And I Didn't Think I Had Much to Say

Apologies for the lack of action around here recently. I've really had nothing at all of interest going on in my life of late and for that reason haven't had much to report here. I generally like to post when I have some cool pictures or at least something that I think might be remotely interesting to talk about, neither of which has been the case in the last week or so. However, if you haven't noticed, I have been dutifully keeping up with the rice blog.

Anyway I've got a few things on my mind that I figured might make decent fodder for the blog. Nothing too interesting mind you, but as this is more or less a dumping ground for my thoughts, I suppose they'll suffice.

So to begin, I was a bit embarrassed last night at the supermarket when I realized that one of my students works there. I saw him and waved, he smiled and waved back. I think he was training a new girl how to operate the cash register. The students always seem so much nicer and less disgruntled when I see them outside of class. I wonder if they feel the same about me.

But it wasn't seeing him that embarrassed me; I see students out and about all the time. It was the fact that seeing him this particular time reminded me that last week, in the same supermarket, I had also seen him. I was checking out, he was working at an adjacent register, our eyes met, he gave me a look of familiarity that I took as 'why is that register-boy staring at me and grinning?,' and I averted my eyes. He must of thought I was a) a total dick, or b) a total moron. Maybe both. I wanted to explain the whole misunderstanding to him as I was leaving last night but he was fully involved with the new girl, so I'll have to wait until I see him in class again on Friday.

By the way I've been teaching this boy for about two months. I swear there's an inverse relationship between how long I teach and my degrading ability to remember my student's names and faces. I can remember the names of entire classes I taught my first term, yet I'm still struggling to remember and recognize students that I have currently and see twice a week. And my classes are only about 20 students apiece.

Funnily enough that wasn't the first time I'd had this experience. About a year ago I was at the gym and this one boy working there kept staring at me and grinning. He did this a number of times over a couple of days to the point where I was asking myself what the hell was up with that guy. Is he gay or something? Then of course I go into class the next day and see him sitting there and it all made sense. Although in that case it was the beginning of the term and I'd only had him in class once or twice, if that's any excuse.

The other thing that's been lingering around in my mind is the whole issue of 'culture shock.' I've discussed this before I think, if not here then in an actual conversation with someone. But I feel this constant buildup of pressure when I'm here in Japan, where the differences between Japanese culture and life in Japan slowly migrate from something I love and embrace wholeheartedly into something that I eventually need to escape from. And it's a very measurable and not-so-subtle transition. I put the term 'culture shock' in quotes because I'm not entirely sure that's what I'm experiencing here. I'm culture is involved to some extent, but I attribute it also to needing a change in routine as well. But there is a definite desire to get back to familiarity for at least a little while. And after that happens, and I return to Japan, it's as if the slate has been wiped clean, and I'm back to welcoming all of Japan's idiosyncrasies with open arms.

So what are the factors at work here? The more subliminal one I suppose is the desire to be back 'home' and see my family and eat pizza and drink good beer and SPEAK SOME FRIGGIN ENGLISH. And I'm laughing at myself for referring to those desires as subliminal because in reality they are probably the most obvious, but at the same time the easiest to push aside due to the shear impossibility of realizing them on more than a semi-annual basis. They are always there though, blending into the background.

So the other (very much related) cause, and the one that is more obvious to me, is proximity to vacation time. I notice I have a much shorter fuse, and a much grander sense of cultural superiority, the closer I get to a trip back to the States. I'm heading back at the beginning of August, and I'm starting to get a bit antsy. I could probably go on for hours here both over-analyzing myself and unduly bitching about Japan, so I'll stop here in this regard.

Except for this. I'M SURROUNDED BY MORONS. Maybe this is just a factor of the above, but I think it has a lot more to do with the people around me just being dumb. The epicenter of this retardation is of course my neighbors with the dogs across the street. I love waking up to their deranged, neglected, under exercised, unsocialized dogs barking hysterically at 6:30 EVERY morning. Who needs an alarm clock!!! Those last 15 minutes of sleep? It's not like those are the most cherished moments of sleep for pretty much everyone on earth. Bastards.

And then there's the hermit friggin mystery lady who never gets out of her pajamas and could be anywhere from 18 to 50 years old as far as I can tell. She lives in one of those house with about 200 used tires stacked up in the back. She comes out a few times a day to walk her equally retarded dog to the edge of the parking lot next to her house, where she stands staring into space for 10 minutes while her dog barks at the air, which in causes the previously mentioned dogs to start losing their minds barking, which in turn makes me lose my mind.

But there's more!! Don't forget the lady who has recently been bringing her toddler daughter to play...in our PARKING LOT. And that's conveniently located right across the street from insane dog #1, who barks his brains out the entire time. Lady, got to a fuxxing playground, please. So it may seem that I'm a little oversensitive to dogs barking. That may be the case, but the first thing I hear in the morning BEFORE I wake up are dogs barking, and generally I come home from work to the chorus of dogs barking, and, well, I get a bit worked up. I'm a bit worked up right now if you can't tell :-) So we need to move, badly, but that's a rant all it's own.

Let's end on something more positive and peaceful. Today on my way to work there were some old men trimming the big bushy trees next to the train station (cedar?). They did a hell of a job. Catharsis not quite complete. Must iron.