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Yesterday, I helped my principal get his car unstuck from the snow.
Today, he gave me a pound of cake.
Helping people is delicious.
Turns out they’re not magical creatures that cross paths with only the bravest, most gallant and dashing of humans as I once thought. Two sources – Taylor, who has trekked through much of Shichinohe’s forests, and Bob, who spent his workday researching different types of deer – claim that what I saw was the Japanese serow, Capricornis crispus. A shy herbivore, the serow inhabits the mountainous areas of Japan. For decades they were on the verge of extinction, but through conservation efforts their numbers are back and actually over-populated in areas. They have even been declared a Japanese “natural monument”…I guess it isn’t so rare to see one after all.
I still think they have a bit of wolf in them.
Perhaps because of how often I say it, a first grader is convinced my name is Good Morning! Sensei.
Back when I first arrived in Shichinohe, I had a pretty interesting bike ride. This weekend, I had another.
Last spring and summer, I enjoyed exploring the countryside by bike. I would pick a spot on the map (the same map, in fact, that my coworker gave me the last time I was lost), get on my bike and go. Usually they are pleasant, non-eventful bike rides, although on occasion I have come across some intriguing things, such as a waterfall, a gigantic meadow, a put-put course in the woods, and an abandoned ski lift and bowling alley. Then winter came, and with it snow and ice that can make bike riding dangerous. Well, many of you are under the assumption that it’s Chapman, but in fact my middle name is “Danger.” Or “Calculated, Somewhat But Not That Risky Danger.” So when a clear Saturday afternoon rolled around with not much snow on the roads and most people hibernating in their heated homes, I set out. I had already chosen my destination: a road that meanders off into the country, then abruptly dead ends. It was around a 1pm departure. By about 1:10, as expected, I was lost. And, as expected, it made things more interesting, for in my wanderings I came across a 400 year old shrine and a creepy closed doll museum (I described the doll museum to a friend, and he sent me a link to an animated video that bears a striking resemblance). Eventually, I found the road again and followed it as it wound its way through residences and rice fields. After awhile the houses dwindled and the road inclined. I followed with a renewed vigor, expecting to reach the end soon. But up it continued, replacing houses with snowy pine trees. After some time of riding upwards through the woods, the road suddenly flattened and the trees dropped in height. I had reached a tree farm, with rows of miniature pines and a boarded-up wood cabin facing them, like a general addressing his coniferous army. That’s a cool thing to find at the end of a road, I thought.
But the road continued.
After the tree farm, the pines resumed their towering height, and soon I was walking my bike because the road had deteriorated from asphalt to gravel, and then cycled among mud, snow, and ice. Surely, this is a sign the road is ending, I thought, as I slid, squished, and slipped along. And then my feet met sturdy ground, and I looked down to see the road had turned back to asphalt. Strange, I thought, not realizing something stranger still was around the road bend. Turning the corner, I came to a village. A very small village, only five or six houses. However, all but one of the houses looked deserted, with no lights on and snow extending all the way to the front doors. The other house, though, had a car in the driveway, a tractor in the garage, a dog barking and the TV on. Very strange.
And the road continued.
Leaving the village, I turned another corner in the road, and realized something was staring at me. It was about fifty feet away, and my eyesight isn’t great, but it looked like a cross between a wolf and a deer. It had the head and fur of a wolf, but the body and hooves of a deer. It stared and me and I at it, while I slowly tried to extract my camera. With my camera about halfway out of my pocket, though, the creature loped off in the woods, leaving me feeling like I was in Spirited Away or some equally fanciful world. In the distance, I saw the woods open up to a field across which the road continued before disappearing again into the trees. Unfortunately, at this point it was starting to get dark, and I had filled my deer-wolf deity quota for the day, so I lamentably turned around. But I plan to return to this persistent road, with its sapling infantry and not quite ghost village and deerwolves, perhaps when there’s less ice, to discover what other oddities it contains.
I know I’m supposed to be the mature teacher, but this was too good…
Just witnessed another one today. Fortunately, I was only a spectator…this time.
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They are three websites I really like, and you might too.
Imagine there was a turkey named Giblets. Every time Giblets gobbled (since that is generally what he did), something good happened in the Turkey World. Maybe hungry turkeys had some extra grass to eat, or a turkey coop was built for the coopless turkeys, or a lost poult was reunited with his rafter. Giblets doesn’t change his daily habits, but just by continuing to gobble, Turkey World improves.
That’s what Better The World does, for humans! By surfing the web (what many of us already spend too much time doing), you raise money for programs that help the hungry, the sick, and Earth, among others. It is as simple as that. This 90 second video breaks it down.
2) MicroPlace
Now imagine Giblets had some extra cranberries, and another turkey, Dewlap, happened to need a few cranberries to open her Cranberry Crumb Cupcakes and Other Confections Shop. So Giblets lent his cranberries, allowing Dewlap to open her store. Word spread that Dewlap’s cupcakes were the best in the coop, and soon she had custurkeymers lined out the door. After selling enough confections, Dewlap was able to return Giblets’ cranberries to him, plus a few cupcakes as an added thanks.
Substitute you for Giblets, the motivated poor for Dewlap, and money for cranberries, and that’s the basic idea of microfinance – making small loans to the working poor, enabling them to pull themselves out of poverty. What I like about MicroPlace is it allows everyday people, for as little as $20, to make a positive, effective impact on alleviating global poverty. Kiva.org is another gravy microfinance program.
3) Free Rice
This might take a stretch of the imagination, but work with me. So, imagine Giblets has a friend who visits www.freerice.com and, with each correct multiple choice answer, donates rice to feed the hungry, at the same time learning nifty words like poult (baby turkey) and rafter (group of turkeys)…
Yeah, couldn’t quite think of an adequate analogy for that one, but that’s the gist of it – each correct answer donates 10 grains through the UN World Food Program. Free education, free (well, sponsor-supported) rice.
You may have noticed a few themes running through this post, namely helping and turkey. Giblets is a caring turkey. You are, too. I mean, not to say that you are a turkey, just in respect to Giblets being a turkey and you being a…well, you get it. Happy Thanksgiving!
I tried convincing a couple of my elementary schoolers that Lord Voldemort and I are なかよし (close friends). Well, they weren’t just going to take my word for it, so they asked for proof from You-Know-Who himself:
For some reason, WordPress doesn’t want to show their letter, but it’s basically a handwritten note that says:
VOLDEMORT
HELLO
MY NAME IS RINA & MEI
PLEASE SIGMN
Sure enough, on my next school visit, they received a reply. They are now true believers.
I think it was the snake heart that did it.
Following the China adventure, the California family said their goodbyes and dispersed: Ted stayed in Shanghai for work, Mom and E headed home to LA, and I flew to Norfolk, VA to meet the Ohio family who had road-tripped down. Together, my step-mom, 16 year old brother Justin (behind the wheel with his brand spanking new license), and Jason, Serina, and Spencer, my 11 year old triplet siblings, made our way down to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for a week of beach fun with family friends. Notable things include frisbeeing in thunderstorms, boogie boarding with dolphins, whooping my brother in Rummy, and successfully completing the “5 Gallons of Milk in 2 Days” challenge.
Next, we drove up to Williamsport, MD to visit our uncles, aunt, and grandpa. We received a tour of the family farms, had a delicious Olive Garden dinner, and a momentous brunch and tour of Uncle Rob and Jerry’s manson.
To Uncle Doug and Aunt Lynn - I'm still on the hunt for train postcards. To Jerry - Comment away, and replies shall quic-... eventually follow.
Next, back to Mason, OH for a week of family bonding. There, I bought American-sized shoes, went on a blind date set up by my step-mom’s friend (a self-proclaimed yenta), took advantage of the newly-finished basement, complete with big-screen TV and Rock Band, but careful to avoid the couch where the triplets videotaped my brother and then-girlfriend’s make-out session, and generally enjoyed time with the family and, of course, home-cooked meals.
Following Ohio, I road-tripped down the East Coast visiting friends and family. First stop was Pittsburgh, PA to see my grandpa and great-aunt. Pop pop, from whom I definitely inherited my frugality, carved me a ham sandwich from a 10 lb. ham he bought at the store, because “it was cheaper per pound than the 2 lb. one.” Next stop was Washington DC, where many of my friends moved after graduation. I got a personal tour of the Mall by Molly, ate giant burgers with MIke, Will, and Bob, and discussed apartment paint aesthetics with Carrie and Brenan. After DC was Charlottesville, VA, where I wandered around UVa, my alma mater, feeling old and young at the same time. There I reunited with Edward and Keith, and the three of us rolled through the night to Atlantic Beach, NC, arriving around 2 AM to surprise everyone at Papa’s Palace, our friend Janny’s family beach house. Since our first year in college, we have gathered annually at Papa’s for a week of beach and beer. Since this was our first year after graduation, with everyone scattered far and wide, it was unclear whether our reunion of sea and shots would remain. Amazingly, everyone returned, making me think even our great-grandchildren will continue the tradition of brine and booze. Big events of Papa’s Palace 2009 included the inventions of The Sneak Beer and a drinking game involving cucumbers, swords, Quetzals, and DRANK. I also made a trip down to Wrightsville Beach for intense Apple to Apple action with Diana and the Van Vleet siblings. Finished my East Coast circuit back in Ohio, had my final delicious home-cooked meal, and flew back to Japan. Whew!
Although I didn’t take many pictures while I was back home, I risked running off the road while fumbling for my camera to snap these, which I know Ted will appreciate.
And a couple headed to the Land of the Rising Sun.
