Tripping Far Side

I'm impressed with myself. I make it into work every morning at 8:20 AM before the school bell rings. If you know me well, then you know that I am not prompt in the morning.

In the past, I have just been plain undisciplined for too many years, getting to work around 11 AM to noon most times. I even had trouble when my boss asked me to come in by 10 AM. Time to grow up; it's been many years since I had to stay up all night working on college computer science projects.

I'm glad to finally break this bad habit. (one more to go). I've been miraculously prompt for several months, even when I am crazy busy and get little sleep.

So yay for me. Waking up earlier means that I have to eat breakfast--I never did before. So I go to the local convenience store every morning to pick up a sandwich. Like this one. But they speak a different English here:

"The great thing about sandwiches is you can enjoy a variety of tastes with no fuss. Ham, lettuce, eggs, tomatoes, choose whatever you like depending on how you feel."

So I start every day confused. I also don't like when they use "etc." to list ingredients. And so my day teaching English begins....

In Japanese schools, they have a really fun field day. Ours was on September 16th. Summers are quite unbearable, but on this day, we were blessed with clear and breezy cool weather.

I got a chance to see some of the festivities, such as relays, piggyback fighting, centipede race, tug-of-wars, and the cheerleading competition. Everything is done in a team.

It really looked like the kids had a blast out there, and it was fun watching. These students work so hard every day: 7 classes a day at school, hours of after-school club activities, then to cram school and finally homework all while getting around by foot, bicycle, and trains in their uniforms. I hear they usually get home late around 10 PM only to get a little sleep. Our school is a 30 minute walk from the station too, and it isn't fun when you're walking up a hill in the blazing sun and sweltering humidity. And they still put all their enthusiasm into Sports Day.

If you notice, they have uniforms for physical education too. The 1st years are green, 2nd years are red, and the 3rd years are blue. Their headbands are one of four colors, depending on which team they are on.

The best part though were the preschool children doing some musical and dance routines. They are really cute, singing and shouting and trying to stay in rhythm with their instruments and flags. They all wear their uniforms and beanies too. I wish I had taken some sound clips....

Never before have I ridden such an incredible selection of roads on my motorcycle. Turn after turn....

Met up with the nicest group of gaijin riders in Osaka (KansaiRiders). And they took me on the tour of my life.

Beautiful scenery through fast valleyside sweepers to no-lane switchbacks up and down misty Mount Koya.

The joys of narrow, tightly winding goat tracks through remote forests.

A pack of bikes roaring through tunnel after tunnel of unfinished walls.

Discovering rural towns that are still a part of history.

Leaning for eternity through an expansive 160 degree arc that is suspended with multiple bridges over deep valleys.

Night riding when your body aches but your mind is still in the zone.

Slabbing through Osaka and Kobe on open expressways.

No traffic. No cops. 14 hours of freedom.

I'm Alive.

Finally! After months of no Internet, here is my first blog!

I hope to share my experience living in Miki, Japan and teaching English. Please drop by often and keep me company by posting comments. I'd love to hear from you guys back home! I guess this will be an online diary of sorts, so when I return, there won't be so much catching up to do. :)

Here is a picture near where I live in Miki. Lots of rice paddies, and very countryside. But not all is lost. Miki is close to some big cities, like Kobe, Osaka, and Kyoto. Come and visit me!

John Cho