Doorjamb: 3, Ailey's head: 0

The doorjamb made three strikes this morning in it's on-going war against my head. Once when I stumbled out of the sleeping closet to turn off the alarm, again when I stumbled back into the sleeping closet to make my bed, and AGAIN when I was running out the door to school. The doorjamb is good at catching me unawares and I have very little knowledge in fighting guerilla warfare. Therefore, I have a sinking suspicion that the doorjamb is winning. I would kill it first, only I don't know how. The doorjamb seems invincible, like Goliath, only not as tall and therein lies the origin of this war.

So tell me what you want, what you really, really want!

The lesson I had planned for the 2nd year junior high school students today was occupations and asking 'Am I?' So I arranged for them to play 'who am I,' standard language game in which you have the name of a famous person taped to your back and you have to ask everyone 'yes' or 'no' questions in order to get closer to your answer. Toward the end of the game, most of the students had already guessed their identities and sat down, but I was questioning a girl with 'David Beckham' taped to her back. She went through the prescribed questions and still didn't know - she was at a loss and I thought I'd help her out.

'Your wife is a singer,' I whispered.

She stared at me blankly. 'You know, the Spice Girls?' I urged. Come ON! She continued to look totally nonplussed. 'You have to know the Spice Girls! They sing: SO tell me what you want what you really, really want! I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want! I wanna! I wanna! I wanna! I wanna! I really, really, really wanna as;fksj;kdfjas;dfsjka;ds (who knows what they say there anyway).'

I was dancing around the room! I was really getting into it!

'If you want my future, forget my past! If you wanna get with me, better make it laaayaast! So don't go wasting my precious time! Get your act together and we'll be just fine!' The student was no longer looking confused, but now looked at me like I was crazy and giggled behind her hand.

'Miss Ailey,' Kanda-sensei called. 'It's okay, I'm pretty sure she doesn't know who the Spice Girls are.' A boy walked by and pretended to kick a soccer ball.

'Oh!' the girl said. 'Am I Beckham?'

I'm in Osaka!

This morning I took the train down to Osaka and I've spent the day trying to find my hotel (approximately one hour), trying to find Osaka castle (approximately 45 minutes), trying to find somewhere to eat (approximately 20 minutes), and trying to find my drive to have one last night of studying before I take the GRE tomorrow(approximately 4 hours). Actually, the day has been great! It's exciting to get out of the countryside and be in an urban setting again. There are so many people and lights and sounds! It's quite overwhelming. Luckily, I did eventually find my hotel with the help of a man on the street who walked me fifteen minutes out of his way to the hotel door. And I did find Osaka castle by sheer luck, as most people on the street had no idea where it was. Finding somewhere to eat was easy, but it was more a matter of building up my courage. Sometimes I get tired of constantly looking like an idiot who doesn't know how to order, read Japanese, or slurp noodles properly. Anyway, tomorrow I take the test and then head back to the countryside for a busy, busy week at school. Wish me luck!

I never know what's going on

You know how queens and kings used to adopt mottos for their lives? I've decided that, were I a queen (and we all know that I actually am), my motto would be, 'I never know what's going on' as evidenced by morning here in Japan.

Almost as soon as I'd arrived, the other teachers filed out of the teachers' lounge and disappeared. Apparently today is 'sketch day' so there are no classes and the students are scattered around town working on watercolor paintings. For the better part of the morning, the vice-principal and I sat there staring into space. Sometimes he'd stand up, at which point I'd frantically begin working on a project in case he happened to come and peer over my shoulder as vice-principals love to do. But he never did and I hadn't gotten anything done.

Finally, Doi-sensei (pronounced 'doy' which always makes me laugh inwardly) asked me to come do the rounds of town with her on our bikes. We rode around for about an hour, stopping once or twice to chat with people working in their gardens, one of whom is an acquaintance of mine, Yutaka-san. Yutaka-san and I briefly discussed my friends staying at his pension and agreed to meet next week. Doi-sensei and I rode away to check on the rest of the students.

When we completed our rounds, Doi-sensei said, "Okay, now let's go talk to Yutaka-san," and began riding her bike back towards his pension. "Ugh," I thought. "I already agreed to meet with him NEXT week. Not today." But when we got to the pension, Yutaka-san didn't want to talk about my friends staying in one of his rooms. Instead he said:

"Let's eat grapes!"

Which made about as much sense to me at the time as someone saying, "Let's turn this dog inside out!" or "Let's change the rotation of the earth!" But I followed him and Doi-sensei for a few blocks until we came to his grape arbor. We went in and were surrounded by low-hanging branches, heavy with the meatiest grapes I have ever seen. "Please, eat them," Yutaka-san said, so I tentatively bit into one. And it was The Best Grape I Have Ever Eaten.

These grapes are unlike any other grapes that I've had. I mean, the grapes that you buy at Safeway are crunchy and watery and taste a bit like you're drinking a glass of semi-tart water, but these grapes are fat and firm and filled with thick, sweet juice. These are the grapes that I imagine Julius Caesar eating while being fanned by slim boys in loin cloths. These grapes actually taste like grape juice.

After eating an entire bunch of grapes, Doi-sensei and I said goodbye to Yutaka-san and returned to school with about two pounds of fruit. So I'm back in the teachers' lounge, staring into space and avoiding eye-contact with the vice-principal. The grapes are in the kitchen, chilling in cold water and I can't stop thinking about them. I want to eat some, but I'm not sure what the protocol is. Like I said, I never know what's going on.

And this (because who doesn't love a monkey?)

I can feel my life slowly trickling away

It's a beautiful, breezy day today. The sun is shining, the air is warm but not too hot, and I am sitting in my apartment studying for the stupid GRE. I could be doing any number of awesome things right now. I could be running, or riding my bike around town, or reading at the beach, or taking advantage of this three day weekend to see some sights, but instead I'm trying to remember how to compare fractions. Remember fractions? I seem to recall learning about them back in seventh grade or prior. For the past two weeks, I have stayed at home reading through this book. I've canceled plans with friends and avoided any type of fun because I am thinking about my future. When I begin to feel stressed about things like fractions, I calm myself by saying, "Don't worry, it's just your future." My life has somehow become a fun-suck. But even now I'm wasting precious study time. The wind is blowing and the air smells nice, like grass and trees and ocean, or at least that's what I'm imagining from my sad and fun-less desk.

New Pictures!

I've posted new pictures to my Flickr account, just check under 'Japan pictures.' Unfortunately, Flickr will only let me load about ten every month so I can only put a few up at a time. Stupid Flickr. Always leaves me wanting more.

Typhoon Number 12

Typhoon number 12 is passing over Japan. In truth, it has completely missed Toyooka, though it has managed to blow all kinds of rain our way. I have seen drizzle-y rain, pellet-like rain, soft-ish rain, and angry, agressive rain. The angry, agressive rain is the most prevalent type and it will rage for hours on end. Right now it is dropping away outside, filling our sports field with puddles the size of Lake Union and reminding me of life in Seattle. When I walk to school in the morning, my neighbors look at my bare-head in horror. I stare right back at them and want to say, "You think this is bad? I'm from Seattle, bitches! I was born for this. I use rainclouds as my damn pillows." Unfortunately, the only part I know how to say in Japanese is 'I'm from Seattle' and, anyway, it's probably best that I keep these thoughts to myself. Secretly, I love Typhoon Number 12 and don't want it to heave it's last on us. For some reason, the rain makes me feel at home and I'm glad of that.