Chris in Japan

Last Day

2007-08-20T18:06:00.000+09:00

This time tomorrow I will be on a plane to the USA. I'm both nervous and excited. I've lost count of how many times I've said "goodbye" in the past month. They have started to blur together and I've become numb. Today a group of teachers said their farewells. Some of them I know well, others hardly at all, but they all got the same wave, bow, and "sayonara." I often walk away feeling that I haven't done a proper job of saying "goodbye."

Due to a mixture of being busy and lazy, I never wrote a wrap-up of my trip to Laos. It went well. The cooking class was a lot of fun, and it was very interesting to see such a different part of the world. To see a set of pictures, check out this set I made on flickr.

To my friends back home, I look forward to seeing you soon. And to my friends in Japan, I hope to see you all again some day.

That's it for now.

End of School and Laos

2007-08-01T12:19:00.000+09:00

Hello!

Despite many interesting things happenning, the reason that I haven't posted anything recently is because I've been busy. July 21 was my last day of school. I gave a speech to the entire school, had some final classes, received gifts and cards from students and teachers, then had a goodbye party that night. I had three goodbye parties given by different groups within a single week. In one of my classes each student gave me a card with a message and a photo, which will help me remember them later on.

And then after school finished, I was busy cleaning my apartment, which took longer than planned. I've got more things than I can fit in my suitcases to take to america, and right now they are in boxes waiting for me to sort out later.

Right now I am in Vientiane, Laos, at an internet cafe (which is why I haven't posted photos yet). I flew into Thailand on Saturday, spent one night in Bangkok (like the song!), then headed to Laos and met my friend Alex at the border. So far, so good. This is the most undeveloped place I've ever visited, but it does have some charm. The food is excellent. The people are friendly. And everything is very very cheap. Lunch - $1, t-shirt - $2, sauna and massage - $4. I've been trying to improve my bargaining skills, which is required certain kinds of places.

Well, I'm off later today to a town called Luang Prabang, and then on Saturday it's back to Japan.

The Future of "Chris in Japan" and DisneySea

2007-07-12T19:41:00.000+09:00

First I'd like address a question some people have asked me: What is going to happen to this blog when I leave Japan? That time is soon approaching, folks (August 21). I only have one week of classes left! To me it seems obviously strange to have a blog called "Chris in Japan" if I'm not in Japan, so it will indeed come to an end. I shall leave it online, but after a few updates from America, I will stop posting. Will I start a new blog? I haven't decided. But in the meantime, you can always check out my pics on Flickr. When not keeping a blog, I will probably put more interesting descriptions under my Flickr photos.

Now on to DisneySea. Satoko and I finally went there this past Monday. I don't know why it took me so long to finally go. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have done Disneyland twice, but it all worked out. Anyway, I give DisneySea a thumbs up. I liked the park design better than Disneyland. It's not as kid-oriented (you can even drink alcohol) and parts of it, especially the "Mediterranean Port" area, are quite beautiful. It all has an international flavor, and to my delight there was even a Mexican restaurant (rare in Japan). The rides were good, but did not have the classic feel of Disneyland, but that may simply be due to the fact that I'm experiencing these rides for the first time as an adult, not a kid.

On to the pics:

I won Chip in a game. At the top of this post you can see me sacrificing him to the gods.

Satoko in Fake Europe.

Kramer

2007-06-16T19:26:00.000+09:00

I learned from my mom that Kramer, the Hunnicutt family dog, passed away this week. I don't remember precisely how old he is, but somewhere in the range of 12-14 years. He had a good life I figure, and he shall be missed.

Anyway, while writing this I recalled three great Kramer moments.

1) When a turtle found its way into our yard. I learned that day that Kramer hated turtles, or perhaps it was that Kramer hated being helpless. It hid inside its shell and Kramer couldn't do a thing about it. He barked viciously for an hour or so. Eventually I picked up the turtle and took it to the woods.

2) When, upon seeing a squirrel in a tree, Kramer dashed into the screen porch of my house, and leaped through the screen and broke it. He didn't get the squirrel. He did fall about 15 fifteen since the screen porch is high above the ground. Luckily, no damage.

3) When he did the exact same thing a week later. But this time, he realized his mistake at the last moment and turned around and tried to stop. He and I made eye contact for a moment. I could see the regret in his eyes, but he had too much momentum to stop and he slipped through the hole he had made the week before and fell again. Once again, he was fine.

Hiking

2007-06-12T08:13:00.000+09:00

Just had a busy weekend.

On Saturday we had a birthday party followed by a night of gaming for my friend Travis. I will remember it as "the night with three cakes." As a group we bought one cake, and then one woman didn't know about the group cake and brought stuff to make cakes. She made one, then offered to make another, and in the late hours of our game, we took her up on her offer.

The following day, five of us went hiking on the west side of Shimokita, up a mountain called Nuidoshiyama (I think). It was very scenic. It was a revisit to a hike I did nearly three years ago when I first came to Japan.

For Christmas I got this cool cooking stove called Jetboil, and I had my first chance to use it while on an actual hike. We drank mate at the top.

and here is a picture of the tiny town of Ushitaki, which we stopped by on the way to meet a friend before the hiking trip.

It was a fun day, and after all that I went to a student concert. I was worried I would be sleepy after the hike, but the music was good and it kept me up. Among others, they played theme of the Godfather, which was the highlight of the night. And then halfway through they had a drawing based on numbers on our tickets, and Satoko and I won a little gift bag with a candle holder and other little prizes. Good times.

Google Mutsu

2007-06-07T22:13:00.001+09:00

This blog is not quite dead! Recently Google Earth has updated their maps, and now if you look up Mutsu, Japan, you can see the city clearly. Here is a picture of my apartment:

Here is the school where I work:

There must have been some kind of event at the school, since there are cars parked along the sports' fields. I find it mysterious that the cars are mostly white, probably covered with snow, but yet there is little snow on the ground...

Speaking of Google and maps, has anyone seen their new "street view" function at maps.google.com? It's cool and scary.

Chris Gets Reckless

2007-04-26T21:41:00.000+09:00

So after that whole knee incident the doctors told me that maybe I would still be able to fight in the upcoming karate tournament a week later. They also said there may be damage to my knee cartilage and to some tendon. With the language barrier they didn't explain much more than that, and I wasn't left feeling very confident about it being safe to join the tournament.

Over the next week I vacillated back and forth. My karate sensei (who works at the hospital) assured me that as long as we wrapped the knee up tight it would be okay. My dad talked to his orthopedic surgeon, who suggested that exercising a knee after having the kneecap dislocated could possibly result in permanent damage. The knee felt... okay. It ached at times but I could walk on it easily.

I was so indecisive that I didn't make up my mind until the day of the tournament. After seeing the mat laid out and all the other fighters getting ready, I couldn't resist. After all, in my seven years of karate practice, I had never before joined a tournament. I had always wanted to, and doing one in Japan seemed even better, and this was definitely my last chance.

If there is any suspense, I'll break it now. I'm pretty sure I didn't hurt my knee at all, and I was eliminated from the tournament in the first round.

Granted, I had some disadvantages. I fought left-handed, with my left foot back, to keep my hurt knee out of danger (in Kyokushin karate, leg attacks are a central strategy). I hadn't practiced in a week. Although my knee wasn't hurting me, I didn't have much dexterity and couldn't move around as quickly as I would like. I had to cut down on my favorite attack, which is kneeing people in the stomach (it works well for me in Japan, since most of my opponents are shorter than me). Finally, I wore padded gloves, not realizing that they weren't required and that my opponent wasn't wearing any.

But I have to give my opponent his due. For one thing, he had more stamina than me. You can watch my punches getting weaker as time passes. He also had a cleaner technique. In the end, he was the second place winner of the tournament (although I thought he should have won the last fight).

Without further ado, here is the video of my fight:

note: I'm the one in the red belt, and most of the cheering in the background is not for this fight, but rather a fencing tournament that was going on at the other side of the dome.

Cormac McCarthy gets the Pulitzer

2007-04-17T13:23:00.000+09:00

Cormac McCarthy, my favorite living author, just won the Pulitzer for The Road, a book I already recommended on this blog. Dark, Scary, and a much quicker read than you would expect for this kind of award-winning stuff, I can't recommend it highly enough.

The book was also chosen as the next Oprah Book Club book, which has wiped away any preconceptions I had of said book club. Anyway, go read the book.

Knee News

2007-04-12T22:56:00.000+09:00

Tonight I experienced the most painful moments of my life. During the last five minutes of a karate practice, I was sparring with a green belt when I felt something pop out of place in my knee, and I immediately hit the floor. It hurt. My fellow karateka tied a brace to my leg, to keep my knee from bending, picked me up and put me in Sensei's van, and then off to the hospital I went. I wasn't able to actually see my knee from the way I was sitting, but the expression on people's faces indicated something wasn't quite right.

Sensei just happened to be the x-ray technician at the hospital, so he and some doctors wheeled me around to the x-ray room, took the x-rays, and informed me that my patella (kneecap) had moved or was dislocated (the language barrier was a nuisance here). I waited for a specialist (orthopedist? I don't know the correct word) and they told me that I lucked out because the one who was coming was the best around. He came, a laid back looking middle aged man, and quickly put his fingers on the most sensitive part of my knee and pushed. Really hard. That, my readers, was the most painful moment I have ever experienced.

He noticed my expression of anguish and the scream I was just barely holding back and decided to inject some local anesthesia. Then he pushed some more. It still hurt, but not as bad. Then suddenly, "pop," and everything felt better. I could bend my knee. I could twist it. To my surprise I could walk. They even told me there was a chance I could still fight in the upcoming karate tournament 10 days from now if it feels okay.

The all transpired in almost exactly an hour. I kept thinking of 24 and all the torture scenes. I, my friends, am no Jack Bauer.

Chilean Empanadas

2007-04-06T11:11:00.000+09:00

Empanadas are basically meat pies. They are popular all across Latin America and come in many different variations. When I lived in Argentina my host mother was Chilean, and she taught me this recipe which I am repeating from imperfect memory. Unfortunately I've never gotten the taste of the filling quite the same as hers. She passed away last year and these empanadas are one of the things that I can remember her by.

The Filling:

-about 2 pounds of ground beef*
-2-3 onions, chopped
-1 teaspoon chili pepper
-1 tablespoon cumin powder
-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
-salt and pepper to taste

Brown the meat and add the onions and spices. Taste test it to see if there is enough salt. When finished, let it cool and then refrigerate it. It should be cool or cold when you make the dough and start making the actual empanadas.

The dough:

-1 cup milk
-1 stick of butter (cut into cubes)
-1 tablespoon of yeast
-1 tablespoon of sugar
-1 teaspoon of salt
-4-5 cups of flour
-2 egg yolks

Separate the egg yolks and egg whites. Save the whites for later. Heat the cup of milk, but do not boil. Add the yeast and sugar to the milk. Mix and let sit for about seven minutes. Then add the salt, butter, and egg yolks. Slowly add a little flour at a time and mix. When it is too solid to use a spoon, knead with your hands. I don't know precisely how much flour is needed. I stop adding flour when the dough is feels solid and isn't sticky.

Making the Empanadas:

Break off a ball of dough about 1 and 1/2 inches thick. Apply flour to your hands, the dough, the surface, and a rolling pin. Roll the dough into a thin circle. Chilean empanadas are usually large. I aim for a diameter of about 8 inches. If making a circle is difficult, place a bowl over the flat dough and use a knife to cut around the edge of the bowl and then save the excess dough. Spoon out a generous amount of the filling into the center of the dough. Dip a brush into the egg whites and apply a thin coating of egg white around the edge of half of the circle of dough. This will act as a glue for the next step, folding the dough over the filling, and then pressing down hard with your fingers to seal the two halves together. Try not to leave any openings. To further seal in the filling, now take the bits of dough that you have just sealed together and either fold them over, or make a twisting pattern like in the picture above (it's difficult to explain precisely how to do the twisting correctly - just play around with it). Now apply egg white to the top of the empanada (this will give it its golden brown color).

Place the empanadas on a buttered cookie sheet. Keep some space between them, as they will expand a little bit. Bake for about 18 minutes at 375 degrees F (about 220 C), or until they have turned brown. Cool and eat.

Optional Additions:

In addition to different ways of making the dough and filling, each country and region often have different things they add to the filling after it is cooked. My host mother used fresh olives (one per empanada) and hard boiled eggs (cut into eights, with just one or two pieces per empanada). Argentinians used raisins (their empanadas were sweeter overall).

*one of the difficulties in translating her recipe was figuring out what kind of meat she used. I couldn't find the word for the cut of beef she used in my dictionary. I don't remember how I came to the conclusion, but somehow I have come to believe it is chuck. I also have a feeling she may have originally used shredded meat as opposed to ground. I don't recall exactly.

Webcams are fun

2007-04-04T17:40:00.000+09:00

I used to be all excited about the voice over IP service for my telephone which provides cheap international calling, but these days most of my method communicating with my family back home is free, and with the benefit of video. Hurray for webcams.

You can see from the picture above how fun they are. So if you have Skype, let's chat.

Goodbye Tooth

2007-04-03T15:51:00.000+09:00

Spanish: diente
Japanese: ha
English: tooth

Today I bid farewell to my single, wacky wisdom tooth. The process was over and done with in less than 5 minutes. I sat down and took a nervous look at the instruments on the dentist's tray. He came over, wiped some numbing gel on my gums, then shot some local anesthesia into them. Then he made two quick tugs, stuck some cotton in my mouth, told me to bite, and said we were done. I didn't even realize the tooth had come out. *Sigh* I'll miss it.

Anybody Watching the Amazing Race?

2007-03-08T15:02:00.000+09:00

Any American readers watch this show, arguably the best Reality Show on TV? The reason I bring it up is that recently the racers have been traveling to spots up and down Chile, including Santiago, Calama, Puerto Montt, and San Pedro de Atacama (located in the driest desert on Earth) -- all places that I went to in my multiple trips to Chile while I was living in Argentina. San Pedro de Atacama is one of the coolest places I have ever travelled to (perhaps because I think deserts are beautiful), and the people on the show even visited some of the same attractions that I did, like the Valley of Death and the Valley of the Moon. I rented a bike and rode through the Valley of Death. It was very fun to see the racers in those same places. (also, in a previous season, they went to Mendoza, the city where I lived)

Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures from my trip there, as that was before I used a digital camera and instead used a simple snapshot camera but always managed to ruin the film one way or another. (during my time in Argentina, I accidentally exposed one roll, and another roll I didn't load into the camera correctly, but went on thinking I was taking pictures for about a month....)

More Hakkoda Pics

2007-02-13T15:05:00.000+09:00

Me thinking things over while taking a break:

It's that time of year. I go snowboarding every weekend I can and there hasn't been much else to report. This past weekend was a 3-day weekend, and I spent all three days on the mountain, although only for a short time on Monday. Saturday was perhaps the clearest day I have seen at Hakkoda, and I was very happy to have remembered my camera. Enjoy the pics.

Satoko having a good time:

We could see all the way to Mt. Iwaki:

Satoko and some "snow monsters"

Me on the road to Hakkoda

Also of note, on Saturday my friend Alex left Japan after 2 and half years and headed back to Australia to prepare for his next job abroad, working in a Peace Corps-ish organization in Laos. Here's a pic of good times hanging out two days before he left:

it gets cold on the mountain

2007-02-04T22:20:00.001+09:00

I am NOT dead

2007-02-01T12:59:00.000+09:00

Look at this story from the Salt Lake Tribune. Despite living in SLC for 12 years, I assure you that I did not die there this January.

http://www.sltrib.com/search//ci_5123639

Speaking of freaky things, I forgot to mention that early in the morning on New Year's Day this year, as I left my friend's apartment and went to my dad's car, a black cat walked right across my path.

I'm gonna have to stay sharp this year...

update

2007-01-30T08:49:00.000+09:00

No updates recently... why's that? No reason. It's starting to feel like things I want to post about are things that I have already posted about in previous years (look here, for example). This gets me to thinking about the future of "Chris in Japan." Will I continue blogging when I leave this island? Time will tell...

Anyway,

Snowboarding season is in full swing. I've already made two weekend trips to Hakkoda, the powder-lover's dream mountain. Unfortunately, this year there has been much less snow than in previous years. Like America, we are experiencing a warmer than usual winter. The ski slopes on Mt. Kamafuse, very close to Mutsu, opened a month later than usual. When I open my apartment door there is only a thin layer of crusty, icy snow, as opposed to the so-deep-you-have-to-wear-giant-boots snow of last year. It's depressing.

Luckily, high up on Hakkoda, there is still more than enough snow for snowboarding. The difference in snow levels from previous years is still noticable, however. For example, on one course you must cross a river. In past years there was always a giant bridge of snow going right over the water that you could easily slide across.　Now there is just water. We must stop, step out of our boards and step across very carefully on a few flat rocks. I accidentally stepped in the water and soaked my foot. Fortunately, that was my last run of the day and I quickly finished and changed my socks.

Other news:

-I've been playing a lot of Nintendo Wii lately. I'm trying to get some good, embarrassing pictures of people playing to upload here.

-My friend Alex is in town, hanging out in Japan before he returns to Australia and then heads to Laos for his new job with the UN.

-My brother, Patrick, and his friend, Mike, made a funny sequel to their funny "Roommates" video. Click here to check it out.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-10T09:31:00.000+09:00

Hello, and welcome back... again!

My holiday at home was great fun. It went by far too quick. I met my nephew Kellen, and we really hit it off. I spent Christmas with my family in Charlotte and relaxed in the oddly warm weather. We are a family of gamers, and many times we gathered to play The Settlers of Catan.

I caught up on movies, watching everything I could in the theater and many more via Netflix. I highly recommend the movie Children of Men, which ties with The Departed as my favorite movie of the year. (a note on Children of Men - some friends have said they are not too intrigued by the movie's premise, that in the future women become infertile and humanity doomed, but I advise you to check it out anyway, as the movie is much more than a simple sci-fi premise.)

I saw many of my friends, and went to a rockin' New Years party with some of them at a new bar uptown. I always feel stressed during my visits home to see as many people as possible and usually at the end I feel like I cut some people short. Oh well.

So... what does 2007 hold for me? In the near future I look forward to lots of snowboarding. My job will finish at the end of July, and I already feel a little nervous about leaving this place that has become my home for the last 2 and a half years. I hope to do some traveling and then return home.

I have two resolutions for this new year, and they are quite simple--read more, and write more. By "read more," I mean books and news. By "write more," I mean finish editing my novel (not close to being done yet), write some short stories, and plan and get started on my next novel, hopefully with a better work ethic than I had on the rough draft of Westwater.

Christmas Extravaganza!

2006-12-20T17:51:00.000+09:00

Welcome back!

One piece of evidence of America's cultural influence on the world is the spread of the American customs of Christmas. Even in Japan, where very few people believe in Jesus Christ, you can find Christmas decorations and music just about everywhere you go from November on. Here are some of the things about Japanese Christmas that make it unique:

-Instead of a family holiday, it is more of a romantic holiday.

-None of the traditional American Christmas foods broke the cultural barrier.

-Many mistakenly believe that KFC is a traditional Christmas food.

-WHAM!'s "Last Christmas" is the Christmas song I hear played the most.

-"Christmas Cakes," or cakes covered in cream and strawberries, are very popular.

I tried to bake a Christmas cake by myself, and this was the result:

I decided then that I needed help. Satoko came to the rescue by buying a ready made sponge cake from the store. Then all we had to do was whip the cream and add the toppings.

Last but not least, click here to see why I am so excited.

The Northern Lights

2006-12-11T12:48:00.000+09:00

Saturday night, after a community Christmas party and before a long, alcohol-fueled night of karaoke, my friends and I happened to come across this vista, my first clear view of the Northern Lights in the sky.

snow!

2006-12-05T18:33:00.000+09:00

As you can see, snow has come to Mutsu.

Does that give you the Christmas spirit?

I fight!

2006-11-26T20:32:00.000+09:00

Now you get to see me do some sparring. Satoko took this video at my karate test today. I'm on the right, with a black helmet and white gloves. I am fighting my friend Shane.

Punches to the head and kicks to the groin are against the rules. This was one of 4 parts of the test. The others are basics (showing off kicking, punching, blocking, etc), kata (performing certain memorized sequences of moves), and some physical challenges like stretching and standing on your hands (I failed those two, but did all right on the rest, so I think I'm okay...). I think I did all right overall. I probably passed. The question is if I have a chance to go up more than one rank, which only happens when you really impress the judges. Dunno.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-24T08:30:00.000+09:00

I didn't celebrate the past two Thanksgivings that I spent in Japan. I had no plans this year, until last weekend when I was browsing TheFlyingPig.com and discovered I could order a frozen turkey and have it arrive the day before Thanksgiving. By coincidence, Thanksgiving falls on a Japanese holiday this year so everyone had the day off. I had a small group over for a potluck dinner which included turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, two kinds of mashed potatoes, cranberries, salad, and minestrone.

After much online help from my mother, I was able to pull off the turkey. It was awesome.

for your viewing pleasure

2006-11-19T17:08:00.000+09:00

Last weekend my friend Shane, Dorothea, Satoko, and I went to Akita to watch a karate tournament. It wasn't quite as big as I expected, but was still a lot of fun. Here is the final adult match. Click on the comments to see who was judged the winner.

Halloween and Home

2006-11-05T18:31:00.000+09:00

Announcement: I am officially coming home this Christmas, despite what I may have said before. I will arrive in Charlotte on December 22nd and return to Japan on January 7th.

Halloween came and went. I attended a party at a bar in Misawa last weekend and this weekend I went to a kid-oriented community party in Mutsu. Of course I've done multiple Halloween related English lessons over the past week. I once again wore the black mask that I made last year. I tried it with different combinations and found my favorite to be wearing the mask with my suit and a black tie. People found it creepy, and I may have made one girl cry. Anyway, some Halloween pics:

In other news, autumn is in full swing (okay - that is not really news, I admit). There are some nice color changes in the mountains around here, and Satoko and I have gone on a couple drives in search of pleasant scenery.

And, just for the hell of it, one more reason to vote Democrat this election: