Goodbye August

Inside the back of a very armoured but prone-to-fatal-rollovers LAV III

So the end of August marks almost a month that I've been back from Japan. I don't have much of interest to say this week, but thought I'd post since it will probably be the last before heading off on the great East Coast drive with Andrew.

Monday was another nice, sunny day and so I went down to the EX with Danielle and Lea, her visiting swiss exchange friend. Dani had never been to the EX, which is not exactly that surprising since Canada's Wonderland is less than a half hour from home and given the fact that the EX really is a rather outdated fair that hasn't changed much over the years. That notwithstanding, there were plenty of people there walking around the grounds enjoying the games, rides and food. Above you can see the three of us in the back of the very protective yet prone-to-fatal-rollovers LAV III, on display at the Armed Forces setup and currently in wide use in Afghanistan.

The food building was really something to see, but the highlight of the day came right after we walked in the gates in the morning. We saw one of those 'guess your age or weight' booths and Dani, looking very much like a teenage Paris Hilton, was sure that the guy would overestimate her age, and wanted to play. She wasn't wrong. The carnie waffled a bit but eventually guessed that she was 20 years old, a full 6 years older than the 14 that she is (well, she turns 15 next week.) Prize in hand, we all had a good laugh as the carnie kept repeating, "No way! NO WAY!"

The only other thing of note this week was finding TWO MORE new Kit Kat flavours, brining my total to 32! One was just dark chocolate, which only just qualifies as new for me, since I've had a few similar to that in Japan. The other, however, was cinnamon, which sounded like a really intriguing pairing for chocolate. I tried it last night, and sure enough, it both smells and tastes of cinnamon, and the combination of that with chocolate was better and dare I say more sophisticated than I imagined it would be. Spice and chocolate? Well after all, that's how the Maya and Aztecs were brewing it several hundred years ago when the Spanish showed up.

Whoo-hoo! The Count Continues!

nos. 28, 29 & 30!!!

When I left Japan, I thought my affair with new and strange flavoured Kit Kat was over. For those who knew me in Japan, it had become a bit of a crazy obsession, and it got to the point where I couldn't go into a conbini without checking the candy aisle to see if a new flavour had arrived.

So you can imagine my joy this week when I happened upon not just one, but three new Kit Kat flavours in the span of just two days! Granted, they aren't nearly as flashy or unusual as the flavours that you see in Japan, but all the same, they became nos. 28, 29 and 30 on my list.

It's a little disappointing that a lot of the Kit Kat here in Canada seems to be going the way of the "Chunky" style...one big thick bar instead of the four nice little ones (it was especially nice in Japan since they were further packaged into two bars of two), but I'll take what I can get. The big 3-0. I've now tasted more Kit Kat flavours than countries visited or years lived!!

Hida comes to Canada

5¢ a ride? "yasuuuui!" ~ But no, you can't pay with a $10 bill

On Monday, I got my Japanese vodafone cellphone unlocked and by Tuesday I had a FIDO card in it and was all set up. I even texted a few messages to friends in Japan. For those who knew me before Japan, and even friends from Japan who knew me in first year when I didn't have a cell phone, they'll know that I have been forever changed by having one in Japan. So I have one here now, but it doesn't get nearly as much use as it did in Japan.

On Wednesday, a small group (15-20) of junior high and high school students from Hida City arrived in Toronto for a 5-day trip. They hopped straight on a bus and headed to St. Catharines, where they are now in the middle of a 4-night homestay with local families. Before leaving Japan, I was asked if I would volunteer to come down for the first couple of days and help out a little. One of the accompanying teachers was worried about being able to establish an internet connection using his laptop on the first night (to send trip reports home), and then they wanted me around for Thursday afternoon, when the kids would be let loose in one of the local shopping malls.

So I rented a car (that they paid for) and drove out to St. Catharines. Wednesday went off as expected...we got the internet connection set up and then I went out to dinner with the two accompanying teachers and the Japanese tour guide (the kids were already with their homestay families). It was nice to be able to speak and hear Japanese again...being away from it even for two weeks seems like a long time.

I arrived for around noon on Thursday and met the kids at Ridley College, where they had had 3 hours of English classes in the morning and were then eating lunch before heading off for sightseeing. I only knew one of the kids in the group, and even then only a little, as she was a student at Kawai JHS a few years ago when I helped judge a speech contest there (she won a prize). I knew none of the other kids, but all the same it was definitely natsukashii (nostalgic) for me just to see Hida kids again. I spoke only English with them though, and they managed brilliantly.

We boarded the bus at 1:00PM and headed to Port Dalhousie, where the kids got to walk down to the beach on Lake Ontario, which was smelling particularly foul that day. They were surprised that the sign said it was safe for swimming despite the army green sludge that was lapping against the shore. Coming from Hida where the mountain water is clear and clean, they couldn't have been too impressed. What they did like, however, was the carousel that's in the park there. It's still only 5 cents a ride, so everyone wanted on, although they ran into problems when they pulled out freshly exchanged $10 and $20 dollar bills. The ticket takers wouldn't accept them to pay for such a piddly amount. One person then bought all 20 tickets or so (for a buck) and everyone happily rode.

After that it was on to the Pen Centre, the region's largest shopping mall, for some shopping fun. We entered in through the Bay and the kids were all wowed. I was a little worried at first that they would think that the Bay was the whole thing and never make it out of there in their allotted two hours, but I needn't have worried as they quickly found the mall and all the other shops. I stuck with one of the teachers, helping out where translation was needed. The kids had a great time, I think, although a pair of them came back with nothing but sudoku books!

Today, they'll be doing more sightseeing, including horse-riding at a local stable. Wish I could have done the whole four days with the group, but the two days were fun, anyway. Their plan leaves them with only a half day in Toronto on Sunday before they head back to Japan on Monday morning. Short, but at least they'll get to see some of the city.

Make No Mistake...This is Toronto

Just off Queen's Quay on the Toronto waterfront

It's not as if I needed a reminder that I was back in Toronto and not in Japan anymore...I've been feeling that acutely for the last week and a half. However, a trip downtown yesterday really drove home the point. I'm not complaining; the day was great and was a good refresher on just how great a city Toronto is.

Living three years in Japan, you get really used to the fact that nearly everyone you see is Japanese, everyone speaks Japanese, you eat Japanese food, go to Japanese events, and so on. Fast forward to yesterday's downtown walkabout with my father and brother. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon so we headed downtown knowing a bit about what was going on but without much of a plan. This is how one afternoon in Toronto went down:

We passed on the Taste of the Danforth Greek food festival and International Dragon Boat Races and instead headed for the Chinatown festival. After walking around there for a little bit, we headed across Queen Street to City Hall and came across celebrations for Pakistan's independence day in full swing at Nathan Phillip's Square. Heading south on Yonge to the waterfront, we happened upon the Spicy Food Festival at Harbourfront where we walked among numerous Caribbean and Indian food stalls, snacked on Spanish churros, and enjoyed a performance of Cameroonian music at the nearby bandshell. We travelled the world on foot in a span of a few hours.

In Japan, I had no problems with the homogenous nature of society. Japan's culture is so rich, deep-rooted and so very different from Western culture that even after three years there was still so much I had yet to see and do and learn that it never became boring. But I have to admit that walking around downtown yesterday, even I was continually astounded at the reminders of how multicultural this city is. Torontonians (and Canadians) come in all shapes, sizes and colours, and there really is no way to point your finger and say "Okay, this is a Canadian, and this is not".

Later this week, some junior high school and high school students from Hida City, where I lived in Japan, will be visiting the Toronto area for a week. While they are spending most of their time in St. Catharines and not Toronto, I really hope they get a chance to experience something similiar to what I did yesterday.

Japan-Cottage-Canada

The cottage was the best possible buffer

Coming home to Canada to live after three years in Japan is like getting hit with a cultural brick. People are loud, rude, and not nearly as easy to look at as over in Japan. The surroundings are not nearly as pretty, daily life not as convenient, and on top of that, the "interesting" factor is gone. Not really wanting to come home in the first place, the transition was going to be extra hard. Thankfully, my return coincided perfectly with the Civic Day long weekend, and the cottage stepped in as the perfect buffer to ease my readjustment: in Canada, but still well in the peace and solitude of the countryside, much like I was used to in Miyagawa.

The weekend brought lots of family that I hadn't seen in quite a while, and the weather also cooperated, with sunny, cloudless days for an entire week. I spent time catching up with everyone, getting in plenty of water skiing (still got it!), and winning at ping-pong (thanks Miyagawa JHS table tennis club). After the weekend, Andrew came down for a few days to get some R&R. Given the circumstances, it was the best possible "back in Canada" week I could have hoped for.

Sayonara, Miyagawa

Last Night in Japan: Sayonara BBQ

front row: Taichi, Wakana, Mako, Shiori, Chinami, Kasumi (absent - Yuji)

Saying goodbye to Miyagawa was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. After three years in that tiny little village, I really was a part of the Miyagawa family, and saying goodbye to the people there was like saying goodbye to my own brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles.

Some of my kids, the class that graduated and moved on to high school just this past April, got together, organized, and threw a farewell barbeque for me, all of their own doing. They prepared all the food, performed a dance routine just for me, gave me letters and presents, and then sang two songs for me. We ate, chatted, and laughed into the night.

It was the most amazing way to end my time there, and I'll never forget that amazing place and those wonderful kids. As I promised them, I'll be back.

Why Didn't I Start This Years Ago?

After 3 years of life in Japan, this is week 2 of being back in Canada, and I've decided to start this blog to get me writing... and thinking. Now that I think about it, it would have been good to keep something like this going in Japan, but life's too short for regrets.

Ever since getting on the plane back in Osaka 8 days ago, all I can think about is going back to Japan. It didn't feel like it was time to leave. However, I'm here in Toronto for the time being and will try to make the most of it. Read on, if you feel like it.