Shaking, then sleeping

Ten minutes to 7 and I find myself awake.

I realize the house is shaking. I find it odd that I've woken up just in time for an earthquake.

Just an illusion. The shaking woke up me, but it took a moment to realize what was happening. I could hear the rumble, enough to make you wonder if something was gonna fall off the counter (nothing did).

After it was over, I turn on the TV and get online to look for the source and size.

It wasn't a big one (or The Big One). Registered as a 5.1, centered in Fukui prefecture.

Then adrenaline finally drops. I fall back to sleep. I wake up 10 minutes late.

Earthquakes, as a alarm clocks, aren't that good after all.

Flurry Fury: Snow Day in Ise

It doesn't snow much in Ise. So when it does, people freak out a bit. Traffic jams up worse than usual. Teachers who are always on time are five, even 10 minutes late. The lunch delivery service I rely on when I don't have time to make a sandwich in the morning shuts down.

Needless to say, I was deeply affected by this morning's half inch (yes, a whole half inch!) of precipitation. And my drama spread to the ladies in the office, who had to be the ones to tell me that there would be no lunch delivery today. There would be no whatever-that-kanji-said next to the Tuesday entry on the menu.

Fortunately, one of the English teachers, upon hearing of my plight, took pity, and we went by car to the Tiger Mart. Lunch crisis, averted. Snow, melted.

This first (and maybe only?) snow-dusting in Ise is over now. It remains bitingly cold and windy outside, but the sun is shining and the teachers' room is furnace-like. My desk is right next to one of the space heaters, and I feel it's invading my personal space.

But if I try to shut it down my colleague form Singapore will probably throw something at me. And while, at this moment, the only available projectiles in her vicinity appear to be expensive electronics, I wouldn't put it past her to sacrifice an iPod for warmth.

I'll just have to periodically step outside for the rest of the day. The answer is obvious: I'll start smoking.

Halfway to Nowhere

Within my 19 months in Japan, the only foreign country I have visited is the United States of America. I went home in the spring last year and for the most recent winter break. On top of that, except for a few trips to Japan's three largest metro areas -- Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya -- I have not been out of Mie prefecture.

There are some practical reasons (read: excuses) for my lack of exploration. One is the financial factor. After sending home about a few hundred bucks for bills and loan payments, there is plenty of money for daily life and the occasional trip, but it is not as if I am raking in the dough in sums that make every free period a travel opportunity.

Another excuse is more complicated. I tend to want to travel with someone else or with a group. I certainly don't mind traveling alone, but without the travel companion(s) from the start, the planning or execution of a trip can be slow or simply non-existent. Some travel plans have been in the works but fallen apart. I was going to climb Mt. Fuji, but we had to cancel. I was going to go skiing in Gifu prefecture, but a farewell-party was a priority.

So here I am at the midpoint of my JET experience and I have yet to really explore Japan. During the back half of my time on the program, I hope to change course. I want to see some other parts of Japan, perhaps Hirosihma, Hokkaido or the mountains of Nagano. I want to visit another country or two, maybe South Korea, Thailand or China.

These things won't come cheap, and some plans might not materialize. But I hope to do what I can to get out of Mie a bit as the next several months tick away.

If I am successful, you can read about it all right here.

Decision Day

I have on my desk a completed form stating my intent to re-contract with the JET program, thus extending my current contractual time in Japan to the summer of 2010.

Mainly, I'm interested in continuing what I have here, while at the same time figuring out what I'll do next.

Broadly, I know that I'm interested in going to grad school, but I have yet to decide upon a program I'd like to try to get in to.

A friend pointed me to a grad program in journalism at a well-known university in Tokyo, and for a moment I thought it might be an English curriculum, but upon inspection, only some classes are offered in English.

There remains no university in Japan which offers an English language graduate program that I currently think would be a good fit. I'd be interested in such a program because I've long been interested in doing journalism in Japan, and I'd be interested in a productive way to further my stay here.

But that may not be a realistic idea. So for now I shall enjoy my time here, along with some other more fleshed out goals. One is to finally take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in December. Another is to do some freelance writing for one of the English language magazines in Japan.

With those goals on board, along with the usual routine of fun and work, I expect to have a good experience over the next several months.

Perhaps I'll give the blog some more attention ... perhaps.