And so to London this weekend to catch up with some old friends. First, Pimms, cider and rounders in South-East London, combining a house-warming party and birthday party for Naomi, Matt Davis' (henceforth Pocket, short for Pocket Rocket) girlfriend. A few people I know of old there, including Matt Pound, one of my best mates from uni, as indeed is Pocket. Rounders in the park between the showers, a good time had by all once we mixed the teams. Even hit a bases-loaded home run...or rounder, as everyone was keen to point out.
Thence to the Oval, for dinner with Nathalie, at an Eritrean restaurant in South London. Not seen Nat in a while, not since Xmas, and as always it's a pleasure to catch up with old friends. Novel style of cuisine, not one I'd had before - meat and vegetable curries, on the dry side if anything, served on and with an assortment of what I can only describe as a cross between a crumpet and a pancake kind of bread-style arrangement. One tore off pieces of that to make impromptu curry sandwiches...an interesting experience. They say one should try everything once, except incest and folk dancing, after all.
Stayed over at Nat's Saturday night, came home around lunchtime. Somewhat apprehensive about using the Tube, I have to admit, but you just have to carry on with life as usual. Nat and I were the only white people in the restaurant - we wondered whether this was a result of the news that one of the failed bombers of 10 days ago was perhaps of Eritrean nationality? Or, more prosaically, just that the burghers of south London simply prefer a doner with chilli sauce as their post-pub fare. Who knows, but it'd be sad to think it was the former.
Going into Cambridge tomorrow, to have a haircut, gym session and for lunch with the illustrious Tori, late a CIR of Yamaguchi, shortly to become a hotshot Tokyo banker. Time for a pint and a pie by the river, and time also to luxuriate in the sensation of not being a JET any more.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Same old England, always raining...
It's summer in England - you can tell by the slanting sheets of rain. In between dodging the raindrops I've been enjoying the benefits of being back in the UK, such as Marmite. And proper bacon. And English summer berries - nothing quite like them.
Parenthetically, I have to ask - Was the UK always this expensive, or did I just not notice it before?
Got my housing details for NYC, will be living in Harmony Hall, which is a dorm-style building between Broadway and Amsterdam. My address is #207 544 West 110th Street, New York, NY 10025 - come and visit! I have it on good authority that not only is there a subway stop very near, the coffee shop from Seinfeld is also a mere two blocks away.
Parenthetically, I have to ask - Was the UK always this expensive, or did I just not notice it before?
Got my housing details for NYC, will be living in Harmony Hall, which is a dorm-style building between Broadway and Amsterdam. My address is #207 544 West 110th Street, New York, NY 10025 - come and visit! I have it on good authority that not only is there a subway stop very near, the coffee shop from Seinfeld is also a mere two blocks away.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Back in town
Back home in Cambridge, more-or-less over the jetlag and enjoying life as a non-CIR. Flight was OK, never something to be enjoyed so much as endured, but it's over now. Second leg was delayed slightly by a spectactular electrical storm at HK airport, but Cathay managed to make up a fair bit of time on the way over Russia, apparently.
Got back in time for all sorts of crazy shit to kick off in London again...failed bombing attempt, and a guy shot dead on the Tube in what seems to have been a case of mistaken identity. And England have faded after a bright start in the Ashes, though that's hardly news...
Been job hunting unsuccessfully; think the time frame will count against me, but I'll see if I can whip something up. Otherwise I'll probably just spend the time going to the gym or studying. I'm on a crappy 56k dial-up here, a hollow mockery of the broadband I had in Japan, so posts might be rather more infrequent.
Also booked my flights to New York, going on the 23rd August. Still, I plan to enjoy a bit of home life for the next month or so. It's good to be back, for the moment at least.
Got back in time for all sorts of crazy shit to kick off in London again...failed bombing attempt, and a guy shot dead on the Tube in what seems to have been a case of mistaken identity. And England have faded after a bright start in the Ashes, though that's hardly news...
Been job hunting unsuccessfully; think the time frame will count against me, but I'll see if I can whip something up. Otherwise I'll probably just spend the time going to the gym or studying. I'm on a crappy 56k dial-up here, a hollow mockery of the broadband I had in Japan, so posts might be rather more infrequent.
Also booked my flights to New York, going on the 23rd August. Still, I plan to enjoy a bit of home life for the next month or so. It's good to be back, for the moment at least.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
The Final Act
Thus ends my two years on JET. At midday tomorrow, I will leave Shiogama, head to Sendai and then to Tokyo, where I will catch an evening flight to Hong Kong and then back to the UK. I will not have internet access as of this evening, since I'm packing up my Yahoo BB modem and sending it back to them, so I thought I should get my farewell post in quickly...
How to summarise my JET experience? It's been beneficial, no doubt about it - I've made some good friends, improved my Japanese maybe 30% and picked up 1-kyu, paid off a lot of student loan, and managed to save a fair amount too. And of course, I got into Columbia. I've been to South Korea and a lot of places I wanted to see in Japan...my only regret is that I didn't manage to travel more widely in Asia. Mission pretty much accomplished.
But it's also been frustrating at times. Don't get me wrong, I've had a lot of fun doing my job, got on really well with my colleagues and met some very cool Japanese people, but have I really made a difference? If, in the fashion of It's a Wonderful Life, an angel could show me the last two years as if I had not been here, would things be very different? I doubt it.
I guess the thing with JET is that you have to take it for what it is; a means to an end. And in that sense, the last two years have been a success. I'm glad I decided to come here, and very happy with my placement - Shiogama is a fine place to live, and the office have been wonderful, never had a single problem with them in all of two years. I will miss the 'gama, in a lot of ways. But then, I'm moving on to somewhere rather different...
This is where my life moves up a gear and things start to get serious. If I've been on Pause for the last six months or so, then I have a feeling someone's about to hit the Fast Forward button.
If I'm honest, I don't know what to expect, but that's part of the thrill of starting up somewhere new. For the meantime, though, I have more immediate things to focus on, like getting home, getting a short-term job and seeing all of my old friends in London and Cambridge again.
So, thanks to all of you both in Japan and elsewhere who have helped to make the last two years so enjoyable, for all of your support, and for all of the laughs. Next time you hear from me, I will be safely home in Cambridge.
Til then.
How to summarise my JET experience? It's been beneficial, no doubt about it - I've made some good friends, improved my Japanese maybe 30% and picked up 1-kyu, paid off a lot of student loan, and managed to save a fair amount too. And of course, I got into Columbia. I've been to South Korea and a lot of places I wanted to see in Japan...my only regret is that I didn't manage to travel more widely in Asia. Mission pretty much accomplished.
But it's also been frustrating at times. Don't get me wrong, I've had a lot of fun doing my job, got on really well with my colleagues and met some very cool Japanese people, but have I really made a difference? If, in the fashion of It's a Wonderful Life, an angel could show me the last two years as if I had not been here, would things be very different? I doubt it.
I guess the thing with JET is that you have to take it for what it is; a means to an end. And in that sense, the last two years have been a success. I'm glad I decided to come here, and very happy with my placement - Shiogama is a fine place to live, and the office have been wonderful, never had a single problem with them in all of two years. I will miss the 'gama, in a lot of ways. But then, I'm moving on to somewhere rather different...
This is where my life moves up a gear and things start to get serious. If I've been on Pause for the last six months or so, then I have a feeling someone's about to hit the Fast Forward button.
If I'm honest, I don't know what to expect, but that's part of the thrill of starting up somewhere new. For the meantime, though, I have more immediate things to focus on, like getting home, getting a short-term job and seeing all of my old friends in London and Cambridge again.
So, thanks to all of you both in Japan and elsewhere who have helped to make the last two years so enjoyable, for all of your support, and for all of the laughs. Next time you hear from me, I will be safely home in Cambridge.
Til then.
Monday, July 18, 2005
And now, the end is near
That's it, I'm not a CIR any more. My last act was to show a group of ALTs around Shiogama's Minato Matsuri, or Port Festival, and give them a VIP seat to all the cool stuff that went on in connection with it. As of 5:15 p.m. today, I am no longer an employee of Shiogama City. But the day was great fun, and a fine way to sign off for the two years I've spent here. Today's post is necessarily a little picture-heavy, for which I apologise, but there's some interesting stuff, so take a look.
Basically what happens with the matsuri is that the Omikoshi (portable shrines holding the tutelary deity of the main Shrine) are taken through the streets out onto boats and then sailed around the Shiogama-Shichigahama-Matsushima area, with a view to praying for good catches, something of a necessity in what is essentially still a fishing town. The city thought that it would be a good idea to get some foreign visitors to see this, and that's where I came in, showing 13 or so of my fellow ALTs around the place and riding the boats along with them. I think everyone had a good time and got a lot out of it - it amounted to a real ringside seat to a bit of authentic Japanese culcha...
Anyway, I'll let the pictures do the talking.
Basically what happens with the matsuri is that the Omikoshi (portable shrines holding the tutelary deity of the main Shrine) are taken through the streets out onto boats and then sailed around the Shiogama-Shichigahama-Matsushima area, with a view to praying for good catches, something of a necessity in what is essentially still a fishing town. The city thought that it would be a good idea to get some foreign visitors to see this, and that's where I came in, showing 13 or so of my fellow ALTs around the place and riding the boats along with them. I think everyone had a good time and got a lot out of it - it amounted to a real ringside seat to a bit of authentic Japanese culcha...
Anyway, I'll let the pictures do the talking.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Knackered...
I tell you what, another sobetsukai later and I am tired. Feels like the farewells have been dragged out so long I just want to leave and get the whole damn thing over with. Friday's was my departmental one. It was OK, I like the people in my department and get on well with them - gave them handkerchiefs as a farewell present, as I understand the custom is here. Party itself was much of a muchness, started off at the spick and span Kameki Sushi and wound up in a dingy snack bar in Ojima-cho, Shiogama's red light district. Made my excuses and left after a while, but not before one of the guys in the department next door to us, had confessed to (if I understood him correctly, and I think I did) having had an affair with one of my predecessors (female, I hasten to add). No idea why he thought it would be a good idea to tell me that, but he was pretty drunk at the time - not exactly unusual, he likes the ales. Oh well, not like I'm going to tell anyone. His wife is pretty fit though, it has to be said...more fool him. And I've seen shots of my predecessors, they weren't all that.
Fireworks in Shiogama tomorrow evening, the weather looks like being good and there's even more beer on the table...dunno if I'm gonna make it to Wednesday.
Fireworks in Shiogama tomorrow evening, the weather looks like being good and there's even more beer on the table...dunno if I'm gonna make it to Wednesday.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Man, it's tough getting so much free stuff...
Another sobetsukai last night, in the less than high-class surroundings of Shiogama Ekimae Yoronotaki, but they had beer and I wasn't paying, so it's all good. Thrown by my English class students, it was more relaxed and altogether more fun than Tuesday's affair. Still got showered with a variety of presents; I've had so much stuff given to me over the last few days I don't think I'm going to be able to take it all home with me, which is rather a shame. Some really nice items in there though, will definitely be displaying some of them in my room in NYC.
More or less my last day in the office today. Though I have to work on Saturday afternoon for a couple of hours and all day Monday, I'll be out and about for that rather than sat at my desk. The last rites start here.
More or less my last day in the office today. Though I have to work on Saturday afternoon for a couple of hours and all day Monday, I'll be out and about for that rather than sat at my desk. The last rites start here.
1 week today
13th July, I leave in one week. Am in the middle of the usual round of sobetsukais and farewell parties; I had one in my honour given by the mayor and the various dignitaries of the city last night. It was as stiff and formal as one would expect, though I did get some cool presents, including a gold-plated sake cup from Ogawa-sensei, head of the BOE and fan of mine, mainly because I'm male and not American. The party was bearable, anyway, and after it finished I and some of my colleagues went drinking in our local izakaya.
Been thinking some more about London...every time someone asks me about it, as for example last night, the first thing I say is something along the lines of "well, everyone I know is OK". It feels wrong somehow, that I shouldn't be so concerned with only my own acquaintances, that I shouldn't think of the lives of those who did die in the bombings as less important. I don't normally think of myself as particularly parochial...but I guess it's hard not to be.
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
- John Donne, Meditations XVII
Been thinking some more about London...every time someone asks me about it, as for example last night, the first thing I say is something along the lines of "well, everyone I know is OK". It feels wrong somehow, that I shouldn't be so concerned with only my own acquaintances, that I shouldn't think of the lives of those who did die in the bombings as less important. I don't normally think of myself as particularly parochial...but I guess it's hard not to be.
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
- John Donne, Meditations XVII
Monday, July 11, 2005
Riding the Whirlwind
It's been an eventful few days since my last post on both a personal and a broader level, to say the least. First we saw London triumphant in the Olympic bid, only to be brought to a standstill 24 hours later by what seems to have been the work of Al-Qaeda or one of its offshoots. And it was also the Miyagi AJET Farewell party at Oshima, of which more later.
First, the bombings in London, which as of today are estimated to have killed 50-60 people and injured a scarcely believable 700. It's hard to know what to say in these kinds of circumstances without sounding trite, cliched or mawkish, and most of what I would wish to say has been said by many, many people already. So, I'll take some more time to reflect before I try writing anything in length. I'm obviously profoundly grateful that none of my close friends or family were affected in any sense beyond mild inconvenience and trouble getting home - it could have been much, much worse. The whole incident shocked me, to be sure, especially being so far from home, but right now I can view it in a rather more detached manner, as shocking but perhaps not surprising. Although that's very easy for me to say when I know everyone close to me is safe.
Anyway, as in London and the UK generally, life goes on, and one thing particularly notable in the JET community here was how little the events were discussed at the Oshima Leaver's party. A bunch of us had gone to Oshima during Golden Week in May, so this was the second time I had been there, but unfortunately the weather was not as kind as it had been two months ago, when we were lucky enough to have clear skies and reasonably warm weather. It rained more or less solidly throughout the whole time we were on Oshima, most of the time just a light drizzle, but later in the evening it really belted down and we had to take cover. Fortunately for us, there was enough cover to shelter most of the 100 or so people in attendance, and enough alcohol to ensure that one didn't really care about getting wet that much.
Pictures? Funny you should ask...
First, the bombings in London, which as of today are estimated to have killed 50-60 people and injured a scarcely believable 700. It's hard to know what to say in these kinds of circumstances without sounding trite, cliched or mawkish, and most of what I would wish to say has been said by many, many people already. So, I'll take some more time to reflect before I try writing anything in length. I'm obviously profoundly grateful that none of my close friends or family were affected in any sense beyond mild inconvenience and trouble getting home - it could have been much, much worse. The whole incident shocked me, to be sure, especially being so far from home, but right now I can view it in a rather more detached manner, as shocking but perhaps not surprising. Although that's very easy for me to say when I know everyone close to me is safe.
Anyway, as in London and the UK generally, life goes on, and one thing particularly notable in the JET community here was how little the events were discussed at the Oshima Leaver's party. A bunch of us had gone to Oshima during Golden Week in May, so this was the second time I had been there, but unfortunately the weather was not as kind as it had been two months ago, when we were lucky enough to have clear skies and reasonably warm weather. It rained more or less solidly throughout the whole time we were on Oshima, most of the time just a light drizzle, but later in the evening it really belted down and we had to take cover. Fortunately for us, there was enough cover to shelter most of the 100 or so people in attendance, and enough alcohol to ensure that one didn't really care about getting wet that much.
Pictures? Funny you should ask...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
