All things Choshi and Choshi-ful! Or, "An Explosion of Content"

FIRST POST FROM JAPAN, YEAH!

It's impossible to explain what's happened so far, so let's try to keep it simple, huh?  Plus, I really hate it when I end up bogging down posts or emails with long boring sentences and an overabundance of words, so let's do this one with some pictures and videos, huh?

 This picture was taken just as we were flying in, coincidentally, over Choshi!  You could even see the huuuuge green patches of land where they're growing produce.

...Where I was greeted by a new apartment!  This photo is very strategically taken; not pictured are the huge bags of trash and the crap in the tatami mat room.

And after not having internet or TV for so long, another Choshi ALT brought over this little gem, a legit Super Famicom (Super Nintendo in America) with Street Fighter 2 and Zelda!  Loving it...




Fast forward a week to the awesome Fireworks Festival.  The following pictures taken throughout the night, which is said to be the busiest of the entire year in Choshi.  

When all was said and done, the fireworks lasted over an hour and a half!  Many people camped out early and remained sitting on the streets for hours enjoying the scenery.

Vendors selling yakisoba ("fried noodles," a savory treat) and Okonomiya (sort of like Japanese pizza, ham and bacon on top of an omelette stuffed with vegetables, super Japanese and delicious)

BONUS!  This one's actually from Seattle, before I left for Japan, but I love it so much I wanted to share it...

Next, a compilation of the various (various means two) videos I made between landing and getting internet... the first one chronicles departure and orientation before arrival in Choshi:

While the second video, below, is 2 weeks worth of on-and-off blog posts made in anticipation for future uploading.  In other words, is a schizophrenic isolation-induced romp in what it feels like to be cut off from the world off for two weeks.  Here you'll find all my gritty observations, and as it turns out all I wanted was just a little internet, but NO! Softbank said NO!  And indeed, 2 weeks of my life have been condensed into just 7 minutes:

Next, a few short essays written specifically for this monumental occasion:

Things to Know About Choshi:

Things to know about Choshi:

-          at 7 AM and 6 PM every day, a loud, loud, mega-loud song plays throughout the whole city, so you will never be asleep past 7 AM.

-          Also around 7, the sweet, salty, pungent smell of soy sauce manufacture wafts in through the screen doors and permeates my soul.  It covers the entire city.

-          It is so humid. Unbelievably humid.  Like, bought-a-bike-last-month-and-now-it’s-rusty humid.

-          There are spiders the size of business cards, and they are thrice as deadly.

Now for some positive things:

-          The other ALTs not only live close by but are absolutely a blast.  The members of the Board of Education and even the landlord are great as well.

-          There’s a sweet new mall about 15 minutes away by car with conveyer belt sushi and a movie theater.

-          The city is huge and every little building, nook, and cranny is worth exploring.  Not a Wal-Mart in sight, but a million mom-and-pop type restaurants!

-          The next town over has enough video game, music, and bookstores to satisfy any need.

That last one wasn’t actually about Choshi.

A Little Bit on Culture Shock:

There are four distinct stages to the phenomenon know as “culture shock:”

Stage 1. Euphoria.  Everything is new.  Different.  Beautiful, even PERFECT.  For these fleeting hours, days, or weeks, the world is your oyster.

Stage 2. The Plunge.  Homesickness begins to kick in.  You become frustrated and disconnected, like trying to force a square peg into a round hole.  You have Stage 2 parties with your friends and complain about how much everything sucks in your new home.

Stage 3. Equilibrium. You begin, almost grievingly, to accept your new societal role and surroundings.  You become acquainted with culture-specific customs and behaviors.  Slowly but surely, you begin to blend in.

Stage 4. Up, Up, and Away.  You finally return to your normal self, but with new knowledge and perspective of the world around you.  You are able to successfully navigate social situations and can expertly live in your new world.  You appreciate the cultural differences that are so prevalent, and come to terms with previous iniquities, and surpass all previous quality of existence.

Please enjoy watching me squirm through the stages :-)

Setsuden, or Energy Conservation:

In light of the March 11th disaster that struck Japan, we must look inward to rise to the needs of such a small, harmony-dependent nation.  Since that even, Japan has been in a constant state of energy conservation, called sestsuden, the sort of buzzword describing the post-disaster state of mind.  I don't believe it's mandatory, but you will see many stores and workers try their best to save energy that power plants can no longer produce to meet their needs.  Such an exercise involves avoiding using elevators (it's rough since the board of education is on the 4th floor, but we'll get to the humidity aspect in a second), turning off street signs for stores ("Are they open?  Are they closed?  ARE THEY OPEN?!"), and generally just trying to be less wasteful.  While that last one is really an anytime thing, it's pretty admirable to see the great lengths some people go through for setsuden.  Setsuden's scope has been far-reaching all over Japan, and even department and clothing stores either dim the lights.  The government offices, not needing to run a profit to stay open, are free to shorten their already short hours, to the general head-scratching of those trying to send mail.  It can really become a change of personal lifestyle if you really get into it, as you struggle to conserve water, electricity, and still manage to get your work done while maintaining sanity.  

If you'd like to read a little bit by a professional, check out this great article from The Japan Times about the phenomenon know as setsuden: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20110421wh.html

Overall, Japan has already been a great experience so far with plenty more in store.  From here on out, I hope this blog is a little more "culturally relevant," with enlightening perspective that you can use in your every day life. Until next time!

KANPAI!