Of Fish and Long Days

So spreaking of catching up, I actually caught a fish last weekend – with my bare hands! Unbelievable, eh? Well, last weekend was actually Rokkasho-mura's annual Festival – the Sangyo (Industry) Matsuri (Festival). One of the most interesting features of this Matsuri was the giant pool full of salmon, a fairly good portion of the industry here on the sea coast. Pretty much, about 200 people surround the pool, and on go they attempt to seize their own prize. The first five get a second salmon free. I got mine in the last ten seconds of the three minute farce. Did I mention the water was freezing? Here are some pics:

Me and Kento, Taneichi-san's youngest. By the way he caught his fish before me.

As you can see, I got wet.

Whoo! My prize.

Some other things I did was hack the sack with Gabe and Jon, some other gaijin living in Rokkasho. Both of them are supercool. Gabe, an ALT from the US has a giant cone, and tiny harmonica. Jon, an Aussie, is working at the International School; he can play the didgeridoo (sp.?).

Somehow Taneichi-san (the only Rotarian who speaks a spot of English, and even so it's not so great) got us a grill in the mash of a Matsuri, and so we had some amazing grilled salmon. I swearr that man runs thi whole town, as he got me in front of the line before the salmon catching. I definitely had a lot of fun, but I was lucky I didn't catch a cold.

One thing I didn't see at the festival, but was appalled to hear about was the dog fighting. I didn't know that it was not only legal, but there are tournaments and stuff every year in Toukyou. However, I cannot say anything about it; it is Japanese culture, not mine. What the Japanese think is right is right in Japan.

So I think it is ripe time to tell my dear readers about school, now that I've finally gotten the hang of the weird schedule. I think i might have had my first "regular" day this Tuesday. Every day at about 7:52 I walk to school (I live just a few hundred meters away) with usually three other guys, a first year whose name I can't remember, a second year (my grade) named Kota, and a third year, Nautaka. We are usually greeted at the entrance of the school, "Gozaimasu!" (short for "Ohayou gozaimasu") in which we reply the same, and then I change into my school shoes for inside, as per Japanese custom, and go to my homeroom until school starts, 8:20. Once school starts, I typically have 6 classes, 50 minutes each, with 10 minutes in between. 4 classes in the morning, a 45 minute lunch, and 2 (or 3, but we'll get to that later) classes in the afternoon. Here's my schedule:

		Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
	8:15~8:25	Reading	Reading	Reading	Reading	Reading
	8:25~8:35	Home Room	Home Room	Home Room	Home Room	Home Room
1	8:40~9:30	数学A Math A 品川 Shinigawa	体育 Health & PE 飛内 Tobinai	現代文 Modern Japanese 亀田 Kameda	英語II English II 田中 Tanaka	自習 Self-Study 図書館 Library
2	9:40~10:30	自習 Self-Study 図書館 Library	音楽 Music 宮里 Miyazato	ワープロ Typing 小笠原 Ogasawara	情報処理 Computer 小笠原 Ogasawara	体育 PE 飛内 Tobinai
3	10:40~11:30	音楽 Music 宮里 Miyazato	自習 Self-Study 図書館 Library	フードデサイン Food Design 川口 Kawaguchi	自習 Self-Study 図書館 Library	Reading 立崎 Tachizaki
4	11:40~12:30	体育 PE 飛内 Tobinai	地理 Geography 西村 Nishimura	フードデサイン Food Design 川口 Kawaguchi	音楽 Music 宮里 Miyazato	ワープロ Typing 小笠原 Ogasawara
	12:30~13:15	お昼時間　Lunch Time	お昼時間　Lunch Time	お昼時間　Lunch Time	お昼時間　Lunch Time	お昼時間　Lunch Time
5	13:15~14:05	自習 Self-Study 図書館 Library	Japanese Lesson at International Center	英語II English II 田中 Tanaka	体育 PE 飛内 Tobinai	Japanese Lesson at International Center
6	14:15~15:05	Writing English 田中 Tanaka	Japanese Lesson at International Center	化学 Chemistry 清水 Shimizu	LHR 田中 Tanaka	Japanese Lesson at International Center
	15:05~15:20	掃除　 Cleaning Time	掃除　 Cleaning Time	掃除　 Cleaning Time	掃除　 Cleaning Time	掃除　 Cleaning Time
	15:20~15:30	Home Room	Home Room	Home Room	Home Room	Home Room

Now, I get to buy lunch from one or two women (one of them is a friend of okaasan) who work down the street. They bring a variety of bento and sandwiches and pan which is Japanese for bread, but encases everything from sandwiches to pastries. I usually get a chicken sandwich and pan, and then either a Coke or Kochakaden (only the most delicious type of tea in a can) either hot or cold from the vending machine (yes, the vending machines serve hot drinks!). Then, as we don't have a cafeteria, I go back to my homeroom, or the one next to mine, and eat with friends.

So there are three grades in highschool, I am a second year. Each grade has 2 homerooms, making for about 50-60 kids per grade. Now, because the Japanese school year starts in April, and the age cutoff in in January, I should be a first year, but they (Rotary) wanted me to go on the School Trip, so they made me a second year. Therefore, all my friends are a year older than me at least. It's ok though, they don't seem to care all that much.

Now, I rarely have a normal school day. I have yet to find out why, but classes are constantly being switched around, changed, canceled, or even entire days switched (This week, Thursday was a Monday schedule, while Monday was a Wednesday, and Wednesday was just whacked). Because it is such a small school, (like 150 kids) it works. However, I often don't get told of these changes, and end up in the wrong class, like Modern Japanese for example. Mostly the teachers understand, after all, I've been here, what, 2 months and a week?

Another irregularity that constantly throws me off is BS. Don't know what it means, but it's a special 45 minute class after classes that happens two to three times a week. Sometimes it's Math, sometimes English (in which I have to do the work backwards into Japanese), or Kanji (yeahhhh, not even easy for the Japanese kids). And then at the end of every school day, we have souji. That is, cleaning! The students are the school's best unpaid janitors. Just imagine how quickly and easily, and thoroughly, 200 people can clean a school, then imagine 600 kids cleaning Harwood!!

So school officially ends at 3:30, or 4:15, depending on the day. The school day is finally over, right? (Trivia: Japan has one of the longest school days in the world) Weeelll, not so! If you aren't in a club, you are obviously a slacker. In spite of the long school day, clubs try to go for as long as possible. Thursday I got home at 6:30, whih is also when the final buses leave from school. This time of year it's already dark by about 5:30, and maybe 10˚C. Freezing. As you know, dear reader, I am doing archery. It's fun trying to shoot when you can't feel your hands !! However, when it's all said and done, after a ten hour total school day, I get to walk home and eat some wondrously delicious meal that okaasan cooks up. うめ！

As for grades, I have no idea. I'm thinking I'm probably gonna be able to get a credit from PE and Foreign Language (of course), and maybe English, only because I'm half teacher in class, but I'm not so sure. I'm totally ok with doing my Junior year over back home, because then I won't be rushed senior year, and I'll be able to take some elective courses that I have been wanting to take.

Well, I hope that didn't sound too gruesome for you, 'cause these are some of the best school days I have ever experienced. I have awesome, funny friends from whom I learn so much, and I have cool, sometimes crazy teachers, who are so helpful. One day I walked into my homeroom between classes and saw all these Japanese kids and I said to myself, "How the hell did you get yourself here, Dakota?"

Don't forget about me, Dakota M. Benjamin, JTD 勉蛇民舵誇太 ダコタ　ベンジャミン Rotary District 7850 - Vermont, USA Hosted by Rotary Club or Rokkasho, Japan District 2830 - Aomori, Japan dakota.benjamin@gmail.com