Japan

It's been a wild past two weeks with packing for Japan, living through a 12-hour plane ride, "orienting" myself in Tokyo, Shinjuku district, and setting up my new life in the city of Kyoto. For those who don't know, I am spending the year teaching English to Japanese high school and middle school students with the JET Programme. They placed me in the lovely and historic town/city of Kyoto, Japan, and so far I'm loving it and soaking it all in. The worst part about this city: Carly is not living here permanently this year. My beautiful and talented wife will be studying in Yokohama, Japan for the year, a little over a 2.5 hour Shinkansen (high speed rail) ride from Kyoto. Yes, a big bummer, but this gives us only more incentives to spend our weekends together gallivanting around the islands that make up this small but densely-populated country.

Skipping the boring part of planing it to Tokyo on Delta airlines... We arrived in Tokyo around 2:00 pm on July 25, immediately after which we were shuttled to Tokyo to check into our swank hotel, the Keio Plaza Hotel. Some pictures:


That night a bunch of us went out for our first meal in Japan. I had udon noodles, and as you can surely see, I was pretty exhausted. Everyone was on a high just being there, so all were completely chill with dining in a large group among whom few had known each other 24 hours earlier, myself included. Despite the exhaustion, it was not an early night! Must have stayed up until 12:00 exploring Shinjuku district. When I asked a new friend who had been to Tokyo before if this was the "downtown" of Tokyo, I was politely informed that there are multiple "downtowns," and that we were in just one of them. Having visited a number of metropoli in my time, I can tell you: this is not the case in every city. Here are a few of Shinjuku:



New friends roaming the new district, and Japanese bar signs signaling our arrival, the proprietors of whom were waiting to prey on any unsuspecting JETs looking for food and drink. We did not enter this place:


There were some official JET Orientation programs we had to go to during normal business hours and politics and guidelines we had to absorb, observe, and record...

...BUT, I think most of us were interested in getting out again for some long hours of Japanese K A R A O K E!

Sorry, J and Molly. This one was too good not to make it onto my blog. The kyoto-fu (prefecture) JETs all went out the second night for karaoke, mild drinking, and exploring. Here is the Japanese convenience store I dropped into that night on the way back to the hotel



Tokyo orientation was one big blur. The 2 days were gone before we realized we were in Japan, and for much of it we were inside a "Western bubble," as one presenter put it. The hotel was pretty normal and what one might call Westernized. On Wednesday the 28th, the hundreds of JETs that were in Tokyo for the orientation were sent to their respective prefectures, where we would meet out daily supervisors and home school officials for the first time. The 16 Kyoto JETs trekked a mile to the train station in Tokyo that would take us to the central artery of the city's transportation system, Tokyo Station, from which we were shot out of the city on the bullet train toward Kyoto, only 2 hours away. Here we are:

And my bento lunch (sufficient and new, but not really exciting):


That afternoon, I met two new teachers with whom I will be working, Kusakabe-sensi and Okamoto-sensei, both English teachers at Rakuhoku senior high school. They drove me to the school, where I met the principal and signed my apartment lease. We had to do this before we could get the key to my new apartment, but all went smoothly and we were in my new place in a jiffy. My predecessor, Christine, left me a lot of great stuff for my place that was moved over before I got here, so that night I spent most of my time rearranging everything, unpacking, and sorting... I was asleep by 12:00, but unfortunately up the next morning at 5:00... that's JET lag for ya!

So anyway, I'll stop here for now because it's getting late, but I have a lot more updating to do and pictures to share, many of my new town, some shrines we visited, places we've eaten, and many unusual and ridiculous things the Japanese do and make here in their country (no, really, Garrett!?!??!... yes) . Check back with me soon and you consider yourself informed. For now, oyasuminasai!

Washington-Lee Crew, 1990

I rowed for Washington-Lee Crew for 4 years between 2000 and 2004, and was captain of the team for my final two years. I am proud to be a part of this tradition, and wish I could have had the opportunity to meet and row for Charlie Butt. However, his successor, Derek Parsons, one of Butt's rowers in the 1980's, took up the mantle of head coach after Butt's tenure, and he proved to be just as dedicated to the crew and the oarsman as Butt was, I imagine. It is incredible to see how much, and how little, the team and boathouse has changed between 1990 and 2000, and to think of the boats of oarsmen who came and went, some victorious, others less so, who called Potomac Boat Club their home in the same way I did, and still continue to do. I look forward to returning this summer as a member to continue being a part of this tradition.

Hans Rosling and Stats

Mobilizing Social Capital

Mobile phones are making a great impact on rural poverty in the world today, despite the Western stigma that phones are mere "consumer devices" for socializing. Entrepreneurs in India, Bangladesh, and other developing countries are beginning to show how mobile phones can be power "production tools" for building social capital and saving time and money, thereby increasing income and bringing many out of devastating poverty.

Pixels

PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.
Uploaded by onemoreprod. - Discover more animation and arts videos.

Thanks, Conor, for the link to this video.

Carl Dalke 101st Airborne 506

The most unbelievable thing happened yesterday. I was sitting in the Oriental Institute Museum working my job as a security guard when an elderly man was rolled by in a wheelchair by a younger woman who looked to be his daughter. They commented on how they were having such a great time in the museum. Replying with a smile and a friendly greeting, I noticed that he was wearing some army memorabilia, like a jacket and a cap that read 101st Airborne Division. Immediately realizing who he probably was, I asked him if he was in the 101st. And yes, he was, and in the 506 regimental division that took part in Operation Overlord, Operation Market Garden, the Battle of the Bulge, and so on.

In short, he went through every part of the WWII depicted in Band of Brothers. And he told me war stories for half an hour: how he took his jump training under Capt. Sobel, how he was responsible for finding quarters for Col. Sink, what is was like during the Battle of the Bulge (when he didn't change clothes for 18 days straight), and how he single-handedly captured 23 SS officers at gunpoint who were plotting to kill the invading Americans. It was an incredible experience talking to this man. He had such incredible stories and has even been doing memorial jumps (parachuting) with guys from the 101st for the past 10 years while he's well into his 80's.

I guess the best part about meeting him was being able to shake his hand and thank him for his service to our country. I imagine so many people have imagined being able to do that with a veteran, especially after the HBO Band of Brothers craze. But I actually got to do it with a guy who experienced some of the most severe combat experiences firsthand.

The Sandpit - Miniature NYC

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

Now, when are we going to get to see Chicago like this?