Nagoya (August 10, 2009)

After studying abroad nearly 4 years ago in Nagoya, I felt an obligation to visit with those I was once very close to. The itinerary: Friday night with Keiko and the ‘Coffee Hour Club,’ Saturday with Makiko and Chikae, then Sunday to Monday in Toyota with the Ishikawas, my former host family. Aside from everyone having graduated from the free life of college to the restricted life of work, not much seems to have changed. Keiko’s still giggly, Makiko and Chikae are still BFFs, and my host family’s still hosting exchange students attending Nanzan University. I thought I was the same old same old, but my old neighbor would beg to differ. I was told to go to her house to say hi, so I did. I rang doorbell, the wife and mother of the kids I used to tutor opened the door, and exclaimed “You got fatter!! You got fatter right … right??” I didn’t know how to respond as I had thought I had lost weight after the whole malaria incident. I didn’t want to disagree, that would have been rude.

Goodbye Niigata (August 7, 2009)

My last week in Niigata consisted of hanging out with those I didn’t want to leave. I took the shinkansen a couple of stops with Jenelle before she left the country for good. She was on her way to Narita International Airport, and I was on my way to see Japan’s #1 fireworks in Nagaoka with Ruu and Futoshi. Tuesday was Colleen’s birthday at a 4 course high class Italian Restaurant (poor girl had mono and didn’t know it at the time). Wednesday I hung out with my grandma and great aunt. We started with a movie, some shopping and of course eating and drinking. That night I went to Ruu and Futoshi’s for our ‘last supper’ which was way more fun than sad thank god. Thursday evening my great aunt, aunt once removed, and second cousins took me out to a clay pot ramen place. It was only fair, as they took my brother to the same delicious place while I was stuck in the hospital. Friday at high-noon I boarded a train southbound for Nagoya. The combination of my grandma, great aunt, aunt once removed, second cousins, Futoshi, and Ruu seeing me off caused my heart to be shattered into billions of irreparable peaces. I couldn’t help but violently weep for 30 minutes after the train took off.

Myoko English Camp (August 2, 2009)

Jenelle recommended me for an English Camp for elementary school kids in the mountains of Myoko. Three days as a team leader offered an enticing wad of cash that I would need for my upcoming travels so I accepted without putting much thought into it.

I ended up leading a group of 7 girls through the woods orienteering, making a team pink care bear flag, giving a presentation on Chicago, making up a song and dance, cooking curry outside, writing in journals, playing games, and on and on. It was fun and exhausting but by the end of it I made friends with nearly all of the people in the camp. So much to the point that they were demanding my autograph in big letters across the skin on their arms!!

Fuji Rock (July 27, 2009)

Fuji Rock: a 3 day music festival in the mountains of Naeba in Niigata Prefecture. Holy crap, words can’t begin to describe how phenomenal those three days were. Eric was happily still in the country. He made some comment to one of my friends “I know I’m still young and haven’t done that much with my life, but this is the greatest thing I have ever done so far!!” Friday we got poured on and Dave’s secret girlfriend saved us by letting us stay at her family’s house hotel. Saturday brought us perfect weather for a full day of rock and roll. Sunday, we were happy to still be alive and enjoyed the last day by dancing our butts off. Among the artists there were: Oasis, Paul Weller, Lily Allen, Patti Smith, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Cage the Elephant, Franz Ferdinand, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Jet, Public Enemy, Easy Star All-Stars, The Aggrolites, Justin Nozuka, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World, Cobra Starship, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, and Basement Jaxx!! I was amazed by how well organized the porta-potties were, the zero garbage on the ground, the recycling of everything into products that will be used in next year’s Fuji Rock, the fact that we could leave our belongings on our tarp without it getting stolen, and the beauty of the scenery: big name bands playing on stages with mountains and forests all around. Thanks to Futoshi, Tomo, Jenelle, Marshall, Dave, Yoshie, Sarah, Scottie, Martin, Keiko, and Eric and everyone else there for making Fuji ROCK!!

Malaria (July 20, 2009)

Funny story: malaria had been in my bodily system for the past four months without me knowing it until its symptoms of death scratched at my soul. I guess I remember feeling tired and feverish but not full out sick for the past month or so. It came full force with a pounding headache, fever (104.9 F temperature), shaking chills, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations - the works during our family trip to Hiroshima and Tokyo. Since the symptoms are expressed at 48-hour intervals, I suppose at least I was able to enjoy exactly half of the trip. Once my dad said that I probably had malaria, my brother looked it up online, I cried and said that I would probably be dead by the morning, and my mom looked up doctors in the phone book. Another funny thing is that everywhere you check online, websites advise to seek help immediately if one is expressing the symptoms of malaria, yet the doctors of Japan were telling me “Oh no, we don’t deal with malaria.” So once back in Niigata, my grandmother came up with the plan to call an ambulance the next time the parasites exploded out of my liver (ambulances are free in Japan – another positive to what some people would call socialistic health insurance). They drove me around, found a hospital that would take me, and told me that I probably had the pig flu. They tested me for that by sticking long q-tips up both my nostrils and into my brain, only to find out that I didn’t have it. Next they took a blood sample and realized that I did indeed have malaria. After what seemed like at least a century, they got me wicked strong anti-malaria pills and I felt almost immediately cured. I ended up spending two nights in the hospital, missed my last three days of work, and was prescribed three weeks of medicine. I once said that Papua New Guinea was the greatest place on earth. I’m rethinking that statement a bit right now.

The Schrock Flock Arrives in Japan (July 12, 2009)

Yuki, Tom, and Eric arrived in Japan with a hefty schedule ahead of them. The day after they arrived in Niigata, they rode the train up to my neck of the woods in Murakami. We didn’t have much time, so I tried to show them as much as possible of the narrow samurai roads, the coast, the river, the little mountain, and my tiny apartment. That night we had eating and drinking plans back in the city. The following day we took a bus tour with my aunt, uncle, and grandma to Yamagata for some lavender and cherry picking. I had to work on Monday so the Schrock Flock took off without me to Kyoto. I really REALLY wanted to see Hiroshima so took the remaining of my days off to meet up with them. We saw Japan’s most beautiful castle: Himeji, the Peace Park in Hiroshima, Japan’s most photographed landmark in Miyajima, and then a baseball game in Tokyo. It was a pretty good trip, but not stellar for me. You see, I was sick exactly half of the trip. See: ‘Malaria.’