In the News

Had a bit of time at work and wanted to talk about some American news.  Two stories to be specific. This might be old, but just some stuff that I was annoyed by. 

 

First off, the track coach that went to prom with a student. Here is one of the numerous articles about it.  I know nothing happened, but this is a little creepy to me all the same.  Maybe it is because my parents are/were coaches and teachers and because I myself am a teacher, but it just feels wrong.  I don't see why she couldn't help the boy find a date rather than be his date.  He looks like a good-looking kid and if he is out for an extra-curricular he can't be that much of a loser.  I remember when one of the Japanese home stay students in town (not at our house) couldn't go to prom because her host family insisted she needed a date.  My brother, being a nice guy (and probably bribed by my parents) came back from college for the weekend and took her.  It was never made out to be a real date, but I think they had a good time.  He would have only been about 19 at the time so though he was older, it wasn't weird or creepy. 

 

What else disturbed me was the mention that she had never been to prom and that that was one of the reasons the boy asked her.  It doesn't mention it in the article I posted above but I saw it somewhere else.  That's where I felt that maybe she had ulterior motives.  And then when I saw her dress I really became suspicious.  

 

 

I don't care what your intentions, if you are 41 and dress like that I think you might be kidding yourself.  I am not sure if she deserved to lose her position, but she as just a volunteer and can still go to the meets and cheer on the team.  I don't know... maybe I am a prude? 

 

And what makes me mad is everyone saying how she helped this boy feel better about himself.  If she really wanted to build his self-esteem, why didn't she encourage him to go stag?  I know a lot of people who went to prom with "just friends" in large groups.  Maybe they got teased because of it, but I don't really think so.  She should have sent the message that he was young and he didn't need to be tied down to some chick to have a good time. 

 

Second, Phillip Phillips wins American Idol.   This was probably the first time I had ever watched American Idol consecutively.  I have watched random episodes before, but this year we have cable and I am too tired/lazy to get out much.  I started watching and really liked a lot of the contestants.  Though I didn't have a clear favorite, I really enjoyed Heejun (more for his personality than his singing), Skylar (for her energy and attitude), Jessica (for her voice power and her sweet personality), Hollie (same as Jessica), and Joshua (for his all around showmanship- the guy can entertain, though the screaming was a bit much at times). 

 

What's funny is that I should have been in love with Phillip.  I am a huge Dave Matthews Band fan and like acoustic bluegrass takes on pop (one of my all-time favorite artists is Paul Simon).  His singing was decent and he chose nice songs.  But, first of all, I couldn't get over his exact impersonation of Dave Matthews.  When the other contestants were teasing about his crazy dancing that seemed to come from nowhere, I was thinking, that no, it came from somewhere and that somewhere is Dave Matthews.  I know most artists copy other artists, but this was exactly and it didn't seem to change during the season.  Phillip Phillips is Dave Matthews on Youtube. And the fact that he would always be saying, "I just do me." 

 

I might have been able to forgive him that, but what really made me hate the guy was his smug attitude.  He seemed to always act like he was above it all and that he wasn't on Idol to be changed or to conform to anyone else's standards.  The problem with that is, auditioning for American Idol is in itself kind of a sell-out thing to do.  Don't be on the show if you don't like the way it works.  Go on X-Factor or the Voice.  The thing I loved about Skylar and Joshua in particular was that they had incredible attitude and yet showed incredible humbleness and gratitude.  Skylar was a little rebellious in her farewell song (I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun / Wait by the door and light a cigarette / He wants a fight, well now he's got one / He ain't seen me crazy yet) but it fit the mood and was well done.

 

And speaking of the voice real quick, have also been watching that for the first time and love it.  Although I was really sad when I heard Jamie Lono didn't make it too far.  This is Jamie Lono's audition. Here is a guy who does have a bit of Dave in him but who makes it his own.  And his personality is so sweet.  I hope he makes albums and does shows- I'd go watch him in a heartbeat.  In first looking at him I was thinking he looked kind of nerdy and a little out of his league, but his audition blew me out of the water.  So good, so sweet.  Just a nice kid with great talent.

Thankful

I wanted to write a little more about my pregnancy.  I hope I don't bore you.  Part of it is that I have been thinking these things in my mind the past couple of months but haven't been able to really tell anyone about it.

 

First off, I can't say enough how thankful I am to have found MIJ (married in Japan blogs) about two years ago and how grateful I am that the moms are so detailed in their stories.  I have never been a "oh I want to get pregnant" type of person.  I love kids and want a billion (but will probably settle for 3) but do not like the idea of having them one bit.  Scary stuff!  So if I hadn't of gotten hooked on these blogs I would never have gone out and done the research myself.  But people like gaijiwife, gaijinshifu, umebossy, nay, nooh, and Always Leaving Things Unfinished have totally helped me read up on the subject while being extremely entertained at the same time.  None of them have sugar coated much and for that I am extremely grateful. I am also indebted to the woman who writes the "Surviving in Japan (without much Japanese)" blog.  I literally went through the "questions for your caretaker" posted their verbatim with my Dr. (ok- so I translated a few of them into Japanese and also made my husband read through them).

 

My husband is Japanese but he has less knowledge than I do about this whole baby thing so I am sure he is extremely thankful as well.  For example, at one of our last check-ups the nurse was asking my husband what religion his family was and if they were going to observe inu no hi (dog day).  He had no idea what was going on but thanks to blogs, I could pipe right in and say that I had read about it and would be interested in directions on where to go in the area and what to do.  My husband was really surprised (and probably a little embarrassed) that I knew more about his culture/religion than he did.  He thought the nurse somehow knew that we had a dog.

The second thing is how excited I am about how nice my Dr is being.  One thing I have learned from reading the above mentioned blogs is how Japanese Dr's can be a little mean, er, strict with foreign women.  I have heard how they can be impatient with foreign women asking too many questions or making too many comparisons to their home countries.  I have also heard about Japanese Dr's making comments about natural weight gain.

 

But so far my Dr has been extremely nice in all of these areas.  He sat with me while I, as I said above, got online on my smart phone and translated questions from a blog.  He also has yet to mention my weight at all, even though I am bigger than all of the other Japanese women who I see visiting him.  Then again, this might be due to the fact that I started going to him long before all of this baby business (for the pill and general check-ups) and my weight hasn't really changed much in the past couple of years.

 

This month I have been in his office basically every week for one small thing or another, and he has always been really calm about everything and very sympathetic.  When I showed him my boob last week (which was quite red and swollen from the mystery lump- sorry if TMI) the first thing he said was, "Wow, that looks like it hurts!"  (OK- so he said "ええ！痛いそ！”). 　He then gave me all the time in the world, even though I had been a walk-in that day, and he even said I should take time off of work.  I expected him to be like, "It's nothing- good luck."  I hope he stays this way (although I fear that after summer break in America he will change his feelings about my size- oh Lord help me resist the wonder that is American cuisine).

 

Anyway, just wanted to give thanks to these people as they are life savers.  My family and friends have been supportive, but they can't begin to understand what it is like for me to do this in a foreign language.

 

And of course my husband, who has gone above and beyond to an almost unnecessary point of treating me like something that is going to break any second.

Words for Wednesday: Catching Fire and House of Happy Endings

(written on Wednesday May 23)

I finished the Hunger Games awhile ago and began reading the sequel, Catching Fire, right after ( this is mostly because they are on my Kindle and I had them at work).  Though the book almost felt like it was two different stories, I liked it a lot better than the first.  In discussing it with a friend, he said, "The characters had more motivation in this one."  I agree.  I said in my similar blog post that I liked Battle Royale better than The Hunger Games because I knew what the characters were thinking and why they were acting the way they were.  Though I didn't necessarily know why the different characters in Catching Fire were acting the way they were (we are made to suspect the have hidden motives), at least I had some back story and got to see more of their personalities.

 

At first with the main plot twist in Catching Fire, I felt a little like, "Really?  Again?" but I soon came to enjoy the change and was drawn into the story more after it.  I had heard others say the book wasn't as good as the first, but I strongly disagree.  I think it was because since I don't know of a sequel to Battle Royale, I could get over my "comparison" and just enjoy the story.

 

I started the third book, Mockingjay, but due to family drama and being sick, I didn't really finish it.  The nice thing about the Kindle is that it keeps my place in case I want to come back.

 

Last night I started House of Happy Endings by Leslie Garis.  I think this book was sent to me by my late mother, but I am not sure.  Anyway, I am only three chapters in but am already excited about it.  The memoir is told by Leslie, the granddaughter of Howard Garis, the man who wrote Uncle Wiggily (a popular children's series in the early 20th century).  Though that plays a part, it seems to be focusing on how her father, Roger Garis, dealt with his parents successes.  Roger Garis was also a writer but, while celebrated, he felt he couldn't live up to his father's greatness.  Right now in the book there is only a lot of hinting towards this but it is written so well that I am intrigued.

 

What is also really interesting is that Leslie's grandfather not only wrote Uncle Wiggily, but that he was also a ghost writer for several other children's books like Tom Swift, Judy Jordan, and The Bobbsey Twins books.  As a young child my mother read these to me and then as I became able, I read them to myself.  I have quite a collection of them, though they are old and fragile.  This adds another compelling part to the story as we are told Leslie's father and grandmother also wrote for these series.  If you have read those books I think this book is very interesting, though I am not sure many people have.  Though my parents were "with the times," they also valued the past greatly.  As children, my brother, sister, and I were just as excited about The Little Rascals (and I am talking the originals in black and white) and Shirley Temple as we were The Lion King and Aladdin.  I would read a Bobbsey Twin book one day and a Baby-Sitters Club book the next.

Book Club

So an idea I've had for awhile finally came alive last night with the first meeting of the Maniwa Book Club.  I had always talked about doing it but it wasn't until I mentioned it to a new teacher, Alice, that I did anything.  This was because of her enthusiasm for the idea which came as a surprise for me.  I had always considered book club to be something that others would find nerdy.

Not only was she interested, but so were 8 other people from Tsuyama, Mimasaka, Maniwa, and Takahashi.  Including men and women.  I was impressed with the amount of people and their enthusiasm for the group.  Our first meeting was a simple one, partially because none of us are really sure how we are going to do things just yet.  We simply introduced ourselves and then each person suggested two books they think the group should read.  We then put all of the ideas into the bowl and pulled out two (we chose two so that we can order ahead and some members can read ahead if they like).

I must admit that the two chosen weren't necessarily the two I was interested in reading but that is the point of book club- to open our minds to new ideas and opinions.

Our first selection is Tomorrow When the War Began by James Marsden suggested by Michael Douglass, my intern.  Our second selection is King Rat by James Clavell suggested by my long time friend Ben.  I'm a little nervous about the second selection as it is about westerners in a Japanese run POW camp and we have Japanese members in the club, but it should make for a great discussion.

I'm Back

So I have been MIA for various reasons.  One of them has been that I really wanted to write about Vietnam but whenever I tried I got sick and had to stop.  Let me explain...

While I was in Vienam I got sick on the food.  I had been warned this would happen but I was surprised at how sick I felt.  I never threw up but just looking at the food, smelling the food, etc would make my stomach turn.  I felt like I was being rude since all of our meals were with my friend's family who was hosting us.  I didn't know how to tell them that it looked nice but that it made me feel nauseous.  I didn't understand because I had been to so many other countries that had reputations for making people ill and had never felt this bad before.

Then on the last day of the trip I got to thinking... and suspecting... but it wasn't until I had gotten back to Japan and still felt sick about some food that I started believing.  And my beliefs were right.

So upon returning to Japan I was surprised/thrilled to find out that I am pregnant.  My husband more so.  This was something we had been thinking about but something that we didn't think would happen so soon due to our ages.  But the Dr confirmed it the weekend after I had gotten back by showing us an image of a blinking edamame that was supposedly a baby with a heartbeat.  We were told that we are due at the end of November.

Though we were excited we decided to wait to tell people until we had cleared the first trimester.  This was due to everything I have read/heard about people miscarrying in the first trimester.  I told about five people but waited until just a week or two ago to tell family and just this week to tell friends in Japan and a few select coworkers.  I still haven't told everyone at work but that's mostly due to the fact that I work at a school and don't want all of the students knowing.  They already try to touch me or ask me bizarre questions.  I can only imagine what they will do when they find out I am pregnant.

For the most part things have been fine.  I never threw up and the morning sickness pretty much stuck to me being extremely tired (like seriously going to bed by 8) or not being very excited about food.  Especially rice at school...  In Japan they do an ultrasound at each checkup so I have been able to see arms and what not.  We go again this weekend and hope to see more.  Up until recently the hardest part has been giving up caffeine.  I can handle no alcohol, no sushi, but no coke, no peach tea, no Dr. Pepper?  Kill me now...

Starting with last weekend, though, things have gotten a bit sucky. (Warning the next bit is a little "too much information" so reader be warned).  It started with a cold/sore throat which wouldn't be so bad save for the fact that I am not allowed the really heavy stuff like NyQuil.  I would have been able to suck it up except for on Saturday I woke up with a small lump in my chest that HURT!  Like seriously hurt and would not stop.  To explain it to Motoaki I went up and pinched his chest and held on for a minute.  I then told him that is what it had felt like for the past few hours.  The only thing that felt good was to sprawl on the couch and watch old movies.  I felt bad because Motoaki and I had planned to do a deep clean of the house but it ended up being mostly him.

On Monday I went to the Dr in the morning and he said I shouldn't be too worried but that he would do some tests and then tell me this weekend what was causing it.  He gave me cold medicine (weak but helps a little) and pain meds that are safe.  And he said to take a holiday from work if I had more pain, which I did.  I feel a little guilty as for the most part I look fine, but I was supposed to be at elementary school which would have involved a lot of jumping, running around, etc  With the cold and the sore chest I would have been wiped after one class and would have really struggled through the following four.

But yeah, that is why I have been MIA from the blogging.  I probably still won't write about Vietnam sadly.  I am fine with people telling people (unless you are in Japan and know my students or school staff) but have asked for people not to write about it on Facebook because I am friends with some coworkers there.

I will try not to make this a "mommy blog" but will update with any big news.

Words for Wednesday: The Hunger Games vs Battle Royale

So about a month ago I noticed that a lot of people were posting about The Hunger Games on Facebook.  Not knowing what this was, I looked it up online.  In doing that I came across a handful of blogs comparing it to Battle Royale, and old Japanese book (ok, by old I mean 1996).  I had read Battle Royale and loved it.  Now I am reading The Hunger Games.  Though the two are very different, I can see why they are being compared.  I must say that I am on team Battle Royale.  Not due to any, Oh I am so snobby and hate mainstream pop culture, but because the book was better in structure and approach.  So anyway, I thought I would write about the two.  I might accidentally give away some key elements so read with caution.  I will also say that it has been awhile since I read Battle Royale so I might get fuzzy with the details.

Battle Royale takes place in an alternative future, one in which Japan is a totalitarian state.  Though not too much is said about the history, it appears to be what would have happened if Japan had won the war.  Anyway, every year a third year Jr High class is selected to compete in an event called the program.  The class (or the grade) is taken to a secluded location and forced to kill each other.  Each classmate is given a duffel bag a map, food, and with a random weapon.  Some people get guns, some people get knives, and some people get ridiculous things like a paper fan or a yo-yo.  Resistance to the game is impossible, as we see when one student is shot when protesting the fight to the man controlling the game.  Also, the students are outfitted with these special collars that can be detonated to blow them up.  They are threatened that everyone will die this way if they don't play the game.

This is one of the plot elements that makes me like Battle Royale better than The Hunger Games.  In The Hunger Games everyone just goes into it accepting the fact that they will be killing other people.  In Battle Royale we get a mixed range of emotions.  Kids who commit suicide because they know they could never harm anyone else.  Kids who try to pull everyone together to find a way to beat the system.  I think it helps that they are classmates and thus know each other and have relationships with each other.  For example, one fat kid starts killing other people.  Not because he wants to, but because he has gone through year after year of being picked on at school.  He assumes that since no one has defended him against bullies, no one will defend him against death, and this puts him on the offense. 

In this sense, we also get reason and motive behind all of the characters (if I recall correctly- there might be one or two that we don't get to read the thoughts of).  And this even with 42 players in the game.  In The Hunger Games we get a little background into how some of the contestants have been training for the games their whole lives, but we don't really know what they are thinking.  I guess in this sense I can relate more to Battle Royale.  I can think about my own classmates and my own human nature and see where I might fit into or play the game.  The Hunger Games seems too far from reality for me to do this, thus I am slightly detatched from it.  Also, in not knowing the characters better (aside from the main ones) I don't care about their deaths.  I think there is so much spent on Katniss's history that we're not involved with the others and aren't hit emotionally when they die.  Maybe I am a hard ass, but I haven't cried at all in The Hunger Games.  I am only halfway through.  But I remember crying a lot earlier in Battle Royale because so many of the deaths are somewhat a mistake or a misunderstanding.  Like with the fat kid- everyone knows that kid in school who has been bullied and who would feel alone in the game.  Or because there is more said between lifelong friends.  Like the one girl who runs all day even though she is hurt to find her guy friend.  Or the two girls who try to call everyone together to make peace, only to get shot by the one crazy student.

I don't want to give too much away, but I also like how the game is set up in Battle Royal in regards to making students come together.  There is a map and different zones are closed down everyday.  If you step into that zone, you automatically get blown up by the device on your neck.  In The Hunger Games they use natural things put in place by the game makers, such as fires and floods, to draw players together.  And I like how smart some of the Battle Royal students are.  In using things like computers they make good headway in defeating the people running the games.  The kids are also more resourceful, using things they find around them to create explosions or to build defences.  In The Hunger Games they get gifts from sponsors, magically.  It seems to easy for them to be rescued.  Not to spoil it, but Katniss gets baddly burned only to receive a healing balm from a sponsor.  Seems a little too easy for me.

Though I haven't finished The Hunger Games, I prefer the plot twists in Battle Royal so far.  In The Hunger Games halfway through the book it is announced that the rules have changed, that there can be two winners.  Again, that seems too easy.  I was looking forward to see how the conflict was going to be resolved if Katniss and Peeta were the last two alive.  But now that storyline is no longer an issue.  In Battle Royal you are reading until the very end to see how in the world the three heroes of the story are going to manage to survive the game without killing each other.

I just want to say that, though I haven't seen all of Cato in The Hunger Games, Kazuo in Battle Royale is so much more of a badass and really scary.  His background is that he was in some sort of accident that left him with brain trauma.  He functions like a normal person, only he has lost all empathy.  Basically, he has no feelings or emotions and thus doesn't mind killing, similar to a lot of serial killers and psychopaths you hear about in real life.  Again, I don't want to give too much away, but his first act is to murder everyone in his alliance and to steal all of their weapons.

The Hunger Games takes place in a modern America where the country is ruled by one Capital City.  The country is now split into 12 districts and every district has to send a boy and a girl to fight to the death in the games.  This is punishment for the districts trying to defeat the Capital long ago.  The two kids from each district might know each other, but they don't know anyone else.  The book is similar to Battle Royal in that they are taken to a remote place to fight, but different in that the game is more complex and has more of a build up.  Like the Olympics, there are ceremonies before the games start which include TV interviews and make-overs.  I felt in the book this goes on too long without much result.  We get to see more of Katniss and Peeta, but we don't learn much about the other characters and the games don't start until further in.  It felt very slow going in reading.  Battle Royale gets right to the action and then uses falshback to tell each students story.  So we get action, story, action, story, etc  Where The Hunger Games is stooooooooooooooooooory followed by aaaaaaaaaaaaaaction.  And what's weird is, I hate action and yet prefer Battle Royal.  But then again, the action in Battle Royal is pretty clever.

In The Hunger Games the players are given nothing at first but they do have a chance to fight for supplies at the beginning.  However, most players scatter to hide and let the elite players get the goods.  There is a kind of romance in The Hunger Games, but it is kind of vague.  And Katniss friendships are slightly short-lived.  But it is a good read overall.  I have been sticking with it and will be excited to read the following two books in the series.  I just find it a bit uneven, especially in terms of character development.  Like how can she fall for Peeta when she has Gale...?  I guess I will have to keep reading.