What I like about Japan

Students sometimes ask me what I like about Japan. The photo partly answers this question. I'm fond of old temples and Japanese gardens. My wife and I enjoy going to quiet, traditional inns in hot spring areas, and enjoying good meals there. Of course the restaurants in major cities are terrific too, even the cheaper ones. I like the convenience of Japan, especially the ease with which we can get around here. Although I can drive, I don't feel the need to have a car here because the train and subway system is so good. I rent a car a few times a year maybe, for travelling during holiday periods.

How about you? What do you like about Japan? What are your favorite things, places, characteristics of the Japanese etc?

New Year

It's the end of 2010 already! As I get older, the years seem to pass more quickly. Maybe I'm just getting busier. Anyway, I've enjoyed my first year at S.I.S. very much. There are so many nice students here that it sometimes seems more like fun than work.

I don't have any special plans for the new year yet (although I'll go to Thailand to do a presentation with a couple of other teachers at the end of January). There are always parties somewhere on New Year's Eve, so I'll probably go somewhere in Kyoto (I lived there for 9 years, and most of my friends are still there). I'll be spending Christmas day in Guam with my family. I'm looking forward to some warm weather, and playing a round of golf. In Australia we say that Santa brings presents on his surfboard, but I don't know what to expect in Guam. Actually I don't make a big deal about Christmas now, but when Sophie gets a little older I will.

Do I have any new year's resolutions? Hmmm...I should decide to lose a little weight, of course. Okay, I'll only eat tofu every day for 2011!! Well, seriously, I'm thinking about joining a sports club in Takatsuki. It's a little far from my house, but I should make an effort, right? I hope you enjoy(ed) the winter break.

Discoveries

Another topic of Chapter 9(OC) is discoveries; either personal ones (about yourself, a friend, an intersting place, something you'd never noticed before about something familiar), or the more general type (exploration to foreign places, useful inventions etc).

This year, I've discovered how much fun blogging in class can be. I hope you agree with me. It's been my first time to do it, and I've enjoyed getting to know each of you better through your writing, and even your choice of photos and blog design. Computers are an ongoing discovery for me. I was already about 31 or 32 years old when the Internet became well known and people started exchanging email, whereas you have grown up with it.

Of course there are many other discoveries that I'm grateful for, not least fire, and the wheel (ha ha). Seriously though, when I ride my bicycle I usually think what a wonderful invention it is (to allow us to move quickly without causing any pollution, and giving us some exercise as well). Without the airplane I would probably never have come to Japan, so I appreciate the Wright brothers efforts too. I doubt the usefulness of space exploration though. I think we should spend money on saving the Earth, not trying to go to Mars!

I hate zoos

In Chapter 9 of the OC book we look at the future. Our future is full of uncertainty and problems. For one thing, the global population is growing fast, and a larger percentage of people have money to spend on manufactured products. Therefore, the habitat of wild animals is being destroyed to help boost all kinds of production and economic growth.

It's clear that many animal species will become extinct before long. Even the tiger, such a beautiful creature, is likely to disappear from the wild very soon. What can we do? As much as possible, I guess we have to create protected areas and enforce them more strictly, and have breeding programs in those protected areas to raise young endangered animals that naturally live around there. That will not always be 100% successful, but it seems to be the only answer.

I hate zoos though. Pandas don't belong in Japan, giraffes don't belong in Australia, and so on. I don't believe that owners of zoos who claim they are helping animals are sincere. They are just making innocent creatures prisoners, often in very small cages, and making a profit from visitors. My wife wanted to go to Asahiyama Zoo this summer, so I reluctantly agreed to go. Seeing magnificent creatures, such as wolves, moving up and down, up and down, again and again in the same small space (slowly going crazy) just made me feel depressed.

Something I used to love

Have you ever seen this game before? It's not really played in Japan, but is very popular across the world (in England, and former British colonies, basically). There are three forms of the game now; the 5 day test match, one day games, and 20-20, an even shorter version. Every four years there's a World Cup for the one day game.

It's said to resemble baseball slightly, but VERY slightly. It's a far more complex game, with many more strategies and possibilities. Americans say it's boring, because they don't have the patience to understand the subtleties of the game. One big difference is that the bowler (like a pitcher) should make the ball bounce before it reaches the batsman (batter). It is fine to try and hit the batsman, unlike in baseball. This tests his skill and courage. The ball can be hit anywhere in 360 degrees (there are no fouls). The batsman can keep batting as long as he has the ability to stay, but there are more ways to get him "out" than in baseball.

Anyway, when I was a boy I wanted to play for Australia at this sport, but sadly I couldn't. Maybe it's just as well I couldn't, or I wouldn't have become a happy English teacher in Japan.

Partners

When English speakers talk about "Mister, or Miss, Right", they mean the man or woman who is an ideal match for them as a partner in marriage. The topic of ideal partners is raised in Chapter 8 of the OC book, so I'll tell you about mine. Her given name is Yoshiko, although she prefers to be called Miko (another way of saying the same kanji). I've already told you that we met on a flight from Bangkok to Osaka about 8 years ago.

To tell the truth, I don't believe in the idea of there being just one Mr or Ms Right for anyone. In my opinion, that sort of idea belongs in silly Hollywood movies. There are almost certainly several people who could be an ideal partner for you. The most important thing is timing. Are you both ready for marriage at about the time you meet/ start dating? Of course you need to share common goals, values, and so on, and find each other attractive, but that is not such a rare thing to find in others.

Anyway, what I like about Miko is that she has good common sense and is not shy about telling me her opinion, especially if I think of some foolish idea/plan (I sometimes do). She's also independent, which means she doesn't depend on me for entertainment all the time. She's talkative as well, which means I don't feel pressure to always think of conversation topics.

What kind of person would be your ideal partner? When do you think you will feel ready to marry someone? What kind of wedding/ honeymoon would you like to have? Please respond in your next post.

A good friend

This is a photo of me with my good friend Greg, and his lovely wife and daughter (Lisa & Julia), about five years ago. At that time they lived in the countryside in Queensland, and could sometimes see kangaroos from their balcony. They live in Melbourne now. Greg's main job has been as a counsellor for people with various problems, such as alcoholics etc. It's not always easy work.

We first met in 1985, through a mutual friend in Brisbane. We were both 20 years old and crazy about music at the time, and enjoyed checking out each other's record collections (yes, records...there were no CDs even, at that time). In the next few years, we sometimes shared rental houses with other people, often went to concerts and parties together, and took a couple of long trips with other guys to remote parts of Australia.

I haven't seen as much of him as I would have liked over the past 20 years, as I've been in Japan most of that time, but we've kept in touch and remain great friends. I was best man at his (& Lisa's) wedding 7 or 8 years ago. What I like best about him is that he's not like the "average" person. He has his own way of thinking and behaving. He doesn't care about conforming to so-called "normal" behaviour, or acting like most people do. He's a unique individual, and very funny and intelligent. These days he likes to write short stories whenever he has time. Recently something he wrote about Australian football was published in The Age (the main Melbourne newspaper).