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Heaven's WaterApril 2005
I know Japan's making social progress when I ride down the street to pick up a DVD and find that one of our many local pachinko parlours has somehow been miraculously demolished. You know, pachinko - slot machines and other similarly inane games of chance that cost a lot of people a lot of money and make lots of noise. There are at least four - well, now three - such establishments within walking distance of my apartment. At first I was riding past the carpark thinking, "Saturday night and the pachinko carpark is shut?" Then I noticed the considerable darkness in the absence of the parlour's flashing neon lights. And finally, the gaping space where there was once a building. Hallelujah. But I guess I shouldn't speak too soon. It could just be a refurbishment. :)
It's been a pretty relaxing Saturday today. I woke up around midday, letting myself catch up on a lot of lost sleep this week, and headed off to spend my afternoon watching some of my students play basketball. They were pleasantly surprised to see me, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were actually pretty good. Which is a far cry from the performance the ALT basketball team put in last weekend, when our team captain somehow managed to fix us up a game with the number two boys basketball team in the prefecture. But that's another story. Suffice to say that it's been nice to have a day off.
Tomorrow I'll get out on the touch rugby field for a last practice before next weekend's big tournament. Being one of the organisers of said tournament, I also have to go around to a few shopping centres and markets tomorrow afternoon to pick up bits and pieces for the BBQ that we're hosting for the 130 people who are turning up. On Friday evening, a small group of us made a quick live presentation on local TV to publicise the tourney, and during the coming week we'll be printing shirts and finalizing accommodation and such things in preparation for things to get underway on Friday night. It's going to be a huge weekend, but it's just one of many things on my plate just now.
The past month has been hectic, what with the new school year, lots of work parties, and cherry blossom season. I said goodbye to one of my junior high schools, Tsuda Chuu. It's a great school and I really enjoyed the atmosphere in the staff room there, but I've been assigned to more elementary schools from April and don't have time to go to Tsuda any more. I also had an interview for a job at the Australian Embassy last month. I didn't get the job - which works out pretty well, really, since I'm still enjoying being a JET here in Tokushima and can stay on for a while yet - but it was good experience for having a go again in the future. I might end up in Tokyo yet...
The cherry blossoms came out a bit later this year than last, but they were hailed by some fantastic warm weather that I hope will last into Golden Week at the end of the month. I've got ten days off over Golden Week and plan to kick it off with a bit of white water rafting back near my old home, the Iya Valley. I was thinking about heading up to Aichi for the World Expo, or to Tokyo to take an intensive Japanese course, but the piles of people that travel in Japan at that time, and the fact that everything is booked up and expensive, make for good reasons to stay home and enjoy Shikoku. :)
I started taking private Japanese lessons this week, though. I guess I should start doing some homework, too. :) This time of year is also one of the busiest for AJET. Since my last missive, a new council has been elected and we've been busy corresponding with them to get them up to speed for the changeover, not to mention carrying on with all the business we usually have. My time as AJET Chair will wind up with a meeting in Tokyo in late May and a couple of conferences in early June, so there's just two hectic months to go.
Awa Odori season is just getting underway now, too, but this year will be very different for me. I said a final farewell to Minoda-ren on April 3, with my last performance at the Highway Oasis. I was given a really nice send-off by the locals, with a certificate and some flowers, not to mention a quick word from the town mayor. I learnt how to dance with these guys and have been with the group for three years, so it was a bit sad. But the distance from the city to Miyoshi-cho is too far for me to consider really being active in the group this year. Moreover, I've found myself a new group here in the city, and upon being invited to join, I had to call it a day with Minoda-ren.
I've been to watch a few of the professional groups perform, and even joined in with a couple of groups at practices, but I've been waiting to find a group that really suits me. It finally paid off when a fellow teacher introduced me to Tensui-ren just last month. "Tensui" means "heaven's water". They're one of the most famous groups in the city, with lots of members and a very high standard of performance. I've seen them onstage a few times - in fact, every time I took some friends to see Awa Odori last autumn, we managed to get Tensui-ren on every occasion! I've got a lot to learn before I'm up to scratch with these guys, really, but after only a couple of practices, I think I made the fastest debut in modern Awa Odori history with a performance in front of 2000 Lions Club members just last weekend. Sensational! Our next performance this coming Wednesday is at a venue I've always dreamed of dancing at - the Awa Odori Kaikan, the veritable Mecca of Awa Odori. I reckon it's going to be a great season of dancing!
There's more to it than just the dancing, though. As one of the newest members of the team, I've got to act the part and take my share of the chores. I guess I'm a "kouhai", meaning "junior", and everyone who has been in the group longer than me (just about everyone, really) is my "sempai", or "senior". So I have to carry the instruments around and clean up after performances, for example. It sounds straightforward enough, but there are lots of subtle little things I'm expected to do, and I think I'm going to be learning the hard way about most of them this year. :)
It might not be until mid-June that I get my next missive out. That's when I sign off with AJET for good and will finally have a lot more time to devote to some other adventures. But in the meantime, please let me know what you're up to, and I'll do my best to reply personally.
Lots of love,
Dave
P.S. April 25 - Shikoku turned on another dose of fantastic early spring weather for the Touch Rugby Tournament this past weekend. With a few minor hiccups, the whole weekend ran pretty smoothly, and I've got Golden Week starting this Friday to catch up on all that lost sleep. You beauty. :)