Life in Erabu

Hey All –

It’s been a while since I’ve had a proper post, so I’ll try to make this one good!

This week definitely wasn’t as hectic as last, but every week there seems to be more and more to do and see. To start off with, on Saturday I went to matsuri (festival) in the town of Ch’ina (pronounc ed Chee-na… not like China). Ch’ina is the other town on Okinoerabu.

They’re not very far from each other and take about a 10-15 minute drive to get to Ch’na from Wadomari.

So, I went to a summer festival there this past Saturday. I went with Shin, Jonathan, and Jonathan’s family—he has two little boys, aged 4 and 6 who are adorable! Very fun! It was a parade followed by just general vendors out on the street, bandstands set-up, and crafts/games for kids (everything you associate with a festival/town fair!)

The parade was looong! There was a group representing every town club/school/major business in town. So, about 25-30 different groups in all. Unlike a regular parade where you see everyone marching in a line at once, there was an introduction for every group starting out. So, there was about a minute in between every group being introduced. Each group carried a portable shrine with them or a trophy. The few portable shrines there were, called omikoshi, seemed to mainly be local shrines that the town kept dear. There are pictures of the shrine on my photobucket ((well… actually, there will be pictures. Most likely by the time you all are reading this, there will be pictures. Since right now in Japan its 1 pm and 12 am stateside—I should have them up by the time you all wake up!)).

After the parade, the group of us walked around the street that was blocked off for vendors and children’s games. I grabbed some Okinomiyaki to eat (okinomiyaki basically means, anything you want fried. And it is just that, a mix of everything: noodles, pancake-like mixture, squid, fish, shrimp, meat, cabbage, onions… and all of it is fried making a pancake-like shape—it’s really good!). We walked around for a while, then I met up with Joy and her kids for a bit.

After the festival was over, Shin and Jonathan invited me out to go drinking with them. I was tired, but it was the first night out on the town with them so I agreed. Boy, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Those two can drink! I had a couple drinks and switched to water, knowing there was no way I wanted to keep up with how much they were drinking…. Whew! Anywho, we were out until about 3-4 am. I was wiped and so happy to get back to Jonathan’s house to sleep.

The next day was full of me just catching up on rest and unpacking everything ((shhh… but I still haven’t unpacked my carry-on!)). I also went out driving on Sunday to get a feel of the town and driving on the wrong side of the road. So, weird. But, Jonathan gave me some great advice. He said to just remember WHEREVER country you drive in, the driver is always in the center of the road. TONS helpful. The roads here, though, seem to jut ask for accidents. They are narrow—they seem big enough for just one car, yet two cars, an ojiisan (old man) on his motorized wheelchair, and a moped can all manuvre the road at once. Basically, I drive really slow and always give others the right away.

Monday began the first real day of work. My supervisor asked me to study Japanese, so for the past four days I have been trying to study Japanese non-stop, 8 hrs a day. Obviously, I haven’t quite done this continiously. I take breaks to jump on facebook chat and see what other JETs are up to, and write these lovely blog entrys for you!

The past few days seem to be more of the same, but on Wednesday I went to Volleyball club with Joy. First all, let’s just say I’m not good at volleyball. BUT, when I walked in and noticed it was mainly populated by older Japanese women, I got a boost of confidence. Two things should have tipped me off that I was HORRIBLY wrong. First, Gramsy is one of the fittest people in our family and can whoop my butt at pickle ball any day of the week. Second, they were stretching and putting on knee pads.

When we started playing I just felt like some awkward giant. For as tall as I am compared to these women I was hopeless…. That was until I spiked a ball down. Then, I was pretty cool. They kept saying how tall I was and how short they were. Volleyball was about three hours long and tons of fun. Only downside was that it was in a gym, with not air conditioning, at night… I don’t think I’ve ever sweated more in my life!

Oh, and this weekend I’m heading to Yoron. Check out the link to Yoron’s Wiki page here. Yoron is the island directly south of me; between my island and Okinawa. Yoron is supposed to be one of the most beautiful islands in Japan. Yoron is a typical island get-away with the coastline full of white-sand covered beaches. Needless, to say, that alone makes me pretty excited to go. But, I’m visiting the JET there, Emily (one of the leaders of Tokyo Orientation that I talked about in my previous posts). And, there will be a festival this weekend and she said I’ll be apart of it with her! I’m really excited to take part in the parade, and I’ll definitely make sure to take tons of pictures and hopefully some video.

So, getting there is pretty easy. I take a ferry there, and the ferry is about an hour and a half ride. The cost is only ￥1500 (= $20) one-way, which isn’t too bad.

Also, this weekend is Obon in Japan. Obon is a bit comparable to Halloween in the States. Obon is actually a Bhuddist holiday, where the Japanese honor their ancestors. However, it’s more or less become a reason for all family members to return to their homes and visit/clean their family graves. Also, people will give offerings to their relatives. Offerings kind of has a primeval sound to it, but they usually leave their relatives favorite alcohol beverage or snack on the grave as a sign of respect. You can check out more abot Obon here.

And, the week after next, from August 22-28, I’ll be heading to Kagoshima (the most southern point of mainland Japan) for my prefectural (like a State) orientation. I’ll take some crash language courses and be dressed in a kimono (though, it might actually be a yukata – a summer kimono) for a day. Pretty psyched. Today, I head to the travel agency to book my plane ticket and get my hotel reservation.

And, next week I plan to go snorkeling. ((I’m REALLY hoping to go snorkeling while at Yoron!!!)), but I’ll definitely make sure to do it next week. The water is so inviting, it’s just that there aren’t a lot of “beaches” on my island. So, Joy is going to show me where some are and we’re going to go swimming. EXCITED!


Well, off to get back to some Japanese studying!

Love you all!

Steph

P.S., I’m in the process of posting pictures of my apartment on facebook, check them out!