Hong Kong - A Land of Contrasts

There's nothing like getting ready to go on vacation that motivates me to do things I should have done months ago. We leave tomorrow for Hokkaido, so here I am - FINALLY uploading pictures from my Hong Kong weekend back in June.  My fabulous Peace Corps friend, Sandy, was in Hong Kong for work and very graciously suggested that I come for a long weekend and crash in her hotel.  I had to move a few mountains to make it happen - but it was worth it!  

That said, don't get me started about the 10 days of work and the 3 single-spaced pages of details that had to happen in preparation for me being gone for 5 days.  And how much fun did I have watching the jaws drop of my Japanese mom friends when I told them I was going away for the weekend without the kids?  They seemed to find the whole idea an utter impossibility.  Of course, that only encouraged me to stir the pot a little more by suggesting that we all go on a girls' weekend.  The sideways eye glances of "is she for real?" was a thing to behold.  We'll see if we can make it happen... I only have a few years to prime the cultural pump, so I better get to work.

Anywaaaay.... yes, Hong Kong was a ton of fun.  It felt like we did a lot in a short amount of time. I got in late Thursday evening and left on Monday morning... so our days were filled with:

• Tram to the top of Victoria Peak, gorgeous views, especially as the city began to light up for the night
• Cold beer
• Ferry to Macau - didn't require a visa, but did require us to go through customs to get Chinese passport stamps
• Cold beer
• Snacking our way through Macau street food stalls
• Exploring the Sao Paulo ruins replica
• Ferry back to Hong Kong and the Kowloon market / Temple Street
• Cold beer (do you see a theme here?  And yes, it was HOT)
• Cable car to Tian Tian Buddha (Big Buddha) and then 300 steps up to it
• Dim sum and random snacks (coconut lotus sago cake, sago pudding, shiu mai)
• Tai O Fishing Village - boat ride, more snacks (who knew you could get a husband for the low, low price of 18 HKD?), more beer
• Light show at the Wan Chai Pier

It's hard to sum up, but Hong Kong does seem to be a country of contrasts.  Beautiful and old and modern and austere.  The water views are phenomenal.  My favorite part was our day spent at an old fishing village.  Of course, part of that joy was the "riverside bar" we thought we were going to, which we think might have actually been a family gathering that we crashed by walking in and asking for a beer.  They happily obliged, along with a bowl of random, chewy, fish parts, and the insistent "no pay, no pay."  It was a crack-up.  We're still not sure if it was a restaurant / bar or just somebody's back porch, but I'm leaning toward the latter...

My other favorite part was all the street food we ate.  Pear in sangria and "make your own" curry soup were favorites - this was in Macau... we had fish balls, urchin and crab balls, and something we thought was tofu but I'm pretty sure it wasn't.  Oh yeah, and the famous portugese egg tarts - yummmm - and the multiple flavors of meat jerky!  We had dinner one night at a VERY local market eatery (it's the restaurant with only plastic sheets for walls in the slideshow), where we had a PILE of PORK, some delicious Chinese cabbage, and some mighty tasty cold beers.  Also, I quite enjoyed watching Sandy have her fortune told, all the while the fortune teller was using a palm pilot to check her birthdate, etc.  Cracked me up!  Just another contrast...

Another "highlight" was exploring one of the many dried goods shops - sort of natural foods shop meets homeopathic medicine.  Here, we were offered a taste of dried scallops but were, thankfully, NOT offered the dried deer penis.  Seriously?  I couldn't stop laughing.  You should be able to identify this fairly easily in the slideshow....

Good times!  Sandy thinks we should try out for the Amazing Race ...

A New Kind of Top Ten List: The Similarities Between My Life in Tokyo and My Life in Malawi

Who woulda thunk it? Japan and Africa? The big city of Tokyo is like my little village of Kazuni in Malawi? Yes, indeed, there are some striking similarities...

This may not make sense, much less be even the slightest bit humorous unless you happen to be a Malawi RPCV, but I find it ever so chuckle-inducing, and since I just might be the only one reading this, I'm gonna make myself laugh...


1. In both Malawi and Tokyo, my main form of transport is my bike.  In Malawi, I always wore long skirts while biking, because culturally, that's what women wore in the villages.  In Tokyo, I often wear skirts as well, because my time in Malawi actually taught me that it is waaaaay more comfortable in hot weather to wear skirts rather than pants or shorts.  You get a good breeze when you pedal, I'm just sayin'...

2. I don't have a car.  Therefore, much of my life these days is figuring out how to get from one place to another.  In Malawi, I never knew if there would be any transport at all - I literally didn't know how and if and when I could get out of the bush.  In Tokyo, that is not a problem at all - buses and trains are quite reliable.  But I'm still dependent on someone else for getting me where I need to go.

3.  And though my life in Tokyo has yet to include being crammed into the back of a pick-up truck with assorted livestock as well as 57 Malawians, all hanging on for dear life, I am routinely crammed into a train car, in which I only hope there is enough air to sustain my dear life.  In both Tokyo and Malawi, they have people whose actual job it is, to push people farther into what appears to be a completely full train car or pick-up truck or mini-bus, so that the impossible can occur - even more people can fit in a space which appears to have absolutely no more room.  Defies all scientific principles... but it happens in both Tokyo and Malawi.

4.  I used to be ever so amused by the daily chore at every well-kept Malawian hut of "sweeping the dirt."  Literally sweeping the dirt outside one's hut with a broom made of twigs and branches, leaving it neat and tidy and decorated with the imprint of the twig broom.  Two things are the same in Tokyo: 1) You can actually buy the twig/branches brooms everywhere around here and people use them to sweep the sidewalks.  2) You know those Japanese Zen sand gardens - they rake the sand everyday, which is, in essence, "sweeping the dirt."  Who woulda thunk it?

5.  A smile can get you a very long way.  Now that I am experiencing life as an illiterate immigrant, I am constantly reminded of my first few months in the village when my main form of communication was lots of smiles, some crazy miming, and a precious few words.  I got by.... In Tokyo, I have added the iPhone to my repertoire of communication tools when I don't know the language.  This means that I am constantly using my phone to take pictures of things that I need to buy and then showing a store clerk and asking where it is in the store.  Just the other day, I took pictures of several children's books in English, went to the library, showed the librarian, and then asked her if they had those books in Japanese (when we have the English version, it makes reading the Japanese one approximately 79 times faster and more fun).  Worked like a charm...

6.  Remember in Malawi when every restaurant and every home you entered offered you a warm bowl of water in which to wash your hands?  In Tokyo, virtually every restaurant offers you a piping hot warm cloth to wipe your hands.  But, I haven't been in enough Japanese homes to say if the tradition holds true in homes.

Japanese style toilet

7. The infamous hole in the ground.  In Malawi, it's dirt.  In Japan, it's porcelain.  But, you still have to pop a squat and build your quadricep muscles.  So, in essence, it's the same.

8.  The "r" and the "l."  This cracks me up every time.  In Malawi, I was oh-so-ever-amused whenever I heard, "Feer flee" (that's feel free, for anyone trying to find the humor).   In Tokyo, I can eat runch or lunch and the name of my poor child "Ryan" is pronounced just like "lion."  Ryan and lion are even written the exact same way in katakana, because there is literally no difference in the pronunciation (ライアン.  Fortunately for him, he really likes lions.

9.  MOSQUITOES!!!!! I had no idea that I would have to buy mosquito coils in Tokyo, that I would actually stay inside at times because of the blood-sucking monsters, and that I would seriously consider buying a mosquito net for our bed?  Seriously?  Can you tell how much I hate mosquitoes?  In fact, the boys are allowed to use the word "hate" for exactly 2 things.  Mosquitoes is one of them (the other is throwing up, if you're dying to know).

10.  I love where I am, but I miss my friends and family!

LOTS of Surprises in One Day - By Ethan

On the Yokohama ferris wheel...

Dictated by Ethan, typed by Stephanie

Dear Friends and Family,

Today we had a great day.  We had TEN surprises in one day.

1.  We walked by a shop that had a small pool of balloons that was part of a game.  To play, you had to buy something in the shop, but the lady said "this is a gift" and let me play one time for free.

2.  Hooray!  In the game, I caught the balloon with the hook, so I got to take it home.  A pretty fun game.

3.  Baseball time!  I played this cool baseball game and hooray again - home runs for my team! And I won 6-5 - close game too. And I said "that was a pretty good thing for 100 yen."

4.  Yippee!  The ferris wheel!  We went on a big Ferris Wheel in Yokohama - it is called Cosmo Club 21.

5.  Alvin and the Chipmunks!  Alvin and the Chipmunks!  Haha - fooled you.  It was just a big squirrel thing (my mom said it's called a mascot) with a really big belly button!

The silly mascot thing that Ethan REALLY wanted a picture of...

6.  Ooishii yummy!  We had dim sum for lunch in Yokohama Chinatown and for dessert, I chose coconut tarts. We also got to taste mango pudding, almond jelly, and peach buns (they were shaped like a peach but filled with red beans).

7.  Again, a balloon!  And a big buta.  Haha - fooled you again, buta is a pig (the balloons had pigs printed on them because they were giving them away at a tonkatsu food stand).

8.  With the 2 balloons, I made an archery game!

9.  While we were walking by the ships, we saw lots of jelly fish swimming in the water.  And I have a story for you.  One time, Mommy got stung by a jellyfish and it hurt!  She had to put baking soda on it.

10.  A homeless man gave Ryan a fan and Ryan said it's a fan, an umbrella shade, a back scratcher, and a mosquito-smacker - all in one!

Ethan with his bow and arrow made from his 2 "surprise balloons."

We had a fun day, with Mommy's friend whose name is Sandy.  My four favorite parts were the ferris wheel, the ballon I won at the game, winning the baseball game, and the jellyfish.

Love,
Ethan

I have one song -　いちにさんしごろくしちはち

The Mt. Fuji Mission

Roooaaaadtrrrrrriipppp!

We planned a little last minute excursion to Hakone, with the goal of seeing the famous Mt. Fuji.  Though our Mt. Fuji mission was thwarted by rain and clouds, our spirits were high and we enjoyed our weekend away...

And the kids were quite excited to see their first rice fields, resulting in a shout-out every time we passed one (which was often)!

Exploring the Owakudani Volcano and other such Adventures

I was amazed by how green and lush the Hakone area is.  Kevin and I both said that it reminded us of the Santa Cruz Mountains.  We left on a Saturday morning and by the time we got there, it was early afternoon.  So, with only a day and a half to explore, we went for the gusto!  Our explorations included

• The Hakone-Tozan Cablecar up the mountainside - like a small train car that travels on a steep track up the mountainside
• The Hakone Ropeway (aka what we might call a cable car / ski lift like thing / the English term is escaping me at the moment)
• A short hike to the boiling sulphur pits of the Owakudani Volcano
• The Hakone Pirate Ship, sailing across Lake Ashinoko 
• An all-consuming search for the perfect Hakone souvenir for the boys that met our criteria of a) less than 500yen and b) a reminder of our trip.  [In case the suspense is killing you, Ethan chose a "3-D" Mt. Fuji notebook and Ryan chose a Mt. Fuji "crystal ball." We hope these will bring us good luck the next time we try to see the "shy" mountain.]

The cablecar up the mountain

A little snuggle time on the cablecar - I'll take it whenever I can get it...

On the ropeway....

Looking out at the steam escaping from the earth....

...in the Owakudani volcano area

Where our black eggs were cooked (see below for more about this tasty treat)

Looking out at the mountains, while breathing in the sulphuric fumes :)

Heading back down the mountain... on to our next adventure!

The Pirate Ship on Lake Ashinoko!

My boys... seeking refuge from the rain and wind!

 Our First Guesthouse / Hostel and Onsen (natural hot springs) in Japan

Our home away from home - for 1 night in Hakone

We quite liked our little family tatami room - it looked out onto a babbling brook surrounded by lush, green forest.  Quite peaceful, really.

There was also an outdoor onsen and an indoor onsen, and the hot water was none other than that of the Owakudani volcano that we had seen earlier in the day.  Ryan opted to skip the hot water, but Ethan was game to try it.

After a long day of exploring, we were quite happy to come back to the guesthouse, relax in our yukattas, and then relax even more in the outdoor onsen.

Exploring the outdoor onsen when we first arrived

Ethan's first onsen

Tired travelers!

FOOD!!!!

As has become "the usual" for us, any adventure includes sampling whatever tasty treats we can find (and some not-so-tasty, but we didn't know that until after the fact).  This weekend was no exception.

Clearly, the specialty of the Hakone area is かまぼこ (kamaboko), or steamed fish cakes.  They come in all different shapes and sizes and colors and often on a stick.  To our untrained taste buds, the flavors of the various types were quite similar.  Ethan tried them, but wasn't a fan.  Ryan quite liked them. 

One of many random fish-cakes-on-a-stick we tasted...

We also sampled the famous くろたまご / "black eggs" that are literally cooked in the bubbling, boiling sulphur water of the Owakudani volcano.  The eggs don't taste any different from normal hard-boiled eggs, but the chemical reaction with the sulphur creates a completely black egg shell.  The legend is that eating a black egg will add 7 years to your life, but that one should not eat more than 2.5 (I wonder if that's why you can only buy them in packs of 5).  We topped off our black eggs with egg ice cream, for no good reason at all, except that it was delicious.  We skipped the wasabi ice cream, however... that'll be the next trip, I suppose.

The black eggs cooked in the boiling sulphur water pits...

Taking a little "black egg" break in the middle of our short hike

More street food - and this was some darn DELICIOUS corn on the cob! I had no idea that corn on the cob was such a Japanese delicacy....

Our favorite meal was from a "country-style" Japanese restaurant for dinner on Saturday night.  It was a feast!  And as usual, the kids ate waaaay more than one would think people of their size should be able to consume.  But it's par for the course these days.

We had teriyaki chicken, traditional fried chicken (kara age), age dashi tofu and age dashi eggplant, oyakudon, miso soup, tsukemono, and probably some other delicious-ness that I'm forgetting.  Our meals were served with a mystery side dish that I thought was incredibly tasty, until I asked Kevin what it was and he told me that he thought it was pork innards and pork fat.  That made it slightly less appealing as I figured that I probably shouldn't be eating a bowl of pork fat - no matter how good it tasted.  I finally asked the restaurant what it was and after much dictionary searching and a call out to another apparently local restaurant guest who spoke some English, we learned that it was actually stewed gluten.  At least that's what we understood - not 100% sure that's right, but I gotta find out soon so I can eat it again!

Watching our dinner being prepared...

Watching our dinner being devoured...

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu - よろしくおねがいします

A few days ago, while standing listening to the daily speech about what happened in yochien on that day, I was struck by the number of times that the teacher said "yoroshiku onegai shimasu."  Now it's quite possible that I noticed that phrase so often because I actually recognize it, whereas much of what I hear is still unintelligible syllables to me.  But the thought stuck with me over the course of several days.

We don't have a similar phrase in English that I know of, but the closest translation seems to be "please look favorably upon me."  It seems that every paragraph uttered by the yochien teacher was punctuated by "please look favorably upon me."

Similarly, whenever I have met someone for the first time, the response is "please look favorably upon me."  I, too, have said my share of "yoroshiku onegai shimasus" but in my case, I really do need their favor as I am sure to screw something up along the way.

At each of the school opening ceremonies, each of the teachers, visitors, dignitaries, and guests introduced themselves and completed his/her introduction with "yorushiku onegai shimasu."  There is no variation; it is simply said.  It is rote.  I am not even sure anyone truly means it.

I started to think how that one phrase might explain part of the Japanese culture.  Mind you, I am not a scholar of Japanese culture, I am not a trained anthropoligist nor linguist, and I have been in the country for a whoppin' few months.  So, this is simply a personal observation.

Buuuut, it just seems to me to be so .... so meek, so lacking in confidence and assertiveness, fatalistic almost.  I'm not sure these are the right words, but it's the best I can come up with for now.  At the same time, it also seems to show the genuine eagerness to please and be helpful that we have experienced so much of in our first few months.

Any insights from the peanut gallery? Ponder away...

I ponder best over beer... just sayin'

Who knew ... ? #2

... that you need a bank account at the post office to pay for school lunches? Hunh?

Ethan was very eager to try the unicycles.
I was far less eager...

... that unicycles are standard issue playground equipment at Japanese elementary schools? As well as stilts?

... that kids get portable EKGs at school (as in lying on a table in the library with wires attached to the chest and such)?

... that kids also get swimming lessons at school?

... that kids can stay after school and play until 5 pm with basically no supervision and then walk home when they feel like it?

... that shiba inu puppies lose their teeth?  OK, maybe others knew this, but I had no idea.  Our dog never teethed...

... that daikon is a great source of vitamin C?

Ryan and his teacher during our home visit

... that teachers do home visits? For elementary school and pre-school...

... that things really are smaller here?  The sink in our hotel literally came up to my knees.  I am always hitting my head on the wrist straps on the trains that are mounted low enough for smaller people to reach them.  And my knees literally touch the wall when sitting on the loo.  Seriously.


... that we would get on the wrong train multiple times - even after being here for a few months?  It's the subtle differences between express, commuter express, limited express, and rapid express...

... that you can ONLY buy rental insurance FOR Japan while living IN the U.S.?

... that we would be without a TV for 4 months and survive just fine?

... that even I would be bitten by the bento box bug and make snow-man shaped rice balls and carrot flowers?

The Recycling Instructions, at least
it's in English!

... that there are 12 different types of recyclables? And the only days in the entire month that we DO NOT have to recycle something is the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month?

... that things that are available on-line at home are not available on-line in Japan (at least not for free)?  For example, hulu, pbs, etc...

... that Japan only legalized low-hormone birth control pills in 1998?  Are you kidding me?

... that you don't make an appointment for a pediatrician? You just show up and it all works fine - and did I mention that it's free?

... that "medical massage" is covered under Japanese national health insurance?  Go figure...

Undokai - うんどかいーSchool Sports Festival

Oi, oi, oi.  I am waaaay behind on the good 'ol blog posts.  I was afraid the momentum wouldn't last; must be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was in Hong Kong for 5 days (woo-hoo!), and then within 10 hours of me returning home, Kevin left for Taiwan for a week, and we're still catching up a bit. Who knows?  But in the wise words of LibraryAnn, that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Higashine Undokai - ひがしねのうんどかい

There had been lots of talk around school about Undokai, and by "talk," I mean no fewer than 47 notices sent home about it, virtually all of which we couldn't read.  But, of course, we still didn't truly understand what all the fuss was about.

So, we showed up on Undokai Day and did our best to soak it all in.  Basically, it's like Field Day on some serious crack.  Each student in the entire school is assigned to either the red (aka) or white (shiro) team, and points are tabulated for both teams for every event in every grade.  This is serious stuff!  Each class does some sort of performance, many of which seem to be to inspire and cheer on the red or white team.  And aren't the Japanese clever - the red hats that the kids wear for gym (and recess too, I think) are reversible, so the kids simply flip it to the color of their assigned team.

Ethan was on the red team - and he cheered for his team for the entire 7 hours and was completely hoarse by the end of the day...

The day was jam-packed.  Some of the highlights:

• A very enthusiastic "spirit" chant/dance led by the 6th-grade Undokai leaders
• Lots of running / relay races 
• A "ninja" dance by Ethan and the first grade classes
• A funny "chicken" type game where one child sitting on the shoulders of another had to try and take off the hat of the shoulder-sitting person on the other team...
• Some meditation-type exercises set to some very sleep-inducing music (plus it was right after lunch)
• A race to roll/carry a HUGE red ball along a course of kids - this involved every child in the school, I think.  Ethan LOVED this one!
• The "gumball" game in which the first graders tried to throw small balls into a basket and the class with the most balls after a set time won.  Funny thing - it was a tie and they had to do it again as a tie-breaker!

Singing the Higashine School song to kick-off the day - it's a little bit of Where's Waldo? Hint: He's wearing a red hat and he's the only happa...

The uber-serious "judges" and "scorekeepers" for the 756 relay races... it was a very long day!

A very cool samurai dance...

Ethan's ninja dance... hint: he's wearing a blue bandana...

Semi-finals of the chicken sumo match...

The big red ball obstacle course...

And in case you can't sleep without knowing, the RED team won 517-510.  Ethan was elated!  And after 7 hours, we were ready to go home (and props to Ryan - he was a trooper and it was hot).  Oh yeah, did I mention that we got to do it all over again the following weekend for Ryan's school?

Gekkohara Undokai - げっこはらのうんどかい

Now, to be honest, I was in Hong Kong during Ryan's Undokai.  It was actually a bit of a lost-in-translation issue, as I was told by a translator (in English) at the beginning of the school year when reviewing the school calendar that the yochien/preschool "can" join the Undokai at the sister elementary school. So, when looking at the calendar 2 months ahead of time to book a trip to Hong Kong, I took that to mean that it was optional.  Plus, it was on a Saturday, so it made perfect sense to me that it was optional.  Ummm... yeah... I was wrong.  Again.  When the interpreter said the yochien "can" join, what she really meant was "what a fabulous opportunity not to be missed."

Well, I missed it, but Ryan, Ethan, and Kevin did not.

Seems that Undokai are quite similar across schools in Japan.  Two notable differences: 1) Ryan's school has turf on the field and it just looks soooo much nicer, and 2) Ryan's Undokai only lasted 3 hours.

Definitely the same basic events as at Ethan's Undokai.  Below are the videos of Ryan's relay race and also Ryan's "gumball" event.  Ryan was on the Shiro team (to be honest, I'm not sure why he has his hat on red-side out) and though he looooved shouting, "Shiro, shiro, shiro, Go, Go, GO," I don't think he was that concerned about who won (unlike his brother, for whom, it was of paramount importance).

Note:  There might be a problem with some of the videos, but in the interest of addressing the several "where are the blog updates" comments I've received recently, I'm going to go ahead and post this anyway and figure that out later...