Home 

    Photos

    About This Site

    Students' Quotes

    Links

April 11, 2005

Sakura

Sakura is the Japanese name for the cherry blossom.  Sakura are a large part of Japanese culture, and in the Japanese mind they are as strongly associated with the coming of spring as the changing leaves are with fall.  In fact, I think sakura are one of the 5 's' things that are synonymous with Japan itself:

sushi, sake, samurai, sumo, sakura  (I could add salary man to this list, but that's not very romantic)

It is impossible to think of any of these things without Japan springing to mind, and thoughts of Japan conjure images of all these things.  Sakura are particularly close to the Japanese heart in part because they are so short lived (about 2 weeks, tops), which plays perfectly into the Japanese aesthetic of finding beauty in fragile and perishable things.

Individual sakura are not, in and of themselves, all that impressive.  They're just a small pink flower.  But when present on a tree on their thousands and in full bloom, they are a sight to behold.  It looks as if the trees have been covered in a heavy pink snow.  The trees themselves are everywhere and fairly non-descript, except for the 2 weeks in April when they erupt in an explosion of pink, like an extra in a Terentino movie.

In Mizunami, the sakura trees are most dense around the river, strategically placed there so as to maximize one's ability to stroll through them.  But, lone trees spot all areas of the city, including the house right outside my window.  The walk up the hill to my school is especially impressive, with trees on either side making a pink archway most of the way up, and the school itself is surrounded by a large number of trees. Here are some pictures from my walk:

1. The Mighty Sakura               3. Beside the River

2. Out My Window                  4. Shrine and Sakura

The sudden onset of warmer weather also has every other flower in the area in full bloom.  My walk home is an explosion of color and smells like a flower shop.  Sadly, it is only a matter of weeks before the rainy season hits, the rice paddies flood, the temperature soars, and the whole place goes back to smelling like an open sewer for the rest of the summer.
 

April 8, 2005

I've just returned to Japan after a much needed 10 day visit home to Calgary. 

I say much needed because living here can sometimes get a bit surreal.  Your previous life, a life where you can communicate freely, read everything with ease, and look like pretty much everyone else, starts to feel like a dream.  So, it was really good to get home and see friends and family, do a little karate, and catch up on my sleep.  I was also subjected to several people (some of whom I wasn't aware even knew of this site) getting on my case for not updating this thing enough.  You know who you are.  I'll try to do better in the future.  With a new school year starting and a bunch of Judo competitions in the next few months, there should not be a shortage of material.

Today was the first day of the new school year.  That meant a big, long ceremony to open the school year in the morning, followed by another big, long ceremony to welcome all the new first year students to the school.  No one does big, long ceremonies like a Japanese institution.  It was interesting to see all the new students.  They looked so young and innocent compared to the little hell raisers they're replacing, but I'm sure that won't last.  The biggest difference was in the female students, or more specifically, their skirts.  Their hems were closer to their knees than their armpits!  Shock and awe!  I give them until next Tuesday before I catch them rolling them up on the hill up to the school after being dropped off by their parents.

Much else has changed in the short time I was gone.  We have two new teachers on the English staff, one of whom is my new supervisor.  Most of the teachers have had their desks shifted around the staff room, so that only one of the teachers originally in my group of desks is still there.  All my Oral Communication classes will now be taught with the same teacher.  Fortunately, the teacher in question is the coolest guy on staff and a blast to teach with, so I'm actually very happy about the situation.  I had been hoping he would end up being my new supervisor, but no such luck.

Also, spring has arrived in Japan.  Today was one of the most beautiful days I have seen since I've been here: not a cloud in the sky, about 20C, and the sakura (cherry blossoms) are out in force.  More on that tomorrow.

On a more somber note, we were supposed to have a welcome party for all the new teachers tonight, but it was cancelled.  It seems that one of the students who was going into third year at our school killed himself/herself late last month.  Shocking and tragic as that is, it is not terribly uncommon here in the suicide capital of the world.  My heart goes out to the student's parents.