My amazing Japanese summer vacation with Mom: Waterfalls and Fireworks!

More apologies for the long delay! This time I have a really good excuse. Besides my internet breaking again and being really busy at work, I got a contract for Treasure Traitor with Double Dragon Publishing! It’s a small, e-book and print on demand paper back publisher, and I`ve been ripping my hair out trying to decide if it`s the right time/right choice. I got an email from a Christian agent I sent the book to who says it`s not ready yet. She loves the story, but it`s just not good enough yet. She said she was really glad she waited on publication so that her writing could mature. But then I looked up her name on google and couldn`t find a single thing she`s written. Maybe she waited TOO long, or in other words, hasn`t published at all. She also cautioned me against an ebook publisher since I likely won`t be able to sell the paper rights to anyone else for at least five years. But ebooks are sort of the new thing now, and she strikes me as a little old fashioned. Other people feel I`m ready, that this is a good opportunity, but I have a really sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I just can`t shake. What`s wrong with me? I`ve strived for ten years to get a contract with a publisher and worked really hard on this submission specifically, and this is my all-time dream. Is my anxiety from God or is it self-induced? I asked God to give me a clear, decisive answer, and when I read my devotional for that night it was about "waiting on the Lord." The sermon on Sunday was about resisting temptation and not giving into the devil's lies. But then when I prayed about it today, my devotional was Ephesians 5, which includes the verse "Be very careful, then how you live-- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's Will is." I was so certain God was telling me no before I read that. Is this my big chance or would I be making a mistake? The timing SEEMS perfect, just after I get back from Japan. But then, maybe receiving the email from the agent at the exact same time is also "good timing." Double Dragon is also interested in the sequels, so that would give me something definite to work on with deadlines. But I can`t help but notice that some of the books they publish are a little lacking in editorial quality, as if they could have used a few more good revisions, and they don't seem very selective, but they have some award-winning authors too. Ug, I drive myself crazy! I haven`t been able to sleep or eat for three days. I hate to keep them waiting and should probably give them my decision soon. I just wish I could tell the future, sometimes, you know? Or maybe I just need to trust God more.

Anywho, back to my vacation with Mom. (There`s nothing like procrastination!) Saturday morning, we went to akame guchi! Well, there was a bit of a communication mix up and Mom took a little long getting ready. We almost missed the 10:00 bus to the falls, but caught it just in time. It was so full! But it’s no wonder everyone wanted to go to the waterfalls; the weather was perfect. Once we arrived, we stopped by the salamander center just before the main path. Japanese salamanders are HUGE! But check out this little Mexican guy with the red gills. He’s cute:



Here’s the river leading up through the waterfalls. It’s really pretty in the morning, with a bit of mist steaming off the water.



Surprisingly, it wasn’t too buggy. The river spills over a total of forty-eight waterfalls and leads through a primeval forest of mostly cedar and fern. It’s quite…enchanting. Mother and I both stopped by an interesting tree with unusually flat roots. No doubt the flatness was caused by shoes trampling over them through the centuries, but we both got an impression of fairies or some other little creatures living in the tree and using the flat space as a dancing square. I thought it was interesting that we both came up with the idea independently. I guess I get my creative side from my mom. So here’s our fairy tree:



Even though there are technically forty-eight waterfalls, only about seven of them are big enough to be particularly impressive. Here’s one of the first big falls, one of my favorites:



And here’s a path leading up the mountain, but we weren’t allowed to go up there:



Not long after that, Mom had her first experience with Japanese toilets. She was shocked that the Japanese wouldn't prefer Western style after visiting other countries.

"These are so unsanitary and uncomfortable," she noted.

I shrugged. "Believe it or not, I've seen people prefer the Japanese style over Western."

That completely dumbfounded her. I didn't tell her how bad the toilets (aka holes in the ground) were at this park. Suffice it to say, when something in my pocket fell down the hole (at the time I thought it was my train ticket), I didn't even consider reaching into the dark pit of doom to retrieve it.

About three quarters of the way along the trail, we came to a beautiful green pool full of fish. I was so tempted to jump right in! Surprisingly though, no one was swimming. A few kids were splashing in the pools nearer to the falls, but absolutely no adults. I don't care; I'm a foreigner, I'm entitled to stick out and look weird. Next time I'm definitely bringing my bathing suit:



Doesn't it just scream "Swim in me?"

Mom started getting pretty exhausted after that, not to mention overheated (it was about 95 degrees; not so bad in and of itself, but after hiking in it for long enough, it starts to get to you). They say it takes 1.5 hours to hike the trail and 1.5 hours to hike back. Yeah, right. More like 3 hours there and 3 hours back. I pushed her on just a little further, and it was worth it. We made it to the famous twin falls, the pride of Akame guchi. Here they are:



The brochure says it looks a giant carrying a boulder on its shoulder. I like the rhyme, but I don't quite see it. Maybe a giant's face, with the water as crying eyes and the rock as a nose. That I can see.

On the way back, I took mom's picture by the first big falls. Here she is:



So I've been to the falls three times now, but I've never hiked the whole trail! Next time. It's on my list of things to do before I leave Japan!

So we got back to my apartment about 5:15, hoping to change into our yukata before dinner with Pastor Toshi's family and fireworks at 6:30, perhaps even take a nice little nap. That's when I realized I did not drop my train ticket in the toilet pit of doom. I dropped my house key. I spent about five minutes fretting about what to do, rang all my neighbor's doorbells to find that they were not home, and after ten minutes lucked out and cornered one of them just as he was pulling in the tiny apartment lot. He brought a phone book and I called my land lord. No answer. I called the lock smith. No answer. Just when I was about to panic, the lock smith called me. Turns out, the one and only lock smith in Nabari was in Iga for the day, about forty-five minutes away. Fortunately, however, his secretary spoke English (she sounded like she was from the Philippines) and promised to get ahold of him. All this time, my poor mother is sitting against my metal door, sweating buckets, assuring me she's all right, she'll just go to sleep right there. Then Pastor Toshi calls at 6:00 and says he wants us to walk to Jusco for dinner. (There's no way they can pick us up, go back and find a parking spot because of the fireworks.) I drag Mom a mile to the restaurant (at least it's air-conditioned) to have a Japanese style dinner sitting on the floor. Mom is shocked when even Pastor Toshi's elderly father sits on the floor, but I assure her that's just custom. All during this time, I'm trying to get hold of my friend Karen who wanted to see the fireworks with us, but to no avail. The lock smith's secretary called me and said the smith would call me at 7:00 when he came back from Iga. But that wouldn’t give me enough time to get to the fireworks! Thinking of my mom I said OK, but he never called. Our dinner took forever to arrive, and Mom realized she does not like soba (a noodle made from a special kind of green plant), Japanese rice (or at least not in the quantity that it is given)…or just about any other kind of Japanese food except for tonkatsu, fried pork. But we finished just in time to go outside and see the fireworks start at 7:50.

Karen called me back and we said we would meet on the bridge. Ha, ha. The bridge was packed with all kinds of food and game stalls and well over a thousand people, looking for the “best spot” to see the fireworks. We watched them there for awhile, but Mom hated the sardine feeling again, so we looked for a less crowded spot. Finally, about ten minutes before they ended, we found a really good spot along the street.

Japanese hanabi (literally flower fire) are really amazing! These lasted for a full forty-five minutes, and were brighter, bigger, louder, and more colorful than American fireworks, and often ended with a special effect like crackling, changing colors, golden streams falling, or screamers. That’s the other thing, Japanese screamers look like little ghosts, snaking their way up to heaven with a blood-curdling screech. I wonder if the metaphor is intentional or if I just have a strange way of making associations. Here’s a video, though no screamers in it. You’ll get to see those in my Shirarahama fireworks video later! But if you ever come to Japan, I definitely recommend going to see a fireworks display. Plus they’re free!



After all the excitement and big booms, I called my land lord back. Of course, he was still lingering at the fireworks with his four kids. I got in the car with Pastor Toshi’s family and continued to call until I finally got ahold of his mother, I think. We realized it would be a lot faster if Mom and I simply walked home, since the traffic wasn’t going anywhere. The land lord’s father came over and he opened the door for us. Sure enough, my spare key was in my wallet, which I had left at home. Who knows what happened to the locksmith, but at least I didn’t have to pay over $100 to get my door opened! And Mom got to sleep in a real bed…or rather a real futon that night, under the air conditioning. Poor Mom probably walked well over ten miles that day!

So that’s all for Saturday, July 24th! On Sunday we went to the Tenjin festival in Osaka, one of the three largest festivals in Japan!

My Japanese Summer Vacation with Mom Part I!

Osashibudi, long time no see! Sorry for the long hiatus; I just got back from two amazing weeks of summer vacation with my mom, but no computer access. We went to Akame Taki waterfalls, Osaka Tenjin festival, Kyoto, (the Golden Temple, Imperial Palace, Water Temple, and a Geisha show), Mount Fuji (I climbed all the way to the top!), Shirahama (where we went to the beach, Adventure World Zoo and Theme Park, Sandanbeki cliffs, scuba diving, the glass bottom boat, moon island, Shirahama fireworks festival, Shirahama bon odori dance festival, and a lot more!), Toba (dolphin island, pearl island, Toba bay cruise), Ise Grand Shrine, and Nara (deer park, largest bronze statue in the world, temples, shrines, and lantern festival). I just love the Japanese ocean! And my students prepared three feasts for my mother and me. My Thursday night class threw her a welcome party, then my Wednesday class a midway party, and my church a bon voyage party! Everything was so spectacular I can hardly begin to describe it! I miss my mom already. It was so nice having someone else in my apartment, even if it made things a little cramped.

So, where to begin? How about when Mom arrived on Thursday the 22nd of July? I took the day off from work so I could be at Kansai airport to pick her up right at 4:00 when her plane landed. The flight board said it arrived at 3:45, but I waited for over an hour. I was beginning to worry when she finally ran through the exit gate of customs, throwing her arms around me and sputtering about how long the customs line was. She was just in time to catch the 5:05 bus to Uehomachi train station and the 6:15 train to Nabari, making it back at 7:20 sharp. The train really scared Mom. We were in the middle of rush hour, packed in like sardines. The first thing she noted when she entered my apartment (after the three flights of stairs we had to haul her luggage up), was the wave of oven-hot air that hit her face. “So this is why you`re always complaining about the heat!”

But there was no reason to turn on the air conditioner, because just a few minutes later Pastor Kumi called and said she was waiting at the curb to pick up Mom and me. Mom was further shocked to find the pastor`s family along with ten of my students and church members awaiting her with tons of home-cooked Japanese food. We started with introductions, then while Pastor Kumi was fitting me into a tight yukata in the Sunday school room, the church members teased poor Mom with repeated attempts to get her to eat octopus. She wasn`t familiar enough with Japanese humor to realize they were only joking. I had told them specifically that she would not eat any octopus. But once I returned to the main room to guide her through the foreign dishes, she found plenty of things she liked. Salad, of course, and fresh fruit, pork soup, custard, and fried chicken. At her insistence, I carefully steered her clear of anything raw or fishy, which excluded about half the dishes, including fried squid, octopus balls, caviar, and salmon guts. But I enjoyed myself some juicy, succulent eel! Quite a delicacy in Japan and my first time to try it.

While she stayed with me, Mom slept on my futon in the living room directly beneath my one and only window air conditioner while I slept in my boiling but soft bed. It was an arrangement easily agreed upon, since I`d rather be hot than sleep on the floor, and she`d rather sleep on the floor than be hot.

On Friday morning I went to school but let Mom sleep in to get over her jet lag (which she dealt with surprisingly well). At noon, my supervisor and I picked her up and took her to a nice Chinese restaurant in town along with three other English teachers. We all had a very nice lunch, though everyone was pretty quiet. Then Mom came to school with me and I showed her around. I was surprised when the principle and vice principle asked to speak with us us. The secretary brought us tea and we chatted for quite a long time in mixed Japanese and English, me translating, about Oklahoma and Japan. They were quite curious about our home. I introduced Mom to quite a few other teachers, showed her the art projects around the school, and we watched the Kendo club for a bit. They practice for hours without an instructor, no jokes, no unnecessary talking, completely focused with the club president directing them. (But I`m sure they have an instructor on some days.) There are four boys and one girl, so they switch off every so often to make sure everyone gets a turn to practice the forms in pairs. It`s taken me forever to get this video up, but here they are:



Mom was surprised by how disciplined and polite they were. As soon as we came into their practice area, they stopped everything, bowed, sat us down in the coolest corner, and brought us more tea. I explained to Mom that it was all part of their training; kendo is more than just sword fighting. It embodies the art of the ancient samurai, which includes strict codes on how to live and treat others with utmost honor, respect, and hospitality. Mom said we need a kendo club in Oklahoma.

After that, the little nature area across from my school impressed her quite a bit, especially the forest and wild flowers. Have I ever mentioned how Japan is a mish-mash of ecosystems and climates? Some plants appear tropical, others temperate, some desert. Where else can you find a cactus, palm tree, orchid, pine tree, azalea bush, and balloon flower all growing within the same ten square feet, naturally outside? (Well, maybe the balloon flower was planted.)

Finally we ended with band, and Mom was shocked to discover that there was no band class, only club. All practice is after school and on weekends, and the teachers are not even professional band conductors. They are math and Japanese and science teachers who volunteer huge amounts of their time without getting paid any extra. And they`re so good! Our hometown high school band in Owasso, Oklahoma is very good, having marched in the Rose Bowl parade four times, more than any other non-California band. Mom said the director Mr. Gorum has met his match in the Kikyogaoka band director. He wouldn’t let the kids get away with a single phrase until it was shaped and dynamicked and punctuated to perfection. My own music professor from college, Dr. Childs, would have been neck to neck with him. And the kids never said a word. Every one of them was 100% focused all day long in a non-air conditioned room from 8:45am to 6:00pm nearly every day of their six week “summer vacation.” When their part wasn`t practicing, they didn`t so much as space out but continued silently working on their own parts. Mom says next time she hears an American band kid complain about all the time and effort they spend on band, she`ll just tell them about the Japanese band system and get them to shut right up.

Oh, there was one more incident before we left school. I wanted to show Mom the "fancy Japanese toilets." You see, toilets in Japan are either holes in the ground, or full-automated thrones with music, sound effects, seat warmers, and a dozen other buttons I have never been able to determine. So I showed her one and started pushing the different buttons, and low and behold a little pipe came out and sprayed her in the face! Oops! I guess that toilet had a gag function.

Shortly after that, our motto for the trip became "stuff happens." Anytime anything went wrong, we would just laugh and say, "It`s Japan. Stuff happens." I think that`s about the only way my poor mother stayed sane while I culture shocked her into about a hundred different experiences that even I had never had before.

Friday evening, I took Mom to Okuwa store and bought her a yukatta for the fireworks festival Saturday night. The saleslady and man fussed all over her until we had just the right robe, obi (sash and bow), shoes, and undergarments. It was pretty neat to get to do that for my mom, remembering our trips to the big department stores in Tulsa once a year when I was young to get me the perfect, affordable, washable Easter or Christmas dress with all the frills and ruffles and the ooing and awing associated with being the only girl in the family, let alone the gorgeous prom dresses my mother bought for me and I enjoyed prancing to parties in for a number of years. It was about time I paid someone to fuss over her. She settled on a red yukatta covered in pinkish pianese, a purple and gold obi, and red flowered shoes.

I had a lot more planned for that day, but it was already 7:00, so we headed home and I made her Tai chicken curry for dinner with a side of yogurt and chocolate liquor ice cream for dessert. I think it turned out pretty well.

The next day we went to Akame Taki Waterfalls, but I have to go to an English teachers` seminar in Tsu now, the capital of my prefecture, so that`s all I have time for until later. My hard drive came for my computer, so I should also be able to insert some pictures soon!

Kyoto Gion Festival: 3rd largest festival in Japan!

First, I just want to say that I feel sorry for my school`s baseball team. It always rains in Japan without warning. It will be sunny, no thunder, no wind, and suddenly a cloud rolls over and it starts pouring in great gray sheets. Still no thunder. No lightning. No wind. It rains long enough to get the screaming kids completely soaked. And suddenly the cloud passes and it stops. It`s rather inconvenient. Especially for baseball games.

But at least the rain serves one good purpose. It provides a respite from the blasting heat and humidity. My plans for several weekends in a row were ruined by rain, making me overjoyed to learn it would be sunny for the Gion Festival in Kyoto, one of the three largest festivals in all Japan. Looking back, I might have been better off if it rained.

Friday night I left for my friend Kayoko`s house in Kyoto without even going home first. Already the streets were packed, filled with men and women dressed in their summer kimono, or yukatta, lining up to see the floats that would be paraded through the streets the following morning. I had just bought myself a yukatta the week before and had practiced getting it on and off myself so I wouldn`t have to rely on anyone to help me. Well, a Westerner trying to put on her own yukatta is about as sorry-looking as an Easterner attempting to shake hands and bow at the same time (which is usually what they do and it`s starting to be a bad habit for me too). A Japanese woman actually stopped me in the train station, pulled me into a corner and right there in public stripped off my robe and put it back on me proper. (Fortunately I had shorts on underneath, but no shirt.)

So it was that when I got to the station where I was supposed to meet Kayoko, telling her I was wearing a yukatta didn`t help much. But her telling me she was about the only one not dressed up helped immensely. By the time I got there it was already past viewing time for the floats, but we had dinner in a delicious and cheap (a rare treasure in Japan) noodle shop. Then I spent the night at her house. Here`s me in my yukatta there:



Kayoko and her mom have a beautiful home and are some of the nicest people I have ever met. It`s thanks to Kayoko that I have these pictures. My camera was broken, so she let me borrow hers. Thanks, Kayoko!

The festival itself was amazing. A huge procession of thirty-two ancient floats paraded through the streets, decorated with beautiful tapestries from Persia, China, Turkey, and Europe. The festival got its start in 869AD when a terrible plague struck Kyoto. Young men totted large wooden floats around the city in prayer that the plague would end. When it did shortly afterwards, carrying or pulling floats became a yearly tradition in memory of the answered prayer. Since modern times, there is a competition between different neighborhoods in Kyoto to have the tallest, most elaborate float. Here`s some pictures:



Get a load of that crowd! I`ve never seen so many people in my life. We were packed so tight we couldn`t even move!

This is a close up of the float in the previous picture, probably my favorite one. It`s a ship!



Here`s a float with two fan dancers. Turning the floats was quite the spectacle (hence it was the most crowded spot on the entire street). Whenever it was time to do it, the fan dancers would signal the crowd with a little dance. No video at this distance though; far too wobbly!



In this picture you can see them rigging the float with ropes to do the turn:



The only thing is, I thought it would be cool for me to wear my yukatta again that morning. I figured, well, it`s meant for summer, right? Apparently in name only. I noticed there were considerably less people in yukatta than the night before. Within a few minutes we were lodged within a sea of sweaty bodies so dense there was no way to fight our way out. I had purposely tied my yukatta loosely 1. So I could breathe easily and 2. So it wouldn`t stick to my sweat-slicked body, creating a natural insulator. Well, along behind me pushed this other Japanese lady, considerably older than the one who helped me in the train station, and before I know it she was untying my obi (large decorative belt) right there in the crowd. She gives it several hefty jerks to tighten it (the obi is in many ways, the Japanese version of the corset), readjusts the bow so that it`s jabbing into my back, gives me a pat and pushes me up further away from Kayoko into the sun. I`m sure she thought she was being very nice. I however, could not stand the discomfort, so Kayoko and I shoved and ramroded our way through the throng (with the help of some police directing the flow of feet) to the less crowded byways. Meandering, we found a little shop selling all things related to the festival, including miniature versions of the floats. Here they are, so you can see what they all look like together:



We decided to take lunch at quaint little place that was again both surprisingly cheap and delicious. Do you know the American restaurant Cheesecake Factory? Imagine that, only a third the price, and with parfait instead of cheesecake! The Japanese love parfait, and this store had over one hundred to choose from, including jumbos that would have taken at least ten people to finish! As with all Japanese restaurants, they had plastic models of the food displayed in their windows. Here`s a picture of their monster parfait!



Though it was hard to decide, Kayoko and I both settled on something more modest, coffee for her and chocolate/strawberry for me. We spent a nice relaxing hour there, then headed back to the festival. Just in front of the restaurant we found a much better view with less people. Here`s a picture of the men pulling the float, dressed in traditional Edo period (1603-1868) costume:



And here`s a closer look at the float they were pulling. You can get a good look at the tapestries here. Can you tell which ones are from Europe?



Here`s a weird flying-man float. I have no idea what it`s supposed to symbolize, but it looks cool!



It was so hot we should have just called it quits then, but it takes me over two hours to get to Kyoto, so I stubbornly wanted to get the most out of the trip. So we went to the famous Heian shrine. Well, apparently all the other tourists visiting Kyoto from around the world had the same idea. Add to that the fact that the Heian shrine is the main Shinto shrine in Kyoto, so naturally all festivities begin and end there. We were just in time for the closing ceremony which involved a lot of shouting men walking around in circles in strange costumes. Believe it or not, the crowd was even more dense there!



Here`s a picture of some of the shrines stationary floats:



We decided to escape before it ended. But the crowd coming into the shrine was so vast we couldn`t get out. We were trapped! It was so hot and I couldn`t breathe properly, so I did something that I had never done before in my entire life. I fainted, right there in the middle of the jam-packed street. Not on purpose, of course! (How would one faint on purpose anyway?) Everything just went black and I fell sideways. If I had been in America I probably would have smashed my head on the asphalt, but the Japanese are always very aware of their surroundings and thoughtful to boot, so several strong arms reached out to catch me just before I hit the ground. Fortunately we were right next to a convenience store so the crowd parted to let me in, and after several minutes in the cool air conditioning, Kayoko flagged a taxi and we got back to her house all right. After several glasses of cold water I felt a lot better and was able to go home that evening and to church the next morning. But I had been planning to go to Spain land on Monday (because it was a national holiday) and decided against it. My mother is coming on Thursday and we have tons of travel plans, so I figured I just needed a day home to rest.

All in all it was an amazing festival and I`m glad I went, but here`s some advice to fellow travelers:

1.) In the middle of a blazing summer, yukattas are better worn only in the evening.
2.) Before being pushed head-first into a huge crowd, check to see if there are other areas that are less crowded. In most festivals in Japan and elsewhere, the most crowded spot in a parade is where there is a bridge or where the floats have to turn.
3.) Know when enough is enough. (I probably should have quit after the festival ended.) If you`re hot and sweaty, you`re only going to get more so. Avoid trying to cram a lot of tourist attractions into a festival day because other tourists will have the same idea.

In the future, I will take this advice to heart and be able to have an even more enjoyable time at Japanese festivals, including Tenjin matsuri next weekend in Osaka, another one of Japan`s three largest festivals.

Prayer Requests for this week: My mother is coming to visit me this Thursday! I`m so excited! Together we will see many historical and natural treasures of Japan, fireworks and festivals. Please pray for safety for her and me as we travel all over Japan in the next two weeks! Consequently I will probably not have another chance to write a blog for another two weeks, but I promise I will have lots to report with tons of pictures when we get back!

Until next time, keep loving and keep praying,
L. J. Popp

Some scary happenings...

Well, I was planning to go to the Toba aquarium this Saturday morning and afternoon, but something totally crazy happened on Friday night while I was asleep. I shouldn`t give any details, but suffice it to say someone broke into my apartment (well, actually I was stupid and left my door unlocked), and did some rather…disturbing things, including throw up all over my bathroom. I think this person was drunk. Anyway, I`m OK, this person didn`t hurt me. I called the ambulance and they came, then someone (not me) called the police, and then this person was taken to the station for questioning. I`m OK. Just a little shell-shocked.

What did I learn from this experience? ALWAYS lock your door. Japan isn`t safe anymore, even in the inaka (countryside). I say this as a warning to others, especially single ladies living alone. Something terrible could have happened to me! Thank God it didn`t…

I definitely think that was an attack from the Enemy. Because Saturday was our Popp movie night at the church! Saturday I was so exhausted I slept in late, then did some chores around the house, then went to church to help host the event. Despite the attack from the night before, it went great! We showed the American movie Fire Proof (Fire Storm in Japanese) and even though only two ladies came (both from my Thursday night class), they responded really well! We had a really great discussion afterwards. I definitely recommend it. Hopefully, we`ll have a movie night every month!

Prayer Requests for this week: I would appreciate your prayers for peace and safety. This sort of thing might continue…I really hope it doesn’t. Also, praise for the fact that my Thursday night class is growing! We`re up to nine people now!

Speaking of that class (this isn`t a prayer request, just observation), last week we played “getting to know you bingo.” That`s really fun. Basically you write 9-12 categories on a piece of paper, like “friends, food, hobbies, movies, books, family, animals, sports, music” and spread them throughout the paper in grid form (3 X 3 or 3 X 4 etc). Then ask the students to write a yes or no question for each. Such as, “Do you have a sister?” and “Do you like strawberries?” and “Do you own a cat?” Then they go around the room asking each other the questions. As soon as they find someone who says “Yes,” they write their name under the category. The first person with a blackout wins! The only problem, of course, is that maybe there is no one who can answer your question. There are two solutions for this. With an easy class, make it so the questions are very basic, such as “Do you play a sport?” and “Do you have any sisters or brothers?” Or, for a more advanced class, you could have them ask any question pertaining to that category (animals, movies, whatever), until they find one that the other person answers “yes” to, then they write down the question and the person`s name. This second version takes longer, but gets them to use more English. I can`t claim credit for this game, by the way. I got it at an English camp, though I did modify it slightly.

Anyway, I added some pictures to my earlier posts entitled “A Japanese Fourth of July” and “Camping and Barbequing in Japan!” These are from other people`s cameras, because unfortunately, mine is still broken and the shop won`t have it fixed for another two weeks! (Hopefully it`ll be done by the time Mom comes!) My computer is also still broken…but the one at school works great and I got an awesome new story idea! So life goes on, the good, the bad, the terrifying, and the glorious.

Until next time, keep loving and keep praying,
L. J. Popp

A Japanese Fourth of July

Howdy! This past week didn`t start off too well, with constant, torrential rain, crippling heat and my computer breaking, but it sure improved towards the end!

My computer breaking is probably the hardest thing. It means I can`t download new Japanese lessons onto my I-phone, can`t type or do research for my stories or email agents/publishers at home, can`t download pictures from my camera, can`t have skype Bible study, and can`t talk to my mom or anyone else in America! Isn`t it funny how much we can come to rely on technology? A year ago I didn`t have any of those things and didn`t even know some of them were possible! But a year ago I wasn`t in Japan, either. I asked a friend to take a look at it, and then the school computer teacher, and both determined it was the hard drive and I will have to take it to a repair shop. Drat.

The inconvenience has resulted in me staying a school much longer than I used to, doing some of the many things I typically depend on my computer for (though downloading and skype are still off limits). It hasn`t been so bad, and proven to have a small blessing in disguise, because it saves me on my air conditioning bill. The insulation in my apartment is so bad (actually non-existent) that the inside is at least ten degrees (Fahrenheit) hotter than the outside! As if the walls actually act as an oven, especially in my kitchen. I actually ordered pizza last night just so I wouldn`t cook myself while I was preparing dinner! Two nights in a row I keep waking up at intervals in a hot, feverish, sticky sweat because there is no air conditioner in my room. I keep a high-power fan trained on me and open the windows at night, but it does little good, and I awake in the morning feeling physically sick from the heat. It`s hard to find the energy to do anything, even to think or write. I should probably start sleeping on my futon under my air-con unit (air conditioner) in my living room. Hmm, bad back or fever? Hard choice, but for awhile, anyway, I`ll take the bad back. I can always go to the chiropractor later.

But on a much happier note, I got a wonderful letter from an agent the other day! I had written a snail query letter to Seth Fishman of Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. about a week ago and didn`t even expect it to get to him for maybe two weeks. But low and behold, less than two weeks after I sent it, he wrote me this:

I received your query and had the chance to read it, thanks so much for sharing. You are legit good. This is Anne McCaffrey meets Janny Wurts. The thing is, as much as I like fantasy, I really don’t do much of it. I’m more of a hardcore sci-fi guy. Have you tried Don Maass? I’m so sorry I’m passing for such a simple reason – but you don’t want an agent who angles in the wrong direction – I don’t know the editors you need for the book! I wish you the very best of luck – I know this will work out for you.

How about that? Even though he didn`t take it, this is the first “sign” that I`m on the right track. After twenty form rejection letters for Treasure Traitor, I finally get one that tells me I`m doing it right! Yeah! Funny thing is, just before I got this, I already sent it to Amy Boggs at Don Maass! She still hasn`t responded yet and it`s been a few weeks, so soon as it hits the one month mark, I`ll send her a little reminder and let her know what Mr. Fishman said! That ought to earn me some brownie points!

Thursday I think it was, Pastor Toshi told me about the most amazing thing ever! A tour to Mt. Fuji beginning right at Nabari station! I was going to go with one out of Osaka, and though this one is a little more expensive, it`s totally worth the convenience (Mom and I don`t have to wake up at 5:00am to catch the bus and not get back until 11:00pm the next day). No getting lost, no worries, just catch the bus right across the street from my apartment and follow the crowd! The only downside is that we have to climb late at night, but we`d probably have to do that anyway in order to catch the sunrise, since all the mountain sleeping huts are booked and camping isn`t allowed (but who wants to haul a tent up a mountain anyway)?

On Saturday I had a pretty big disappointment when both Kayoko and Karen said they couldn`t go on my planned birthday trip to Nagashima Spaland. And it rained. But I didn`t want to be cooped up in my apartment all by myself, so I got the “brilliant” idea to go to Universal Studios Japan. The unofficial name of USJ is “America Land” (what with Spainland in Ise, Dutchland in Nagasaki, and Chinaland in Yokohama, it only makes sense) so I figured they would no doubt have a Fourth of July celebration, yeah? My computer being down, I couldn`t check this assumption, but I was so convinced that I went anyway. Well, it was pouring. Half the shows were closed. And no, absolutely nothing on the schedule about America. So I “pulled an America” and soon as I read the schedule, marched right back to the gate and asked for my money back. It took me fifteen minutes and a fee of 500 yen, but eventually I got the other 5,600 yen (about sixty dollars) back. I hope that wasn`t too rude of me…but I didn`t ride any rides or see any shows, so it`s no skin off their back. I left the park and took the ferry to the aquarium (with the combo ticket, together they cost 2,300 yen, less than half of USJ). That proved to be the best choice I made all week.

Why? Well, first of all there was a free indoor Hawaiian festival in Tempozan harbor village right next to the aquarium. I spent a few enjoyable hours watching dancing and eating cheap American fast food. Then about 4:00, I went to the aquarium. I was just in time to see them feeding the Asian river otters! They pull on the keepers pants and chirp! They`re sooooo cute! Mischievous little devils, though, always fighting and pulling pranks, quite obnoxious. I wouldn`t want to be their keeper! But who should I find also watching them but an American family from Connecticut! The oldest son and daughter were really interested in coming to Japan more, so I ended up following them around until the aquarium closed, answering their questions and discussing Japanese culture with them as we enjoyed the wonderful sights of the aquarium together. I love whale sharks! They`re probably one of the few animals I would actually wear a “I (heart) such and such” T-shirt for. Sun fish are pretty cool too…and there were baby penguins! Here`s a picture the daughter, Robin, took:



Here`s one they just sent me of us all together (except the Mr. Engel; he`s taking the picture).



Anyway, they treated me to dinner at a restaurant I recommended. All in all it was a really awesome day!

Sunday my phone died, so I couldn`t call anyone to pick me up for church so I walked with my cupcakes. It was a really nice service, and afterwards everyone decorated my cupcakes red, white, and blue in the shape of the American flag. It was quite funny to see everyone so confused about how an American flag is supposed to look, but then it is a quite complicated design in comparison with the extremely simple Japan flag: a white field with a single red circle directly in the middle. (There`s something to be said for simplicity.) But despite some misplaced stars and stripes, the cupcakes still tasted delicious.

In the afternoon I went to Jusco`s American food fair and bought a ton of slightly overpriced American meat, fruit and vegetables! Yum! Subsequently, Pastor Toshi and Pastor Kumi graciously invited me to another barbeque, and this time I remembered my fireworks. Ayatan and I played with my glow lights while we were waiting for the food, then we enjoyed American steaks! I brought some vegetables, fruit and pork. Japanese pork, ironically, never gives me a headache the way American pork does, even the sausages, but these being American pork CHOPS I didn`t have a problem with them either. Ayatan and I must have set off and chased each other with a hundred sparklers before I finally went home about 11:00. I even got to enjoy some leftovers for the next day`s lunch and dinner!

So the Fourth of July was pretty amazing! I got to introduce Japanese culture to some other Americans, have a barbeque with my church family, stuff myself with American food, shoot off fireworks, the whole nine yards! Maybe I`ll just stay in Japan forever. No, I miss my American family too much, especially my mom. But she`s coming two weeks from tomorrow! Yeah! I can`t wait to see her. I have so much planned for her! But I don`t want to spoil the surprise.
The only other thing to report is that I bought a really cheap yukata (cotton summer kimono) yesterday! It`s so beautiful. It`s black with purple and pink flowers, petals, and glitter. They wouldn`t let me try it on before I bought it, but I tried it on when I got home and it fits great! I just don`t know how to properly wear it…I`ll have to do some research on youtube. That`s how I learned to wear an Indian sari.

Prayer requests for this week: Please continue to pray that my computer gets fixed soon! Health despite the heat would be nice too. And remember my class for parents and teachers last week? Well, two of the ladies started coming to my Thursday night church class! And the other two new ladies are coming regularly and are responding very well to the lessons! Last time we talked about America`s Christian roots, famous American Christians and their impact on society. Please pray for these ladies, that God will open up their hearts to receive His Love and Salvation. God is doing great things!

Until next time, keep loving and keep praying,

L. J. Popp

Camping and Barbequing in Japan!

My apologies that this is so late! My computer died so I haven`t been able to download any pictures, so I had to wait until the I got some from the school photographer (the computer teacher). Sorry!

Last weekend was my birthday! Part of me wanted to stay in Nabari and celebrate with my church and friends, but months before I had paid to go on a camping trip with some other English teachers, and totally forgot that this weekend was my birthday! So I decided to go and celebrate with my friends next weekend. We went to Owase in the South of Mie Prefecture, planning to swim and hike and have a great time. But, alas, it rained ALL weekend, so we were stuck in the cabins. (I shared one with a Canadian girl named Erica and her Japanese boyfriend Yoshi.) I spent most of Saturday reading Eragon, though in the afternoon I got literal cabin fever and decided to take a walk in the rain. I must admit, the mountains were beautiful through all the mist, and everything was so GREEN! Once I finally get my computer fixed, I`ll download some pictures.

I don`t feel like the weekend was wasted because of the rain though, as it rained in Nabari too and would have canceled any plans I made with my friends. And Saturday evening we had a delicious barbeque, though it was the Japanese sort that lasts about two hours, just cooking, eating, and cleaning up, rather than the American kind that can last all day with games of frizzbe, potato sack racing, watermelon seed spitting contests, and just generally being stupid and American. One guy tried to lead us in some good ol` raucous singing, but our Japanese neighbors politely asked us to shut up after two songs. I can`t really blame them. If the Japanese are going to party, they do it inside in a privately rented room at a hotel, bar, club, or restaurant, with appropriate karaoke machine, not live instruments, whereas just a few decades ago in America, to have a party without live instruments was considered very low-class (and ironically, some people still think that). I find it humorous how each culture and time has their idea of how to “party appropriately.” To the Japanese, outside is supposed to be peaceful and quiet. So basically the whole concept of “inside” and “outside” voices doesn’t really translate cross-culturally.

I totally missed the memo that we were supposed to bring our own meat and vegetables to grill (though that makes perfect sense and it was dumb of me to assume otherwise), but thankfully Jonathan from my town brought extras for everyone and we just paid him. Yeah, thanks Jonathan! Then everyone surprised me at the end of the barbeque by singing me Happy Birthday and giving me a strawberry ice cream shortcake bar! Awesome, thanks guys! And then we had a mini-dance party in the all-girls cabin. I may stink at dancing, but I love it, especially when there are no guys around and I can just have fun.

Sunday I got back to Nabari about 1:00 and spent the day hanging out with my church family (watching a documentary about the historical inaccuracies of the Di Vinci Code: rather interesting) and goofing off in my apartment. Goofing off to me is reading, watching movies and playing video games. So all in all, it was a good birthday. Next weekend I`m going to Nagashima Spaland to celebrate with my friends! Yeah! Hmm, I have so many fireworks I have to get rid of. I got them as a present from my cell phone company when I signed on last year…weird, huh? I wonder when I can use them…

Monday June 28th, I taught a two hour English class for parents and teachers at my high school. I was totally stressed about it. I had written three different sets of lesson plans and the other English teachers rejected all of them, despite the fact that I kept asking over and over “what do you want” and I tried to cater to their vague answers like “we would like to bake something American” and “not too hard, we just want to have fun…” Originally I started with a sort of “hello” lesson, a very basic conversation builder designed, by the end of the class, to have them saying their name, where they were from, what their hobby was, and where they worked. No, too hard. So then I worked out a baking lesson with some fun games to fill the other hour, games like telephone, guess the English word, English shiritori (where you have to start a new word based on the last letter of the previous word: ant, the, egg, green, etc). No, too hard.

“Tell me exactly what you want me to do,” I insisted.

This made them very uncomfortable. “Well, we just want you to talk about America. It is the Fourth of July coming.”

“For two hours? You want me to lecture about America for two hours!”

“Well,” they replied sheepishly. “Technically it would only be one hour, since we would do translation for you.”

They totally missed the point. It wasn`t the workload that bothered me. It was the BORINGness of it. Who wants to sit in a room with a native speaker and listen to her gab for two hours with a translation? They can look up lecture on American history on the internet! They can read a book about America! But when are they going to have two hours with an actual American? I asked about the demographics of the class, entirely housewives and female teachers, and I figured, like the English teacher`s original idea, what these ladies probably want is just to relax and have fun with a foreigner. So, I made yet another set of lesson plans, this one baking red, white, and blue cupcakes, me presenting about America in a colorful, fun manner introducing easy vocabulary for just five minutes, some very simple American games requiring no English, and “cultural pictures” from my childhood including stuff like Halloween, Christmas, Easter, and school. The teachers still seemed a little skeptical, but after much deliberation, tweaking, debating about the room and materials, we finally came to a compromise that made everyone, believe it or not, not just satisfied, but happy. I even got to test the recipe beforehand during school and shared the delicious results with my Thursday night English class at the church!

So the teachers had told me time and again that most of the women would not speak a word of English. Imagine my surprise on Monday afternoon when the very first lady to enter is wearing a American flag skirt and blouse and announces that she loves America, it is her favorite country, and her son lived in Oklahoma for five years! In Okmulgee! That`s not very far from Tulsa! We chatted in perfect English for a good ten minutes before the other ladies (nine all together) started arriving. Sure there were a few who were uncomfortable answering questions more advanced than “Where are you from?” but they seemed to be able to understand most of what I said. And then, low and behold, a newspaper reporter showed up, and then the local TV news!

Fortunately, I do have a little theater training, and I was able to turn on the charm and properly improvise. Here`s me starting us off with introductions:



Then we made the cupcakes, followed by the icing. Here`s some pictures of that.



Here you can see the TV news guys in the background:






(Of course the best part is licking the batter of the beaters, right?)

Then we moved into another (cooler) room where I did my little song-and-dance with American history, we played a map game (find the famous American states and cities on the big map), we decorated our cupcakes and ate them, I talked about Oklahoma with all my colorful posters, and finally sang the Oklahoma State song. We had quite a few laughs on camera, and the TV guys interviewed one of my students (the one wearing the America paraphanalia):



Then they turned around and interviewed ME. I was a little nervous about that; I had to speak entirely in Japanese! I hope I didn`t say anything stupid…as far as I recall I just said I loved Japanese people and Japan, that I think it`s a beautiful country and I look forward to another year in Japan. That`s pretty safe, right?

Fortunately the newspaper interviewer spoke perfect English, so I felt a lot more comfortable with her and didn`t explode into a fit of nervous giggles. OK, now I know how my students feel. Being asked to speak English in front of the whole class to them is like me being asked to speak Japanese for a television interview!

Anyway, it was an amazing class. All the ladies said they had a great time and apparently the school was very pleased too because Tuesday morning in staff meeting one of the teachers who participated announced that it went well and thanked me in front of all the other teachers. I think that`s the first time they`ve ever acknowledged me in staff meeting (though honestly I prefer it that way because most of the time they rattle off the announcements so fast I would have no idea what they`re saying about me). I got to tell everyone in that Monday class about my Thursday night English class at the church, lots of ladies seemed interested and the newspaper reporter said she`d print about it too. Maybe it even got on TV! So hopefully this will result in lots of good publicity for my high school and my Thursday class. Yea! (In retrospect, it WAS great publicity. Two ladies from that class have started coming on Thursday nights, plus the paper reporter! Now I have a total of nine poeple in my class!)

Yesterday (Tuesday) Pastor Toshi surprised me by saying he wanted to throw a barbeque in honor of my birthday! Yea! So I went to church at 6:00 and he, Pastor Kumi, their daughter Ayatan, my friend and fellow teacher Kae, and one my students from my Thursday night class all ate delicious yakiniku, yaki-yasai, and yaki-soba! “Yaki” means barbeque, “niku” is meat, “yasai” is vegetables” and “soba” is a type of noodle. “Yakisoba” is always fried noodles mixed with pork and cabbage. Very delicious! Then they sang “Happy Birthday” to me and we had cake! What a wonderful church family I have! Oh, but I should have brought my fireworks! Next time…

Prayer Requests for this Week: That I get my computer and camera fixed soon! I hope it`s not a permanent problem…I have friends coming over tonight to look at it. Prayers of thanksgiving for an amazing birthday! My mom always used to say this to me: “Many happy returns on the day of thy birth. Many seasons of joy be given. May God in His mercy prepare you on Earth for a beautiful birthday in heaven.” It means that when we die, if we believe in Jesus, it`s not really death at all, but a second birth. So when we go to heaven, we`ll be celebrating an extra special birthday with God!

Until next time, keep loving and keep praying,
L.J. Popp

Crazy Japanese band concerts

It never ceases to amaze me how crazy Japanese people can get! Underneath the surface of their carefully groomed, calm exteriors, are giggle fits, party animals, and even cravings for a good fight waiting to be unleashed!

OK, honestly, a school band concert can only get so crazy. But I was pretty impressed by the level at which they took it. It started off tame enough, very formal with lots of “speeching” (can’t do anything without a few speeches in Japan) and bowing. Here’s their rendition of a pretty standard American march:



Do they sound good or what? Did I mention that these kids don’t have band class? Only "brass band club" which meets after school, on weekends, and school breaks. Percussion has it particularily hard. Not only do they have to know the standard percussion instruments, but at least one of them has to play the harp because the Japanese add it to a lot of songs! They also use the stringed bass on most songs to fill out the tuba sound, and on occasion a cello and piano, so "brass band" isn`t really the best description of a Japanese school band. And every trimester they give a two hour-long concert! That’s in addition to other little performances they do at festivals, school events, and contests. If I ever hear an American band kid complain again I`ll tell them to appreciate how easy they have it! No marching band in Japan, though, unless you count marching down a one kilometer road during a festival.

The student classical portion was followed by the “OB” band. Apparently our brass band is so popular (it is number two in the prefecture) that parents and alumni just have to have their own too. Unfortunately I couldn`t get any of their songs to download because the videos are too long, but it was more jazz-type stuff, including a medley of Golden Age Broadway songs.

Then after a fifteen minute intermission, the bands combined for a “jazzed up” performance. That’s when things got crazy. Here’s the warm up:



Japanese people and mamba...interesting! But then I suppose they do have their own sort of tropical island culture in Okinawa.

And then add the cute little anime characters fighting on stage to a medley of cartoon music. (For those who don’t know, “anime” is the Japanese word for “animation” and their industry for it is about 10X that of the United States, no joke, probably making up over half of their network programming. I have no idea what this anime is supposed to be; I don’t watch TV).



There must have been about three of four anime songs, but I only recognized one: Sailor Moon. Watching that as a child, I had no idea that Japanese high school girls actually do wear sailor suits to school as a uniform and if they`re really rebellious, dye their hair blond. One more interesting thing about Japan: what was popular when I was a kid is STILL popular now. Nothing ever goes out of fashion. The kids at my school STILL watch Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z, Transformers, and a thousand other shows that went out of vogue ten years ago in America. Oh, that goes for clothing styles too. It’s not at all uncommon to see a family walking down the street together, the grandmother wearing a dress from the 1960s, the mother wearing a mini-skirt made of snake skin from the 80’s, and the daughter wearing some atrocious mishmash of fishnet leggings, ruffled skirts, feather boa, and gigantic sunglasses. The Japanese honestly have no fashion sense whatsoever. They just throw on whatever they think looks cool (or clashes the most; I haven’t figured out which).　Anyway, that Sailor Moon video, though she doesn`t come on until the end:



Can you guess which one is her? That’s right, the blond. Why, oh why, do main characters in Japanese shows or comics or games and just about everything else almost always have blond hair? It’s not like any Japanese people naturally do, and the characters are all very Japanese. But then, why do some characters have blue or pink or purple hair? Honestly, I think it’s a cheat. Japanese animation tends to be very poor quality due to the mass production of it, and therefore they have to use something really big and obvious to make each character stand out and be recognizable (gigantic multi-colored eyes and completely unproportioned body parts help with this too). And how am I such an expert on Japanese animation when I never watch it (except for that one time last week with my host family)? Because Japan is obsessed with cartoon characters. You see them at the grocery store advertising products on wrappers and the mini TV screens, on kids’ and TEACHER’s pencil bags, on postage stamps, on bill boards, on road signs. I’m not exaggerating! In Tokyo and Osaka you can even see adults dressed up as their favorite characters on the weekend! They sell the costumes at my local super market. Despite all it’s austerity in the business world, Japan is waaay too obsessed with cute things. It’s called the “kowai” culture. OK, so it’s fun and I guess it’s how they “break out” of their rigid societal rules, but unfortunately it also leads to a subculture obsessed with pedophilia. Cute is associated with sexy. All the half-dressed models staring out at me from the convenience store’s magazine window either look terrified or are wearing some sort of cute, little school girl uniform with pigtails. The face of a child but a bosom the size of a boat. It’s more than a little disturbing.

On a lighter note, after that they did a Disney medley. Did I mention that they never outgrow Disney either? Every couple I’ve met says it’s their dream to go on a date to Tokyo Disney Land. Disney princesses aren’t just for little girls in Japan. I’ve seen adult teachers with Disney princesses decorating every corner of their desks. And then there’s the odd “Hello Kitty” weddings at Universal Studios, Osaka. Really? You want a cartoon character to marry you? That’s just too much.

Anyway, Japan also has a more traditional strand of cartoons too. (Actually, anime falls in just about every genre imaginable from historical to science fiction to reality TV, though 90% of them have to do with ridiculously cute underdressed high school girls fighting evil monsters and thus getting the tar beaten out of them and the other half of their clothes ripped off. Could this in any feasible way be a healthy obessesion?) OK, so America isn`t any better, especially when you look at popular comics like Sin City and what not. The very nature of animation and cartoon is to produce wild fantasies and distort the human body. But all that aside, this guy is a Samurai fighting ninjas, so it`s supposedly more "traditional" (but I`d bet anything he has a half-dressed female side kick or something). Here’s a video of that band piece, though I have no clue what anime it’s from:



But there is another thing Japanese people get outrageously crazy about other than cartoons. Baseball! Who would have thought? Anyway, here’s the baseball tribute, right smack dab in the middle of the World Cup Soccer tournament, no less. They didn`t miss this fact either and even pointed it out, stating that Japanese baseball beats any sport, any day. (I feel sorry for the soccer club members present.) The Japanese can be very unsubtle when they want to be:



And that’s when my camera ran out of memory. I didn’t get to take a video of the really sweet finale, “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow!” sung half in Japanese and half in English. But here’s a really cool shot of the stage:



So the concert was from 2:00-4:15, a full two hours when you consider the intermission. As we left, all the band kids, in traditional Japanese fashion, stood outside the auditorium and in very practiced intervals shouted in unison at the top of their lungs “Arigato gozaimashta!” Thank you very much!

Thank you very much, band kids! That was probably the best non-professional band concert I’ve ever been to in my life! Normally I would have totally spaced out after an hour, but they made it entertaining for an entire two hours thanks to their creative gimmicks.

Prayer Requests for this week: I’m leaving to go camping this late Friday afternoon and am getting back on early Sunday afternoon! Pray for safety definitely. I hope it doesn’t rain. And Saturday is my birthday. I’m turning 24, wahoo! I think I’m right where I need to be for that age. Another praise I have is that the publisher I was desperately trying to get ahold of finally got back to me and they are reviewing my manuscripts now! Yes! But one of the ladies at the company, Kate Angelella, is on medical leave. I don`t know the details, though at the conference she had mentioned something about surgery, so please pray for her healthy and happy recovery. And now I’m going to get some free ice cream as Baskin Robbins thanks to their birthday club! Double Wahoo!

Until next time, stay genki (energetic and healthy) and keep praying,

Laura Jane Popp (L. J. Popp)