May Day May Day!!!!
May 1st- Many wonderful memories from
April.
I have gotten bad about recording things to write
about. I guess Thoreau’s observation
about quickly getting into a routine is correct. The “I can set my clocks to it” 5:45 am/pm
chanting, the bell from the monks as they travel down the street looking for
donations, the geckos coming out of the cracks and hanging on the ceilings of my
house --- no longer set me into a trace or scare me with movement; I guess it
is more like home. I am
comfortable.
April is much about anticipating vacation time.
Ironically, I am spending a bunch of money to go to Japan and see cherry
blossoms when I could have just gone to Washington DC to do the same. Live and learn! I am traveling to Japan with two friends and
we map out a good ten-day trip.
We will start in Kyoto. Kyoto has
a wonderful reputation for the cherry blossom festivals and for temples. We do several walking tours and it is truly
amazing. First, we do the Philosophers’
Tour. It winds through the river that is
lined with the blooming trees and ends in a village that was quaint and has many shops. We snap pictures of girls in traditional clothing only to find out
that there is a shop where one can pay to dress up like that complete with the
black bunned wig and wooden slippers. They look legit to me—until I see the
white girls. The white girls brought me back to the “money buys anything”
reality of traditional Kyoto. I do think we see some traditional dress and real
Keisha- especially the couple taking wedding pictures. All in all there were
four walks mapped out and we did three of them. My legs are spent and my Aleve
bottle almost empty by the time we leave Kyoto. The temples were traditional and
I learned much about the history and religion of the area. By the time we left
Kyoto, I was done with temples.
While in Kyoto, we stay in two places: One, a normal hotel and the next a
traditional Ryokan. One of my fellow
travellers felt this was important in order to get the real feel of Japan. The
grass mats on the floor were amazing and the sliding screens really make a
person feel like they are in Japan, but the "sit on the floor, lay on a mat" tradition was for skinny, bendy people of which I am neither. Another unique
thing about this inn was they had traditional public baths. The baths are suppose to have healing powers
and come complete with instructions on how to use them. After some peer pressure and a little wine, I
venture down (in my bathing suit which is a no-no) and relaxe in the piping
hot water. I found it difficult to have a conversation with a person complete
with eye contact when that person is naked- and I imagine if I had been naked
it would have been doubly hard! Oh well,
when in Rome….
Next, Hiroshima.
My father was in WWII and I remember him lamenting about several of the
towns in Japan (most of the time after copious swigs of whisky), so I was
anxious about this leg of the trip. One of my friends has a group meeting us
that he contacts through a friend of a friend’s nephew. These four women have our itinerary ready
complete with a handout for each of us on how to pronounce their names. We head
out to Peace Park to take in the ominous history we have learned about but
somehow seems so distant to my generation.
I listen through tears as we see the sculptures, the place below the
hypocenter of the atomic bomb and the Sadako Children’s Memorial. I see from
afar a Korean who is I assume paying homage to his people at the Korean Memorial and somehow I want to capture the moment. I snap pictures with my zoom
lens and then feel like an interloper. Our
art teacher had her students making cranes for us to donate to the museum; we
did so with hopeful hearts that the message of peace will be heard throughout
the world. Here is the story via youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPlAzO0mGT4
As an American, I somehow felt some responsibility;
as the daughter of a Marine, I wished to know more. My father’s stories died
with him- all I do know is that this war killed his spirit and eventually took
his life. The losses were not just to the Japanese community. Somehow I am comforted as I see that the mayors of Hiroshima continue
a letter writing campaign denouncing the use of atomic and nuclear weapons. Who
better to send such a message? In total, there have been over 606 letters sent
to heads of states. Lunacy!
The Museum is filled with before and after pictures
as well as the history. The story is
told objectively and without blame. I am thankful for that.
We end the day with a traditional Japanese dinner
of okonomiyaki. “It is made with
a crepe on the bottom and dried bonito (fish) powder (if I ate it again I would
cut this), shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, pork slices and noodles piled on top
of it. The key to the delicacy of okonomiyaki is the special in-house
sauce. The best way to eat it is
served on the heated iron grill, using a special spatula to eat with from the
grill.” We ate it traditional style and
it was yummo!
The next day we went to an island via ferry to see
another temple, shop and view the Itsukushima
Shrine on the island of Itsukushima The shrine complex is listed
as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; I
have had the privilege of seeing many World Heritage sites this year. The floating gate is a popular
picture many pair with Hiroshima. Here we eat delicious oysters- grilled/smoked
and fried. I venture from the group and accept an invitation to a baseball game
of the professional team called the Carps from one of the lovely ladies who has
been our guide. The Japanese sure know how to enjoy baseball. They even have a
7th inning stretch tradition of letting go of blown up balloons and
watching them land every which way. I
watch men in suits eating soup with chopsticks and the bleacher creatures
trying to keep the spirit going. It is a memorable experience that I am so glad
I had.
On to Tokyo!! Everywhere the big city, the lights, the
thousands and thousands of subway, railway and bullet train lines bombard our
senses. Calgone- take me away. Fortunately, I am with people who like to
figure out puzzles and I just follow along and try to contribute every now and
again. I am good at asking questions so
that becomes my role in figuring out the maze of transportation options. As we
travel via train, I am struck with how people occupy themselves. Each has a smart phone out, each trying so
hard to avoid eye contact or any human contact.
I, on the other hand, want to learn about their culture and strike up a
conversation with everyone- it was a battle of wills and the locals won. We
tour the common areas-the Anime street where locals dress as carton characters,
the busiest intersection in the world, the tallest building and the oldest
temple. We shop and eat and find out
just how expensive Japan really is. I do
not buy much in Japan (too bulky or too expensive); my memories will have to be
in photos.
On the last day we all go out on
our own. I take a two hour train ride up
into the mountains and go to an open air museum and stroll with local families
through huge sculptures placed in nature and building exhibits that house
greats like Picasso and Moore. It is an awesome way to end a three city in
ten-day tour.
I miss my plane home. I am ready to go back to Myanmar and finish
up the year. My fellow travellers and I miscommunicate about the plane
departure time and are two hours off. I
feign illness rather than stupidity, so the airline employees get us on the
same flight the next day. I have been
sick ever since the lie came out of my mouth. Damn karma!
I cannot end this post before bringing up the thing I just loved about Japan. Besides the beautiful scenery, the historic temples and the awesome bullet trains (I mean they literally move you as they zoomed by), I will have to say I am infatuated with the bathrooms. Even in the airport they had heated seats, a contraption that came out and rinsed one's rear off and a little button one could push if they needed the sound of running water to either get them going or cover up the natural sounds we all make. Different sprays could be chosen and temperatures. This, my friends, is worthy of mention. I cannot figure out though if it is better to save paper waste or water.
It is good to be back in Myanmar. I want so badly to say home, but then a part
of me feels it would mean this is home. And then people would forget me- so I
will continue to name it and avoid the “H” would. I return to less mosquitos
and dead plants and actually look forward to the hard bed to which I have become
accustomed. As I wake up on Tuesday, I realize that I have not had to work a
five- day week in quite some time. Oh how I love the international calendar. I
am inundated with emails about this test dates and end of the year activities
and begin to get overwhelmed—and then I realize I am almost ½ way through with
my contract. I have so much to look back on and so much to look forward.
Reflections and Observations:
1. Schools are the same everywhere.
First, attitude is everything and when one has the short sightedness to
just harp on the negative, the year can be long. Secondly, kids are kids and no matter what
the level of school a person teaches- all students that have kid problems. In a culture where achievement is of utmost
importance, there will still one who is an underachiever; in a culture where
they are not suppose to date, there are those who have drama- they might not be
having girl fights in the halls where weaves are flying but being a teenager is a low grade tsunami no matter what part of the world one lives.
2. How quickly we become hooked to the leer of television. I now have a “supplier” who has downloaded a
few series for me. I watch on the small screen of the computer. I think it took me
three days to finish Midwives and
Jody, Courtney and I am treating Scandal
like it is crack (although that is just a euphemism and I have no idea what
crack is like). I will have to say, one thing about coming back home is the
realization that me and my 50 inch flat screen will be reunited.
3. We always see news about how one group of people has surpassed
another group of people. As I observed
the citizens if Tokyo who most say are so much better at the STEM subjects than
Americans, I see people who are directed, focused and serious in all aspects of
their lives. I say there is a give and take in life and that a balance is
something for which we all need to search.
Maybe my ten days gave me a restricted view, and I will have to admit-
the folks I met on a one to one level were lovely and friendly; I ponder the
culture.
4. I feel so sorry for people who get their panties in a wad about
sexual innuendo. The banter that happens
between the opposite sex who are comfortable around each other is so fun. With
that said, I understand the line can be crossed and not all have that type of
relationship with their coworkers where this is appropriate. All I can say is
that people can tell that I have raised two boys and that I am a high school
teacher because little offends me and although I do not admit it, sometimes I
am just dying to say, “That's what she said.”
I will miss my office buddy as he goes on to his next post.
5.
I am currently reading, A Fortune Teller Told Me and through it,
I am learning much about this side of the world. One of the things that stands
out is that so many groups of people have been “brought in” to different
countries to help establish that country and then when the country is
established, these groups are either tossed aside or assimilated into the country.
I question what it is about a race, a person, or a government that determines
which it will be.
6. After 30 years of teaching, I still love good professional development. I spent the last few days of March on Bangkok at the EARCOS convention. I cannot begin to explain the wonderful speakers and sessions of which I was privy. One of the things I took away was what one of the speakers said about children's exposure to screens. It should be nothing from birth to 2 and extremely limited from the age of 2 to 5. I agree- it has been research and it is bad for creative development. Sadly, what I also took from the key note speech is that we have become a people who have no disconnect from work. We can always be reached; we are always checking our email. When this happens, family time becomes limited. It is sad when the only uninterrupted conversation some kids might have with an adult is their teacher (and only because we would get in trouble if our smart phones were on while we taught!). I am scared for this new generation. I saw a Facebook quotation (which I am totally addicted to now that my connection to faraway friends is only through computers- so by any means, I am not saying I am above this trend)- "If someone from the 50's were suddenly dropped into our world, how would we explain smart phone technology? " I have a device in my purse where I can access all the information possessed by man. I use it to look at pictures of dogs, watch a "good looking couple sing the theme song to Frozen, and take quizzes on what spice I am." Something to think about.
At each temple there are bells to ring after a prayer is given. It helps to alert Buddha (?) that one has been given.
Prayers left in hopes of being granted.
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