I was asked today if anyone ever reads my blog… Inside I had to laugh– I don’t really care. If one person in two whole years stumbles upon one partial post and reads a quarter of it— I’m fulfilled.

Now on to transitioning–

I’ve been to Japan and if I close my eyes I can feel myself standing on a street between the train station and where I lived in Atsubetsu-ku… I can feel myself buzzing from the night’s drinking & freezing as I wade out in 2 1/2′ of snow at midnight on a bitter Saturday in December– all to take a wizz on a tree. To me, that’s a memory. Here’s another one… Standing on a suspension bridge in Oyachi watching the ducks swim around– I spot a Japanese licence plate on the shore. I rush down the side of the creek bed and wade out into freezing cold water. Then I grab the plate and try to climb back up the muddy wet embankment before classes begin… Pretty good ‘eh? How ’bout one more..

It’s snowing… snowing hard. Let’s say about 2′ has accumulated on the soccer field of Hokkusei Gakkuen University. My friend Nick and I go out in our (piss poor) winter outfits and decide that we’re going to roll up the biggest freaking snowball Hokkaido has ever seen (or atleast Hokkusei’s ever seen). So we start small at one goal post and roll, roll, roll it to the next goal post.. Then turned around and roll it back again.. then did it again until the ball was so big that neither Nick nor I could roll it any bigger. We left it there– and maybe went and had a coffee..

When you’re done fretting about Japanese customs, traditions, language, and all the other rubbish you realize 3 years later– what mattered– what counted– wasn’t even Japanese at all. The point of the “transition” really is to get in your head that “Japan” as a single entity isn’t so monolithic that every event there is somehow “Japanesey”. People who walk away from Japan all pissy about the place are like that sometimes because they mix up “Another Country” and “Just regular moody people” with “Jyaa–PAN!” & “Japanese People.” Get real– it sucked because that place sucked…

I’m excited for my transition, but I’m really looking forward to those awkward memories you have late at night, before classes, or on the spur of the moment. It’s not even important that you try and make a memory, rather it’s important that you just live life as you’ve always tried…

Søren Kierkegaard, a prolific 19th century philosopher and theologian once said:

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

Always take on the adventure–

–in the face. ~Josh Wheeler, a prolific 21st century BS’r & blogger.

~J out

This week I want to write about “going to Japan.”

Instead of starting out with unhinged excitement, I want to start with real problems, concerns, and possible fears… then towards the mid-week work back up to the positive.

So Issue #1: The language barrier

It’s without a doubt that the non-Japanese men and women who function extremely well amongst Japanese society are smart and bright. They’re intelligent, wise (for their age), and extremely flexible. Yet, even the wittiest of people cannot prepare for the language barrier in Japan. It’s something that strikes even the most prepared and educated. It’s because of perplexing cultural differences, local intonation, and differing expectations of abilities.

In college I used to have a very simple rule, albeit one that never helped my grades– but a simple rule nonetheless…

“Studying for a test will undoubtedly raise your test score grade. However, there is a point where if you continue to study too much (e.g. “cram”) then your chances of a good grade begin to drop.”

Going to Japan– specifically somewhere I haven’t been to before almost requires that I revisit my Japanese studies and work to get proficient again. Yet, I can’t help but feel that things will change when I land on the ground and assess the actual situation.

I am nervous about the language barrier– I am nervous about situations outside the repertoire of my current knowledge. It sounds silly, and perhaps it is. That is why in these last months I’ve gone over bits of stuff to remember, but I’m hesitant to go gun-ho until I know what’s required of me upfront… My rule of measured constant study to a point dictates that if I go too far– I’ll be all jumbled up in Japan.

My best plan of action then, that I see going forward, is two fold: A.) to master kanji (which I’ve started), and continue to review past lessons, and to reflect on my own personal experiences of Japan. Then, B.) while I’m doing that, pursue Japanese media (radio, tv, etc. from the web) and work to setup channels for processing all that input. In other words, “master the utilization of SRS” with the Japanese stuff I can get here… brace myself for everyone talking like a Japanese drama all the time, but don’t go crazy studying it all.

Overall– looking back– in high school our band’s slogan was “Perfection is Possible.” I can’t help but think that, regardless of what I may be feeling now about all this, perfection I believe is still is possible as long as my heart & mind is still willing to keep open about it.

~J out

Does Japan have a fourth of July?

Of course it does.. It was yesterday July 4th.

I’ve been trying to find the right words for the next post on “Leaving the US- The Global Village.” Mostly I couldn’t think of much until today when I thought about the people (our forefathers) who forged this country out of nothing. There was no “global village” in 1776. Back then there was a war between the european powers– America was fighting piracy off it’s southern eastern shores– and we were slowly but surely forging new headway into trans-atlantic trade.

Today there is little left on this planet that you can’t find something about it. I remember the minute I was told “Mutsu, Japan” I had wikipedia up, google earth, and everything. The global village has connected even the most sleepiest of rural Japanese fishing villages with the modern inter-connected world. Suffice to say the global village is a modern marval that rivals the 7 wonders of the world and all of man’s other creations. However, with such a treasure comes conseqences.

The global village has turned us all into lurkers. People who watch, enjoy, and consume what others do, and put up for us- free of charge. Of course over time the mass of all the content we consume might drive us to slowly contribute to it in a small scale– however in the scheme of things, to call the global village a crowning achivement of our lifetime is a joke… ‘our controbution’ (aka you and me) do not rival that of our ancestors who gave a lot more in sweat, blood, and tears. The fact is we’re fooled by the idea that our a small bit that we contributed is insignificant, but when put together with millions of others it seems like lots and lots of bits of information are being produced and it makes us believe that the internet is always forever now and into the future: perpetually (a)live.  That even could be true– however the significance of our acts is waining.. What I mean is that every tweet, every email, and ever skype call isn’t quite the same as recieving a letter from across the world that’s hand written (or typed) and signed. Sure the former is faster and more informative, but it lacks touch.
In my last “Leaving the US” post I want to first say I believe that your a single post, tweet, or whatever to “the web” actually is significant. In fact, even if your post isn’t read for years one day I— or someone else will find it and think your words are useful. Second, I feel that I could have done more to blog about my life here in America. Life is interesting and the adventure never died– however, my familiarity probably was what kept me the most from blogging. I’m not going to say that somehow “life in Japan” is so amazing exciting then here– it probably isn’t for a native Japanese person. What I will say is that whatever I think needs writing about I promise to write it. Not because of myself, or for future readers, but as villager who understands that if we’re to keep the global village alive… we all need to pitch in and contribute a little more.

Switching gears.. because it’s Saturday and tomorrow is Sunday I’m going to start the next series of posts titled: “Going to Japan.” Here I want to write about things I’m excited about, things that worry me, and anything else that needs to be said about moving to another country. As a reminder– following that will be “What’s my plans for the next year” then “what I expect to accomplish with my time in JET”.

~J out