Notes from Kuala Lumpur

Thursday: The Monorail is the best way to see the city at night.

Friday: I'm watching a Magic show in a Chinese Temple.

New Tang Dynasty TV interviewed me about the Mooncake Festival and lantern and Dragon parade. I'm big in the PRC

"NTDTV, Jong Ju Chie Qwy Law* from Kuala Lumpur!"

*Happy mooncake Festival!

I'm crap at Mandarin tones.

In the market I feel so wanted and popular. Everyone wants to be my friend...

Saturday Night: "You have beautiful Blue eyes".
And you have a beautiful Adam's Apple.
Should have guessed from the name "Thai Bar".

Sunday: I don't need a laptop, I don't I don't!
I already have a laptop, I do I do!

Couchsurfing is great. If I hadn't met met Tj, Celine, Frank and Shah, Kuala Lumpur would not be nearly as good.

Must NOT buy any ridiculously cheap VERY shiny electronics!

More Toitles!

On Monday we took the same bus back to Sandakan that we had taken down, and just like before, it broke down. The cabin once more filled with steam from the radiator, and we pulled over to hose down the bus. I think they have it factored into the time table at this point.

The next morning we headed for the protected Turtle nesting grounds off the coast. The island serves as a hatchery for both Green Turtles and Hawksbills, so there are turtles crawling onto the beaches year round. Luckily for them, there is a curfew on tourists being allowed onto the beaches after sun down.

We sat in the office for a few hours that night until the Ranger spotted a nesting mother, and then went out to watch as the eggs were collected and deposited in the hatchery. Then back to the beach to let loose that night's hatchlings.

We got up at 5 next morning to watch the sunrise over the Ocean, and found two Green turtles blocking our path. Keeping a respectful distance, made a wide arc around them, and watched as they dragged themselves back to the more comfortable seas.

It was back to Kota Kinablu then to do sweet f-all, and relax. That was the plan, but instead we trekked through the rainforest on the island some shite show called Survivor was filmed on, and had a bath in the mud volcanoe. That was actualy quite nice. Not as warm as you'd think though. Erin's flight back to Tokyo was at midnight on Sunday, so left the island early that morning and spent the day in Kota Kinabalu stocking up on bras, as they had a good brand on sale there, and the ones in Japan are shit quality, apparently.

Click here for some photos of the hatchlings, amongst other things.

Are you America's next top model?

"No, I'm sorry, I'm not. Are you Malaysia's next top model?"

"Emmmm... Yes, I am!"

And so the interrogation from the teenage girls continued.

That was Saturday night and and we were staying with a family in a small village of Orang Sungei, "People of the River", who of course, as well as boats, also had dodgy satellite dishes. Electricity was for two hours a day though in certain buildings. Our main guides were some local kids with ridiculously good English who put on a show for us that night.

The "traditional" dance, was only as old as Malaysian state and I assumed it would be some type of plastic tourist show, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the boys and their friends in front of us on the jetty making mistakes, forgetting their steps: clearly just having some fun.

We arrived at that village from further up the Kinabatangan river, after spending 4 wonderful days at Uncle Tans jungle camp. Resort it is not, but I found the presence of a mat on a raised wooden surface, a mosquito net, and something resembling a Chinese prison cell as accommodation, to be far more luxurious that what I had prepared myself for. And the cacophony at night to be very soothing.

That place is wonderful. The local lads who work as guides all have some mild levels of insanity, with an infectious enthusiasm. They organise treks through the jungle at night and during the day, and rides of dinky boats up and down the river in the morning, afternoon, and after dark, where all the cool kids in the wildlife world hang out. Erin and I were lucky every time we went out and the amount of wildlife we saw was almost overwhelming.
Orang Utangs: We saw them up close at the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre (they do good work, the centre that is...) but, of course, seeing a Mother and juvenile eating in the trees right above your head is a different story. Probiscus Monkeys, Long Tailed Macaques invading the camp at all hours trying to steal...everything! Horn-Bills, Kingfishers aaaaannnndddd CROCS! Yeah! They really do look a hell of a lot like logs...

Before heading back to the city, we stoppped off at the Gumantang Caves, and saw where the Bird's nests are harvested (now controlled with quotas) for Bird's Nest soup. Apparently the nest is made from some kind of scum that lies on the surface of the river. It's supposed to taste very good. I'll have to let you know later...

Important information I learned in the Malaysian Rain forest:

The most expensive coffee beans in the world are those that are first eaten by the nocturnal, and very rare, Civet cat, shat out, and THEN collected by the Coffee bean.....farmers...

Adult Male Orang-Utangs look very happy when they are peeing from trees onto unsuspecting trekkers and have ENORMOUS bladders. Mountains of Guano smell like... spores... Best not to breathe too deeply.

Tarantulas eat their young if they can't get a bird.

Long tailed Macaques are loveable BASTARDS who will one day figure out how to take a photo with the digital cameras they steal before they smash them on the ground. Some also have an unfortunate coke habit

Irish people are everywhere: I met two people from DCU who knew Ailbhe, Ross, Bernard, etc. etc. Bloody hell.

Oh, and I had great fun surprising Casey. We'd talked about our travel plans before leaving Japan, and realising how similar they were assumed that we'd just bump into each other in Laos or somewhere along the line. There she was walking towards me through the forest, and as she passed,

"Hi Casey"

"OH MY GOD!"

Yeah, I wonder who else is arsing around this corner of the world.

Click here to see the rest of the pictures, mine and Erin's.

On more serious note. The trip down the river was also a great eye opener into the destruction caused by Palm Oil. It was horrible. From any elevated position on Borneo, for as far as the eye can see, Palm Oil plantations have replaced the rainforest. I spent a lot of my time with the locals asking them about their thoughts on the plantations. The opinions were universal. Corporations are granted concessions to transform Virgin rainforest into plantations. Local people do not benefit economically from the plantations, and in fact their livelihoods suffer as fish stocks are depleted as general river health worsens, and much valued revenue from Eco-tourism fades. And the effect it has on other wildlife is even worse. Orang Utangs WILL be extinct in the wild within two decades at most because of the use of Palm Oil products to wash hands, instead of soup. The Rhino will be extinct in even less time as all attempts to breed them in captivity have failed. The list goes on and on, and is even worse in Indonesian Borneo. Google Earth it.

Palm Oil is not a sustainable biofuel, and will not help in cutting CO2 emmissions. Promoting the vast destruction of rainforest, and with it destruction of habitat, will only decrease biodiversity, increase CO2 levels over all, and destroy possibilities for sustainable economic growth in these developing countries. Like many other things, deciding whether to promote this or not begins at the Supermarket.

Mt. Kinabalu

I arrived in Sabah from Osaka on Friday afternoon, and met Erin who had arrived the day before. We had a nice look around the capital, Kota Kinabalu, and a nearby island, but were there for somethign else. We wanted to take on Mt. Kinabalu. Fuji was 3775m, and this was 4095m, so no worries. Well, maybe one. We didn't have accomadation booked at the final way point, and staying there is mandatory. Climbers rest for a few hours, and then tackle the summit that night to arrive just before sunrise.

We spent a day looking around the park at the base, which was had a really nice Botanical garden, and got permission from the ranger to climb to the final way point with the condition that if there was not even floor space for us, we would come back down. We agreed, and off we went with our guide (mandatory), a cheery local young man who much preferred getting paid to chat with us while exercising than working in a factory in Singapore.

On the way up, we were passed by a japanese woman in trainign for the race taking place the next week. She passed us again on her way back down before we had even made the station. The porters also put us to shame, carrying what looked like appliances on their backs!

We arrived at the final way point, but no joy. Even all of the floor space had been taken up, so it looked like we would have to go back down without reaching the summit.

Off we went, thiundering up the mountain, before our lungs reminded us that the air was a good bit thinner...

The dealine came and went, our guide was waiting behind, so onward and upward with two random Malay guys who trying the same thing. We got to the top and had the tiny summit all to ourselves. I took out my flute to celebrate by playing "Mary had a little lamb", but it was not to be. No matter how hard I blew, I couldn't get enough air through the flute to make the tiniest of sounds.

All the practice for nought. Should have taken up the violin...

With the sun swiftly setting, we raced down the mountain, getting past the second ranger station before dark. Out came the headlamps, and on came the sore knees. Our legs were in bits for the whole of the next week!

Click here to see more photos.

India


I have so much to tell about India. In fact, I have too much to tell, and no idea where to begin.


I know you want to see photos now though, so Click here for the first part of the trip, when I was working with Building Communities.


And then click here for the photos from travelling around the "Golden Triangle" for a few days afterward. I've put comments on most of the photos, so I think it might make more sense to go to the albums and read those.

6 Months?

Passport is back, with a surprise: the visa is valid until the end of October, with multiple entries. Such a thing to waste...

Morrisons in Japan

The second week of the school Holidays were even better than the first. I never thought I would get the opportunity because of the distance, but my parents managed to get a 5 day stop over in Kansai, on the way home from a boxing tournament in Australia that my Dad brought a team to.

Hanging out with them was wonderful! I had forgotten how at ase I could feel. Wonderful! I got to show them around my town, and even have them stay in a Temple. Oh, and coming from Oz, they were not impressed with the snow that greeted them.

"Don't look at he camera!"

Brought them by bullet train to Hiroshima and then to the holy island of Miyajima to hunt down some Monkeys. Then on to Kyoto so my Mom could some more of her own Huinting: geisha. It took a while, and then Success!

As usual, you can see more pictures here

Why I re-contracted

It's an exageration, but only just. There were a couple of events and places in Japan that I missed in my first year, and I was determined not to let that happen again! This was one of them.

In all it's glory, The Kawasaki Penis Festival.

A little tired after getting back from Okinawa just the day before, but a bloody good day out.

In the morning, the giant Pink Penis is carried around the neighbourhood before being brought back to the Shrine where music and dancing rule the grounds as everyone eats and drinks under cherry blossoms in full bloom. I sounds fun and beautiful, and it was.

I've been told that some of the pictures might not be considered 'worksafe' a first glance, so Click here for more photos

As always, there's a good story behind the fesival. A young Japanee woman was invaded by a Demon who had the habit of biting off he genitals of her husbands on their wedding nights. No one was very happy with this situation, least of all the prospective bride and future and former husbands, so the town decided that firm action must be taken.

Enter the blacksmith. We can all see where this is going so I'll skip to the end. The demon broke it's teeth, fled the woman, and they all lived happily ever after.

Except for her former husbands that is...

They went on to form Japanese Teen sensation SMAP

Since then? The shrine became an area where ladies of the night would pray for protection from STIs. More recently, those ladies have been replacd by Tokyos LGB scene and couples praying for ferility, making the Festival a fun day out for all the family, with a fine touch of PRIDE.

Island Hopping

The Japanese academic year is a bit different from our own. Schools and Universities finish up the end of the third week of March, and start back the second week of April. It's only two weeks, so you can imagine the envy when I tell them about our 2 or three months off.

I used the Holiday last year to travel further afield, down the length of Japan stopping off with friends along the way. This year Erin and I went a bit further, to the souhern most islands of Okinawa, within spitting distance of Taiwan: Ishigaki, Takejima, an Iriomote

We noticed he vibe as soon as we arrivd. It was sill Japan, but different. A relaxed Japan. The islands had been independent before, with its own Ryuukyuu kingdom, and you could definitely sense that.

I was most impressed with the best use of a beer bottle I have ever seen. Peanuts. I' brilliant!

We flew into Ishigaki island, but stayed there just for the first night to get our bearings. Then it was on to Takejima, a beatiful island of only 300 souls, where we stayed for one night, getting to see the place once all the tourists had left on the last boat. As it was so small, we rented bikes rather than using the local bus sevice... Very effctive at crossing between islands at low tide I hear...

Then Iriomote, the wilderness of Japan, for two nights. Great hostel, and snorkelling that was even better than some dives I've done. Beautiful, with an incredible breath of colours and life, just a few metres from the sand. The colours don't really show up in he photos, so you're just going to have to trust me.

The next day, we took a kayak 8km up river, and hiked to the falls.

It was a beautiful, incredibly relaxing week.

Click here for more photos.

END OF BREAK

The rest of my time in Gunma was mostly spent engaged in my favourite pastimes of eating, sleeping, and watching films. And more sleeping. It reminded me of being back in Dublin those first few days. Bed, bed, and more bed.

And then an expedition at the end to another Ski slope, this one with over a metre of snow.
Everything was alright for the first two hours, it was snowing, so visibility wasn't so great. And then, WHITE.

I lost all sight of everyone else on the mountain, and of, well,everything! The wind was so hard that I wasn't even sure if I was still standing; moving or still. My experiences on a board went from too little snow to a BLOODY BLIZZARD! They had to close the mountain because the ski lifts were going to attempt loops. Before their gymnastics practice could happen though, some people were using themto get DOWN; as it had become more dangerous to ski down.

Anyway, you can see photos of the entire break here.

http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n267/davidlmorrison/JapanAug2006toJul2007/Christmas2006/

New Year's Sa-ke

New Year's in Tokyo was.... interesting.

A big group of us went to Roppongi, which is infamous for being about as dodgy as Japan can get. Before we had even left the Metro station, we had come across the first of many DUMB AS SHIT Marines. How did you SURVIVE growing up? And then 10 metres from the station, I started hearing voices.

"Hashish-Hashish"

But no bodies to accompany them....

Not even very pale little Japanese boys wearing eyeliner, or little girls crawling out of wells.

"The Grudge" and "The Ring" being documentaries in their original Japanese form.

There was Mexican food (Tokyo having surprisingly few Japanese restaurants. Does Dublin have many “Irish” restaurants?), and dancing, and watching "dancing" and lots of laughing at other people's expense. And a bizarre set up on one floor whereby the men and women had to sit on separate couches, only there was no couch for the men.

Just as it ended, Erin and I left the rest and took a chance. We really wanted to see the fish market in Tokyo at it's busiest time, 5 to 7 a.m. Apparently the sight of Multi-Tonne Tuna being tossed through the air as people argue on price is well worth the lack of sleep. What a way to go, being decapitated by a flying dead Tuna. I'm sure it's happened. So we took the metro there, but, as expected, it was closed for the National Holiday. The restaurants weren't, so we had some of the BEST sashimi (raw fish) EVER. The monster feed was stunningly gorgeous, as was the Knife Master who was preparing it right in front of us.

Maybe he was just stunning.

Desert was provided by a Buddhist Temple we stumbled upon on the return to the station. We joined the crowd for the New Year's ceremony, and were poured a bowl of Sake at the end. It was just after sunrise, but it's very hard to say no to a guy on his 34,567th incarnation who has just blessed the unpleasantly early alcohol for you.

Completely knackered, there was another site I wanted to see.

New Year's is THE big holiday in Japan, and the first visit to a Shrine of the New Year is a grand occasion. We took the Metro to The Meiji Shrine

(First Emperor, and former father figure for the Japanese state, after Imperial rule was restored at the end of the 19th century; Hirohito's grandfather)

the most important Shrine (Shinto, not a Buddhist Temple) in Tokyo to see the first visitors of the New Year. Some wore Kimono, many were with their whole family, and all were deep in thought and prayer for a prosperous coming year.

The police were there just as crowd control at the front of the Shrine where people pray, but had to wear visors to protect them from the offerings being thrown at the Shrine.

A couple of days later, just before the Tokyo stock exchange opened, the Shrine to the god of business was the place to be.

Inventing the Sport of GrassBoarding

Just after Christmas, Erin and I headed to the site of the '98 Winter Olympics for some downhill action. It was about a four hour drive away and we had a room in a pension booked for the next two nights, giving three days there. (I opted to navigate....even though the rental car had it's own dedicated satellite armed with Turbo Laser Batteries; Ion canons were extra.)

We ended up spending one.

We arrived at Hakuba at 8 in the morning, commenting on how lucky wewere that the roads were snow free, only to realise that the mountain was green. No, the Japanese have not yet invented green snow. Actually, they probably have. It was grass. Grass, grass, grass. As far up as the eye could see. In fact, there wasn't any snow until we got to the top most runs! Even then, I gave my rental board a good few scratches when I progressed from snow boarding, to grassboarding to ROCKboarding in amatter of seconds.

One day was enough, and we did have fun once we found the actual snow. The pension though, was FANTASTIC! A family run place, and we were the only guests! They even had a little onsen (hot spring) inside to soak in.

Warning, if you spend too long in one, you may feel a bit dizzy, but if you then stick your head under a cold tap, you may not be able to stand up. Or maybe just feel like getting sick. Not that I'd ever do such a thing.

Closing our eyes for a second after dinner, I deliberately left the light on so we wouldn't fall asleep. She woke up for a moment, 7 hours later, and turned it off. I remained unconscious.

Big Round Red Christmas

Erin lives about as far North of Tokyo as I live South of Osaka, so it was an easy journey to take. A bunch of us got together on Christmas Eve in one of her friend's houses and we found the temple to those little dolls whose left eye you paint before the New Year.

Daruma, the legendary founder of Shaolin King-Fu.

We think.

Going to the temple made us even more confused about whether you burn them or not, and if so, when. But we did meet a baseball team using the temple's steps for training, by which I mean running up and then falling down from exhaustion. Until they saw Ashlee, a blonde American with a camera. Then they came back to life,

some of them.
What made the day was the old man we met at the top. He's the reason we're even more confused about it. As he began to explain it: modelled on the legendary founder of Kung-Fu etc., he realised that he didn't actually have a clue himself!

This made us feel much better. If an old person in Japan doesn't understand or know something, thenit's not worth knowing. So goes the Gospel according to David. We walked down with him, and just before he drove off, he handed us a doll each! And then jumped in the car as a picture was attempted.

Legend of a man. Still not sure if I painted it properly....

The Emperor's New Birthday.

I took an overnight bus to Tokyo after work that Friday (22nd). Erin and I met the next morning to have a look at the Imperial Palace. The grounds are a massive walled enclosure that take up a big chuck of the centre of Tokyo, and normally the entirety of the grounds are closed to the public. They open twice a year, and one of those times, the Emperors Birthday, was that Saturday. So we arrive at on of the massive gates, and there is security everywhere. No barriers here, just lines and lines of police, sometimes with their arms linked.

Bit like a Céilí really.

X-ray machines, frisks, etc. And then we're allowed to get within 200m of the walls. BIG ASS STONE WALLS. Although they looked fun to climb.


Next comes the "not so secret" service. Towards the entrance gate, the crowd is funneled through a series of barriers, lined with men, and a tiny number of of equally severe looking women, all uniformly dressed in black trench coats, all with the eyes and a look that let you
know that they are taking in EVERYTHING. There's a lot of talk in Japan about security, but that's it, just talk. Their security is a joke, but in this case I think they were working on
the principle that they all knew what the three most wanted people in the country look like: two men and a women accused of involvement in the sarin gas attacks 10 years ago.

Still at large.

And standing right behind you.

Eventually inside the gates, and I realise that the grounds are not, in fact, open. Just a courtyard below a balcony surrounded by suspiciously thick glass... We're handed some crappy paper flags, and some old men start yelling "BANZAI!!!" when the Emperor and his family appear on the Balcony.


He looked like a Teddy Bear! This tiny old man with his sons towering over him (they've stepped backward above), taking in the crowd (old Japanese, and young foreigners, no young Japanese...) and thanking us for our Birthday wishes. Then, as quickly as it started, it was over and we were politely asked to
leave...release the hounds.


Ninja hounds.

So well trained in the arts that I couldn't even see them. But they were there...

I was disappointed. Not at the spectacle, that was all very interesting, but by the lack of crying. I wanted to see old men and women cry. Is that too much to ask?

http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n267/davidlmorrison/JapanAug2006toJul2007/Christmas2006/

Not memory...

Good morning! (My time)

I can't really remember what happened in November..... not right now anyway......

I've had a stressful day dealing with the inadequacies of Japan's two main travel companies. Who would have thought that trying to book a Hotel at a ski resort that does, in fact, have vacancies would have been such a chore. After 2 hours of waiting while someone did unneccessary research

(No, I don't care what type of hot spring they have, so long as the chemical composition doesn't include sulphuric acid I'm happy. No, you don't have to check.)

At the end, just as I was about to hand over the money, it turned out that they place they had been talking up for so long wasn't even opening until mid-January! I think I managed my most sarcastic "Doomo Arigato" before I left to head home. The highlights of the day, which brought a smile as I took the train though, were the foot long sandwich for lunch and the success in finding armour plated underwear that fits.

The Vice Principal at my base school has organised a staff trip to a ski slope for some fun in the snow. In my case, since I began snowboarding in February and have just three days under my belt, and 8 months in between to forget everything, I expect my......everything?..... to ache like last year. Everything except my ass! Ha! Outsmarted you Gravity!

Another reason to smile is the back up plan for the school Holidays, which is more appealing than any other plan I've had. The original plan was to spend some days on a mountain until around new year, then go to Okinawa for a week of swimming, snorkelling et all. Thanks to
some folk on couchsurfing, and no thanks to travel agents, it doesn't look like we'll be going to Okinawa as it's too cold for the water stuff I like, even there. Also, after today, it doesn't look like we'll have any hotel booked in advance for the week after Christmas.

No panic though. The back up plan is to load my laptop with movies, get on a train to Tokyo and then to Erin's. Hang out there, break into the Emperor's palace, watch some films, rent a car and drive (She'll be driving, I'm navigating, relative strengths) to the slopes whenever we feel like it, eat ice cream when we don't, and have some fun in the snow. Preferably at high speed in a downward direction. She's a pretty damn good skier, and I'm a reckless ass armour clad snow boarder, so fun should be had.

There was another plan that I tinkered with.

Dublin.

Erin has a very romantic notion of Dublin, and I liked the idea of showing her around. Plus, she can drive, so I could show her some other spots as well. Again, me with the navigating, not the driving.

Relative Strengths. Very relative when one doesn't have a licence.

Or ability.

Apart from those epic lessons courtesy of Dad in August. But then again, the Dublin Sligo road is pretty easy now.

The qualification for that idea was price. Japan is expensive, and snow sports and Okinawan trips are more so, so for a while I thought that it might be the same price, or a little more, to fly home and offset the carbon. I was wrong. The flights, even before taxes came in, were well above what I would have been willing to pay. In fact, at about one months wages, well above what I would have been capable of paying.

So staying here.

I'm going to go through some photos to jog the noggin, upload them, and get back to you later.

daveeeeeed

or

day-beee-doooo

Never David theses days......

*sniff*

Random Snapshot of September

I realised that I haven't emptied the memory card in my phone for and age.

This album is a collection of the random stuff I found on it that I think gives a nice snapshot into life here.

Enjoy!

(Click Enjoy)

Since I've been gone

Bonjourno bella bambinos

I haven't yet completely sorted out my apartment. That's probably, I hope, a surprise considering I've been back for nearly two weeks now. It seems like longer, but that's a good thing. Things actually happened.

Heathrow was, as expected, a royal pain in the ass. I intended to stock up on supplies for the coming year in Dublin airport on my way back (read red wine and Bailey's, and those Truffles that only I in my family like) but that wasn't going to happen with only my laptop as carry on. A taped up and bubble wrapped camera lay in my bag after I realised I couldn't fit the laptop in.

The queues seemed to move quick enough though, and I had to laugh at the people who, despite being told repeatedly that they couldn't bring lip balm on board, were still emptying their pockets when they approached the x-ray machines.

The flights were fine, 30 hours in all, despite the lack of sleep that morning. I may have slept on the plane for 3 hours, but mostly I took advantage of the films being on demand. And there was a perfect selection.

It may have been me being half asleep, but I though Mission Impossible was really good! Granted, all I was looking for was slightly better than John Woo's sequel and his bloody fetish for doves flying everywhere. This time Butt-Head himself was the star, and not his hair.

And they had "Stick it!" Gymnastic rebel rocker type thingy. Again, perfect fluff for my head, along with The Matador and whatever else they had. Roman Holiday was the Highlight of the other flights.

Actually, about Stick It.

I was not in a good mood about heading back. The sun was out and Dublin was looking fantastic for the last couple of days. Snakes on a Plane came out, and I had to turn down Larry's invitation to go and see it. Brian and Ciaran would be tackling Carrauntuohill the next weekend, the Bulmer's comedy festival was.....etc. etc.

And I was pissed off about something else, but nothing you lot did.

Yes, more time in Dublin would have been good, so long as it didn't cut into time outside of the city.

I was like that until I saw this film. 2 hours of laughing later and I was looking forward to Japan again and the BBQ that weekend.

Before then, Dan moved in. He would be finishing work on Friday and losing the car and apartment as well, so I stuck him on a futon until the following Tuesday, and listened to how much he would miss Ramen and Chees-zu potatoes. I just got back from having some at the inn, Miyasan, and, admitedly they really are quite good.

I was ready to sleep as soon as I arrived Wednesday evening in Koya, but that was not to be. Our friends, the middle aged ladies, were having a dinner for Dan, so of I went. Hiroko brought her daughter who had just spent a year studying English in Iowa, and Noriko brought her
own Pharmacology studying daughter who was back for the Holiday. They were both fantastic! Dan and I were in stitches most of the evening and they were slagging me off the rest of the time for being slow.

I hadn't slept...

Dan thought someone was trying to set him up. Well, that's Dan. I thought they were great, but given that I teach their Moms and friendships not leading to marriage are something of a rarity between the sexes here, I didn't suggest hanging out at the weekend...

Finally, the Beach Party and the BBQ. A chance to meet all the newbies from the other group. Except they were unfriendly and obnoxious.
They reminded me of the Jets in the Kobe Hotel for the re-contracting conference.
We approached, said hello, and they turned their backs to us. Something similar here.

My group were still brilliant though. They've been hanging out together, opening up their houses to everyone else, and have formed a really solid support group in just a few weeks. I was really impressed. I met them after their orientation last Friday in Wakayama city and got to see just how well everyone was getting on.

There were 10 of us crashing on one of the girl's floor that night, and then the Aussie, Joe, in the closet. He eventually came out of the closet the next morning...
And freaked me out.

I knew his parents were Irish, but I didn't know he was actually born in Dublin. Not only that, but the bastard lived in Kew Park in lucan and was in the same school as me. His younger brother was in my class for a year!

And yes, he still remembers...

A muinteoir, An bhfuil cead agam dul go dti on leithreas, le do thoil?*

Johno, one of the new Kiwis found out about a rock gig with one of his favourite bands, so Joe and I tagged along on Saturday night. They were great, and the support act was hilarious. Lovely little Japanese guys trying to scream and be scary and tough.
Ah Bless.
I showed them the sites of Osaka and we argued over who the English speaking sales rep in the Electronics shop was hitting on. She gave us all business cards, without personal numbers, so I say none, but I'm sure one of them will find out when they go back to get that camera.

So I have a good group now also really interested in spending as many weekends as possible snowboarding.
They even have cars! Woo!

Before I left, David and I were talking about how, as we live in rural areas without people near our age, much of this coming year depended on what the new people were like. I've probably described the last group before. David is less polite in his terms. Anyway, we agreed that they couldn't possibly be as bad as the previous group, and I'm very happy to know it's true.

Next stop now is Mount Fuji. The lovely Erin, who lives 2 hours from Tokyo and has put me up every time I'm there, has asked me to join her in a climb. If I didn't mention her, she's the one who would have plans for, and vice versa, if she didn't live a whole days travel away.
I'm really looking forward to putting my boots to some good use. And now that I have a tripod for my camera, experimenting with a sunrise.

Now I'm going to go down through all those e-mails I have yet to open, and reply to them. Except that one about a breakthrough in medicine.

You can never trust a subject with 5 exclamation marks.

Unless it's from Claire Lyons.

amities

david

"I can see for miles"

*(Teacher, Do I have permission to go to the toilet, please?)

Today's Lesson Plan: ULTIMATE

I guess you could think of it as a promotion.

I am now an Ultimate Frisbee coach, swimming instructor and soccer coach.
Emperor, preserve these poor children.

Ultimate training with all of the Primary school classes begins with an explanation of my expertise. I took part in one tournament, at the beginning of the month, and we came 19th....out of 20 teams. They seem to find that point encouraging.

I think they may have their numbers confused.

Ultimate was the first weekend of this month, and was fabulous. I deliberately didn't bring my camera, but I know a few people who did, and one even put this together.

Tajima Ultimate Frisbee Tournament Album.

You can see us in our Shrivelled Ume Jersey (Alcohol rich plums. We gave them out to the other teams and feasted on them all weekend. The drink itself is syrupy and sweet)
and also see Brad flying through the air.
Next time he tried that he came down and broke his collarbone.
Now he's back home in Canada having surgery....

Ahem, so this non-contact sport is all about "Spirit of the Game", but we concluded that we and our sister team (Juicy Mikans=Oranges ) were almost the only ones there out to just have a laugh. It was very odd to be coming up against people who would actually think about fouling
you, but we had a hell of a lot of fun, illustrated by the number of injuries (8 players knocked out by strained ankles and such.)
Did I mention it rained the entire time...?

It was still fabulous.
I have NEVER run so much, and was thankful for finding those runners in Tokyo the week before.

5 games over 2 days, we drew one....

and came first for 'style'.

Next year, we're even thinking about 'training' before hand. But many still see that as a form of cheating, like using tactics.

I'm curious about what little jobs I'll be given in September after the Holidays. My supervisor gave me a taste this morning. There's a nursery school just down the road from the Secondary school I'm based at, and the town would like me to start visiting it whenever I feel like a break from my base school.

They don't expect, or want, them to learn any English, oh no. My job is much more fun: They want me to hang out, play, and, hopefully, hold them upside down by their ankles.
That is, of course, why the Department of Foreign Affairs pays for half of my salary:
Make the young Japanese not afraid.

For now though, I'm kept busy with a little project that landed in my inbox

http://www.geocities.com/wakayamaajet/

It's my first website (Does this mean I am now a "Master"?) and is waiting on the new arrivals and their terrible orientation mugshots. I'll be taking them and will go out of my way to show them as the jet-lagged stragglers they are.

While I'm there, about 30 or so people from my prefecture will be heading home. We had our goodbye party for them the weekend before last, and after a quick glimpse around the room I realised that most of those leaving didn't bother to show up, and hardly anyone knew them
because they're hermits.

Less of a queue at the all you can eat Ice-cream bar so..

Of those leaving I do know, Carlton is the one I'll miss. Along with the other David, we spent some of the evening inventing new drinks. Me the Chuhai Shake, and they the Beer Shake. Mine was nicer (A scoop of Vaniila ice ceram, and another scoop of Cookies and Cream
mixed with the Chuhai, the Japanese.... drink. It's difficult to describe, but it's what one gets if you want a pint but don't like beer. )

You might remember him as the one I got lost in Kobe with for 3 hours.
Damn Expressway.

We did still make the Naked Man festival. He's on his way to St. Petersberg now to take a train to Beijing and then on to Oz mostly overland. Well, maybe. His plan, like all of our road trips, is completely fool proof due to the lack of planning. All he has is a Russian visa and a ticket. And a lovely Aussie friend of ours for company. I expect to see him commanding his own pirate crew
some time next year.

I've put up some photos of some guys on their bmx bikes form a trip to Kobe

http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbumBig.jsp?PhotoNbr=1&PhotoAlbumId=1387159800.

and from a camping and fire festival evening for my 5th class students

http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbumBig.jsp?PhotoNbr=1&PhotoAlbumId=1387321008

If anyone wants to see

Last weekend bad winds and zero visibility scuppered my attempts to dive the Northern most Coral Reef in the world, which happens to be in my prefecture. I was the only one with a licence of those who met up anyway. The waves were too choppy for even some snorkeling, so we
retreated to the river, and hummed the Jaws theme at Japanese canoeists as they floated by.

Terrifying locals.
Twas a fun weekend.

For now, I'm looking forward to the closest one can get to negotiating an asteroid field in a Correllian Freighter: Cycling down a busy Dublin Quay.

Before that trip comes though, I have the pleasure of showing my sister around, and answering the questions of the jet lagged newbies.

until then,

amities

david

"and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world shall
be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun"


P.S. I've put the research into that sabis position in Beirut on hold.....

Remember now the rule of three.

Part 3.

In my best ST:NG computer voice, "And now the conclusion"

Got in at 11, and then up at 5 the next morning.

A Working Holiday to Tokyo. Essentially that's what the end of the week was for me. After a mixture of Cable cars, local, and Shinkansen Bullet Trains, I arrived in Tokyo along with Katherine for the Orientation of the Orientation. We would be helping out with the
babysitting of homesick culture shocked new JETs at the beginning of August, and had our own get together to prepare for the event on Monday and Tuesday.

This left me with Tuesday afternoon and Monday morning to get to know a city I had seen before only from a Hotel window and aeroport shuttle bus.

(Back when I first arrived, I was too busy on the phone to London, arranging for them to post over the money belt I had left behind, to enjoy the free evenings.)

Limited time, so I visited the one Shrine I could remember from photos, Asakusa, on the Wednesday and another, the Meiji Shrine, I discovered by accident while looking for a place to sit after finding runners in my size (I know, shock!) on the Tuesday. In between, there plenty of wandering and a lovely mattress to sleep on courtesy of Erin.


http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbum.jsp?PhotoAlbumId=1187737534


And just as I was about to get my train back to Osaka, a beautiful discovery:

The World Press Photo 2006 exhibit.


http://www.worldpressphoto.nl/

Beautifully humbling.

And absolutely worth not getting back, yet again, until 11.

Hannasake Primary School was the next day. Owww*.

So a weekend of rest was a damn nice change.

And if those links don't work, you can find them, as usual, at
davidmorrison2.bebo.com and in the Photos section.

Now I think it's time to go home,

amities

david

P.S. If I said I would send you photos, and haven't yet, remind me.
Clarence, did I send you that photograph from the cafe in Osaka?
Carlton, did I send you the ones of you in the Corcaigh jersy from that Friday Himmeji after the Kobe conference?
Everyone: Hey, what's the story? How you getting on?
Francsico, I'm not going home this time via Paris, so you are spared the sound of me destrying your language for a while. And Karima's address no longer works.

Como é você?

*I'm their soccer coach. See "Chocolate covered ....." for details...