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).

A special day

I know that some of you are interested in charity, so I'll tell you about a special day for some of my friends and me. Once a year, in June, we take part in a sponsored walk for charity along the Kamo River in Kyoto city. As some of you may know, a sponsored walk involves finding sponsors (people who agree to donate money if you do what you say you will do), and then taking part in the event (a 10km walk, in our case). My best friend, Kevin Ramsden, who lives in Kyoto, organizes the event. (The photo is of some of us taking a break at the halfway point).

We walk 5km from San-jo bridge up to Kitayama bridge, then turn around and walk back down the other side of the river. A mixture of Japanese and foreigners take part every year, and we all have lunch and drinks together in an Irish pub afterwards. As you can imagine, I gain more calories than I lose during the day. The purpose is to raise money for disadvantaged children (orphans in Zimbabwe and Nepal). Kevin has contacts in those countries. Last year we raised a little over 1,000,000 yen, and had fun at the same time. If any of you are interested in joining us next year, let me know sometime.

Communication in a high tech world

As we all know, people (particularly in developed countries) have access to amazingly sophisticated technology nowadays. It is certainly true that this gives us the ability to communicate faster and in more ways than ever before. But what use are people making of this technology? Are people communicating more, and leading happier lives as a result?

Of course there is no one simple answer to this question. My friend Dale (we were on our way to a concert at Zepp Osaka in the photo) loves to go out and has many friends, but he also makes notes about his experiences and writes about them on his blog. He uses technology to enrich his (already enjoyable) life. Can we always say the same thing about other people? My friends and I sometimes comment about seeing a few (usually Japanese) people sitting together somewhere for a long time, all of them using their keitais, and never talking. It looks like a strange situation, in our opinions. Is technology making people less interested in talking? In the past families used to sit together and watch TV, so even if they didn't talk very much, at least they were sharing an experience. Now kids go to their rooms and use their various high tech devices alone. Could technology become more of a problem than a help to communication? What do you think?

Globalization's impact on me

Naturally globalization has affected my life in various ways, but the most obvious one is that it played a part in me choosing to live in Japan. I first came to Japan in 1989. At that time I was feeling adventurous and just wanted to explore the world as much as I could. I had been in India for 4 months before I arrived in Tokyo, and was curious to see what life in Japan was like (maybe I was also kind of chasing an American girl, but that's another story).

I knew very little about Japan then. I was even surprised and relieved to discover that there were some trees in Tokyo!! It was hard to adjust to the crowds at first. Being inside Shinjuku station at night made me feel like I was some kind of fighting spaceship in a video game, dodging missiles. After a few happy years here I realized I could enjoy having a career in Japan, even without speaking good Japanese (because of globalization). I went back to Brisbane to do my M.A., but always planned to return.

Summer

The most enjoyable part of my summer was probably just having plenty of time to spend with Sophie. Her first birthday was on August 20th (this photo was taken on that day). Over the summer she discovered how to walk. Now she can walk across a room slowly, swaying from side to side, kind of like a drunken old man. Although she's only small, she's surprisingly strong, and loves to be chased around the house (by me) and to play with things that "grown ups" use, such as remote controls, mobile phones etc.

We went to Hokkaido, as planned, and had a good time exploring some national parks. It was cooler there than Kansai of course, especially in the forests and on mountains. I carried Sophie 1.7 km up a very steep, rocky trail to the top of Kurodake (in Daisetsuzan National Park) on my back. It nearly killed me, but the views from the top of the mountain made it worthwhile. We saw a fox up there, and some squirrels as well. The weather was good the whole time, and we ate really delicious soft cream every day (maybe my summer diet was not 100% successful).