This week's blog is a three course sampler of the past week or so, as we slowly crawl out of our re-entry to Japan newness and ease into a constantly changing approximation of a "normal" life.
1. Avoiding Teacher Brain Atrophy
Early last week I enjoyed a Skype call from my lovely Nagoya friend Sue. And in the course of our ridiculous ramblings and reconnecting of old friendship ties, she mentioned that my former school and employer--Nagoya International School--was hosting a literacy and writing workshop the next weekend, August 13th and 14th, and wouldn't it be grand and glorious if I could find a way to attend.
So Bob and I poked around our finances for a bit and decided that yes, I could attend. So on Friday night, I packed up an overnight bag, tucked large sums of yen into my wallet, and set out on foot for the 15 minute walk to our local subway station. The subway connected me to Kyoto Station, from there I took the bullet train ("Shinkansen") for 39 minutes to Nagoya, and then a 20 minute local JR train ride out to our old home stop of Kozoji. My friend Sue lives exactly a 1 minute walk from Kozoji station. Just a few footfalls and I was in front of her door once again.
The whole trip took me about an hour and a half, which I found lovely and bittersweet by turns. Lovely because the bullet train metamorphosed a 3 hour car ride into a 39 minute train zoom. Bittersweet because I was harboring a teeny spark of hope that it could be possible to commute from Kyoto to Nagoya, should a job magically appear there. Alas, an hour and a half commute (costing, by the way, a total of around 6500 yen one way) was not my idea of sanity.
But I digress.
To make a long story shorter, it was comfortable and soothing being back in Nagoya, at NIS, reconnecting with teachers I hadn't seen in 4 years. The workshop was fantastic, and exactly what my jello-ish mind needed to keep that teaching spark aflame. And of course, getting back together with my wacky and wonderful friend Sue, as well as with her lovely family, was the icing and sprinkles on the cake. After the first day of the conference Sue drove me around to old haunts--past our old house, through our old neighborhood, stopping at our old Starbucks hangout at the local department store for some frosty iced coffee drinks. This trip back to Nagoya made me realize that Nagoya had become my real home away from home, and that I'd have to work extra hard to get the same feeling about Kyoto. However, it was nice to know that, should my Japan vibe need some jump starting, I was less than 2 hours away from a fantastic battery.
2. Jumping into Virtual Learning with both Virtual Feet
This week also marked the beginning of the school year for Patrick and Aya. It has taken most of this week for both kids to really get acclimated to online learning and to being home schooled, and has not been without its share of balking, confusion, whining and hair yanking. (These are just MY reactions--the kids mainly communicated their ire with various unpleasant facial expressions and loud book-related noises.)
This homeschooling experience has already caused me to have a few revelations--which my homeschooling friends will no doubt get a chuckle out of at my expense. However, I have been a classroom teacher for 20 years, so being on the other side of the educational table, so to speak, holds certain enlightenments for me. Freedom of movement--a large component of Montessori education but slightly less so in a regular classroom, especially in upper grades--is a big plus, as the kids are free to drape their bodies on any furniture that appeals to them as they read and study. Permission is not needed to go to the bathroom, nor to get a drink of water (heck, or a glass of juice! Let's go wild!) or some crackers. Subjects can be studied in a variety of sequences and even times, as long as the work gets done.
The biggest plus, as well as the saddest sacrifice specifically for us here in Kyoto, has been the absence of the social aspect. The lack of classmates and friends is something felt keenly by both Patrick and Aya as they try to adjust to a new country and city where they know no one except for Bob and I. However the absence of classmates is also allowing them to concentrate on their studies to a tremendous degree, without the distractions of gossip/clothing/makeup/sports/whispering/note-swapping/teasing (the list goes on). The result of all this is that both Patrick and Aya are able to take in information and complete assignments with much greater success than back in California.
Only time will tell whether the drawbacks will outweigh the benefits of this new endeavor. For now, I'm going to continue to enjoy their progress, and keep my eye out for opportunities for my kids to find some buddies.....before they drive us utterly batty.
3. Daimonji Gozan Okuribi
Tuesday evening we ventured out into the thick, moist twilight, making the 20 minute walk from our tiny street to the banks of the Kamo River. It was August 16th, the week of Obon. Obon, for those of you who do not know, is the time when departed ancestors are supposed to come back home. At this time of year, all the trains are packed with people traveling across Japan, back to their ancestral family homes. There, they clean their ancestors' graves, visit with relatives and attend Bon Odori festivals, where people dance and celebrate. Lanterns or fires are often lit towards the end of Obon, symbolizing the return of the ancestral spirits back to the spirit realm.
In Kyoto, the spirits are sent on their way in a very memorable, traditional and beautiful way. At 8pm, on the 5 mountains surrounding Kyoto, huge kanji characters are set aflame on the sides of each mountain. The characters are:
Daimonji (大文字), meaning "large" or "great"
Myo/Ho (妙・法) meaning "wondrous dharma"
Funagata (舟形), which is the shape of a boat
Hidari Daimonji (左大文字), another character meaning "large"
Torigata (鳥居形), which is the shape of a torii, or shrine gate
The first fire (and the only one we could see clearly) formed the character "Daimonji". From our vantage point by the Kamo River, we could see this character slowly appear, smaller fires joining together until the side of the mountain was brilliantly lit with the single character 大. After that, every 5 minutes another character came to life on another mountain, until by 8:30pm all of the mountains were glowing.
All around us were perhaps thousands of people, lined up along the river all the way into downtown Kyoto, perched on the tops of buildings, ensconced in expensive hotel rooftop restaurants and penthouses--all gathered to witness the symbolic departure of their loved one's spirits back to the spirit realm for another year.
For me, Obon has a special significance, as it shares its week with my brother's birthday. I like to think his spirit took a little detour, just for a few minutes, and joined me along that dark river, watching distant hills glow with fire.
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