Wanderlustin a Cultural Blog

Spring Traveling!

2010-05-12T10:51:00.005+09:00

Spring is here, meaning the hot sticky humid weather that I love is just around the corner. The most appealing adventure Gino and I had in early Spring was traveling through Panama.

It was wild at the Panama Canal!

Hehe, this photo makes me laugh, I swear we didn't photoshop it! We look like body builders:

Panama's Kuna people:

I also took a trip in late Spring for a bachelorette weekend. It was so great to see my friends from the University of Richmond. I am happy I will have many chances to celebrate a few weddings with them this year as well.

Hey You Guys, I'm Still Here!

2010-02-19T11:32:00.012+09:00

I haven't updated in awhile and J from Japan keeps bugging me to get back at it:) Most notably, I have been acting 13 again! I don't know, are you still playful at 13? That's a weird age to pick. OK, 10 again! We have had 4 + feet of snow pile up and I have been enjoying every second of it, as you can see from the photo.

What else is new? I am shopping for health insurance since I ended my previous job. It is frustrating to see Obama's public option run into so many barricades. It's hard for reform to happen in this country, like it's the end of the world to have a public option. Guess how much Gino and I were paying to be insured? $643 a month or $7,716 a year to go to the doctors twice. I think that's what everyone should be outraged about. Do people just not realize how much they are paying b/c it comes right out of their paycheck? But I'm just a zealous liberal who wants to live on a tropical island, so of course this would be my opinion.

Here is a photo of g and I in West Virgina, click on it to make it bigger, it's a good pic:

My software job is going well. It's a world of database lingo and is completely new to me. I like getting involved in new ventures and adventures. I work from home. This sounds very appealing, I know. But most people probably couldn't handle what I do. Meaning, you really have to love your home and love being at home. I'm a homebody, it fits me perfectly. I feel like I go into town only a handful of times a year. I just don't need to be on the go all the time.

Being Silly on Skis:

Well, not on the go locally. I am getting the travel itch again and I am about ready to scratch it. Next month Gino and I are going to Pana Ma! I am excited to rough it, find exquisite unexpected places and create adventures. Although I won't be going anywhere if I don't get a new passport. My passport is a "Marconi" not an "Amasia," and Gino bought tickets for "Amasia." My passport is the last Marconi thing I have and I wanted to cherish it forever while perpertually buying plane tickets for Marconi. There is something great about the handful of friends that still call me "Marconi." (Don't get any ideas, I don't love it enough for you to change what you call me, so if you don't call me Marconi don't start:) I will lose the prestige of flashing all of the countries stamps too. Mine will be empty. I don't mind this.

That's all for now, I'll leave you with this dollop of fun:

Japan Loves Obama!

2009-08-04T10:52:00.004+09:00

(...thanks for the pic, natalie!)

Obama is a small coastal hotspring town near where I used to live in Nagaski, Japan. Who would have thought it isn't the Champon that has made them famous?

Obama-san is cute in the tub, isn't he?

My Backyard Project

2009-07-07T11:26:00.003+09:00

Solar lanterns hung high in the trees provide a mystic night time setting. It wasn't easy getting them there, though. We actually brought a ladder up into the tree secure the lanterns. I love the look it gives our backyard at night!

Save Fallston's Library follow-up

2009-06-21T02:52:00.002+09:00

I wrote my local representative and the library representatives listed on this link:

After Thursday's meeting, I got this impression from the library trustee board sitting at the front: It seems like the board supporters were putting blame on the community for not speaking up sooner, at the time when the county council decided to cut the budget. True, in a perfect world every member of Harford County would be up-to-date and involved in their county's politics. But we're not... and now I think it is completely unfair that the library trustee board places the hardship of a county-wide budget cut solely on one part of a community -- Fallston. It is socially irresponsible. It's reality, budgets get cut. But spread the damage out -- impose cutbacks or a plan to increase revenue county-wide -- so that it minimally affects all.
It was such an awesome turnout, but I heard no county council members were there.

I think all local representatives need to make sure they attend the public hearing at Fallston High 6 p.m. next Thursday.

Ms. Caplan and Capt. Jim, Thank you for your reply!

Ms. Amasia,
I don't believe that was the message Mr. Nicodemus meant to
convey. I think he was trying to tell the community that we will need your help
next year. I can assure you that the Board and staff heard the community out
pour to save the branch and listened carefully to the suggestions given. There
will be another hearing next Thursday at 6PM at Fallston High so those who
couldn't get in the room may have an opportunity to speak. Thank you for your
advocacy for the Fallston Branch.
Audra Caplan

Mr Shrodes serves as the council liaison to the board of
trustees and Mr Woods represents Fallston. I was told they both were going
to be there but I will ask to make sure. They probably did not
speak.. Captain Jim Dist C

Closing Fallston's Library

2009-06-19T09:51:00.003+09:00

In a span of only one week, Fallston's community discovered that politicians are trying to shut down our local library. All week I have been trying to raise awareness, going to local businesses and posting signs. Tonight I attended a public hearing and was very pleased how Fallston represented itself. The hearing was packed, with an overflow that wasn't allowed in, but as large in number as the representation at the hearing. So many strong arguments were made from my fellow community members. Here's why the library trustees are saying "their hands are tied" and they must close Fallston's branch:

Age of Building
Branch is not easily accessible on foot
Low walk-in traffic
Cost savings
Poor location and dangerous vehicle access in and out of the property
Close proximity to newest branches, Bel Air (7 miles), Jarrettsville (8 miles) and Abingdon
Low percentage of computer usage compared to other branch locations

Here's some obvious refutes:

The building is not ancient, but leaving an abondoned building would still be expensive to taxpayers: heating so the pipes are not frozen in the winter, patroling the area.
Our tax money does not give us water, trash pickup, but the one thing it does give is our small library. Most people everywhere drive to the library.
Poor location? It is centrally located to be the midpoint of three schools, it is on a easily accessible road and I haven't heard of any major accidents because of vehicle access.
You shouldn't close down a library over computer usage. Fallston in fact has the fourth highest library usage out of the 11 branches in Harford County.

Well, throughout the public hearing it became quite evident that these weren't the real reasons why our library is closing. The board of trustees for the library, who made the decision to close, seemed to easily grasp (in my mind at least) that even if the above reasons are true it is still not any circumstance to close a community's library.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid our community acted too late. The county council of Harford county imposed this budget cut and now the library board thinks this is their only option. I think it's pretty crumby that this cut was ever imposed, but I, along with 99 percent of the other people at the hearing, did nothing about it. So now we decide to wake up and make one last valiant effort to save our books.

But what I do think is this: The board of trustees is in a tight position to think they have to close the library, but COME ON! But come on BOARD - this is your chance - work for your community and come up with a different solution. It seems like a no-brainer... you need 400,000$ a year? Well, come up w/ a plan, don't just say we are closing a library because it is difficult to drive in and out of; because not enough people sit on the computers and stare at the screen; because the building is more than 20 years old (eek! older than 20, can you imagine?)

I think it's laziness, and I am outraged that closing anything ever became an option. What needs to be considered seriously are ways to meet the budget cut by increasing revenue. I will pay .25 to check out a DVD; I will pay $5 a year to renew my card; I will make my dad who is a senior citzen to pay late fees. Implementing simple ideas like this -- plus many more spoken at the meeting tonight -- and enforcing them county-wide would create $400,000 sooner than you can get through the Twilight series...(well, I don't about that.)

SaveFallstonsLibrary.com for updates and actions you can take. This coming week will be important to reach out to our politicians!

Making a Grab the Code Button

2009-06-06T03:35:00.003+09:00

Today I taught myself how to make a Grab the Code button.

If you are interested in helping me support Ella Foto, please grab the code and post it on your blog.

Thanks!

Blogging Community...

2009-05-29T02:39:00.003+09:00

I have so many people in the blogging community to thank for supporting me in my quest for "Host Our Coast." Most recently, thank you Kellie for your lovely post!

Thank you Sophia and Jen!

2009-05-28T22:44:00.002+09:00

Sophia and Jen - Thank you so much for the kind post on your blog! Sofia's CDH story kind of mirrors my sister's baby, Wyatt. Sophia has reherniated three times, most recently demanding surgery in April. They are so alike that Wyatt is scheduled for his next surgery in June. CDH is a birth defect where a fetus develops with an opening in the diaphragm. It has changed my sister's life, I guess even our family's. As I've never met Jen, I guarantee you that she is a positive-thinking person. You just have to be when you have a child with this condition. CDH happens in around 1 of every 2,000 life births. Here is an educational video if you'd like to learn more about it.

IT'S TIME TO VOTE! (My Application Video)

2009-05-25T00:18:00.000+09:00

In the top right corner of this URL (http://www.hostourcoast.com/submission.cfm?v=52116A26-3048-71C2-17D97D0931D9BBEF) please click "Cast Your Vote" to support me in my quest to be Delmarva's Host of Our Coast! Thanks!

Kids at the beach are the cutest!!

2009-05-21T13:31:00.002+09:00

Today, I went to Ocean City Maryland and strolled the beach. Here, I met an adorable little person, named Holly. Kids seem to be in their element at the beach. Ocean City is the perfect family vacation!

Even Kids Get Excited for Ocean City!

2009-05-19T11:21:00.002+09:00

If I get the "Host Our Coast" job, some of the most important people I'd like to reach out to are kids. Chloe is only 2-years old, but she already understands the meaning of a day at the beach.

Horseshoe Crabs and More

2009-05-17T13:32:00.000+09:00

While I went to the town's senior center, I sat with a group of ladies and talked with them about Delmarva's coast.

France with a Friend

2008-12-14T23:22:00.000+09:00

Gino surprised me this year with a trip to France for New Year's. He said I glow when I travel. I don't want to glow when I travel, I want to glow all of the time. We travelled around and stayed with a friend there, which was a great way to feel the local culture and save money. We started in the city of Orleans, and then moved to the mountains of central France and then the medieval old towns of southern France. Gino and I finished alone in Paris. It was really cold, which worked to our advantage as far as eliminating lines in museums during a low tourist season.

Before going I had a sense that french people snubbed travellers, an opinon formed from a few bad apples I met in a previous experience. But this trip set me straight. Everyone was so generous and really tried hard to communicate in English with us. I always can appreciate when people go out of their way to try and speak English, even though it's not easy for them. Our friend along with all of his friends would try to include us in every conversation.

Also recently, my friend from Japan, Hiroyuki, started living with us. We've been having great weekends, but on the weekdays I would really like to find something for him to become involved with. Any ideas?

Gandhi marries Bridezilla!!

2008-11-10T12:59:00.002+09:00

My wedding weekend in Mexico can be summed up a simple sentence: It was just me. The whole time reflected some part of my personality. Gino set up this shot before our rehearsal dinner, which was a halloween party:

One month to go!

2008-10-02T01:55:00.001+09:00

Oct 1 marks one month and counting to our wedding! You brides-to-be out there will not believe this: Up until this point I have successfully planned a wedding with out once, yes once, visiting The Knot or looking at one bridal magazine.

Though I had a trial hair run and a few days ago and since have gone to the library and checked out four bridal magazines and saved two hair pics from theknot. Sometimes you just have to go along with what the mainstream is doing.

Besides hair issues, everything is flowing nicely! I don't know, bridal talk is sort of boring, isn't it? I mean, I can't believe how huge this wedding industry is for a few hours of a person's life. Though, I will give a shout-out to my cousin. He designs dresses for little people. I was flipping through my Modern Bride and found one of his dresses featured! Here is the Dress from his line, Lady Bug Collection. Way to go, Bill!

Boo-hoo Ah-Choo Pity Party for Me: Allergies

2008-09-23T04:34:00.003+09:00

I am allergic to autumn. Eye irritation, runny nose, stuffy nose, puffy eyes and sneezing have me looking in the mirror exclaiming that I've seen better days. When will it end? Last night freshly bathed, windows closed, and seemingly pollen-free, I awoke from a deep slumber and sneezed 32 times until my burning eyes could locate the benadryl.

Evil pollen, how do you know where to find me?

I will take a poison ivy summer over a ragweed fall any day. I caught poison ivy three times this summer, I've sneezed about 200. What happened to the genetic blessing of perfect teeth, allergy-free, never sick poster child I once was?

If you are a poison ivy sufferer/googler you know it's not supposed to spread by itching or contact with other parts of the body or someone else. So why is it that Gino gets a dab of ivy last week and I now have it all down my leg? Oh sensitive body of mine, fight for your right to be allergy-free!

My wedding is coming up and I feel itchy, puffy, runny, wrinkly from the puffiness, lackluster, burning, clogged and red...and no, you get no pictures with this post.

A Weekend Fire Pit

2008-09-05T10:06:00.005+09:00

Gino built a firepit in our backyard. My Dream Team, their men, their children and their dogs came over to have a fire. I love hanging out with my best friends from home. It usually only works out that we do the annual Christmas party since we used to be scattered, but now we are concentrated on the East Coast. We are playful, youthful and best friends for life.

My Wedding is Coming Soon!!

2008-09-05T04:35:00.002+09:00

My wedding is peeking its head around the corner. I don't think I've even mentioned it on the blog yet. It's November 1, less than two months away, and just like the one in Japan it is planned at the last minute as far as wedding planning timelines go.

But one thing is for certain, it will be equally, if not more, FABULOUS.

Why haven't you gotten your invitation? That is because I just ordered them. Planning a wedding is as big or as little of a production as you want it to be. So far we are taking 50 guests with us to the island of Isla Mujeres off of Cancun.

I haven't spent much time picking flowers, cakes, and favors because in my mind all of that is superfluous. It is important to me that those close to me can celebrate with us, making it their vacation too.

Brides, this is my second wedding to the same guy in one year, and what I found is if you are the kind of person that doesn't want to be involved in arranging absolutely every detail, then a destination wedding or a very good wedding planner is the way to go.

I feel a touch of blog guilt that my big day is only 59 days away and I'm just starting to write about it. I shall make up for it by blogging everyday and putting a wedding ticker somewhere.

2008-08-20T23:07:00.006+09:00

My animals:

I know I've been MIA. I've had a few drafts lined up but thought they weren't so interesting so didn't publish them. That's one of my problems. I always think I have to be doing something entirely off the wall. I'm trying to establish a purposeful and entertaining routine, hobbies and career here, but am in the research stages. This stage is important because whatever I choose to do must keep me passionate, busy and challenged. Any ideas besides countless googling for unusual occupations and studies? At the same time, I don't mind being in this limbo period. As it can be disconcerting, it is also exciting to think of the possibilities, and calming to be free and open to anything. Let me share some pics with you:

I shot my first gun in Ohio a few weeks back. It is powerful, and as you can tell, I had a lot of fun with it:

Cover Up to Cool Down: Wearing Long Sleeves in the Summer

2008-07-22T00:26:00.004+09:00

The new business is hot and heavy. The weekend was spent in the 90 degree heat carrying weighty camera equipment. After my South East Asia trip this spring, I have been suriving the summer heat with one of my many far-out experiments: To train my body to cool down by wearing long sleeves and long pants during the hot months.

Spending time in hot countries, I have noticed that the people residing in these places tend to cover themselves. Rarely are shorts seen. Plus, the residents seem a lot more comfortable than I am in the same heat.

This is a strange thing for me to rant and rave about, I know. But during this weekend's hot and heavy work I met a woman doing the same thing. She was in velour pants (yes, velour...maybe she can be my mentor because I'm not THAT conditioned to the heat yet.) I told her of my long pants long sleeved summer experiment and she said that she was doing the same thing. Isn't that crazy?

She said she is from Colombia and that most people keep themselves clothed in the summer to protect from the sun and to cool their body temp. It's nice to see that my antics have some justification.

By the way, while writing this blog I am wearing a blue hoodie and blue jeans.

Search is Out for a Neighborhood Buddy

2008-07-17T23:17:00.003+09:00

I was telling my Dream Team yesterday that I was on the search for a neighborhood friend. Francesca replied, "What am I, chopped liver?" Well one, you live 2.4 miles away and I practically die trudging up the hills to your house on my crap bicycle; and two, it took me two phone calls and a mocking tone by you to get your over here tonight. She said that I wanted a neighborhood friend so I could have someone at my beck and call. :::sigh::: Who me?? I need to be entertained? No way!

OK, she's right. I want to play, ride my crap bike down the street to pick up my non-busy imaginary friend and then frolic around the neighborhood catching tadpoles in the stream--well, I guess they'd be frogs at this point -- and eat ice cream on my seven hammocks in my yard on a hot summer's day after searching around the woods for good fort spots. Ahh, I'm envious of the 12-year olds in my neighborhood. Maybe I can just get in tight with them.

Did you know the cliche "What am I, chopped liver?" is a Jewish-English expression. Chopped liver was traditionally served as a side dish rather than a main course. The phrase, therefore may have originally meant to express a feeling of being overlooked, as a "side dish."

In "Beck and Call," "Call" is used here with its usual meaning. "Beck" is a shortened form of "beckon", which we do still know well and understand to mean 'to signal silently, by a nod or motion of the hand or finger, indicating a request or command'.

Travel Glimpse, Angkor Wat

2008-07-03T00:00:00.002+09:00

This photo was taken at Angkor Wat in Siem Riep, Cambodia. The temples of Angkor were built by the Khmer civilization between 802 and 1220 AD. These magnificent structures are relatively intact. Ancient things fascinate me. Here, I am kicking up my heels on the surviving remains of a grand religious, social and administrative metropolis that was the place to be a thousand years ago. This temple has become the symbol of Cambodia, appearing on the national flag.

Outer Banks and my Dream Team

2008-06-10T04:07:00.007+09:00

I just returned from a girls weekend at the Outer Banks. Head straight down south past Virginia Beach and settle into the OB. If you can endure the six to seven hour drive you will be thankful. You will praise the uncrowded beaches, the absence of high-rise hotels and the limited commercialism.

I loved having no other entertainment besides my girlfriends at my fingertips. I met Francesca in the third grade, Kateri around the same time and Paula a few years later. Lauren entered in high school. Francesca is funny, conservative, sensitive and grounded. Kateri loves hard-core adventure, is athletic, loves to travel (to cold places)and is selfless. Paula is open-minded, silly as a butterfly, hardworking, smiley and energetic. Lauren lives life for her adorable family, is a great hot young mama, likes to stay local and values security. And well, you all know me.

We all used to be the same: athletic, goofy, cute, intelligent and fun-loving. Through the years we have branched off to acquire different motivations in life. At times when (almost) the entire group can get together are the moments that these changes can be noticed. For example, my friends are more sensitive than I remember (or the correct tag would be I'm more abrasive.) If I rag on myself I find that they tell me that the opposite is true. Yo mates - I have the right to make fun of my gut if I so please. I also quickly realized that I had to tone down my comments about others that were only funny to me. It made me realize how often thekidg and I can tell each other things half-jokingly without sensitivity on the receiving side. Kate gets stir-crazy if the activities aren't adventurous. If Paula has something worrisome on her mind, it can not be joked about. These are all things I noticed on the trip.

Given these differences, we never got frustrated with each other. Childhood friends are loyal to each other, playful, and always satisfying to be around. Even through all our changes, my Dream Team is just as much as a delight as they were when we all were adventurous little brats. Last weekend we "boogied" (meaning utilizing the boogie board) until we were about to drop, we screamed at the mega waves, we exaggerated on our beat-downs by the water, we played football like no other girls you've ever seen, we frisbeed weaving and cavorting on the sand, and we laughed until our bellies hurt. No matter how different we've become, we still do know how to have a genuine good time together.

Laos

2008-04-30T11:39:00.006+09:00

Hmmm... I've seem to have lost my photos in this section

Lush in nature, rich in resources and relatively new to tourism, Laos is a must on the South East Asia route.

Onto Cambodia

2008-03-23T23:04:00.002+09:00

We finished Vietnam three days ago. In a lot of the parts in Vietnam it felt like the people were scamming you. Though, now in Cambodia, the feeling is much more laid back. Traveling down the coast of Vietnam opened my eyes to the lingering effects of the Vietnam war. My American education glossed over the fact that we unnecessarily attacked and infilitrated their country. And for what purpose? Kind of reminds you of the war now.

Ho Chi Minh city, the most populous and tropical city of Vietnam, seemed much more developed than the other cities. The jungles of the central highlands were rich with animal noises and the mountains were refreshing. Although the altitude was high and Gino had to rest every 10 minutes (not me though.)

Phom Penn is the capitol city of Cambodia. Here, as perfect timing would have it, we had planned our meeting with our friend who used to live in Japan with us. Andy Lovedland was traveling from England to research his graduate paper about an NGO in Cambodia. It was nice for Gino and I to have a friend from way back when to seek out adventures with.

Today we arrived in Angkor Wat and juicy details of this expansive experience are soon to come... love from cambodia, Danielle

Rainy Day, but Unforgettable Experience

2008-03-09T11:21:00.002+09:00

I've been having trouble viewing my blog address and figured something was wrong with blogger. Turns out, though, blogger is blocked in Vietnam. Maybe because it's communist? I am still able to post, just not see, so I will continue to share our stories.

It turns out it's a lie when they said dry season lasts until the summer here. It's tough motorbiking in the rain, but it's important to ignore the weather. The other day we set out to see a tomb and ended up at local family's house in a small village in the jungle for lunch...then we stayed for dinner.

The family has five children and both parents are farmers. The mother walked 180 km to escape the American bombings in the Vietnam war. Still, all houses had an underground bomb shelter because the bombings were so common. Many people have war stories because the war was relatively recent.

The parents want their kids to become something better than just farmers and to see the country outside just the village. So the parents go in debt every month to afford their childrens' $50 a month university education and to pay for schooling past primary.

The product is five kids who speak English eloquently, who are very knowledgable about the world only through their studies and who protrudes intelligence. And it all started in a tiny little village where the family makes dollars a day.

It was an eye-opener seeing the hope and hard work of people whose prospect of affording that month's schooling means everything to them.

Day 2

2008-03-06T23:04:00.003+09:00

It's our second full day in Hanoi. We signed up for a tour going bicycling in a really rocky path through rice fields, staggering rocks and villages. We then took a three hour canoe ride along a river. My blog audience already knows I'm not good on a bicycle. Gino said the scenery around us was beautiful, but my eyes were down at the ground and on business the whole time! lol!!

Uncle Ho!

2008-03-05T19:35:00.002+09:00

Hail Ho Chi Minh! It's our first day in the Vietnamese city, Hanoi, and I'm already an Uncle Ho fan. He could speak 8 languages, preached peaceful communist ideals and unified his country.

The warm climate has made it easy to tour the city. I have been in many busy motor-scooter ridden Asian cities in my day, but this one far surpasses anything I've ever seen. You have an influx of pedestrians, bicyclists, motor bikes, and cars battling the streets. It's chaos that somehow finds an orderly way to work.

I hope we can post some pictures soon!

Honeymoon or Bust!

2008-03-01T22:05:00.002+09:00

Well, we tried to go to Vietnam. Passports in hand, tickets ready, on time honeymoon let's go. With a big to-do list one sometimes forgets the little things, for example, a visa for the destination. We couldn't board the plane! So we are stuck in Japan for a few days.

Good thing is that I will get more time to gush out the Wedding gala we put on. I am so blessed it turned out the way it did. I felt like I really got to enjoy it, even though from the pictures you would thing I was away changing outfits every 15 minutes. There was no mirror in my changing room. I had to wait just like you to see the pictures and finally see what I looked like.

Honeymoon'n in Japan for the time being, Danielle

The Wedding

2008-03-01T08:36:00.004+09:00

We are leaving for our 7 week southeast asia honeymoon in a few hours. I only had time to post a few picture, but you will get the idea. Oh it was a party, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The most meaningful highlights were that our families could share the experience with us and the immense help we received from all our friends in Japan. I will write in detail when I get back from the trip, but in the meantime prepare yourself for some sunbathing nature-loving stories!!

2008-02-29T23:33:00.002+09:00

I'm Getting Married...

2008-02-21T01:10:00.004+09:00

Sunday! That's four days away. From the time of making the reservation until the wedding day 10 weeks has passed. The bulk of prep is being saved for this week. This is the first time in my life that I have felt physical stress. Monday, six days before the wedding, I felt stress attacking my shoulder blades, I also feel a tight fist clenched under my sternum. Physical stress is dangerous.

Since Friday, this was my to do list:

work...arrange final guest list..meet monk for rehearsal...finalize script for M.C...bachelorette party...show photographer wedding sites...get cats ready for move to america...make travel reservations for family to kyoto...pack house and mail boxes...file tax return...close bank accounts...make hotel reservations...final table layouts..buy vegas tickets...kimono fitting... pick up gino's kimono...prepare my business for transition...hire new teachers...train new teachers..get futons for family and guests..change yen to dollars..think about for the first time what to do with my hair... laminate crap...place cards...make reservation for wedding after-party...rent a van

Through this process I have learned how much friends, family and an extra set of hands can loosen the clenched fist, ease the sore shoulders and make everything seem like it is coming together.

After five years here I am still humbled by the way friends will go out of their way for me. I showed up at my hair stylist four days before my wedding and they assured me they would leave work early and be on site to change my hair-dos as I change kimonos, adhering to Japanese custom. In a time when I feel haggered, bogged down and suffocated with the impossibility of transitioning a business, moving out of a country, arranging travel with family, and planning a wedding, the people around me are shining. Their light, help and positive energy is shedding into my being. I no longer feel overwhelmed. I am relaxed, excitedly awaiting the arrival of our family in 20 hours, and am finally able to be in tune again with the love that I feel for the man I am marrying.

No More Crack: Japan Cures My Back Pain!

2008-02-09T19:49:00.001+09:00

I'm stingy, love bargain shopping and brag when I find a deal. But you probably already know that about me. What you might not know, however, is that everyday I stretch my neck, hear it crack twice and feel my shoulders pull. My yoga teacher used to tell me that I carry my life's stress in my upper back, and don't exhale it out.

This dull ache that is created in that region never goes away, so much so that I hardly notice it anymore. In a way, it has become a part of me. I encounter many people with similar scenarios. The pain isn't strong enough to take action, so they are content with shoving it to the back of their minds, living with it, and then all together forgetting about it...Until the daily crack leaves a lingering soreness.

Today my morning crack made me ask myself a question: How long has this been going on? My joints have never been nimble but surely I didn't experience these pangs my entire young adulthood.

I think mine started when I came to Japan, at the age of 22. That's when I can recall consistently thinking that I had a stiff neck.

I think Japan has phenomenonal health care for minor sicknesses, aches and pains. So today I decided to take action and go to a back clinic. For the cost of 13 USD with insurance I enjoyed 30 minutes of treatment.

Picture this: A bell sounds and three patients lie face down and electric pulses resound through their back for 10 minutes. what a cool feeling.

Then the bell sounds again, three new patients take your place, and you are taken to your pressure point massage, done by a back specialist.

20 minutes later I finished on a bed that rolled underneath my body. I decided for 8 bucks to add acupuncture treatment at the end.

I walked out of there dazed, woozily happy from the rush of endorphins that were released from my body during the treatment and vowed to come back the next week. Amen... hallelujah... I rejoice in my head...not the hint of tightness, pain or stress. My neck won't even crack. I feel light, free and easy.

So it actually can be corrected. When it comes to myself, I don't always have to be stingy. It's Ok to splurge on my health. Though, I will take a minute to brag about what a deal it was finding this shop. Efficient, brilliant and cheap! Perfect for the bargain shopper / back pain suffer that I am. If only I could pack this up and take it home to America with me. But, oh, alas, seven weeks in south east asia with $4 Thai massages will surely suffice.

The People that Surround Me: Hideyuki Ogawa

2008-02-05T14:50:00.000+09:00

Hideyuki Ogawa is self-described as a Buddhist, economist, author, landlord, entrepreneur, columnist and a traffic flagger. He is my student and landlord and he is dictating a book to me.

His book is about how celestial bodies encouraged the love between Julia and Ben, American navy lawyers stationed in Japan. Ben is taken on a whirlwind of emotion when he loses his love in the Persian Gulf War. The beauty of Okinawa, Japan, helps Ben not lose the memories of his love.

After eight months we are now getting past the intro.

Hideyuki's lively imagination also extends to eccentric theories like the space continuum and relies on astrological beings to explain how the world runs.

His most recent kick is his theory that if Japan wants to be an economic forerunner it has to change from a man's world to a women's world. Because "women know how to make the world run." He explains that they are emotional, more in tune with nature, and can sense the need for change better than men. An editorial he wrote on this subject recently appeared in Nagasaki's newspaper.

His new business idea is to create companies that are purely women run and owned. I have known him for five years, during which he has always been very generous to me. Currently, he is flagging traffic by day and pondering the world at night.

The People that Surround Me: Yoko and Hiroshi Chigata

2008-02-03T23:08:00.000+09:00

World meet Yoko. I teach mothers at a catholic high school and Yoko has been my student there for about two years. She is tender, kind, adores her husband and goes above and beyond for other people. Without even having to ask each other, Yoko and her husband extended the invitation for my family to stay with them during their visit here. From the bottom of their hearts they are genuinely hospitable.

Added bonus: she's a wonderful cook.

Recently my diet has been less than what is desired, and Yoko has graciously taken me under her wings, put me to work in the kitchen and awards me with food afterwards.

What I admire most about Yoko is her relationship with her husband. Hiroshi was a mathematics high school teacher and worked very hard for forty plus years under the Japanese life-time employment model and is now spending his well-deserved retirement happily. Their property is situated at the top of tiered fields, overlook the 99 islands.

This property would be a hot commodity elsewhere, but in rural Japan the sea is not a stranger. Rather, what drives a property price up is its location near a train station or in the center of a city. Yoko and Hiroshi spend their free time together growing wine on their small vineyard on one of the bottom fields.

I love how she enjoys the same hobbies as her husband. I love how there is no discussion between them when it comes to extending their kindness. I love the way she laughs and is entertained by Hiroshi's antics. I love how he depends on her to set things straight and maintain balance around the house.

They are a good role model for anyone married. They are what love is.

The People that Surround Me: Kimiko Tasaki

2008-02-02T17:08:00.000+09:00

(photo credits:
James Canegata)

Since I have her picture right here, I'll start with Kimiko. Kimiko is a firecracker; and subsequently, one of my very best girlfriends. At first meeting she is polite, attentive, calm, eager to please others and beautiful; all of which are common traits that many Japanese women possess.

Then, just before you write her off as being 'normal,'a splash of spunk, a dab of attitude, and a slew of humour and sarcasm enter the picture. I have many Japanese girlfriends, but I think Kimiko is the most unique. This is why we gel.

After living here for many years I have noticed that western cultures embed a lot of sarcasm into their humour, and Japanese barely any at all. Kimiko is my only Japanese friend that I can say anything to, take any sarcastic shot I please. Not only does she get it, but she fires right back.

Kimiko is a free woman, meaning the world is her plate and what is on it has yet to be decided. After university she traveled the world for five months, came back to her hometown of Sasebo and committed to herself and family to stay three years in a banking job.

Now she's got time and the world before her.

"I want to do something extraordinary." What's her next step? Next week she will spend a month as in her friend's place in Osaka. During that time she'll make this month's big decision: "Do I go to NYC for a month, do I travel through India, do I find a job in Japan?" Free time is a blessing.

Although her mind is clouded with wanderlust, at the same time the important things in her life are family, furthering her career, developing friendships and mastering her English.

Where to go from here?

The Sexy Dynamic Duo's $10 or Less Adventures

2008-01-29T15:48:00.000+09:00

It's unfortunate I discovered the beauty of hiking in Japan only a few months before leaving. My partner in crime, Kimiko (who is a bigger cheapskate than me) and I have a new hobby: planning athletic excursions for ourselves for less than $10 a day.

Sunday we drove 2 1/2 hours to Mt. Fugen volcano. Our buddy, Takashi, came along with us. Takashi is Gino's best guy friend here, and consequently will be giving the best man speech at our wedding in 27 days. He too, has the only car among the three of us that travels more than 45 mph. The other great thing about Takashi is that he always seems to bring sunny weather.

The hike up was hot, but we found frost covered trees on the top. That frost quickly turned my little limbs into frost, which lasted the entire time down. I thawed, though, in a hot spring afterwards.

Total cost of trip: $2.00 toll $1.50 hot spring $3.00 sandwich $3.00 snacks a drinks for a sum of $9.50. It ain't easy being cheap!

Driving to the hike:

Hands in, Let's Start! Ganbare!

This mountain was our destination

It's getting chilly

...and chillier

Alas, the top!

A Reflection: Saying Goodbye After 5 Years in Japan

2008-01-25T19:50:00.001+09:00

Today I finished my finals and said goodbye to my career as a University professor. (No, really guys, that's what my visa says...) Probably the first and last time I will be one. I had a quaint sayonara lunch with my coworkers. So far so good: Exiting smoothly with little attention being brought to the fact that I'm am leaving. The school year ended Monday and I actually think I got away with not telling the students.

Can't explain it. Just trying to avoid the ~~emotion~~ drama of leaving. On the drive home I was thinking about previous strike through word (which by the way I am NOT experiencing any of...)

Since I became of age to enter the work force I have never lived in The States. It's not that I am anti-living there, rather, today (in the car) I realized that I am nervous to do something ordinary.

When I come home in May I will enter my uncle's nonprofit company. This is the first time, since becoming of working age, that I will do something that isn't completely off-the-wall.

In uni I googled a tropical island job, then got one and moved across the world to Guam. I actually accepted the job, then ran downstairs on my world map to check where it was located. There I became a windsurfing instructor and life guard (at the time, all I knew was the doggie paddle).

Besides that and Japan (which has become, with no intentions, a sort of career) the only other job I have held has been a taxi driver (I'll save that entry for a slow day.)

So yes, truth be told, I am scared. I am scared that I won't be satisfied with the ordinary.

2008-01-25T19:39:00.001+09:00

I was relaxing in a foot hot spring yesterday, when a Japanese man paid me a compliment. "You look like Kotooshu." (He's a famous bulgarian sumo wrestler.) Well, at least I wasn't called pregnant. And he is the most handsome sumo.

My Adventure

2008-01-23T22:32:00.000+09:00

I hate long posts but I just gotta share. OMG...what a day. Now that I think about it, what a "Japanese" day. Actually, the biggest "Japanese" day that I have ever had since I've been here.

Tuesday night I texted my jobless buddy Kimiko to see if she wanted to go hiking with half-jobless me the following morning. I wrote PS, "Ask your mom to pack lunch boxes for us." If you know Japanese mothers at all, you know not to expect the run-of-the-mill sandwich, juice box and fruit. No school lunch here. I am talking about fresh fried fish, layered eggs, pumpkin and meat salad, pickled somethings, a burdock salad and a crisp apple slice to clean the palette. Woohoo! A day of walking in the sunshine with the award of good eats at the top.

Well, not all things go as planned. I'm an "ame onna" or "rainy weather girl." Unfortunately, Kimiko is too. But the rain didn't stop us!! Instead, it was everything else that got in the way.

The hike started at a water well that was the foreground to a backdrop of stepping rice fields in the town of KAWATANA. It then graduated into a thick evergreen forest and at the top surprised us with a 360 view of the sea on all sides. All that happened in a short 40 minutes. The way down took a little longer. 60 minutes later, 35 minutes after realizing we were in no way going down the same way we came up, we finished our hike among fields of stepping tea bushes (not rice), and ended up on the outskirts URESHINO, a tea town about 35 driving miles away from our origin. Eeeek!!

We then hitch hiked -- which means standing in front of a car driving down a road to force them to stop -- to a bus station. A pleasant OLD country-side farmer was our chauffeur. We took the bus 20 miles, so we were only 15 away from our starting point.

Then we hopped a train. In transit I was on my cell arranging a pickup from a friend of a friend. Now only 10 miles to go. The pick up lady, who is in her 60s, shows up at the arrival with a pimping new Benz and a fright of narrow roads and sense of direction. Grrr... urrr...enters my mind. We have a case of typical rich Japanese housewife afraid to leave her house syndrome here...damn. Three miles later we are dropped off. B*&#H! 7 miles to go.

10 minutes later we hitchhiked the final 6 from a down-to-earth country grandma and walked in glory the last mile. FREEEEEEDOM!!! Let's award ourselves with a naked hot spring.

"Something is different about my car," I said to Kimiko as we were pulling in the hot spring parking lot, "Do you smell smoke."

"No, but I see it," she replied, looking at the front hood. PANIC!! I thought. WATER...QUICK!! I said. OH NO, WHERE DO I POUR IT INTO.

WAIT... I KNOW A GUY.. I dialed my American mechanic who is always there to save the day. He tells me to look for the radiator cap. But, a homeless looking grungily toothless dirt-clad man strolls over in practically bare feet and already begins to save the day.

After my car was hydrated and seemingly fixed, I enjoyed a hot spring--offered the homeless guy one too but he said nah he didn't need one-- and came out to find a puddle below my car where I HAD poured a ton of water. "OK, my radiator is leaking." Called my mechanic friend (which I now believe everyone should have in their lives.) He said if the leak was a drip I could make it back to Sasebo by stopping every 10 mins to refill the water, if it was a gush no chance. So I drove 5 mins and stopped with a smoking hood.

AHH... PANIC AGAIN!! Quickly poured water into the radiator and watched it gush out at the bottom. oh no! Then an american guy in a suit with a broken arm stopped to help, jumped right in and under there to tell me he may have found that the leak is just a tube. We all look up and across the street in bright, welcoming, flashing letters is a shop that says "Car Service." Woohoo! I putt-putt "Zoomie" over there, but look down and realize I have 20 mins until my English lesson. The service tells me I can take a loan car, free of charge, and only asks my name and number (completely trusting me.) He also tells me the tube should only cost $20 - 30. Then I'm on my way and make it to class on time.

Why so Japanesey? For every time that I have been asked, "What is Japan like?" This post is my answer: It's food to die for, stepping fields of tea and rice, dense forests, stunning roundabout views, active kind old people, an impeccable public transit system, snotty sheltered housewives, stooped-over grandma farmers, fancy cell phones, kind people with no expectations of being paid back, healing hot springs, an above and beyond friendly expat community and dreamy customer service.

Above are the many reasons why Japan is one of the best places on Earth. Do you agree?

The mountain in the back is our destination

water spring in the beginning

dense forest

round about view

Not fair-weather partners

hiking down among tea leaves

backdrop of tea

It's Funny...

2008-01-21T22:31:00.000+09:00

It's funny how my Google ad on the sidebar always reads "Streamline International Criminal Records." It's like google knows me personally. Does it say this for everyone, or just me?? Google's eerie like that. So the handsome-for-an-older-man monk asked via email if he could contact Television Sasebo for our ceremony. He thinks it's so unique for foreigners to marry shinto style and maybe thinks it would be good PR for his shrine. I don't know if you've ever seen tidbits of Japanese television, but if it's an interview style usually the announcer is a young whiney woman making a lot of noisy sounds. No thank you, I'll pass on being paraded around because I look different. I would feel like a zoo animal, no television-sent high-pitched chick will be gawking around here. It's weird though, I usually like the spotlight. I think through all this wedding gobblygook and my Japan exodus I realized that I have become a bit shier.

The Lone Snowflake

2008-01-20T17:07:00.000+09:00

Look at this snowflake Gino captured with his Canon 40D. Incredible, eh?? Speaking of snow, which it's not here, wedding plans are m-o-v-i-n-g. We lucked out with a very relaxed--and might I say handsome for an older man-- monk. The shrine where our shinto ceremony will be is on a mountain side. One must climb five minutes straight up narrow natural stone steps to reach the offering place. It's 11 a.m. Feb 24. Then we will go to the sea side for some pictures, then change out of the formal garb into play clothes and play seaside with our closest friends and BBQ oysters. At night we'll get dressed up again and go for the reception. The count down to the gala of the year (totally exaggerated) is on.

Wedding No. 1 The Japan One

2008-01-14T16:45:00.001+09:00

That's bad English for "Happy Monday." I'm planning a Japanese wedding ceremony for Feb. 24.

"EEK!! SHRIEK!! OMG!!" the girl who's getting married yells out loud just a second ago. That's exactly one month away.

It's pretty remarkable that I will have an 85 person wedding and have done very little planning. Even more amazing is my first freak out came just a short while ago.

Step by step I'm learning what goes into a Japanese wedding, even though I actually won't be married legally. Why am I going through all this for a "faux" wedding?

I always like to "go out with a bang" and thought what would be more appropriate than a sayonara of all sayonaras?? Plus, it'll be a unique cultural experience as well. I hope to mix a bit of American style with a clump of Japanese.

First, we will be having a Buddhist ceremony at a temple on the seaside. Really, not sure at all what this entails, I imagine chanting will be involved and a blessing of good fortune. It sounds like an exceptional chance. I'll be wearing a formal white kimono and I think Gino will be wearing a mens' kimono.

Then I'll change the white overcoat to a colorful intricate one and will greet guests at the reception locale. Following cocktail hour is a handful of speeches by people close to us. Then comes the dinner, wedding cake, DVD of us growing up and that's it. Usually Japanese weddings are short and sweet, around two hours.

Two hours seems kind of a waste. I'd like to incorporate some western influence. Japanese weddings are very formal, from the speeches to the dresses. Any ideas to loosen the mood?? I'm going to leave the dancing factor up in the air. It would be something for Gino and I to start breaking it down and the guests looking at us like we were nuts.

Any advice from my married audience? Need an idea for table centerpieces too.

"Male"icure Trendspotting?

2008-01-10T22:55:00.000+09:00

I go to ask my 45-year old male student's opinion on shopping in Tokyo's famous Ginza tonight when I look down and find myself instead saying, "Did you get a manicure??"

"Wow, you noticed. What do you think?"

"Hmmm...," I hesitate, "It's nice, but it kind of looks like girly, doesn't it?"

He laughs and says to the class, "I think I'm the first man to ever have this done."

"Well at least in Sasebo you are," I said.

Apparently, though, he is not the first in one of Tokyo's hippest trend-setting areas, "The Ginza," where all male nail salons are popping up among this Rodeo drive of upscale shopping. For $25 one can get his nails filed and finished. This is a new luxury for man kind.

Could this be the birth of trend spotting from my unfashionable elbow of a city where I reside in western Japan? Is it cuticle repair, male nail appointments and glossy finishes from here on out?

Toss out the aforementioned girly comment. You go boy! Guys deserve flawless cuticles too.

So all you chicks out there grab your man's hand and file, trim, paint and polish. And all you dudes, don't be shy, raid your sister's bottom bathroom drawer and dig out the clear. Just don't go color... we're not ready for that yet.

(holla back...aka comment... once you do the deed... let me know how it goes!!)

We were cute!

2008-01-07T16:08:00.001+09:00

That's me when I was little.

This is my chubby bunny of a man.

2007-12-17T23:14:00.000+09:00

Home for the holidays is so nice: Lazy, warm and cozy. I met Wyatt for the first time, getting some serious play time with Chloe and Duncan officially weighs more than me.

Gunman in Sasebo 3 Hours Ago

2007-12-14T22:19:00.000+09:00

update: The man was found dead, after having shot himself, on the grounds of a nearby church. One person he shot was his good friend. The other was his high school classmate. He was a member of the sports gym and invited his friend to meet him there that night. Here is the link: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/

Japan is a safe country. Hello Captain Obvious. Once in awhile freak out of the ordinary things happen in small places.

Tonight, in my small city of Sasebo, a gunman entered the city's only large scale sports gym and opened fire. a 26-year old female swimming instructor died, a 30-year old man is in critical condition and two kids were injured along with three others.

The gunman -- disguised in a motorbike helmet -- escaped in a camouflage suit. It's 10:30 pm Friday night now, this just happened three hours ago. I phoned the five (YES FIVE) people I know that regularly go there on friday nights (two of which are kids) and they are ok. My one kid student left her tennis lesson just 30 mins before.

But still, that poor woman. She was doing her job in a safe place and gunned down. May she, her family, the man in critical condition and his family be in our prayers.

info: the Mainichi

The Bottom Biting Bug Mania!! (Oshiri Kajiri Mushi)

2007-12-12T12:40:00.001+09:00

Introducing "The Bottom Biting Bug." A recent character craze among the old and young in Japan.

It's a bug's life: The Bottom Biting Bug is a fairy who is 18th in a long line of butt biters. The family line began in ancient Assyria (Iraq). In The Age of Geographical Discovery Bottom Biting Bug's parents traveled to The Golden Country, Zipang, to bite gold butts.

He speaks in a Osaka dialect because that's where his parents were when he was born.

The idea was simple, if a little unusual: The writers feel that people in Japan these days just aren't nosy enough, and wanted to do something about it.

His bites bring people together. When he bites people they feel the same sort of excitement as when they strike up a conversation with someone they don't know.

By reminding folks of the fun of spontaneously butting into others' business, the Bottom Biting Bug does his part to help people connect.

A husband-and-wife team dreamed up the helpful little critter and produced his debut song.

In their opinion, people keep to themselves so much that nobody butts into the business of others anymore. They feel that encouraging people to be more nosy--and thus more connected to those around them--will do the world some good.

Because of this, the Bottom Biting Bug was born. The character is "kimo-kawaii" (icky-cute), the melody is simple and horribly catchy, and the plan seems to be working.

As soon as it first aired in June, the song spread like wildfire among kindergarten and young elementary school students. Then their moms started noticing, and before long it was everywhere.

A CD and DVD has been released, picture books are in the works, and there's talk of producing character goods.

(note that the lines that really don't make sense are Japanese puns)

Allergies in December? Those Buggers!

2007-12-10T21:07:00.001+09:00

Forgive me for the following unseasonable posting. I've never needed braces, have eyes like a hawk and can't sympathize with yearly sneezers. I am a genetic blessing.

Until now. This past spring I would wake up, sneeze ten times, and need to excessively water my eyes with eye drops. Medicine? nah.. don't need it. Do you have allergies?? Who me?? No, I don't get allergies.

About a month ago I would wake up in the middle of the night, dying of thirst, with a scratchy throat. My eyes would itch. That same week my student described his allergic symptoms to be: thirst, itchy eyes, dry thoat. Some sort of pollen allergy.

Doh! After a year and a half of denying it, I threw in the towel.

Me too! I proclaimed. I have allergies!! It's miserable.

Apparently, my Japanese acquaintances told me that each body has its own limit for allergies. And once that limit is reached, your body starts exhibiting symptoms. At the age of 25 I started showing mine.

This fact seems common knowledge in Japan, but it was my first time to discover it. I will have to google further into this. Did anyone else know this?

I'm hoping that my body reached its limit on Japanese pollen, not American pollen. If it didn't, then maybe I need to tone down the "genetic blessing" rants.

BTW, how's everyone digg'n this template?? Not yet the right one??

The People that Surround Me: Enjoying the Little Things

2007-12-04T20:27:00.001+09:00

My time is eventually winding down here, so I am trying to scoop up every morsel of fun that my taste buds can handle. This includes Mt Moi (make the most of it) with my little kids I teach. Had to capture the photo above on camera after our warm-up song.

"Who's this?" D Monster asks. The rats answer, "It's you!"

Is this what they really think of me?? Odd thing is is that it does look like me. My reply, "I'm happy, not angry!" Then I charged them. The culprits - Tomoe and Haruki.

Just as I *finally* {hmph} settled them, Haruki apologized for passing gas. "That's stinky isn't it?" he says. Then he proceeded to tell us that his "chin chin" aka "pee pee" was itchy. geeeez, manners please.

They topped of the hour with a popular TV thing going on here. Click to see the "urusai" (noisy) performance.

Hibachi

2007-12-02T18:39:00.002+09:00

I went to a bazaar--Japanese for flea market-- today. Things aren't so cheap, but sometimes you can find some treasures and good deals. That is why I jumped on buying this Hibachi today. Hibachi (火鉢) literally means fire bowl. I've always had my eye out for a good one. Slates of charcoal are laid over ash to be burned inside to warm the house and body. It also can be used as a fish / water plant tank. SWEEEEET !! Heater in the winter, fish tank in the summer. Now how am I going to get this one back with me?!

update: Advice for all, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SHIP A HIBACHI IN THE MAIL... it ended up broken when it arrived in America (just like my heart... )

2007-11-29T14:25:00.000+09:00

73 percent liked curly, so I tried to go back. Oops, turned it purple. I know, I'm a bad liar. Cat's out of the closet - I love to wear wigs! The true 'do is the el natural (plus perm):

But oh how I do love a good wig.

Get Up There!

2007-11-27T21:22:00.000+09:00

What's On My Tab Tonight?

2007-11-26T22:05:00.001+09:00

What's on my tab tonight? Two tampons, 2,000 yen ($20.00) that now became 1,000, directions to a friend's house and ripped up paper. That's what I swept up tonight.

Girls gone wild. Make that kitty gone wild. Kids start to react when their parents aren't home to spend q.t. with them. That's what my little one is doing right now. Look how big she is, and how small she used to be. Any advice from those veteran pet owners out there?

'Do Over

2007-11-21T22:50:00.000+09:00

As the leaves are changing colors here, so does my hair. Have you ever met anyone that gets a perm then five days later straight perms it, bobs it, creates bangs and then tops it off with some color?? Crazy, I'll tell you what. Crazy is what I'm going. I like this look though. Which one do you like better?? Take my poll on the right.

'Do you Like it?

2007-11-19T22:08:00.000+09:00

My new 'do. Last week I was bored of my hair and the fact that its only style was pulled back, scrunched and hidden. I decided to take action with my first perm. The result: six hours after exiting the hair salon my locks were flat, broken and frayed. Good decision Danielle.

One week later it was time to repair the damage done. The result: If this isn't curly, I don't know what is. It definitely has a "puff factor" to it that is not accurately depicted in the above picture.

This is one of ten pics I attempted with the cell phone camera. Talk about bad lighting. If you ever want to look bad, just whip out your cell phone.

In other news, I am proud to announce I made my first home cooked meal since my man's emigration. The lucky bird - breaded mustard chicken. I couldn't really enjoy the taste because I was stressed during the making.

Speaking of my hot, shirtless man, here is a pic:

If you know me at all...

2007-11-15T20:27:00.000+09:00

If you know me at all you know I can't cook, only clean the house upon command, avoid grocery stores at all costs and haven't done my own laundry in a year. I know, I'm not hiding in a closet, I admit it, I'm hopeless. (...and by the sound of it, I'm a catch too.)

Luckily, several attempts of an "eggplant steamboat" and a late work schedule have by default made Gino the domestic caretaker around here. And boy do we enjoy it. No more burnt dinners, stains that actually come out of my clothes and after work at 9 p.m. I come home to a house filled with the sweet smell of home cooking.

But starting from today I am being left hung out to dry, well, at least my laundry is. I am just lonely hearted.

Gino left today for a friend's wedding, then home for thanksgiving, staying for Christmas and coming back possibly January or February. He hasn't even left Asia yet and I am already missing my partner in crime, in addition to noticing every silence in the house.

He must have been worried for my well-being too. When I got home to my empty house I had tonight's dinner in the refrigerator and clean clothes on hangers. I predicted the departure and already made an appointment with two of my students to teach me how to cook next week.

Though the three of us--cats included--are left alone, we hope to get a lot done. I vow to write everyday, even if it's not on this blog; plan two weddings, a ceremony i n Japan too; make an exit strategy for my English school next year; continue painting, and of course feed my new addiction to the West Wing.

As for the cats, they are expecting to prefect their bathing and sleeping skills.

So please check back more often. I'm motivated to write again. Though would love to figure out how to widen the margins on blogger. Any help out there? And am in desperate need for a Blog Face Lift. Be patient... it's coming!

2007-11-07T23:01:00.000+09:00

Woohoo!! Look at me go... I am getting better and better day by day. Have you ever seen a face this handsome?! Click here for MY BLOG

P.S. Pray For Me

2007-10-13T23:40:00.001+09:00

Wyatt James Koger is strong, big, adorable and seemingly ready for the fight ahead of him. "A hole in my diaphragm?" the infant murmured to his mother, "Please, I can handle that."

The infant even went as far as to send his mommy home from the hospital on Wedsnesday, just two days after his birth. Not before, however, giving her a bit of a scare.

An ECMO machine is similar to a heart and lung machine in that it provides cardiac and respiratory support. Blood is drained from the infant's body through tubes. The blood is then oxygenated and the carbon dioxide is removed. The blood is warmed and then returned to the body through more tubes. Essentially, the ECMO machine does the work for the heart and lungs, and gives the underdeveloped organs time to heal. This machine is Wyatt's lifeline until surgery.

Wyatt has Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, meaning that his diapragm was formed with a hole in it. His stomach and intestines are is in his chest cavity, not in his abdomen where they belong.

Wyatt was on a breathing ventilator but his heart was not yet up to the challenge. He briefly went into cardiac arrest on Wedsnesday morning. Immediately, his heart was stabilized and he was put on the ECMO machine. The ECMO was operating at 100 percent, meaning Wyatt's organs had the day off and could completely relax. On Thursday, the doctor reduced it to 50 percent, and Friday to 40 percent. Friday, he was slightly sedated, but the doctor pinched him and he opened his eyes. He even held our cousin, Christine's finger. It seems like everyone's thoughts and prayers are being answered.

Gina and company are reading him stories, singing him songs, and giving him his fill of love. In three to ten days, it is hoped that the ECMO machine can be reduced and Wyatt can undergo surgery to put his organs back in place. After that, he is projected to stay in the NICU unit for about a month.

He is blessed to have access to this machine (there are only three in Maryland), he is blessed to be born strong at 8lbs 2 oz, he is blessed to be beating the odds, and he is blessed to have such an optimistic mother that has been preparing him for the fight while he was inside of her.

It's as though sometimes God rewards us by letting us see his work one small, slow-paced step at a time. It'll be a long road ahead, but Wyatt emailed me the other day telling me that he is confident that he will make it through. His P.S. was wondering if I could ask everyone I know to pray for him.

Above was the picture he attached with his email.

Green Houses

2007-10-08T11:51:00.000+09:00

Now that's a tree house. Oops, I stand corrected. Make that "tea" house. He loves mud, gets giddy when dandelions poke through from the walls, relishes in crooked wood, and can literally put gazers in touch with nature.

He is 61-year-old Japanese architect Terunobu Fujimori and he is a rebel with a cause. Until his 40s he was a roadside detective, only noting what was being built, at the same time chronicling what was being lost. While his counterparts were establishing Japan's global fame of daggering angles and superman-proof steel and glass to withstand typhoons and earthquakes, Fujimori hunted the strange, garnering ideas for his own wall of the weird.

"I don't like steel or glass or concrete. I know they can't be helped. But they need critics. That's why I've been saying for 15 years that I want to build a high-rise tower of dandelions."

That has yet to come. Though he has built a high-rise teahouse, on which dandelions do peek out. Small rooms, low entrances and a fireplace to boil water are the only traditional characteristics redefined in this Japanese teahouse. It sits on cedar legs in Nagano, Japan, rising 20 ft in the air. Child onlookers would dream of commissioning Fujimori for their backyard forts.

Using only the minimum steel beams for stability and safety of a structure, Fujimori then covers them with natural materials. In addition to green roofs and teahouses, Fujimori has created houses shaped like oven mitts and teapots.
Who would have thought you'd have to mow your roof?

An "Engaging" Weekend

2007-10-01T00:03:00.000+09:00

Once upon a time, amidst a drooping tent, staggering cliffs and crystal clear water, one lady's fate was sealed. Roughing it, is what they call it. I'm not just talking about camping, I am talking about camping in a tent with no poles. Thanks to plenty of ropes and a resourceful certain handsome someone -- initials G.A. -- we persevered, and our tent did too.

The destination was Takachiho Gorge, where a relaxing weekend of canoeing, painting by the river and strolling the wooded paths were the only things included on this couple's "roughing it" agenda.

But destiny had a different plan. The handsome, once resourceful but now sly lad, slipped an addendum to the itinerary. Ever-so-smoothly whipping out his guitar, he serenaded the lucky lady with a song conjured from emotions within his heart, some silly and some serious. The couple then shared a kiss. Her beau stepped back, took one deep breath and asked the smiling lady if she would let him sing to her forever. He reached into a pocket, and showed his woman the perfect ring for her. He then asked for her hand in marriage. She said of course she'd marry him, she'd marry him a thousand times over.

A fairytale moment.

We're engaged!

Gino's Photograph of Today

2007-09-10T22:26:00.000+09:00

The Smallest Rockstar in the Family

2007-09-07T11:06:00.001+09:00

Nothing great, just an update!

2007-09-04T15:46:00.000+09:00

Pictured above is a statue of "Buddha reaching Nirvana," naturally, taken by Gino. He also got this meticulous shot:

Our friend from Australia, Andy is visiting.
Gino, Andy and I saw the nirvanic Buddha on a weekend road trip to see our friend, Sachi. Andy used to teach in Japan and was one of my first friends here. Andy stayed for two weeks, so it was a good time to get out and about and catch up with friends.

2007-08-30T00:55:00.002+09:00

Our Last Day

2007-08-26T13:30:00.001+09:00

The day we broke down and bought an umbrella was the day the rain ceased. The brilliant sun, for the first time the entire trip, showed its face.

Today completes our full circle of Taiwan. The destination is Taipei. In the train's fierce aircon, all I can think about is getting out in the sun.

Seeking the Sun

2007-08-25T16:28:00.000+09:00

The verdant national parks, white beach shore lines and boogie boarding waves will just have to wait until next time, I guess. I am talking DOWNPOUR. My bikini-clad, bronzed skin, skimpy clothes summer vacation is not developing like I thought it would.

Don't sulk Danielle. Instead, improvise. We'll settle for less rain. Therefore we jumped on a train and started north to Kaohsiung (on the bottom left side of the map to the right).

A good decision: here the rain subsided. We rented our staple 125cc motorbike and Gino set off doing what he does best: not getting us smacked on a road full of aggressive scooter drivers.

On the bright side, when it's all said and done, we will have circled all of Taiwan by train in seven days.

Kaohsiung Confucius Temple, Taiwan's largest Confucian temple.

Us at Lotus Lake, near the temple:

Day 5

2007-08-24T10:08:00.001+09:00

On Day 5 we started to see a break in the clouds, although what laid behind was only a fainter gray. The sunniest weather we've seen so far! Let's go to the beach! The nicest beaches are in Taiwan's southern tip, so today we traveled to the young surf town of Kenting. Kenting is the Hawaii of Taiwan. A night of pouring rain (thumbs down) , good food (thumbs up) , a kicking nightlife (another thumbs up) and HBO filled our night. Maybe the sun will shine tomorrow?!

Day 4

2007-08-22T22:24:00.000+09:00

On the morning of day 4 we continued our circle of Taiwan island. Not being the biggest city people, we jumped off the train along the country side to see the mountains and hotsprings. The foreboding weather held off for us. The problem with getting off in the middle of nowhere is your chances are minimal of finding a person who can speak English. Also, you are lucky if you can find a visitors center. Well, a 15-minute taxi ride and many hand gestures later, we found ourselves in a visitors center sitting down with yet another friendly Taiwanese telling us nicely that we were in the middle of nowhere.

Our answer: "That's OK, we can do nowhere." Here we met Arthur. He was a 48 year old from northern Taiwan traveling by car with his friend. He came to the area to see the blooming of the famous day lilies. With no guide book, no Chinese ability and the threat of a downpour, we were grateful when Arthur invited us along with him.

There Gino and I were, sitting back, worry free, being chuaffered around by our new Taiwanese friends. First, we went to a tea garden, which was actually not a garden at all, just a tea shop. After we went to the mountain top to see the day lilies. At night they dropped us off at a hotspring resort where we frolicked in the steamy pools until 11 pm.

The cloudy day made for picture perfect backdrop against the day lilies:

The first picture is Arthur. Followed is Arthur's buddy, Mr. Yao.

He couldn't speak a word of English. His personality was so strong that when he spout off in Chinese you couldn't tell if he was angry or happy. Although we couldn't communicate directly with Mr. Yao, his vibrant personality and thirst for knowledge made a lasting impression on us.

Day 3: Weather -- Rainy

2007-08-21T22:00:00.000+09:00

The wall paintings of a confucius temple:

It is raining, naturally. After all, Gino and I are in the country. Today we took our motorbike to Tongmen, off the beaten path.

Tongmen is a natural reserve, with simliar sights to yesterday's nationally renowned Taroko Gorge, but on a smaller scale with very few people. Tucked inside the forests was a hydroelectric power plant, so we needed to seek out a permit to enter the park.

Here are pictures from the day and other miscellaneous things:

Taiwan: Shopping and People

2007-08-20T20:46:00.001+09:00

The night of our first full day in Taiwan we stayed in the city of Hualien (pictured on the right side of the map). In the few travel articles we read, it was noted as being easy going and one of the most desirable cities to live in.

This also marked my first encounter with the splendor of Taiwanese people and shopping.

Shopping: Taiwan is roughly 1/3 the price of Japan and the states. A nice hotel costs $30 a night and a luxurious one would cost $60. Before coming, I thought of Taiwan as a hub for exports. "Made in Taiwan" is something I had seen on many products, most notably computers.

I got an adorable Japanese brand handbag. The Japanese price tag was $110 USD but the Taiwanese price was $25. A bargain buyers paradise! Unlike other south-east Asian countries, I didn't see many rip-offs being sold. More like the real deal being sold for less.

The Taiwanese people are collectively some of the friendliest people I have ever met traveling. Ranging from salesmen to anyone in the service industry, their intentions are genuine. This is a welcomed relief from other countries I've been to. The worst being the Philippines. In the Philippines, if you are a tourist then you are subjected to getting ripped off everywhere. Even in Thailand, S.E. Asia's most popular destination, you have to be careful with over charging. In Japan, people are polite, but you can never be sure of a person's true feelings of a situation unless you truly know the person.

But in Taiwan, there are no hidden agendas. Absolutely everyone we met and sought out for help went above and beyond our expectations, and thereafter continued to do so. There was David, the owner of our small hotel. David was 58, clad every day in a well-worn NY cap with a jersey-tee and a bulging gut. He spoke broken English and was the first Taiwanese person we befriended. He drove us places, helped us arrange anything we wanted, and always wanted to sit down and chat. We quickly realized, by our third day, that Taiwan is full of "Davids."

Day 1 Taiwan: The Gorge

2007-08-19T12:11:00.000+09:00

With towering cliffs and indented gorges, Eastern Taiwan has rivers of crystal clear water meeting with sludge-like but clean, gray raging water. A jagged coast line is interrupted by beaches which are the foreground to steep cliff faces.

We spent our first full day in Taroko National Park. Here, majestic beauty and natural marble-walled scenery surround the Liwu river. We rented a motor bike and paid no mind to the intermittent rain.

First, we hiked along the blue river water of Shakadang trail.
Next we rode through the rock tunnels, sighing in amazement at the sheer precipices and contorted turns in the road.

Siangde Temple sits above the confluence of the Liwa and Dasha rivers. Here we ate a vegetarian lunch of bean curd, day lily soup and a tofu noodle dish that - fortunately for me - actually tasted like beef.

We also climbed Tiafong Pagoda. At one point we crossed the river over a scary lord-of-the-rings-rickety bridge. Gino got this video right before slamming his head into the archway. Doh!

We winded up the mountains and visited more enchanting sights. It's hard to put into words views the back of a motorcycle has to offer.

My Summer Trip

2007-08-17T18:48:00.000+09:00

In its center, this east Asian country has more than 200 peaks that tower over 3,000 meters (about 10,000 feet). It has pacific light blue beaches in the south and is famous for its production of jade.

If the above isn't enough to pique your interest, among the 20 foreign countries that I have traveled to, in my opinion, along with Singapore, the people that reside here have been the friendliest.

Where is it? Taiwan. Surprised? So was I.

Knowing little of this country before arriving last Friday, I soon discovered the difficult decisions Taiwan posed: Do we traverse mountains the size of Fuji; do we explore the country's gorges with daggering cliff faces and flawless blue rivers; do we veg on the beach, searching for the nearest boogie board and tackle surfers perfect waves?

Well, this decision was made easy by one simple obscure fact: Gino and I are not fair weather people. Coupled together, we are actually stormy. Taiwan, usually sub-tropical and sunny, was experiencing the tail-end heavy rains of two nearby typhoons.

We flew into the mega-city of Taipei and immediately fled by train to an eye-grasping area and ignored the ominous clouds.

Here is what we found: (... to be continued tomorrow...)

One Surivor's Account

2007-08-07T11:54:00.000+09:00

(Photos courtesy of Reiko Hiramatsu)

Reiko, the year of the Nagasaki bombings:

Reiko as a young adult:

Three days ago silence fell upon Hiroshima City's Peace Memorial Park in remembrance of the world's first atomic bomb. Today, Nagasaki follows suit.

This morning thousands will gather and pray for the sufferers and bereaved families. Meanwhile, as the bell tolls at 11:02 a.m. in Nagasaki's Peace Park, one survivor will have her own private moment of reflection.

"To be alive now is a blessing," she said.

On the early morning of August 9, 1945, Reiko Moribayashi didn't flinch as sirens resounded through her hometown of Nagasaki city, signaling the threat of an air raid. Rather, she rejoiced. Two thoughts entered the 15-year old's head: 1. Here it goes again, and 2. This means I don't have to go to work after all.

At that moment, the fervor around the Matsuyama streetcar stop amplified as Reiko and her classmates talked about how they would spend their mornings, celebrating the fact that it would not be laboring on an assembly line. Their chatter continued as they were sheltered to a nearby dugout and shortly after were ordered to return to their homes.

"This was routine for us," Reiko said, "Just another day in wartime Japan."

She knew her lazy morning would soon come to an end at 8:30 a.m. when another round of sirens wailed, telling everyone that the threat was over and they were to resume their daily activities. This meant wartime work for Reiko.

She hustled down the steep slope that her house was on, meeting up with three classmates, heading towards the Shianbashi stop. The streetcar would take her three miles to a Mitsubishi factory where she spent her days -- for the time being -- with her friends working on an assembly line, instead of school.

But she never made it there. She fell short, literally. As she entered the front hall of another friend's house near the streetcar stop, a yellow light flashed before her eyes. A strong wind then overpowered her and knocked her on top of her friends. Glass shattered and windows broke. The house went dark. She got up, confused, and together with her three friends escaped to a nearby dugout close to Sofukuji Temple. Soon after, she found out she was three miles from the hypocenter of a nuclear bomb.

"I didn't hear any noise from the explosion," Reiko said, "but I do remember the roar of a plane just moments before I walked into the entrance way."

Her work place, one mile from the explosion's origin, had been immediately obliterated, along with a handful of her friends that she had met earlier that day at the Matsuyama streetcar stop. If she had left just 15 minutes earlier she would not be here to tell her story, she said.

Now, 77-year old Reiko Hiramatsu, formerly Moribayashi, reflects in earnest on her experience 60 plus years ago. She remembers the smell of death on her father's clothes. For weeks after the bombing her father would go out every day to look for his missing friends and relatives. He would come home and tell her what he saw.

"On the way he would see people curled up on sidewalks, begging for water. He thought like most Japanese at that time; water would only shock them and speed up their death, so he just kept walking. On the way home, he said those same people were dead. He regretted that he didn't give them any water. If only he had, he thought they could have died less thirsty," she said.

She remembers watching people around her suffer from aftereffects, some dying from them, while she went on living her daily life, wondering if it would happen to her the same way: the burning, the hair loss, the agony.

"I once passed my classmate being carried in a cart and saw that half of her hair was missing," she said.

These days, however, Reiko is telling a different story. She, along with the majority of other victims, celebrate the peace that the yearly anniversary of August 9, 1945 signifies.

"Every year on the same day I pray that no one will have to endure the pain of that kind of obliteration; at the same time I rejoice that since then no one has," Reiko said.

At that time 240,000 people resided in Nagasaki City. 70,000 died instantly and another 70,000 were injured from the blast or suffered from radiation poisoning. Reiko was one of 100,000 people left unscathed and one of 30,000 still living and residing in the Nagasaki area. The average age of an atomic bomb survivor is 75 years old.

Reiko is a living example of a nation's positive outlook towards peace. Last Friday I visited the atomic bomb's hypocenter and museum to fill in the details of a grim picture her words had already painted.

Bent and charred relics from Mitsubishi's shipyard, Reiko's workplace, filled the museum. Numerous pictures of a flattened city with people piled and crouched, their skin shriveled from burns, calling out in thirst, were a virtual copy of Reiko's words.

62 years later, on this morning, a community of all ages gathers in a small park tucked in western Japan. Today's ceremony reflects on the turmoil of World War II and praises the relations Japan carries today. Nagasaki's new mayor will stand in front of a glorified statue paying homage to the last mayor, who was gunned down by a member of an organized crime syndicate in front of a train station four months ago. He will preach the intolerance of crime and relish in a modern-day demand for peace. The ambiance will create a backdrop for worldwide peaceful coexistence.

(Sources for this article: Sit-down interview with Reiko Hiramatsu; Summary of Relief Measures for Atomic Bomb Survivors 2003; Nagasaki Peace Museum)

2007-08-04T21:28:00.000+09:00

An update...

2007-07-24T21:11:00.000+09:00

(click pic to enlarge)

Summer has begun. AKA rainy season is over. Accompanying the inception of the sunshine are schools' summer vacations. For me, this means my teaching will be halved and the void will be filled with lots of playing.

We found a magnificent waterfall about a 12 minute drive from our house. Here, the spiders were plentiful.

2007-07-18T11:16:00.000+09:00

By the way, here was the "artificial crab meat / squid / hard noodle surprise" of a couple entries ago (click to enlarge).

How cute am I?

2007-07-16T10:30:00.001+09:00

My sister's baby, Chloe, growing up:

A Slew of Thoughts...

2007-07-13T20:51:00.001+09:00

Supermarkets paralyze me. This is the second night in a row that I have attempted the grocery shopping after work, and this is the second night in a row that I have spent 25 minutes on a shopping list chock-full of a total of four items. 25 minutes! Yesterday I came home an hour later ranting that I had been screwed by the supermarket. I first went for the raw fish, but there was none because of the rain. Try No. 2 was also a no-go. Consequently, 25 minutes later I walked out with a disgusting combination of artificial crab meat and crunchy noodles.

What was I thinking? Needless to say Gino ate leftovers that night. But tonight I will redeem myself, or so I thought. I was mulling over in my head about how I was going to use hard noodles and fake crab together, or actually, how Gino would use it (I have yet to gain trust in the kitchen.)

Aha! The bells and whistles went off - I'll make Champon! (oops, that sentence should read, "...Gino will make Champon!)" Champon is a famous Nagasaki dish of noodles, seafood and fish-like food that I've never minded to identify. It's good and easy because everything can be bought pre-made.

That is, unless you are a person that stiffens up and gets lost in supermarkets. Yep, I would be referring to my very own self. This is how my story went: Found nothing pre-made and left Gino with an almost equally awkward combination to work with tonight. I'll post a picture of how it turns out!

Issue Number Two: "Crocs" have become the happening thing in Japan these days, almost two years behind North America. Ten months ago GET RICH QUICK scheme no. 1,569 read "Bring Crocs to Japan." Geez, why don't I ever follow through on these things!!

Next time Danielle, next time.

While you've got me fired up, guess what the latest MUST-HAVE-CAN'T-GO-WITHOUT item everywhere in this consumer-driven country is??? "Boot Camp with Billy."

Here is the buzz I've heard: My college girls can't go with out it; a hospital in town puts in the video Friday nights for their staff; my salary men are buying it for their stay-at-home wives.

You remember Billy Blank's 2003 military style Tae-Bo?

Four years later Billy is back and Japanese are snatching him up in droves. The four-set DVDs are rumored to have sold well over 500,000 copies.

The 51-year old "Has Been" is a "Here and Now." That lucky dog!!

And my final random thought:

On the whole, killing spiders is just not an option in this country. In the summer, however, there is an abundance of these creepy crawlers sneaking into houses. Two nights ago I had one in my classroom. Now I am one tough cookie, but these palm-sized gigantors take my breath away.

Enter my fearless 57-year old mountain-climbing tough-as-nails female student Mikiko. She charges out of her chair, palms the sucker, and throws it out the door, all in one fluid motion.

The insanity!!

Rice planting

2007-07-11T11:30:00.000+09:00

I have been slow to write these past two weeks. When rainy season is over, I will blog. It has rained everyday for the past six weeks. I'm sorry all you people out there basking in the sun these summer months, I am wishing July away this year.

I welcome Japan's August sun. I want to leave this rain behind. One good thing that has come about from all the rain is that the rice is really growing. A few weeks ago Gino and I planted rice in our town. Here are pictures.

A line was strung out, then everyone would take their place along the line. Then you would tear a chunk of green and jam it in the shin-deep mud. It was a "muddy" good time!

The last picture is our finished product. Just joking, this is the work clearly of a machine.

The Weekend

2007-07-01T09:42:00.001+09:00

A peaceful day at home. I realized today that I live in one of the most pleasant set-ups that I've ever lived in. Here is a pic taken from my cell phone at dusk. The green is rice fields.

Not much is new, except, bought a washer for $39 bucks at a second-hand store and so far it actually works! I have become a bargain shop-a-holic and Japan is my nemesis. No exaggeration. Bought this dress for $3, ring for $1, bag for $18 and shoes for $15. The only reason I bought the shoes is because they said "Mac Hoppers" on them. How cool is that?? PLEASE... Help me!! I need Bargain-addict Anonymous!!

Dear me, what gives? There are people starving in Rwanda and I'm feeding my habit. Terrible, simply terrible.

Speaking of hunger in Africa, Gino turned me on to something interesting yesterday, food aid to Africa.

Highlights: the American government had only 23 staff members monitoring $1.7 billion in food programs across 55 countries. Only 1/3 of food aid actually reaches the source, due to politicking, a shortage of people, and tribal tensions.

Here are some excerpts, quoted from Time magazine:

The United Nations World Food Programme coordinates roughly half of global food aid, E.U.- and U.S.- donated sacks of grain and tubs of refined vegetable oil. The two are mixed together to form a nutritious blend designed to bolster childrens' diets in a country such as Ethopia where half the children are malnourished.

Last year, WFP coordinated emergency food aid for 73 million people worldwide, with the U.S. contributing 60% of that total. Yet this donated bounty may not be the panacea we imagine. A January report by the U.N.'s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) put the question bluntly: Can food aid do more harm than good?

"There's no question that food aid saves millions of lives," says FAO senior economist and report editor Terri Raney. "But we're concerned that it's being asked to do too much, too inefficiently, and that by over-relying on food aid we ignore other solutions that could be more effective."

Nearly a quarter-century after the famine that prompted Live Aid, Ethiopia is still a desperately hungry place. It receives more food aid than any other nation save Sudan.

"Other countries like India have graduated from food dependency and are now food donors, so it's fair to ask why Ethiopia is still so food dependent," says Paulette Jones, spokesperson for WFP in Ethiopia. "But when you see a hungry child, it's very hard to say, no, we're not going to give any more."

Still, in a country like Ethiopia, where corruption and tribal tensions are rife, how much food aid actually reaches the neediest? International agencies and donor governments try to monitor the thousands of tons of grain flowing in, and millions of Ethiopians survive thanks to foreign charity.

But last year, usaid, the American government arm that coordinates emergency food aid, had just 23 staff members monitoring $1.7 billion in food programs across 55 countries. "I've been to places where starving villagers say they have never received food aid, but then you go to the village chief's house and you see bags of foreign grain stacked up," says the director of a Western aid agency operating in Ethiopia. "In too many cases, we're allowing food aid to strengthen a corrupt politician's power."

One-third of food-aid budgets, or roughly $600 million, never reaches the intended recipients and is instead swallowed up by costs in donor countries, according to the oecd.

That's because only 15% of donated food is sourced locally, even though plentiful grains may be harvested just over the mountain from famine-stricken areas. Almost all U.S. food aid, by law, must be grown and processed at home. U.S. agribusiness, which receives subsidies for growing such crops, and the U.S. shipping industry profit from the arrangement. But transporting California rice to a rice-growing country like Cambodia makes little sense. When the food finally arrives — often too late to feed those most vulnerable — the influx of foreign products can wreak havoc on the local market, depressing prices just when farmers need income to feed themselves.

As an alternative, economists like Nobel laureate Amartya Sen suggest rich countries send cash, which in many cases may flow into needy economies more quickly and efficiently than food aid.

You can find the full article in Time Web site.

A New Wave of Homeless: The Young Professional

2007-06-24T16:48:00.000+09:00

The Japanese economic forecast is bordering grim. Years back, however, in 1998, I remember sitting in my freshman Intro to Economics class and looking at an economic growth chart.

The US line was high, but almost flat, only slightly upward sloping. Then followed Japan, which at the time was coming off of three decades of spectacular growth, nearly catching my home country's stagnant line and projecting to surpass it.

The lecture's point was, "Hey, America's not always going to be the super power in the world, sooner than we think other countries will be stronger."

Enter Japan. Based on its skilled labor force, Japan was rising to the top of the automobile and technological markets. It was this technology paired with a small defense allocation that fueled it's rapid economic growth.

That was in the 90s, the end of Japan's heyday. The yen was strong and it showed. And so came the birth of consumer services that relied on this innovative technology, such as the internet cafe.

Well, the boom ended, and actually turned into a recession in the early 2000s. When I arrived in Japan in 2003 the job market and economy was oozing out of its slump. It has continued to stabilize; however, the road ahead seems flat.

Last week the yen had its weakest showing against the US dollar in 4 and 1/2 years at 124 and also against the Euro--at 166-- since its inception in 1999.

In 1980 it was believed that a foreigner teaching in Japan could make an almost unfair high salary of $2,500 a month teaching English when the Japanese young professional just out of college averaged $1500 per month. Well, 20 years ago that was true.

In 27 years both salaries have changed little.

My Japanese friend graduated as an economics major from a 4-year university and became a banker. After taxes, three years later she is taking home about $1500 a month.

At the same time, a foreign teacher friend of mine said his low salary, coupled with the low exchange rate, is almost putting him into debt and allowing him to pay only the interest on his school loans.

Evidently Japan has responded little to the inflation rate and ups and downs of the job market. The Japanese pay scale benefits the life-long employee, growing slowly based on the amount of time you put in. If you stay, your company will take care of you.

This initial low salary base is why it is so common for 20-somethings and now even 30-somethings to live with their parents. In Japanese they are called "parasites."

But what happens to those independent-go-getters that want to make it on their own? In Tokyo a surge of them are recently classifying themselves as "one step away from being homeless."

These young people have been spending their nights at places that could be tagged as a computer geek's perfect Saturday night out: the internet cafe.

Meet the influx of "Net Cafe Refugees" who, after being evicted from their apartments because they can't afford rent, opt for the only thing they can afford: a pay-per-hour small cubicle-like room equipped with a computer, free soft drinks, sometimes a TV and if you're lucky, a small sofa.

On 24-year old, as quoted in the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, has been calling it a temporary home for more than one year, at 100 yen per hour. About one meter wide, he stretches his legs under a table and sleeps with a suit on. He owns one small bag.

"Underwear is mostly disposable. I throw away a winter coat in the spring," he said. Meals are fast food and instant ramen.

When he awakes, the vocational college-graduate goes to work at an imaging company, and earns 9000 yen a day ($80) as a temporary staffer.

With a low wage and no savings, he became unable to pay the commission that is required to renew his apartment rental contract. He has no money to pay the steep key money and security deposit that almost all apartments in Japan require.

So where does that leave him? Relying on a venue for a lifeline that is originally meant to be a place for fun and free time.

And he's not alone. There are believed to be more than 2 million "Net Cafe Refugees." A younger generation whose values have shifted making them less ready to conform to the corporate work ethic of their parents and grandparents and more ready to try to give it a go on their own.

"My family home is nearby, but I can't sit still at home because I think I have to become independent," the newspaper quoted another net cafe refugee in Tokyo as saying.

There is a new age of homelessness in Japan, influenced by insecure employment and low wages. They are working and earning, but with no lump sum to use as a crutch, getting out of poverty is nearly impossible for them in the metropolitan areas.

(More about Net Cafe Refugees at USA Today .)

Mochi in Action

2007-06-21T11:46:00.000+09:00

It's a girl! The Queen Bee, AKA the existing cat Yume, is slowly beginning to tolerate the presence of her new little sis. Here, 3-week old Mochi is boxing Gino's gold chain:

What do you get when you mix two softies with four paws?

2007-06-17T21:26:00.000+09:00

The highlight of my weekend can be summed up with this anecdote:

What do you get when two softies come across four paws?

The answer: a potential new family member.

World meet "Mochi." Mochi meet world. Wait, wait, before you get on my case about being a sucker for another cat, let me explain. It found me, like a calling from God.

I was practicing bicycling in a small parking lot when I heard a faint cry from a distance. I maneuvered my bicycle left, then right, then back left until the culprit waddled towards me and jumped in my arms.

And that's how I met Mochi (餅). Formerly known as Gizmo (that was his name the first 15 minutes we had him) this little guy or girl, too early to tell, was dumped in the park to fend for itself.

Luckily for it and us, Gino and I are suckers for a cute face. With the lack of a parental "no," Gino's keenness to help it only further sped up the inevitable: this cat was coming home with us.

But he was a dirty little thing when we first got our hands on him. Here is a picture of Mochi's first bath. Here is a picture of the real deal Mochi, which is one of Gino's and my favorite tasty treats. It is a sticky, gooey Japanese rice cake. He or she kind of looks like one, right?

Speaking of off-the-wall animal names, stories and pictures, my buddy Ayako recently went to a petting zoo / animal tricks sort of place and came across the "Hello Bear."

She said every time she'd walk by it she would say and wave "hello" and the bear would return the gesture. Here is a picture she got of him:
"Hey Dad! Happy Father's Day!"

A little of this and a little of that...

2007-06-13T12:29:00.000+09:00

Your moment of zen is in:

This little rat curled herself up atop a flower pot. She's going through her terrible teens.

One minute it's "I want out," the next it's "I want in." One minute I'm her best friend, the next she's cavorting among the night life for 12 hours.

"Little miss" I say, "do you think it's acceptable to stay out half the night and not check in?"

To which I get an I-could-care-less drawn out "meeoooooow" proceeded by the walk-away as a reply.

The nerve.

Unruly kids, what are you going to do with them?

I have a kid at college that shows up, pretends he's not there, fiddles with his cell and, with the biggest smile on his face, promises me that he'll have his work in by next week.

And he is the talk of the school meetings. It is so unusual for that to happen in a Japanese classroom that it's like this kid is the oil in a classroom full of water.

Sometimes I have to giggle and tell myself: Relax, he's not that bad, he's just different.

At the same time, half way around the world in North American cultures kids misbehaviors run the gamut in school settings.

Last Fall, I sat in a lower level English class at my public high school. I was taken aback by the disrespect and unruliness of a select few. When the teacher, my close friend, disciplined them, I could tell she was used to doing what she was doing. She reprimanded them with an almost lack of conviction.

When I discipline in class, I react as if hell has frozen over.

"Whose cell phone was that?" I say like a deer in the headlights, trying to identify where the musical tune is coming from. 'Wait, this has never happened before,' I think to myself, 'what do I do?'

Ha ha, of course I don't do that. Don't be gullible, even Japanese kids aren't that well-behaved.

And to ever-so clichely - not a word though anything goes on your own blog - "end on a positive note" let's remember that "the good," most often then not, "outweighs the bad."

Cheeziness aside, no matter what classroom you are sitting at in the world, there are always heaps of pleasant students and very few misbehavior-is-my-middle-name students.

What do you think?

The unruly child taking a break for coziness.

Umi Biraki

2007-06-09T17:35:00.000+09:00

It's the best beach time of the year, because no one's there. In Japan, there's a festival for everything. Now we're in the heart of firefly season, where an influx of lightning bugs congregate near water and people go to see them.

When I was little I would run outside to catch the buggers, it never crossed my mind to celebrate them. Here, their glow is magical. You can even drink canned beer, eat corn and sausage sticks and devour saucy noodles as you take in the spectacle.

It's bliss created. It seems like there are many instances like this in Japan; there is always something to celebrate.

As I'm sitting here on this white sandy beach basking in the summer sun, swimming in the light blue sea, writing this esoteric entry and frolicking along the embankments of rocks, I think: Is it weird to be doing this alone?

But then I remember that the start of the swimming season festival has yet to come upon us. That's why no one is here. When I asked my Japanese friend if she'd come to the beach with me, she said, "It's still cold for me to swim."

Apparently, it becomes "uncold" precisely on "Umi Biraki", meaning opening of the sea. It is the day when the local governments declare and newspapers publish that, yes, the sea is officially open and it is deemed safe to swim.

At this time the foursomes of families and inflatable inner tubes start hording towards the beaches. That is when the fun can begin. Anything before that and you're just plain crazy.

As for me, I'm enjoying the day at the sea alone. Pushing forward "Opening of the Sea Day," and coupling it with firefly season may not be such a bad idea after all. Wait, then would that mean the fireworks festival would also have to be moved? Nah, that's good right where it is.

(For a brief summary of some of the reasons to celebrate click here )

I Got New Wheels!!

2007-06-06T22:44:00.000+09:00

Bling Bling says the pimp'n bell on my new pimp'n bike.

If you know me well, you will know this about me: biking is not my forte. Nearly swerving into a car in elementary school, this daredevil independent traveler has since vehemently "steered clear" of the hobby.

I did, however, revisit it a few times in college to discover not once, not twice, but three times that slowly tipping over on a barely moving bicycle really isn't that bad.

And we can't forget the time two years ago in Kyoto, where I stared my fear straight in the eye, hoping to enjoy the hill-less city at leisure pace, only to have ended up with the kaboom of all my previous booms. Attempting to relocate from the street to the sidewalk is not what my bicycle intended. Instead, the wheel made contact with the curb and there I went--half flying over the handlebars-- landing curbside instead of street side.

That's my true run-in -- fortunately not run over -- with bicycling.

But I'm back, in black this time. Looking right first for close traffic, left for far, and even down to make sure the sidewalks have no curb, I am enjoying my new mode of getting from A to B.

If I haven't sold you on it yet, here's the kicker: this fun can be folded up and taken wherever you go. All for the low cost of finally, at the age of 26, befriending an old enemy.

A Noticeably Peaceful Place to Be

2007-06-02T20:54:00.000+09:00

(photo: Gino Amasia)

It's That Season Again: After a patient day of plowing his rice field, a man in Nagasaki prefecture opts for the slow road home.

I'm blogging on a Saturday night. Shh, don't say it, I know it's geeky. The point being, as I am sitting here plugging away I can hear the bugs chirping outside through the quiet. It's 9 pm and I am winding down in the country.

About an hour ago a salesman -- showcasing new houses that require not a single nut or bolt -- came to my door. I felt bad for the dude, still working, still adorned in his suit, at 8 p.m. at night. I thought he would see I was not Japanese, apologize for the inconvenience and be on his way, happy to be one step closer to the end of his day.

At the same time I would pretend I couldn't speak Japanese, hurrying the process along, with the sole objective of not being bothered and letting as few bugs in the front door as possible. He's better off and so am I, it's a win-win situation.

Well, he knocked, I opened and the shock on his face hinted to me that it was all going as planned. I pretended not to speak any Japanese, allowing only a few words to slip and diverting my eyes only to the one bug I saw fly in my apartment and the other I felt on my arm. My impatient premeditated actions would soon lead me to be comfy and bug biteless and him driving home to start his weekend. Perfect.

But after the surprise eyes and my confused looks he simply slowed down and took the time to make sure I understood his small talk. I tried one more time to change the subject from endearing chitchat to what he was actually selling. Hopefully to segue into my obvious lack of need for a house in Japan, specifically, a wooden house with no bolts.

He wouldn't let me change the subject. He was genuinely interested in talking to me, treating me with the same kindness as he would any of his Japanese customers, notably not interested in making the sale, but rather showcasing what his company offered.

At this point I felt terrible. Here I am trying to rush along this man, and he just wanted to chat. So we talked. I let the Japanese out of the cage and answered him with the same keenness that he showed me. After that I browsed all 15 pages of his pamphlet, listening to his explanations for every possible thing made out of wood that you can imagine. We went through the wood baths, the wood screens and the wood houses. I stood there, right hand propping the door open, listening intently, no longer noticing the buzzzzz passing my ear.

There is something to be said for his genuine concern and good nature. You see this a lot in Japan, and it often stops me in the my tracks and makes me self-aware of my impatience and discourtesy. I know I am not the only American consumer that reacts like this, and that my initial plan of getting rid of him quickly is often the stratagem in my home country.

Last Wednesday the peacefulness of 121 countries was assessed and ranked by the Global Peace Index, which is compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Norway placed first, with Japan coming in a close fifth and the United States far behind. It finished ahead of Iran by one at 96. Israel, Sudan and Iraq pulled up the rear.

The data was drawn from the United Nations, World Bank and the study's independent criteria. About 24 indicators were used, including wars fought in the past five years, arms sales, prison populations and incidence of crime. The U.S. suffered in the rankings from its large prison population, its warfare and external conflict.

"This Index stands to broaden our very definition of what peace is, as
well as how to achieve it," said Harriet Fulbright of the Fulbright Centre. "Peace isn't just the absence of war; it's the absence of violence."

I think it extends further than this. It is the absence of impatience and the presence of a peace of mind.

After I closed the door and bade my salesman goodbye, I thought this man is a small reason why Japan is No. 5 in the rankings. He contributes to the quality of my life here; the attention and tolerance to others' feelings and the safety that leads to a peaceful mind and country.

Needless to say, my bug bites are itchy!

(For the complete rankings, visit the Global Peace Index Web site.)

A Bike Ride in the Country

2007-05-30T21:48:00.000+09:00

I'm Back!

2007-05-29T14:19:00.000+09:00

About a month ago we moved into the country side. Our apartment overlooks tiers of rice paddies and let's just say our cat thinks she is in heaven with the amount of bugs that lay to be found.

The best part of the move, however, is the edge-of-death slide we found at a nearby playground. We celebrated my best buds Ayako and Chie's birthday there over the weekend. When you view the video make sure you absorb Gino's terror-ridden face as he is the first to plunge at the bottom of the slide.

After, we had a pizza party. Here Ayako and Chie are blowing out their respective cakes:

The First Wedding, Savannah, Georgia

2007-04-29T14:02:00.000+09:00

Gino's cousin, Joe, married Jenn in Savannah, Georgia. They had a quaint wedding in the historic city, a reception there, then topped off the festivities with a 400 person reception in Baltimore the following weekend. Pictures of that will come later.

The picture above is the ceremony in Forsyth Park. Below, you can see the fountain which is the focal point of the picture-perfect park in the background.

Gino was the most handsome of the groomsmen, adorned with me, sporting the balloon hem by his side. The balloon hem, which is a poofy hem at the bottom of a dress, is gaining popularity in Japan and well-suited for the southern charm of Savannah.

I recommend Savannah as a perfect weekend destination. It is blessed with ancient oak trees dripping with spanish moss. Cobblestones follow along the river side where riverboats lazily meander through the water. Horse-drawn carriages show tourists around the historic district, with limited chain stores. A quaint outing for any occasion - especially a wedding!

The posh amneties made me think I was on a vacation away from the vacation that I was already on. The coolest part about the accomodation was it was in a renovated mansion, and the bathrooms had half-doors. So it seemed like you could bathe in the middle of your bedroom if you kept the doors open. (The chandelier in the background is in the bathroom.) Ah, the silly details of a blog, gotta love it.

Poor Duncan...

2007-04-24T13:26:00.001+09:00

Dunc doesn't realize that he has a broken leg, but I can tell he is a little down in spirits. He is blue.

Travelling home

2007-04-20T22:35:00.000+09:00

I'm tired of flying. I must admit, though, I do have it down to a tee. I think the secret lies in comfy socks. I'm not just talking about the standard high-rise white socks, I'm talking about something with cushion. Snuggling the feet together is the base of comfort.

Another thing: Why is it that every cheesy romantic comedy makes you cry if you're on a plane? It doesn't even have to be romantic. I watched the very predictable "Freedom Writers" where Hilary Swank inspires her class to break down racial barriers. It had me thinking it was the most heartfelt movie that I've ever seen. Planes make me soft.

So, in addition to comfy socks and cheesy movies, the garb must be well-planned. For me, being half Italian, oily skin is something that has always plagued me. A head wrap helps this.

Gino and I are heading home for two weeks. He's in his cousin's wedding. Since the timing perfectly abutted a Japanese holiday and airfare is hiked in the summer, this seemed like the perfect time for a home visit for me too.

Especially to take care of poor Duncan-dog, who shattered his leg playing too hard
the other day. He needs his momma and some TLC.

To my audience: look forward to wedding picutres, Dunc at every angle, Chloe the vibrant neice, and lots of shots with family and friends.

It's Long but Worth it. Kind of like my time here...

2007-04-17T23:50:00.000+09:00

I'm solid, solid as a rock. My voice rarely quavers in front of others, it is rare that you will find me crying, and I almost never get emotional.

It is when events are laid out in a timeline that one allows him or herself to assess their accomplishments and personal contentment.

I came to Japan roughly four years ago. I was set on working in this country for only one year. I prepared myself to bid goodbye to my new friends, thinking I would stay in touch with a chunk forever. Thinking that the ties we had established after one year were strong enough to stand the test of time. Well at least at that time I thought so.

After four years I have never left this career in which I choose on a whim. "Teaching in Japan? Sure, I'll give it a go," I mulled over in my head for all two hours before accepting a job in a place I didn't even know existed. Heck, the only city I knew of in Japan was Tokyo.

I never replay a decision in my head, but I do reflect many times on this over-haul of a 4-year stay and question, "How in the world did I ever allow this to happen?" Up until now I have spent almost my entire twenties here, something that I vowed I would never do.

So how did this happen? First, I let my fate in this country rely on a go-with-the-flow mentality. I opened up the small school, thinking given enough time that I'd manage to either drive it in the ground or it wouldn't even get off the ground. Well, that never happened.

So I was left making these useless yearly finishing dates of when I wanted to be done in Japan. But as every date approached I gave myself one reason or another why I needed to stay just a little bit longer. I needed to enjoy what I worked so hard to create.

This winter I made my final ending date: October. No ifs ands or buts about it. I will never get tired of living here. I will never be a failure. The longer you stay in a place the more like home it becomes. So months ago the executive decision was made. I want out.

Well, I really don't want out, but I will make myself get out. I know this career and location is not a lifer for me. Simply because, professionally this is the only thing so far in my life that I really know. I made this decision with little conviction, similar to the lackadaisical way I first made the decision to come here. In a way, it all seems fitting.

This morning in college I made such a corny Japanese joke that I had all the kids laughing. Through out the day I walked downtown and was stopped by 5 acquaintances. One was a Japanese man who was walking like he was on a mission. He saw me and stopped:

"Do you know how you know me?"

"Wait a minute," I said as my mind started searching all its tiny shelves trying to place the face that was on the tip of my tongue.

"Takamasa!" The 60-plus year old man shouted, trailing it with a jolly laugh.

"I knew it!," I said as I realized he was the master (owner) at a delicious cheap Japanese restaurant. The kind of restaurant you enter and hear the staff shouting their welcomes and five minutes later you have a plate of food on sticks waiting to be eaten.

"Hey, I do know you," I said, "You are some sort of Buddhist priest too, right?" I fished for a random fact that I remember him telling me.

"Oh, you do remember me," the Takamasa restaurant owner said. He then continued hurriedly on his way.

Tonight, in class, I cracked up my 12-year olds. We were so silly that we took a time-out from class to play dress up. They made themselves look goofy in their school uniforms while I matched their behavior with a silly display of my recent purchase.

Simply put, it feels nice when people take to you.

It was today that, for the first time since creating the leaving day, the unemotional rock-solid side of me crumbled and the reality of leaving this place really set in.

I have made a home here. It may not be my true home with my family, but it is a home. It's a life.

I treasure my time here, the people that I have grown to know and the relationships that I have cultivated. To think, I thought just one year was enough.

Sakura Molding to the Clouds

2007-04-13T19:51:00.000+09:00

Gino's Artful Eye:

You'll Never Believe This Story...

2007-04-11T22:14:00.000+09:00

Read first, and after, for the immediate post-hawk reaction, check my video blog. The Hawk even got some AIR time at the end. (haha, get it, "Air Time")

A past time, exercise, an outing; hiking is all of these. But what it shouldn't be is a death-by-bird incident.

This is what almost happened to me and my company Easter Sunday. We wanted to show Gino's friend visiting from New York the natural side of Japan, so we took her hiking to Shijikiyama, a mountain tucked in the south-western corner of Hirado Island.

Amid the rolling rice fields and Japan's dense forest, we hiked a short but steep 45 minutes to our goal: a picnic atop a crowning mountain.

With our feet swinging freely over daggering cliffs we gobbled down our half-sandwiches, soaking in the 360 view of the sea beyond.

With one half of a sandwich left, Gino reached across the rock he was sitting on, his feet touching nothing but air.

He went to hand me the half sandwich. The half-second in which it took that half sandwich to travel in his hand across his body, almost to my hand, is the time in
which the highlights of this posting unfolded.

SWOOOOOOOOSH, is what I hear as I reached for the sandwich. Out of nowhere a Hawk-- yes I said HAWK-- barrels down from the sky, bowling between our heads, while nabbing the sandwich from Gino's hand.

Luckily, he still has a hand.

I scream as I am jabbed in the face by a right wing.

Fortunately, the hawks prowess was believed to have saved us from falling hundreds of meters to our painful death.

For I know, if I saw that thing coming towards me beforehand, I surely would have kept my scream, and probably would have added a scoot forward to avoid his talons, consequently causing me to fall into the abyss below.

don...dondon..don...don, THE END.

A New Hobby

2007-04-06T18:56:00.000+09:00

Although I have lived in Japan just short of four years, I have never worn a kimono. So I have a new hobby: Kimono wearing class. It is a process putting this thing on. Here are pics from the first class with my very own kimono ...

VIdeo Blog: The Second Sakura

2007-03-30T11:09:00.001+09:00

Video Blog: The First Sakura

2007-03-29T22:10:00.001+09:00