigi JET committee to welcome newcomers; 


2. Hot and heavy to start, she begged us to slow down so that we could first become boyfriend/girlfriend;


3. She hung out with my mom sewing pillow covers for my couch; 


4. She traveled with my mom ingratiating herself.

Shoko is from Ohtawara, Tochigi, Japan, raven-haired:

1. Shoko and I first met at a party hosted by the Ohtawara International Friendship Association;


2. May have joined my night school English class due to urging from mutual friend Naoko, whom my mom wished I was dating... or Karen... but not Ashley. She never met Shoko. I don't think my mom cares for shy girls for me; 


3. Tall, slender, shy and cute, she doesn't speak much English, but she likes Andrew. A lot;


4. She and Andrew have tried to make a date happen, but Andrew must have angered the gods, as the date has not yet happened.  

Andrew is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, dunderhead: 

1. Was a virgin, but not virginal before arriving in Japan; He owes Ashley one cherry;  


2. Despite what Ashley wants, he can't stand losing, and wants her back as a girlfriend;  


3. Despite what Karen wants, she has some baggage, and he doesn't want a girlfriend;


4. Thinks he knows what Shoko wants, and thinks he wants a girlfriend.

You know what? If I had just stopped and made a list like this back in 1991, I would have realized just how stupid I was making my wonderful rife! Hell... should we add in Cathy, who just wanted to sleep with me (or maybe wanted a boyfriend)? What about Kristine, whom I adore, she likes me, would have slept with me, but I thought she might have been to good for me? Then there was Christine... she just wanted sex, but I just wanted to get back with Ashley (after we first broke up in November 1990). And what about the two Thai women - gorgeous Tookta and ravishing Boon-mee... I slept with them separately, and together! There was proof that I am good enough for anyone! What about Junko... my hot-to-trot stalker who had the looks and talent to put a Miss Universe to shame, provided the talent was sexual? There are still others, but most were just one-nighters!

Can't we all just get along? Like the two Thai chicks and myself? That's international fraternization!

So... I didn't even mention that I am teaching junior high school English at seven school here in Ohtawara. I also teach an English class to the Ohtawara International Friendship Association for a few bucks once a week. I play kyudo (Japanese archery). I am the editor and chief bottle-washer for the Tochigi JET newsletter The Tatami Times. I am the ear and conscience for many an AET who has troubles, concerns, or just wants to share a laugh. I don't smoke. Started drinking - but never at home. I never sleep, it seems, and when I do, it's not well. I've been hit twice by cars while riding my bicycle. I owned a motorcycle, but it scared the crap out of me so I sold it after only riding it once. I'm growing my hair and have it in a pony-tail. I'm charming, smart and very witty and have a huge ego thanks to all of this. Yet, I don't think I show off my ego, as I tend to be self-deprecating. It keeps me grounded. I love Japan. Japan loves me. I feel like I'm being pulled in a thousand directions all at once. Friends like James and especially Matthew help keep me pointed in the right direction.

Whenever I am in a state of flux, I clean my apartment. Today is no exception. I do laundry, vacuum, iron, go shopping for food at Iseya and then visit a small hobby store and purchase a video game for my Sega Game Gear hand-held system - it's a tank battle game.

I get it home, and everything is in Japanese. The instructions are in Japanese, but so too is the game play! What the hell does it say? 

Oh yeah... I speak Japanese like a six-year-old, and can not read or write the language... at least not at a level worth mentioning. Rather than spending my time studying the language, I am reading history books and talking to the Japanese to get as much data as possible on what Japanese life is all about.  Remember... this is 1991... before the Internet became full of information and porn.

I wonder what the hell Ashley and Karen are talking about?    

Now, it's Monday, September 30, 1991. I'm at Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School, also known as Dai Chu /Big Middle). I love this school. yes, it's the largest of my seven schools, but I never feel lost here. I almost feel like a teacher here and less like a gaijin (foreigner) than anywhere else.

I have three classes today, and all of them are second-years... Grade 8 (13-year-olds). It's the same format as with most schools... good but a tad boring. I read the New Horizons textbook at normal foreigner speed, so that the students can hear what a normal conversation might sound like. Then I read it slowly so that the students can hear how the English words should be pronounced. Then the students read it together with me. Then students read it individually with me or with me providing positive feedback. There is always positive feedback. You never want to make anyone suddenly hate English because the teacher or AET was a dick.

Lunch is natto. Natto is rotting fermented soy beans. We mix in some soy sauce and some hot mustard with the natto and then pour the gloopy, smelly mess onto a bed of hot rice and eat away with chopsticks.

From what I've been told... the eastern and northern parts of Japan will eat natto, but the western part - no way in hell. 

Most gaijin won't eat it, but... for myself... I now look at stuff like that and say, yeah... I have to eat it. The Japanese often expect gaijin to not eat or like certain foods or drinks, because they are not Japanese... but dammit! I came to this country to blow away stereotypes! Gaijin don't eat natto? Screw that! I'll eat it and tell you it's delicious!

To prove a point, or perhaps because the natto destroyed my tastebuds and sense of smell, I take home three packets of natto (my natto was packaged in a small 3" x 3" styrofoam package about one-inch deep. The natto had a thin, but thick clear plastic film atop it, and came with a small plastic package of soy sauce and one of hot mustard that sat in the package atop the film.

The school even packs a couple of tupperware containers of rice for me. So... at home... I have two packages of natto for dinner. And one for breakfast.

Since I have night school tonight, I make sure I gargle the hell out of my mouth to wash the bad breath away. And... it's a very good thing I do. I now have 19 women in my class (and five men). The women are getting younger and hotter.

Shoko is there, and man does she look yummy. So I ask her out! I also give her a birthday present (forgive me, but I did not note what it was that I gave her!). She says yes... but I'll call her and set it up!

Matthew comes over and we watch an episode of Magnum PI. When he leaves, I call home and thank my dad for the Spanish phrase book that I can use to converse with a Peruvian student at Wakakusa Chu Gakko (Wakakusa Junior High School) the next time I visit. 

Somewhere expecting the other shoe to drop,

Andrew Joseph

Today's blog title is sung by Zeparella: WAITFORIT.

PS: When the Levee Breaks is a Led Zepellin song, but they didn't write it! It was written by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy. I'm unsure if it's Kansas Joe from Kansas or Missouri. Anyhow... Zeparella... chicks rocking out to a Led Zep cover! They're pretty and pretty good!  

That's The way (I Like It)

I'm at Wakakusa Chu Gakko (Wakakusa Junior High School) again - today September 27, 1991, Friday.

I have three classes today, and one of them is a team-teaching demonstration in front of all of the English teachers in Ohtawara-shi (Ohtawara City), Tochigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), Japan plus the whole Ohtawara Board of Education (OBOE) office is there.

I'm unsure if they are there to watch the English teacher or me. Probably me. The whole point, I am sure, is to determine whether or not gaijin (foreigners) are a plus or minus for the students here in this city.

Whatever. I'm not nervous because all I can do is do what I do.

The class went very well, despite the students being nervous. Miss Iso, the first-year class' English teacher was also very nervous--she confided in me afterward. I suppose she was, but it wasn't evident to me.

Who could blame the kids and teachers for being nervous... there were an additional 25 adults in the class! I am curious as to why they chose Wakakusa as the school. Tomura-sensei is the school's head of English, and a finer gentleman and speaker of English may not be found in the city. Well... Shibata-sensei of Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) is also excellent, as are Nagashima-sensei... hell... come to think of it, each school has at least one fantastic English teacher! While some of the English teachers in Ohtawara-shi may not be the greatest of English speakers as far as pronunciation goes (that's a big reason for me being here!), their teaching skills are sublime.

The demonstration lesson was nothing fancy - we just did what we usually did. Repeat after Andrew, Andrew helps students with pronunciation, helps students with written work, makes a few jokes and tries to relax everybody, and always ensures they know that us gaijin are every bit as human as they are. It's called internationalization, and to be honest, along with interacting with the everyday populace of this city and beyond, I'm also trying to help lay the groundwork (along with the rest of the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme that hired me as an assistant English teacher) so that this generation of kids doesn't feel like gaijin are special or different... but are instead just people like them who love, laugh, cry, get angry, and who want to do the best job in life possible.

Hey... I know what my real job is here in Japan, and I do it quite well. No one hates me. No one mistrusts me. People like me and enjoy my company. I fit in without becoming Japanese.

Ken Sasanuma (Sasanuma-sensei), a young, very cool guy from Chikasono Chu Gakko (Chikasono Junior High School) presents me with some photos he took of my last visit to his school. We had a blast with his students at this very old fashioned-looking school with it's wooden floorboards and walls!

Here's a blog on my activities of the the old-man hobby if bonsai! HERE

And where are the photos of pinching trees? Somewhere in this old house... I've seen it recently, but that doesn't mean I can find it!

In the photos, I have a beard. It also shows us going out to a bonsai (Japanese tree bondage... that's what I call the miniaturizing of trees) master's farm, with me forcing a tree to bow to my will.

The OBOE bows and smiles to me, but doesn't say anything to anyone... except thanks... and then leaves.

Back home... it's raining a bit... Matthew calls and comes over to make me get off my butt and go to Matsuri restaurant for dinner. There we meet a couple of his junior high school teachers. Matthew is an assistant English teacher on the JET Programme who lives five minutes away from me in the city, and who teaches at I think five junior high schools just outside the city. Matthew also fits in quite well, despite being a thin 6'-3" strawberry blond American! He knew some Japanese language before arriving, and quickly found himself a gorgeous girlfriend in Takako Kurita.... who Matthew said yesterday that she was moving to the capital city of Utsunomiya today.

He doesn't mention anything about it... but perhaps that's because two of his teachers are there at the place plying us with lots of sake (Japanese rice wine) to drink.

By the way... now in 2011, I'm having a nice chilled glass of sake while I write this. I love the stuff! I had never had it before arriving in Japan back in late July 1990.

Matthew and I are both pissed by 10PM, at which time I bet Matthew that my ex-girlfriend and current friend-with-benefits, Ashley will be asleep when I call.

He's afraid to take that bet.

I'm unsure if he's afraid I'll blab that he and I were betting on her, or that he believed she might actually be asleep at 10PM on a Friday night. That, sweetheart, is why you are single.

Anyhow, despite being drunk, I'm not stupid or completely mean. I know she's asleep. She always was when she wasn't with me. I suppose that's fine... some people just need more sleep... but dammit... she's 23!.. look at Matthew and I! We're out having a drink with some locals... being one of the guys! We're not hitting on women... though anyone of us four could if we wanted too! We're just soaking up local and gaijin culture!

We're not sleeping away our life here in Japan. There will be plenty of time to sleep when we're dead!

(In 2011... I'm now 20 years closer to that sleep... I am so very, very tired... damn sake!)

I still enjoy her company and the sex... but dammit I wish she was more energetic!

At midnight, we say our good nights and stagger home. Matthew left his bike at my place and hopefully doesn't ride into any rice fields on the way back home. I know there aren't any rice fields between my place and his, but he is as hammered as I am... and besides... Ohtawara, like all the small towns in this country... has its sewers covered by removable cement blocks that act as sidewalks.... and they aren't always set in place... or, in a few instances, even there.

I stay up until 2AM and do my crossword puzzle while drinking Coke until I am sure I am no longer drunk.

It's been a great day of fitting in, and just being me.

Somewhere I like it,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog is by KC & The Sunshine Band: UH-HUH.
Forget the sexual lyrics... it's just a peppy song and I feel good, for goodness sake.  

Here Comes The Rain Again

There's a typhoon blowing through Japan - or more importantly, through my city of Ohtawara-shi in Tochigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), Japan - today, Thursday, September 19, 1991.

I'm from Toronto, Canada. We don't get typhoons, tsunami or earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. We get snow - not a lot of it, mind you. People are of the misconception that Canada is a vast wasteland of ice and snow, that we use sled dogs to get to work and then back to our igloo homes... or that we just got electricity 10 years ago. Some people actually believe that crap.

Some people in Canada do live like that - but that's only during the winter a way up north near the Arctic Circle. Toronto is actually more southernly than many parts of the U.S. - and I'm not just talking about Alaska!

Snow... we get some snow - and yes, it's cold... but we're actually just above a so-called snow-belt that dumps snow on Buffalo in the US. Yes, we maybe get 8-inches of snow in a storm... and maybe only have three or fours storms a year... but that's it. We still walk to work or school - we just dress warmly. Sometimes I even wear gloves - but never a hat! That would mess up my hair.

And as far as snow and Ohtawara... This past winter  1990-92, we got a lot of snow... the difference is it melts in two days, unlike Toronto where it tends to stay until March. And cold? You bet. Inside it feels colder as there does not seem to be a lot of insulation between the walls in Japanese buildings. I asked about that once, and was told that because of the humidity in the Spring, Summer and Fall, Japanese building don't have insulation and are not as air-tight so as to allow the building to breath. If you are cold, use a kotasu, electric blanket and/or a gas heater - just remember to open a window to vent the gas. So... I'm supposed to open a window to vent the gas... but doesn't the open window let more cold in? Yup. Welcome to Japan.

I complained about how cold I was, and my office - the Ohtawara Board of Education (OBOE) purchased a combination heater/air-conditioner that was very powerful... and I never sweat or froze again - unless I left the confines of my apartment. True.

This is just to tell you that I had never seen natural disasters or weather like what Japan has at any time before in my life.

Oh - and the number of times Godzilla has gone stomping through Ohtawara-shi looking for Mothra!? It's ridiculous... I mean, my first experience with a Godzilla-like creature was a single cockroach in my apartment the day I moved in 13+ months ago. Aside from some spiders on steroids, I've not encountered any other bug in my place.

Stereotypes. Screw'em.

My impression of the Japan prior to arriving was that here were geisha everywhere. I haven't seen one yet! And that all of the men were dressed in navy blue pinstripe suits, wore glasses, had an attache case, straight black hair and had no sense of humour.

Okay... that might have been a poor example of showing how stupid stereotypes are. There are more than enough men in Japan who fit that description. But sense of humour? These guys are stupid funny - and I mean that they are hilarious!

Anyhow... while Tokyo does indeed get its fair share of earthquakes every day (some of which you might even notice), tsunami and volcanic eruptions that affect the country are exceedingly rare. Why am I mentioninig this? It's because there's a typhoon blowing in Ohtawara right now! It's actually typhoon season!

Really? In Canada we have duck season and construction season - but typhoon season? That's insane! Fortunately, there are only about 5-6 typhoons in the late summer, early fall.

I'm just trying to tell you that okay, for maybe 15 days a year in Ohtawara, it rains - hard. In Toronto, it's the same - but it's snowing. It's the same, but different. Welcome to life as a gaijin (foreigner) in Japan.

I'm up at 6:45AM, and despite being in a good mood these past two days, I awake feeling very tired.
 
It's pouring rain.

Fortunately I have an umbrella, which I take with me as I ride my bicycle to Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) where I work (this week) as an assistant English teacher on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme.

Unfortunately for me, the umbrella last a whole five minutes before the typhoon's winds shred the fabric covering me.

I am now soaked. My navy blue suit weighs a ton thanks to all of the water it has soaked up, and I'm also riding head-first into the storm.

What's worse, though, is that this is only the beginning of the storm.

(And... just for you, oh reader... here in 2011, I found out that what I was just in - didn't even qualify as a typhoon! In fact... it wasn't even directly over Ohtawara!

Here's some data on Tropical Storm Luke (the actual storm - I found this info in 2011) :
Tropical Storm Luke formed from a disturbance that moved through the Northern Marianas and formed a depression on the 14th of September just to the west of the islands. The depression began to slowly intensify as it moved towards the west-northwest and Tropical Storm Luke was named on the 15th of September. Luke reached peak intensity of 60 mph (97 km/h) prior to recurving to the northeast and weakening due to increased shear. Tropical Storm Luke then paralleled the southeastern Japan coastline, dropping heavy rains. The resulting flooding and landslides killed 8 people and left 10 others missing prior to Luke turning extratropical east of central Honshū Island.

So... despite it not being a typhoon, people died.

Teachers at the school did dig deep and find some clothes for me to wear - it's all sportswear - but it's dry and very warming, both physically and emotionally. They even dug out some slippers for me to wear that actually fit me (almost).

 I actually could ring water from my suit - apparently you shouldn't do that, however, as it tends to make the suits all wrinkly. Some of the female teachers took my suit and hung it up to dry, and watched as a small river fell from it nearly drowning the home economics teacher in the process.

I have six very hot cups of o-cha (Japanese green tea) and then have to pee for four minutes straight. The time was straight... my urine strain was a little wobbly.

Maybe the stars are starting to align up for me? I'm tired and luckily only have two classes to teach at school. I do very little, but that's okay. It doesn't matter because everyone from teachers to students is polite and warm. Perhaps it's because everyone knows that the last tie I was here I was stalked by a university student on a week-long internship program to learn how to teach.

You can read about that HERE, but just know that it was some of the best sex I had ever had! The problem was when she started stalking me, dropping out of school to follow me around, and then dropping by when any guests I had over left so we could screw each other's brains out until the morning, when I would go to work for days and days with out sleep. It was a very tiring  - but wholly satisfying experience.

The head of the English department - Inoue-sensei comes up to me at 4:15PM and asks me to do a recording of an English test for him since I'll be at another school next week.

He' such a nice man! I miss him so much! Besides being a great friend, he also told me so much about life in Japan - a lot of which I have already shared with you, and many more that I will share in the future!

Inoue-sensei gives me a couple of telephone cards for my collection (see HERE for what I picked up), and then asks if I'll be free one Sunday in October to accompany him on a trip to Nasushiobara! I have no idea why, but sure!

It stops raining - or typhooning - or I guess tropical storming as I am about to go home, so at least I'm not going to get soaked again.

At home, Matthew my friend and local legend calls - we ride out for a ramen (noodle) dinner. We then rent a couple of movies and watch one back at my place.

When Catherine Willens calls again at 10PM, I kick Matthew out so I can talk uninhibited until midnight. When we are done exchanging more life stories, she tells me she only actually called to invite me to a party. I can't recall when or where, but it seems she wants me to be her date.

I  guess she doesn't know that while I no longer have a girlfriend in Ashley, am trying to sleep with Karen, and trying date Shoko, I am still a friend-with-benefits with my ex. There's probably a few other women I'm chasing or am sleeping with this week that I haven't mentioned, but since I either can't remember their name or I haven't met them yet, it doesn't matter.    

Before heading to bed, I stay up and do more of my puzzle on the Tower of Babel. The easy part of the puzzle is now finished. Now all I have to do is put together 500 pieces of white fluffy clouds.

Somewhere I am wrinkled,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog is sung to you by The Eurythmics: Here Comes The Rain Again: POURING

Novocaine For The Soul

It's Friday, April 20, 1991. It's freezing when I wake up at 6:45AM! It's only September here in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan! Last year I was sweating my butt off until November!

Strangely enough, it's not raining today. I thought we were supposed to be getting wiped out by a typhoon - or was that all it had yesterday?

Whoops - at 9AM just before classes actually start at Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School), it begins to rain. I knew the weather wouldn't let me down!

For some reason, I don't have any classes scheduled for today. Shibata-sensei doesn't tell me why, so I sit here alone in the teacher's office being bored.

Did you know that crossword difficulty is inversely proportional to the amount of free time you have? The more free time you have, the easier the puzzle, thereby ensuring you will be bored quicker.

I have done two puzzles in ink without any errors - and not much hesitation on my part... so I start reading a Sherlock Holmes book I borrowed from Matthew. Matthew is a major fan of the opium-riddled detective, and I have to admit, after watching a lot of the episodes on television these past few months, it has made me want to see what the heck the writing was like. Apparently, the creators of the television show were exceedingly faithful to the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I wish I had a cool name like Conan.

After lunch in the teacher's room, I sit and stare at nothing. Screw this. I want to go home so I can do nothing there.

So at 4PM, I go home and relax... I'm not sure if that's possible considering how little I actually did today, but I do my best.

I watch some sumo (Japanese wrestling) and have found myself really getting into the whole sport.

Ashley comes over at 6PM. She was sick today and didn't go to work at the Ohtawara Boys High School, but she isn't too sick to stay away. I guess this is where I have to be a friend for a few hours later tonight.

So I do. After watching a few videos from back home, we fool around where I show her a neat trick involving my gold chain which she really loves.

This is the way my day ends - with a bang and a whimper.

Somewhere no longer freezing,
Andrew Joseph
Today's music is by: Eels: NUMB

It's Oh So Quiet

It's another pretty good day for me. It's Wednesday, September 18, 1991 and I'm teaching this week at Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) here in Ohtawara-shi (Ohtawara City), Tochigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), Japan.

I've been here for 13 months+ and I've had my ups and downs in Japan - most of it having to do with women - and not the fact I am living alone for the first time in my life, and doing so in a country I know next to nothing about.

My students are obedient, polite, smart and fun to be around - unlike some school's I won't mention. It was Kaneda Kita Chu Gakko (Kaneda North Junior High School).

I play baseball with the students after lunch again and have a great time talking in Japanese and English to them, as they do the same! This is what being a teacher on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme is all about!

Since there's a teacher's meeting at 4PM, I get to leave early. despite being called a teacher here - I'm not really., I'm a walking, talking, hairy tape recorder - but it's okay. The job is actually easy at good school's like this where the students listen.

After riding home on my bicycle - it's a 10-minute trip, I head over to my back doctor. It's been seven weeks since I last had an adjustment, and man, it feels great! I guess I was merely out of sorts all this past time.

I go shopping and buy a Japanese ready-made meal, instead of going to a fast-food restaurant. If I could learn how to cook this stuff, I'd feel more Japanese than gaijin (foreigner), but cooking for one is an arduous, time-consuming chore.

Back home I eat and finish off half of the bottom of my 5000 piece puzzle of The Tower of Babel - and appropriate theme considering my Japanese language skills are not very good - and I doubt they ever will be. I'm not very good with languages - and even failed Grade 12 English once! (I am a writer now in 2011! So take that high school!)

I go to bed at 12:30AM - after deciding not to call up any more new female JET arrivals to chat. I enjoy the comfort of being alone.

Ashley, my friend-with-benefits (and ex-girlfriend here) did call me up to say she wouldn't be coming for our kyudo (Japanese archery) lesson today as she has the runs. I'm supposed to go by myself tonight, but decide I'm not really in the mood for the frustration the sport brings me.

Oh well... sometimes a guy just needs a night off to relax rather than to be everybody else's monkey.

Somewhere babbling to myself,
Andrew Joseph
Our musical guest sponsoring my title (okay, the song I chose for the title is played by:) is Björk: NICEANDICY-COOL. Her squinty eyes remind me of Ashley's.
PS - Where's all the excitement? Have you ever heard of the 'eye of the storm'? It's slowly coming. Patience, young Jedi.   

Sunny Days

It’s Tuesday, September 17, 1991 and I feel better today, though with the lack of sleep I am still mentally and physically tired. Emotionally – ahhhh, pretty good.

It might be because today I get to go to work at Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) here in Ohtawara-shi (Ohtawara City), Tochigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), Japan. After arriving here from Toronto nearly 14 months, I have been enjoying my time here as an assistant English English teacher on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme, though I am unaware of what Canada got in exchange for me. Probably peace and quiet and a higher domestic IQ.

This school is the largest in Ohtawara – and while the kids aren’t necessarily the smartest or the nicest in Japan, they are rather smart and nice – and that’s good enough for me, especially since I spent last week at the what I have dubbed “The School From Hell” – one Kaneda Kita Chu Gakko (Kaneda North Junior High School). I might be wrong in that assessment, but it’s how I feel.

Here at Dai Chu (the nickname for Ohtawara Junior High School) the students come walking calmly up tp me with smiles on their faces to not only greet me, but to talk to me in English first, and then Japanese to see if I have increased my language skills. I have. Sadly not by a lot.

I haven’t seen these kids in a few months, and I have missed them even if I don’t know them by name, I know them by face and actions. They are great kids and hopefully will be great adults.

After lunch with a third-year class, I play some baseball and have a lot of fun.

The whole day is an exercise in Japan proving to me that all my fears about belonging here are unfounded... I mean, students put their hand up to volunteer answers – it might not really be a first here, but it seems like it.

After an enjoyable day with the kids, I go home and don’t really have to unwind or relax. I already feel that way. I go shopping for some food – dinner and Coca-Cola – I buy some pork tontatsu and rice already cooked and just need to heat it up in my convection oven/microwave.

I head over to my night school class – and while there are only six adults there – well... who cares? We have a great class. Shoko isn’t there – the young lady I like, and who likes me – and while I do wonder where she is, my class is probably better than ever as I can concentrate on teaching and having fun rather than trying not to stare into her beautiful brown eyes or get caught staring at her legs as she demurely shields her face from my hungry eyes.

After class, I ride my bicycle over to the local video rental store and get the 1953 movie The Hitch-hiker (intresting enough written by Robert Joseph - no relation) and try to watch it while doing my puzzle. I stop the movie and instead call up one of the newly arrived women on the JET Programme – Amanda Goodsell, a tall bubbly blonde who has zero to interest in me sexually, but I like her. She’s not only cute and smart but possesses a real sarcastic wit that is a complete turn-on for me. We exchange life stories over the course of two hours.

Why am I calling up new JET arrivals every night? Well, to be honest, I am only calling up new female JET arrivals every night... but I know what the first month was like for me in Japan. No, no one asked me to call up people, but aside from the possibility that I might get laid, I just want to make sure everybody survives unscathed. Helping people makes me feel more alive.

That first month in Japan while completely scary, was euphoric... but that next month... when we started work for the first time... that’s when I started to get stressed out a bit by the enormity of the challenge of trying to survive all day long where you may not be understood by a single person. Fortunately for me, my English teachers at the schools were all pretty damn good – and my bosses at the Ohtawara Board of Education (OBOE) were fantastic at keeping tabs on my general well-being without being snoopy.

Amanda, however, is surprisingly well adjusted. She will do well here.

When we finish talking and do my puzzle again and finish the movie and finally crash at 2:30AM?!

Japan has magically restored by faith in her. Or maybe I just feel happy knowing I don’t have to go back to Hell for a while.

Somewhere it’s a different day,
Andrew Joseph

Today’s blog is by Canadian group Lighthouse: WORKSOHARD

Laugh, Laugh

(Dictionary: 'san' means: Mister, Monsieur, Miss, Mrs or even Ms. 'sensei' means teacher.) 
I don't want to get up today even though I've set the alarm a half-hour later than usual. Still, I don't leave my bed for another 30 minutes.
It's Friday, July 5, 1991 and I feel emotionally tired. The Junko saga has really wiped me out.
How can I even tell anyone what's gone on? It's going to be 20 years before I'll feel comfortable enough to talk about this with anyone.
Still... when I go into the OBOE (Ohtawara Board of Education) office for my 'office day', everyone treats me likes it's just another day and that they are super glad to see me again. I like that.
Kanemaru-san comes over quickly with his Japanese-English dictionary in hand which prompts to automatically reach for my English-Japanese dictionary. But either he's been practicing English with someone else, or I'm a better English teacher than I realized.
"An-do-ryu sensei want to go to (pause to look up a word) individual kyudo contesto on July 19?"
In two weeks? I choke on some phlegm and laugh because I'm still not good enough. I still haven't hit a target and I need to practice a lot more. Still, my laugh feels good and real. Aside from laughing maniacally to myself at all of the great sex I had been having with Junko, I haven't laughed much in a couple of months. Actually, since I had been having frequent sex with Junko, I guess I had been laughing often.
Hanazaki-san talks to me in English knowing that no one else in the office will understand us.
"An-do-ryu sensei... we took Junko back to her mother's house in Utsunomiya. She told us that you are in love with her and that you made her drop out of university because you said you would marry her."
I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing. Actually, I did yell: "She's lying!" and slammed my hand on the desk in front of me."
To their credit, no one looked shocked. In fact... no one looked up from their desk. Crap. They all know what's going on. They just don't want to embarrass me.
Hanazaki-san continued: "Yes. We know. We realized there was something wrong with her on her first day at Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) - that was the day you first met."
We did meet that day - she was a university student on a one-week internship at this school, one of seven I teach at here in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken (Ohtawara City, Tochigi Prefecture), Japan.
"How did you know?" I asked slowly.
"At school lunch that day, we know that miso soup was one of the dishes. According to our sources, Junko said she didn't want to use Japanese chopsticks and instead asked for a spoon. Now that's crazy."
I looked at him for about six seconds, opened my mouth to say something. Closed it and then looked at the twinkle in Hanazaki-san's eyes.
"Jodan! (Joke!)," I screamed and laughed in a roar.
And the whole damn OBOE office began laughing with me.

I'll continue this day in another blog. It involves me being followed by a Japanese woman and sleeping with another woman.

Somewhere I love my board of education office,
Andrew Joseph
Today's title is inspired by the Beau Brummels: HAHA. The group is American - which surprised me. The song was produced by Sylvester Stewart, who would later grown into mega-fame as Sly Stone: you know, of Sly & The Family Stone back in the 1960s??! Huh? Huh? Ahhh forget it. I must be old.

Whole Lotta Love

It's part two of July 4, 1991.
My ex-sexual partner Junko was stalking me until Shibata-sensei at Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) in Ohtawara-shi (Ohtawara City), Tochigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), Japan found out and asked me if I wanted it stopped.
Agreeing, he made a phone called and then told me "It's done" before walking away to finish his cigarette.
I leave school and ride my bicycle home and feel as though I'm being followed by a white car—not a stretch considering most of Japan's cars seem to be white. But Junko, being female, I'm guessing doesn't have a white car. She would have one of those miniature pastel coloured cars manufactured by a car company so small I've never heard of it... but it was still quite popular in creating cars specifically for women.
I don't see Junko following me, but she's pretty darn good at it, so who knows. I would assume that any plan concocted by Shibata-sensei is still going to take a little while to begin.
Regardless... I ride home to my three-bedroom apartment and see Ashley sitting on the front steps waiting for me.
 I don't tell her about Junko because while Ashley and I are no longer a couple, I still want to figure out a way to get sex. I've spent the past couple of weeks slowly breaking down the wall she put up between us to ensure we didn't get back together again - because she really needs her space.
Yeah.
That's why she's waiting for me at my apartment. That's why she agreed to come over for dinner tonight. She needs space.
Soon.
We chat a bit while we sit on my couch. I can feel her leg on mine - and she doesn't pull away.
There's heat.
We cook up a pot of my famous/infamous chili and watch another episode of Designing Women on my Video Tape Recorder.
At 7PM, she gets ready to leave. I call her back, grab her hand, put my arm around her waist - there's no resistance. I'm sure France was easier to take over in WWII than this. Sorry France.
But not tonight.
Still... I tell her I'm not ashamed of her–she seemed to think I was, even believing that Matthew didn't like her. And while I never asked Matthew about that - he never said anything like that to me or ever gave that impression to me.
She smiles and says 'thanks.'
I tell her she doesn't have to leave, but she turns to go anyway... so I grab her again in a hug and kiss her hairy head and then give her a coy wink with a smirk on my face that would get me laid in the best whore houses in France for 200 Euros. Sorry again, France.
She turns and smiles a good bye as she leaves.
Well... that was easy. I sure hope Junko isn't waiting outside my apartment to kill Ashley.
I head out to night school to teach - there's a large crowd. There's even another gaijin (foreigner) there... Sarah, a heavy Italian girl from Hawaii who leads the discussion. That's fine. It's English conversation, and tonight I'm content to listen and chime in with the usually sexual innuendo. She's staring at me. Normally I wouldn't mind, but she does seem to outweigh me by some 20 kilograms, and these days I've hardly been starved of sex thanks to Junko, and probably Ashley again, very soon. So... I'm not biting.
I think the level of talk is too high for the group, as we chat about unions and the mob. Great. Leave it to the Italians to bring up the mob. Sorry France... I mean Italy. I just somehow expected it to be France's fault.
I go home and as I take off my shoes the door bell rings. It's Junko... but before I can open the door to let her in, I see two men behind her lurking in the shadows. One of them calls to her - she turns and runs down the stairs near my apartment and (after I run to the front balcony I see that:) she's trying to get into a car... it's red. See... I knew she wouldn't have anything but a chick car!
Anyhow... there's another man standing beside the driver's door - and he's not letting her in. He's not grabbing her or anything - he's just leaning against the car door casually smoking a cigarette.
I don't recognize any of the men.
I shout down at them to leave her alone... but the smoker yells up: "Daijobu, An-do-ryu-sensei." (It's okay Andrew teacher)... and then in English says loudly: "Junko-chan... you masto leavu An-do-ryu-sensei alone. Iki masho. (Let's Go!) We willu taku you baku to your maza's house."
I think he said he would take her back to her mother's house. Even I can't understand what I wrote.
And with that, Junko-chan seemed to slump with resignation and followed the men to their car, while another got into her red woman's car and followed close behind.
I went back into my apartment and closed the sliding doors to the balcony and drew shut the drapes and went to my fridge to get a Coke.
The phone rang... I picked it up reluctantly on the 36th ring... that's how you know it's a Japanese person on the other end... they ring more than seven times without hanging up. Or it could be Matthew.... and I swear he was becoming more Japanese everyday.
Regardless... it was Shibata-sensei, but he never said his name. I'm the one saying the Japanese words... Hmmm... maybe I'm turning Japanese? Probably. I think I repeatedly bowed to the phone while I was talking.
"An-do-ryu-sensei?"
"Hai (yes.)"
"It's done."
"I thought you said it was done before?"
"It's done now. Good night."
"Oyasuminasai (Good night)."
I hung up, turned on the television and had a long swig of Coke.
I never saw Junko again. I'm unsure if she saw me again.
By the way... if I had seen what Junko was wearing - or rather NOT wearing this evening, I would have taken on those three guys myself to stop them from having her stalk me. Any girl who dresses like that can stalk me any day.
Somewhere wondering what I have done,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by Led Zeppelin: BACKTOSCHOOLIN'
PS: Just to let me know that there are other women in the world, along with see Ashley, and being hit on by Sarah, today I received in the mail a package from Kristine in Shiga-ken, a letter from a very beautiful adult student of mine who moved away to Ibaraki-ken - Yumiko Ebe, and a letter from Juanita back in Toronto.  Yet... I'm still by myself again, and despite opinions to the contrary, I don't take any satisfaction from that.
PPS: I love France. In fact... earlier this evening, I saw England. I saw France. I saw Junko's underpants.
I know... what's the big deal when I've already seen her naked so many times - but she sure looked sexy!  I miss her her sexy knock on my door... and that sexy way she rings my doorbell. Yes... you just put your finger on the button and press... but she had a way of making it look... sexy. I'm done. I'm going to bed now.

Dirty Deeds

It's Thursday, July 4, 1991 - Happy birthday USA! Ashley is coming over tonight, so maybe she can blow out the birthday candle.
Still... I have to get rid of Junko first. She spent the night  - again - and man am I tired.
This time when we get up at 6:30AM, I manage to have a shower by myself and get dressed with out her attacking me for more sex. She doesn't look tired, so I assume she's sleeping during the day when she knows I am teaching at school.
Since she has so-far taken a weeks 'vacation' from university to stalk me, I'm assuming she's .parked somewhere outside my school - Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) here in Ohtawara-shi (City of Ohtawara), Tochigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), Japan.
I kiss Junko good bye--which has her starting to unbuckle my belt--and push her out the door. I told her I am busy tonight - so maybe we could take a rest?
She stares at me for a few seconds, and while looking me straight in the eye says she will see me later.
No kidding. I have no idea what that really means, but I assume it's more stalking and another night without sleep. I have no idea how many days its been since I slept. I'm on automatic pilot.
As such, I suddenly wake up and I'm at school with no knowledge how I rode my bicycle there.
I think the school knows something is up, and rather than let me relax, gives me four classes to teach--one with Numanoi-sensei who doesn't understand the term 'wander'... which by the way is an anagram (mixed up letters) of my name. I nearly lose my temper over such a stupid thing.
When I play Word Scramble with Shibata-sensei's kids I give out Canadian dimes (10 cents) as prizes.
Hmmm... after giving out pennies yesterday and dimes today, I wonder if I can get reimbursed by the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme for $0.68? 
During fourth period - the one period I have no class to teach - I pass out at my desk in the teacher's lounge. When I have wake up, I'm in a pool of my own drool. Sexy it is not.
After school, and after English Club, I talk with one 15-year-old for about 20 minutes. He's a Hanshin Tiger's baseball fan--too bad they are currently 20-1/2 games out of first. We also talk about - conversationally - women, sex and adult videos - and says he really likes me for being honest. I have always thought that if someone here in Japan can ask me a question in English - no mater how potentially embarrassing it might be - I will answer it.
When I'm about to leave, I shake hands with Shibata-sensei and notice he's too lazy to remove his cigarette from his grip and instead shakes with his left hand. He sees me glance out the teacher's lounge window and casually asks if I am looking for Junko.
I seem confused I'm sure - and asks me if I want Junko to continue following me around.
How the heck does he know this? So I ask him.
Apparently I talked in my sleep - and drooled. He was the only person in the room at that time and just my luck, the only person who could have understood the mumblings of a very tired native English speaker.
I don't know how to answer his question - but instead sit back down and tell him what's been going on.
Apparently everyone (teachers) here at school know of my relationship with Junko - they just didn't know about the stalking. As well... since she was only supposed to be interning for a week here at this school, people at her university became alarmed when she didn't show up for school when she was supposed to... so they contacted the Ohtawara Board of Education (OBOE) - my office, who then contacted Ohtawara Chi Gakko - who informed them that she might have fallen in love with me - as it was obvious from my exhausted demeanor and body scent that I was still seeing her.
She really did smell  - different. Whatever she was wearing as a body spray (aside from myself) was driving me mad with lust - clouding my judgement... okay, no it wasn't... but when I have a gorgeous babe taking off her clothes and ripping mine off, I don't think rationally owing to a lack of bloodflow to the brain.
He repeats again: "Do you want Junko to continue following you around?"
Thinking about how I have Ashley coming over tonight before I leave for a teaching class... I could use the sleep when I got home... or Junko....
Dammit!
Since I don't have a bloodflow problem right now - just severe exhaustion and dehydration, I quietly say: "No...  I've tried to break things off with her last week - but she's either crazy in love with me or just crazy."
He goes over to the telephone beside the principal at the front of the teacher's lounge, says something quickly to the principal, who looks at me and shrugs his shoulders, and then makes a phone call.
I swear it was not more than two sentences and 15 seconds, and then he hung up.
We walks over in his floppy indoor slippers, lights up another cigarette and blows it in my face, placing his right hand (with the cigarette) on my left shoulder and says: "It's done."
What's done?
"It's done. Go home. I'll see you in September when school starts again. Enjoy your trip to Thailand."
And with that he turned and shuffled off. Perhaps when I go to Thailand I'll buy him some decent slippers.

I'll continue this day 24 hours from now.

Somewhere 'it's done'?
Andrew Joseph

Today's blog title is by AC/DC: 362436.
PS: Now do you see how everybody knows what it is I'm doing and who I'm doing? It's not just Junko stalking me - it's all of Japan!

Obsession

It's Wednesday, July 2, 1991.
Junko remains my dirty little secret.
She spent the night. We don't sleep. She's either quit university or she's taken an unscheduled break to stalk me. Are you supposed to sleep with someone who stalks you?
Apparently you do if they look like Junko - I still haven't had time to take a photograph of her, as we tend to get right down to business as soon as she enters my apartment. I notice stuff like that.
Anyhow... here's are the particulars: She's 21 years-old, a Cancer (no kidding - a perfect match for me the Scorpio!), AB Negative blood like myself, 5'-4" and slender, but has curves in all the right places, and at about 110-pounds - even I can pick her up. She's a B-cup, but honestly, I've never cared about that. She's very smart, has a good sense of humour, is a sharp, stylish dresser without looking like a freak in a fashion show... in short, she's the type of woman any heterosexual guy is going to stop and eye-hump, and every woman is going to either admire or hate.
Me? I'm sure if anyone ever saw me with her they would be wondering if I'm hung like a pony or if I'm rich.
Since I'm neither - I'm not rich and I'm not poor - and like most people wish I had more - she must be into me for my semi-dazzling looks and fantastic sense of humour. I can often come across as being the John Holmes of wit.... which doesn't explain why all we do is have sex... but I do have a very large wit.
Hee-hee! Sometimes I can't believe my luck. Here's this gorgeous university student chasing after me. Her English is superb, and she's beautiful. I know, I said that... but it bears repeating.
She's just what I need after spending a frustrating night with Ashley. Frustrating because there was no sex involved with my ex-girlfriend.... which considering Junko seems to know where I am and with whom, it was probably a good thing that nothing happened between Ashley and myself last night.
Cripes! Can you imagine?! Junko probably would have swooped in and beat the crap out of her with a kendo stick (wooden Japanese fencing sword). She's like a ninja - always where you least expect her, ready to pounce. Except... Junko and I broke up because she was going back to school.
Of course... I broke up with Ashley, but that didn't seem to matter until she broke up with me three days later.
Do I dare wait until Junko breaks up with me? 

So... do I stick with someone who is a jealous sexual psychopath or try and get back with Ashley who only likes me as a friend right now? Or simply go it alone? There's always Kristine 500 kilometres away... but as much as I adore her, I'd rather not just have sex - I want a relationship!
Anyhow... the answer is obvious - the sexual psychopath. I really, really, really enjoy the sex. Okay, forget that part about my reasons for not seeing Kristine. I'm really pretty much a horn dog.
Convenience over sanity seems to be my mantra.

However... despite the fringe benefits of being with Junko in a very draining relationship, I do worry that this girl may be throwing away her entire life for me. Sex is fine, but we've not been out together further than the walls of my apartment here in Ohtawara-shi (City of Ohtawara), Tochigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), Japan.
Surely a woman this gorgeous, sexual and sexually-active has had other boyfriends? I wonder where she dumped the bodies?
Unless, I'm the only one she's ever been like this to? My ego says that's the case, but I have a bad habit of being rational (I know, I know), and realize this 'relationship' is going to be a problem.
For one thing, I don't sleep any more. That's going to affect my work, not to mention my ability to manufacture semen. Probably not, but the work thing is important.
While it's true my reason for life was to get laid - and Japan fulfilled that... but I've discovered there is more to life than that, and I'm afraid Junko is not going to let me experience anything outside of my apartment... although we are up to Page 47 of the Kama Sutra.
I need to figure out what to do. Eventually...
Junko dehydrates me. Which is both good and bad and leaves at 7:45AM.
I have 15 minutes to dress and get to Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) by 8AM - a fortunate 10 minute bicycle ride away.
It seems that no matter how much cologne I put on, I still smell Junko. Combine that with my permanent-grin, people are going to know what I've up to.
It's chilly today, but there's never enough wind to blow away the smell of sex, is there?
I don't have many classes to teach - just two - and are both with Shibata-sensei - so the classes are fun. I do three crosswords in 30 minutes between classes. Even though I washed my face when I got to school - and twice more after that, I can still smell sex. Is it on my clothes? In my nose? Maybe.  
In class, after Shibata-sensei gives the students back their results, we play Word Scramble with these third year (grade 9) students. I provide Canadian pennies as presents. Cheap yes, but none have ever seen one before, so it's a 'cool' prize for them.
Shibata-sensei quietly smiles and pats me on the back as he says: "You smell very pretty. Anyone I know?" Then he bursts out laughing, mouthing the word "Junko". I nod in pride and embarrassment.
Not surprisingly, my neck and back are killing me. Damn Kama Sutra positions #43 through #47!I go to my back doctor and then await Kanemaru-san to pick me up and take me to the Ohtawara kyudo (archery) club. I shoot like a guy who's shot a lot - tired. Junko.
I'm wearing shorts and am bitten by a lot of mosquitoes - because I am bug bait. Insects love my tasty Coca-Cola filled blood.
On the plus side, Kanemaru-san just so happens to have some anti-itching medicine that while smelly, works. I wonder if he has an anti-Junko cream - but I don't ask or tell him about Junko.
At home, I talk with MariAnn for awhile - she's feeling better about life (thank goodness). I then talk with Jeanne - a fellow JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Program teacher like MariAnn and myself and find out about some Utsunomiya-shi (City of Utsunomiya party). She's a nice, but dry, French-Canadian who lives in the same low-level apartment block as Ashley. They are both private people, so my inquiries into Ashley's business reveal nothing new - just that she seems more withdrawn than usual - if that is possible.
That's the thing about Jeanne. You think she's dry and then she drops witty and wry observations like that.
I talk on the phone with them while watching some videos from back home in Toronto and eat burned popcorn (stupid microwave).
Matthew comes over at 10PM - because that's what he does... probably figures I'm depressed and likes to check up on me. It's appreciated.
I don't tell him about Junko either, because I'm embarrassed that I'm still chasing or pining after Ashley when I have this hot Japanese babe throwing herself at me.
We watch Blade Runner and he leaves around 12AM. As usual, he brings snacks and beer and Coca-Cola. He knows me.  
Thirty seconds after he leaves, my doorbell rings. You know who it is before I do, don't you? It's Junko.
I'm going to die from dehydration and lack of sleep.

Somewhere dying with a smile on my face,
Andrew Joseph
Today's title is by Animotion. I always loved this song for its really cool keyboards... but I never paid much attention to the lyrics until I wrote this blog. I think I am Junko's OBSESSION. I had never seen the video before!
PS:
Lyrics are below:
You are an obsession, I cannot sleep
I am a possession unopened at your feet
There is no balance, no equality
Be still I will not accept defeat

I will have you, yes I will have you
I will find a way and I will have you
Like a butterfly, a wild butterfly
I will collect you and capture you

(CHORUS)
You are an obsession, you're my obsession
Who do you want me to be to make you sleep with me
[repeat]

I feed you, I drink you by day and by night
I need you, I need you by sun or candlelight
You protest, you want to leave
You say there's no alternative

Your face appears again, I see the beauty there
But I see danger, stranger beware
A circumstance in your naked dreams
Your affection is not what it seems

(CHORUS)
My fantasy has turned to madness
All my goodness has turned to badness
My need to possess you has consumed my soul
My life is trembling, I have no control

I will have you, yes I will have you
I will find a way and I will have you
Like a butterfly, a wild butterfly
I will collect you and capture you

(CHORUS [repeat to fade])

I'm Free

It's Tuesday July 2, 1991. It's raining and I only have two classes to team-teach over at Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School). They are with third-year students - Grade 9's. We play Word Scramble - and it actually goes pretty well.
My lunch was with the 1-3 class - first year's... the same one that followed me around last week - but no one brings it up and I think they are contrite, so I make it fun and they respond with a lot of laughs... they are good kids and really, despite not giving me privacy, they are curious about me - and that's cool.
I write a lot during the day - and it finally stops raining at 11AM.
I play some baseball at lunch with the 1-3 class... I'm the pitcher and strike out three and get struck out myself. My eyes are bothering me - astigmatism - I can't focus - especially as things travel from far to near - the whole point of trying to hit a ball coming towards you.
At 5PM, I go home and get ready to head to Ashley's place. Ashley and I have been broken up for about a month month. While I would like to get back with Ashley - I'm only into it for the sex... or so I keep telling myself. My plan is to make her want me back by being a nice guy, which is what I try to be all the time anyway.
I'm wearing a clean tee-shirt and a pair of shorts. I'm not overly dressy to be sure - but Ashley would be suspicious if I cam over in a suit... besides... I want to show off my legs and butt... what's the point of making them muscular if you can't show them off... my upper body is nothing to write home about, however.
I have no idea what I'm expecting out of tonight - except, she did invite me over... what was this... the third time she's offered to make dinner for me at her place? When we dated exclusively between August and May, she was at my place for dinner at least four or five times a week - and twice on the weekends. She never chipped in for food, but gladly ate what I made. That's something I never thought about until just now.Hmmm.
We did chat for 2-1/2 hours last night and I must admit she did anger me when she said she went to the VISA office by herself on Saturday, rather than travel with us on (Matthew, myself and MariAnn) on Sunday... especially when I did invite her. But, I guess she prefers being a loner sometimes.
When I ride over, it's chilly... which makes me reconsider the wisdom of wearing a tee-shirt and shorts - but I remember that old mantra: "It's better to look good than to feel good."
When I arrive, I give her a big hug (no kiss). We talk, eat nachos and watch the movie: The Never Ending Story II... I can think of two things wrong with that title....
We also watch a tv show called Dark Angel... both movies are duds as far as I am concerned, but it is nice to be with Ashley.
She offered (and I accepted) a neck massage for 10 minutes, which helped, as that's where I keep all of my stress - probably because that's also from writing so much - shoulders hunched over a keyboard.
At 10PM when I know it's her bedtime, I give her a hug (no kiss) and make my way home.
I leave a message for MariAnn's answering machine (I don't have one) - and she returns the call at 11:35PM and we chat until 12:30AM.
She says she is depressed and lonely and afraid that no one really understands her. I understand, but she does have relatives here - plus a cousin who came over on the same JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme - and she lives nearby!
Plus - she went home two months agao for a couple of weeks!
I'm wiped out - but she's worse. I try to cheer her up and even suggest she go home again for a visit... to re-charge her batteries. She says she has no money, but tell her to beg or borrow it or get it from her parents!
She's also having problems with her board of education office. I'm lucky... my OBOE (Ohtawara Board of Education) office has been more than fantastic to me - they are a fine group of co-workers and friends who are constantly looking out for me. And it is appreciated.
When I hang-up... there's a knock at my door.
I quietly go over to peer through the peephole.
It's Junko.
Feeling a bit superior tonight and horny... I open it up.
She's gorgeous. Despite her stalking me for the past week, my trepidation is overcome by her shorts and a tight tee-shirt... and those legs. She smiles and says hello. I say hello and ask her in.
We don't talk... it's all action like we never missed a beat with us being apart for eight days or so.
I don't do any ironing that night, nor do I get any sleep - but that's okay...

Somewhere stress free,
Andrew Joseph 
Today's blog title is by The Who: REALITY

Free Bird

I'm at Wakakusa Chu Gakko (Wakausa Junior High School) today, Wednesday June 26, 1991. I have another four English classes to team teach - and it's tiring, but at least it beats being back in Toronto having to find honest work during the recession.
Here in Ohtawara-shi (City of Ohtawara) in Tochigi-ken (Tochigi Prefecture), this school is the only junior high school that has separate classes for the mentally-challenged kids. I eat lunch with them every day - it's fun.
Today I played the piano for them - Bumble Bee Boogie - in their class room.
I notice that some of the kids are playing a joke on their teacher - but I shut up and let them go about their business - because what the heck! I love a good joke, too.
Because Japanese kids serve lunch to their fellow students and teacher in their class - the same holds true here. They pile a lot of cheese onto the plate of one bot who absolutely hates cheese! The look on his face is priceless! As well, they add about 10 chopsticks - of different size - to the plate of their teacher! Riot!
I play with the kids for a bit after eating - and then it's the typical clean-up time when all of the kids clean their class room and hallways before heading out to play.
Because the teacher's have a meeting, I'm taken home early - as the meeting is all in Japanese - and despite being called a teacher, I sure as heck am not one. For one thing, I'm better paid than a veteran 20-year-teacher. Truth. Sad but true, folks. I believe one such teacher - Mr. Inoue over at Ohtawara Chu Gakko (Ohtawara Junior High School) once confided his salary to me... it was the equivalent of $26,000 a year. I made $36,000 a year as an assistant English teacher (AET) on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme.
Back home, I ride out to my back doctor and feel quite good afterward. Back home I eat dinner and go to kyudo (Japanese archery). I haven't played much since being hit by two cars in separate incidents last autumn. Part of it has been a reluctance to participate because I'm not as good as I think I should be - even as a beginner, but also because I did bugger up my shoulder.
Kanemaru-san (Mr. Kanemaru), who is one of my bosses at the OBOE (Ohtawara Board of Education) is the one who got me involved in this sport - and I feel as though I have not only let myself down, but him as well.
Tonight, however, I shoot well . I don't know if this was a bad thing, but I placed the arrow's feather through my lips to smooth them down. I have no idea if it helped or not, bit I did shoot better. Maybe that's my good luck thing. Still, despite the good shooting, I tire easily.
Kanemaru-san has been instructing me on form... and while I do have some strength back, the whole bow and arrow thing scares the heck out of me. He tells me that my form is pretty good - and that's half the battle in kyudo.

While I figure I tire easily due to a lack of practice in using certain muscles, the Ohtawara Kyudo Club feels that I should be using a bow that requires less brute strength to pull it.
The ego in me likes having the heaviest bow in the club, but the reality of the situation is that despite being the big, bad gaijin (foreigner), I'm not as strong as I thought I was. I defer to their wishes.
They then try to give me a two-finger archery glove - but I prefer my three-finger glove as it seems to help me keep my face out of the way when I draw the string back.
I shoot well all evening, and remember all of the form techniques one must master to shoot properly.
As such, before I leave for the evening, I tell them I want to shoot at a real target (60 feet away?) in two weeks, rather than the practice one that sits eight feet in front of me. Kanemaru-san says "okay". His English is getting better, as he an I didn't have to use the Japanese to English dictionary all that much today.
I'm psyched at my progress today.
Tim Mould calls me up. He's the Kuroiso-shi (Kuroiso City) Boys High School AET. He asks me to write a letter to the new AET who will be coming to his city to teach junior high in August. What the heck? I like to write. And I seem to know what I'm doing as an AET.
I try to call Susan St. Cyr regarding the last weekend at Disneyland and about life, but she's not home. I call Mary Mueller up - she was the leader of the Tochigi-ken JET AETs - and though she is with a guy named Peter, I still have a major crush on her. I could listen to her talk for hours and hours, and thanks to her ability to carry a conversation, I frequently do listen to her talk for hours and hours.
Oh yeah... before kyudo, I went to the Iseya grocery/department store near my home and ran into some students from Ohtawara Chu Gakko. They followed me from one store to another (Mimasuya) and then back to my apartment. They followed me up the elevator and to my apartment door and then came into visist for a while.
It ticked me off - because despite me telling you readers everythging about my life, I still enjoy my privacy. So I called my other OBOE boss, Mr. Hanazaki.
He immediately called the principal of Ohtawara Chu Gakko, and then called me back to say that it won't ever happen again.

Somewhere again starting to feel like I belong in Japan,
Andrew Joseph 
Today's blog title is by Lynyrd Skynyrd - because I feel uncaged today - plus I'm licking bird feathers on arrows. ICAN'TCHANGE