FUJI-EXTRA

Imagine you are climbing Fuji in the middle of the night. Your exhausted and only about halfway up the mountain. You’re unsure if you will ever make it to the top. You stop at a shelter and buy a can of oxygen because the air is getting thin and the exercise is leaving you breathless. You take a few deep breaths of oxygen.

Then you light a cigarette and have a smoke break.

WHAT???

Who would think that is a good idea? Middle aged Japanese Men. That’s who.

Every time I think about it I am still in disbelief by how many people I saw smoking cigarettes on the mountain. Some, its true, were workers at the rest station. However, I did see more than a few hikers on a smoke break.

It just doesn’t make any sense.

Also, have a video of the sunrise taken and narrated beautifully by Sophie.

fuji video on Facebook!

The Things You Miss...

If you are reading this blog and you have ever thought about possibly living in another country or moving abroad for a short time in your life, you should do it. Hands down it is the most amazing experience of my life so far and its only been a month. Is it difficult? Frustrating? Lonely? Yes, sometimes it is all those things. But, it is also exciting, fun, eye opening, and unlike anything else you will ever do.

The hardest part of my new life and the biggest drawback is being content with the big moments that you miss.  One of those big moments happened this past week. On Saturday evening my little sister, Amy, became engaged to her boyfriend, Stuart Wiggin. Ironically I was talking to her earlier the very same day that she became engaged. A couple hours after hanging up she sends me this picture and message.

"AHHH!"

I am so unbelievably happy for my sister and her new fiancé. I know they will have a long and happy life together. They are such an example to the people around them of what true, active, and purposeful love looks like.

I love them dearly and these moments are the things that I miss most while away.

I wish for nothing more than to be able to give my sister and future brother in law a big hug and to go out to dinner with our entire families and celebrate. But, I know my place is here and my focus needs to be here.

I am overjoyed and I am sending them thousands of thoughts, wishes and prayers for their future. I am so proud.

A great picture. Thanks Julia Essington for capturing these!

Stuart has his puppy expression on.

This picture really captures both of their spirits.

Fuji-san

Like I mentioned in my previous blog, I climbed Fuji this past weekend.

Here are some quick Fuji facts

• It is 3,776 meters
• Mount Fuji is a volcano and the last eruption began in November 1707
• Mount Fuji s the most climbed mountain in the world with over 100,000 people trekking to the summit every year. Around 30% are foreigners.

Laura, Crystal, and I in front of Fuji at a rest stop on the way.

Whenever I would talk to older Jet's about climbing Fuji usually I would either hear, "DONT CLIMB FUJI. NEVER CLIMB FUJI." or "Fuji isn't bad at all. Its like a really long gradual hike. Grandmothers can do it."

After experiencing the climb myself I would say neither are true. I am so glad I climbed Fuji. It was a fairly uncomfortable experience, but I am so glad I got to experience it. But it was nowhere close to a walk in the park. It is exhausting. it was a 14 hour hike from top to bottom. yikes.

Last year the Fukui Jet climb happened to fall on a day where there was a typhoon during the entire climb. When the sun rose, the climbers couldn't see it because it was a rainy and cloudy day. A number of Jet's actually told me they thought they were literally not going to make it down the mountain and wondered if search parties would be sent after them. Obviously, it makes sense that someone with that experience would tell me to NEVER climb Fuji. 
This year had perfect weather. There wasn't a single drop of rain, the skies were completely clear the whole way up, partly cloudy during sunrise, and cloudy on the way down to help keep us cool. Perfect. I wish the climb up for me was just as perfect. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

almost halfway up!

Every year, there are a few hikers on the FJET trip that are badly affected by altitude sickness and I'm sad to say that I was one of them. Altitude sickness really slowed my ascent up the mountain and I didn't make it to the summit in time for sunrise. I was probably about 300 meters short of the summit. While, I did make it to the summit eventually, I am sad that I couldn't experience the sunrise from the top. Altitude sickness started rearing its ugly head about 1/2 way up the mountain. Luckily, I was schooled on the symptoms before climbing so I recognized it right away; dizziness, headaches, nausea, and shallowness and shortness of breath. While I was miserable with these symptoms, It was something I mentally prepared myself for since my idea of elevation is Austin hill country. So, I bought some canned oxygen, gave myself a few good deep breaths and continued up with more frequent stops.

Eventually, the large group above separated into smaller groups as we climbed higher on the mountain. In the end, my group consisted of myself and a couple from the UK, Sophie and Steven. Sophie and Steven were so wonderful to me during the moments when I was really feeling sick. They were patient and helpful and fun to be around. It was nice that even though I was feeling pretty awful we could still joke around and laugh our way up that miserable mountain. After we didn't make it to the top for sunrise, We continued climbing towards the summit, determined to make it. 

sunrise. picture taken from steven's camera

Sophie and I right after sunrise.

The last 150 meters up the mountain was a giant line to the top and this is when my altitude sickness became very bad. I was beginning to frighten Sophie, Steven, and even myself with how difficult it became for me to speak and to breathe. But we were so close to the top that the fastest way down the mountain was to finish the climb.

As soon as we reached the summit I was taken away by one of the older Jet's waiting for me and given more oxygen, food, and water and immediately started climbing down to help me feel better. I am just now realizing that I didn't even look out at the view from the top before heading down. It didn't even occur to me. All I was thinking about was air and getting to a lower elevation.

It is quite embarrassing to admit that I struggled so badly. I was constantly needing to ask my group for breaks and help. Asking for help is not something that comes easily to me. I tend to prefer to do things on my own. I think that if I am determined enough and push myself hard enough I can do anything on my own. However, this was a good reality check for me about humility. I cannot do this on my own. No matter how hard you push yourself, eventually you will hit your limit. You are mot invulnerable and asking for help shows you are aware and comfortable with your weaknesses. Sadly my limit came faster than others on this voyage. It was and still is a hard lesson to swallow. But, I do value humility and I am grateful that I had this experience, imperfect though it was.

There is a saying in Japan that says, "A wise person climbs Fuji once, and a foolish man climbs Fuji twice." During the hike down I definitely believed that. Two days of distance however has me rethinking that saying. I would one day like to enjoy the top of Fuji. But, I really don't want to experience the altitude sickness again... I think maybe I might be ready to try this mountain again a few years from now. luckily, that decision is still a few years away. 

Enjoy the photos.

Lastly, a huge thank you goes out to Steven and Sophie. I am so lucky to have good caring friends. You really took care of me on the mountain, especially during that last hour and a half. I am so grateful.

じゃあまたね!

Summer Matsuri

Matsuri (祭) - Festival

Since English camp ended, I have been filling my time enjoying the many summer matsuri in Fukui. So far, I have been to three. The picture above was from the Phoenix Festival in Fukui City. This festival had dancers for entertainment, carnival boothes, food vendors, and many Japanese men and women running around in Yukata (a casual summer kimono). My new South African neighbors invited me out with them to enjoy the day. I love hanging out with William, Bronwen, and Maria. They have been so kind to me since I moved here.

Japan loves English but it doesn't seem like they have figured out spell check yet.

The other two festivals that I went to were both fireworks festivals on the beaches of Fukui. The first one I went to, Mikuni Hanabi, was only 10-15 minutes from my apartment and is famous throughout the area as being one of the most incredible firework shows around. It didn't disappoint.

After reconnecting with a lot of other ALT's for a fun day on the beach, the sun set and the fireworks began. WOW.

The festival that I went to yesterday was another smaller fireworks festival in Tsuruga. It was much less crowded and took place during Obon week. This is a week in which you not only celebrate the elders in your family but also honor your deceased relatives. At this festival there was an added lantern release section that was to honor your relatives now deceased. it was lovely. Sadly I couldn't get a great picture of all the lanterns but here is what they looked like before being released!

And now for some hanabi (literally fire flower)

Afterwards there was some karaoke, I sang some red hot chili peppers and dashboard confessional. Karaoke ended pretty late. After being driven to Fukui city, I had already missed the last train home to Awara. Luckily, Crystal and Laura offered me a place on their floor and a much needed girls sleepover. Tomorrow I climb Mount Fuji. AH! I better go get all my stuff together.

There should be 2 new posts coming after this weekend! Cheers!

English Summer Camp

One part of my job for the summer is to work at  3 day long English Language Summer Camp. There were 50 high school students from all around the Fukui City/Sakai/Ono City Area. The camp also included many JTE's and ALT's from the area, around 10 international university students, and 10 high school students on exchange from Fullerton, California.

There are so many wonderful stories and moments I'd like to write down that I'm struggling with where to begin.

At the beginning of the camp, I was picked up by bus at my base school with 3 of my future students. There were a few students from Mikuni on the bus already. Between the 7 of us the students were very shy and nervous about speaking to me. We did the introduction thing, talked about where I was from, and what club they were in. Once we had exhausted those topics, the students were very reluctant to keep speaking to me in English. It was obviously uncomfortable for them.

Once we got to the camp we were assigned groups that would be our team for the week. By the end of the week the students were so comfortable, not only with each other, but also with the ALT's that they tried to speak in English and were unafraid of mistakes. It was also a great time to get to know a lot of the older ALT's. I had a blast. I wish all 50 students were Kanazu kids however, I know there will be some awesome kids at Kanazu as well.

View from the second floor.

TOP 5:

5. During the bus ride home everyone was exhausted and there wasn't much chatting. There were a few odd comments here and there but for the most part everyone dozed off. However, when I got up to get off the bus, the boys from Mikuni made sure to wake up enough to say, "Erin! Erin!" When I turned around they all told me, "Thank you!" multiple times. A very sweet moment.

4. Newspaper. Yeah, they wrote about our camp in the newspaper and guess whose group was pictured! It's only like the side of my head in the bottom left corner but still pretty cool.

3. Japanese Food. Every meal was provided for us by the facility we stayed at. That means there was a lot of rice and miso soup but, there was also Japanese curry, squid, pickled veggies, sweet and sour chicken, tea, tofu, and a lot of struggling with chop sticks by me. Every meal I think I said, "What's this?" about 5 times. Also the kids are in charge of serving their own lunch and all of the cleanup. pretty cool.

2. ONSEN! I have finally had my first onsen experience. The facility the camp took place in was a very traditional Japanese place. The baths and showers were all public. Now this might seem horrible to many of you reading this, but I quite enjoyed it. Because, after you finish your shower there is a nice large pool of hot water waiting for you to sit and relax in. Basically every shower was accompanied by relaxation time in a spa. Not a bad deal.

1. One of the cultural activities that we played made the kids stand up and say what each english speaking country is famous for. All of the American ideas were pretty standard. Things like; hamburgers, statue of liberty, Grand Canyon etc... However, one student stood up and said, FAT. All of the americans in the room burst out laughing. It was pretty hysterical.


Alright, now I'm off the get ready for the Mikuni Fireworks festival. Hope that was comprehensible because I don't have time to proof read...

Things You Can’t Be Ready For.

I have so many things that I could say now. I have officially been in Japan almost a whole week but it feels like months. In an effort to keep this post short I wanted to just make a list of things you cant be ready for when in Japan.

1. The Stares.

In Tokyo it isn’t unusual to see a foreigner but, a whole heard of Gaijin, literally meaning alien, walking down the street or into a restaurant draws some serious attention. However, nothing compares to the stares that I have gotten since moving to Fukui. We had two days of Fukui orientation with all the new Fukui JETS, about 23, and a few helpful current JETS. Anytime we go anywhere together people openly stare at you. Sometimes it is funny, like when I saw a guy on his bike almost hit a pole while staring at us. Or when opening my bank account at the bank in Awara, I caught two middle aged bankers opening their office door and peering around the corner at me. Other times it’s just a little uncomfortable. For the most part it isn’t too bad, just humorous.

2. Customer Service.

People had told me that Japan was the land of customer service, but I never expected it to be quite this extreme. I have witnessed hotel workers running from across the room when they notice I am struggling with my giant bags. I know your probably thinking, “Well the Keio plaza hotel is super fancy that isn’t unusual!” No. This was at the Fukui Palace hotel, and that place was no palace (but had surprisingly excellent food.) One new UK Jet told me a story about not being able to use an ATM due to excessive kanji. The 7/11 clerk there didn’t have any English, so they told him to wait there and ran out into the street going back and forth shouting for someone with English to come and help him. After about 5 minutes, a police officer returned with the clerk and, when his English failed they both ran out into the street shouting for help. Crazy. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable letting someone help me so much.

This is the kind of service I am used to...

3. Kanji.
I don’t care how much you have studied Japanese or Kanji. IT IS EVERYWHERE. Definitely pulled out my Japanese textbook and studied. Nothing motivates you more than not being able to tell If what you are buying is chicken or pork.

4. The Beauty Of The Countryside.

We took a 9-hour bus ride from Tokyo to Fukui. It was incredible. Yes, I was exhausted, uncomfortable, and already worn out of traveling. However, the beauty of the Japanese countryside had me so thankful that I wasn’t on a plane or still in Tokyo. I didn’t sleep a wink terrified I would miss something.

5. The Internet.

You would assume that the internet is the same everywhere but it isn't. The moment I first got on the internet with a Japanese ethernet cable, every web page translated its settings automatically into Japanese. This kinda goes along with the Kanji one. Trying to figure out how to change my google accounts settings back to English is high on my list of priorities today. Also, while on youtube all my adds are in Japanese. That is actually quite fun, I hope it never changes.

I’m sure there are more, but this early in the morning I really can’t think of any. And on a totally unrelated note, one of the UK Jet's struggles with my name pronunciation and decided to just call me Arwen. I always feel infinitely cooler when he does. Who wouldn’t?

I'll try to post more stories tomorrow. Today is a full day!