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Fireflies and hooligans

June 2002

June is when the fireflies come out in Japan, but you could be forgiven for missing them this year. In the face of the even greater spectacle of the FIFA World Cup and hordes of mild-mannered Japanese salarymen-turned-soccer hooligans, tearing yourself away from the TV can be difficult! Sadly, however, yesterday saw the home team's run come to an end, going down 1-0 to Turkey, and I'm not sure that Japan will ever see such a sporting phenomenon come to its shores again. Still, on the other side of the strait, Korea is hamming it up, having knocked off Italy with a golden goal in last night's thriller. It's been great to see both countries in such a festive mood this past fortnight! Now if people could just stop asking me about Australia's team...

Speaking of Australia, I've been living in the Iya Valley for over ten months now, but it wasn't until two weekends ago that I met the Aussie JET living in the next town. There's a good reason for that - the next town south is technically in the next prefecture. The JET teachers in Kochi prefecture have a separate support and social network, so we don't really get to see much of each other besides for the occasional soccer game or beach party. If it wasn't for the fireflies, I think I'd still be oblivious to the fact that I live just down the road from someone with whom I have far more in common than I could ever have guessed.

Firefly watching in mind, a few friends of friends got together on the gravelly banks of a local river to enjoy a bit of a BBQ and campout. I didn't end up staying to watch all the little green lights float around above the river, but I stayed just long enough to meet a lad named Peter. He's a young guy, about my age, who hails from the Snowy Mountains. It was nothing special to learn that he's in Japan as a JET teacher, but since Australians are in short supply on Shikoku, I was surprised to hear that he lived just south of me in Ootoyo.

We caught up for a game of tennis the next day. I found out that my serve is still shockingly bad, but also learnt that Peter is a biotech graduate, who found that the research game wasn't really his thing, and decided that moving to Japan was just the change he needed - what?! His situation in Ootoyo is very similar to mine - rural community, small schools, a long way from everywhere - and he deals with it in much the same way, by playing sport in the city and getting involved in JET activities outside of school. I thought I had a reasonably unique story here in the valley, but Peter's story could hardly be more similar than if he'd stolen my own. I couldn't believe it! Fortunately for Peter, though, his serve is pretty good. I think I'll stick to volleyball and dancing.

It's been quiet at school since I got back from holidaying with Mum. Working with my new team teacher, Fujimoto-sensei, is enjoyable, I really like his approach, but the shortening of the Japanese school week from six days to five this year means that there is less time in the schedule for English lessons. It being important to get through the material in good time, there is therefore less need to have me in the classroom. I keep wondering if the village is really getting its money's worth out of me and whether I should push for a change of schedule to get more time at elementary school, where I can hit them up and get them into English earlier. And for all the joy I get out of sending my news to all of you, I don't really like sitting at the computer - I'd prefer to be with the students!

The two days a week that I spend at elementary school are still quite busy, though, and I have recently been showing them the video of our musical performance, "The Wizard of Awa". It's far from professional, but the kids get a kick out of seeing me on TV as a Robot, especially when I kiss Dorothy on the hand. Personally, I cringe every time I see myself, but the video is good for teaching a little English and even some dancing. Having cleaned the school pool just last week - done by staff and students, mind you, as cleaning is done every day at Japanese schools - I'll soon get to go swimming with the kids and maybe run an English lesson at the pool. And then we go on school camp with the high school students in early July, so there's a few good times coming up before we break for the summer.

Summer is here, finally! I'm looking forward to swimming in the river and dancing some more Awa Odori, though I could do without the monsoon rain and humidity. I've never been to a wedding of any sort before, but this Awa Odori thing is turning up more surprises than I'd bargained for - this weekend, our dance group has been asked to perform at a marriage ceremony, so I'm going along. Next weekend will see most of Tokushima's JETs gathering for the annual Sayonara Party. With the JET year beginning in August, we're about to say goodbye to many people who are finishing up, more than a few of them good friends of mine. Of course, we then get to say hello to some new friends and get stuck into the fun of orientation. It's almost like being at college again.

Not having much to do in the day at the moment, I've found a couple more ways to get amongst it at night. On the other side of the valley, where a few more people live, they have a volleyball team and a Japanese drumming group, both of which meet every week. The drumming is hardly relaxing - Japanese "taiko" is fast and loud, requiring lots of energy, but the rhythm really gets your blood pumping! It might even improve my fitness after a while. The only problem is that driving here and there at night eats into my onsen time - it might be summer, but I still love an onsen! I can even watch the World Cup there, hooligan-free except for the occasional seven year-old boy throwing his towel into the pool and leaping in after it. It's a tough life in Japan. But don't worry, I'm surviving. I'll send more tales of hardship in the Iya Valley next month. :)

Lots of love,

Dave