Living in the Winter Capital of Niigata

By: Joyce Ogasawara

I live in the winter capital of Niigata.

Here in Tokamachi, we collect ridiculous amounts of snow every year. I say it's ridiculous, but the people who live here call it normal and I'm pretty sure that they are quite proud of it.  All this snow creates a very unique living experience for people like me.

I'm from California.

Famous for its sunny weather, warm beaches, and comfortable temperatures, many people living in California don’t know anything about snow. Many Californians have never seen snow. Many Californians have never thought about snow. Many Californians wouldn't know how hard it is to shovel snow off the driveway, or how fun it is to make an igloo.

"A silvery world with half a year of snow."

These are the words of my base school's moto. I couldn't believe the words when I first saw them. It was late August, and I was showering in my own sweat while sitting in the stuffy school gym. It made no sense at all. It didn't hit me until the snow started in early December. It started, it stayed, and it continued to snow through January, February and even all of March. I was brave enough to look outside my bedroom window on April 1st, and lo and behold, it's still snowing. While most schools in Japan have students take their nyugaku-shiki (entrance ceremony) pictures under a cherry blossom tree in full bloom, the students at my schools took their pictures indoors because there was a blizzard outside. And in case you were wondering: yes, cherry blossoms exist in Tokamachi. The trees look beautiful around early May. And they look extra beautiful with the big patch of snow right next to them.

April 30th in Mastunoyama, Tokamachi

So much snow!

What do people do when their city is buried in snow for half the year? The answer is rather simple. They aren't bears; they don't just sit inside and wait for the snow to melt. They get creative and set up all sorts of events to enjoy in the snow. A few examples:

• New Year’s marathon: where people run in the snow
• Tokamachi snow festival: where Japan’s snow sculptures and festivities started
• Nakasato snow festival: with thousands and thousands of candles in the snow
• Matsudai Fuyu-no-Jin: where people race to the top of the local castle in the snow

So how would a Californian like me cope in Tokamachi?

Just like everyone else. As winter approaches, my body requests that I eat more. I enjoy winter foods like mikan, nabe and hot nihonshu. Ramen becomes a must, and the local onsen becomes my bathhouse. I learn the proper way to wear layers of clothing. I start to carry an extra pair of socks just in case my first pair got soaked during the 30-second walk from my car to the front door. I check out all the crazy-sounding, outdoor events. And best of all, I tackle the local slopes. I'm not saying that you can't survive in this area if you don't take up skiing or snowboarding. But I highly suggest that you try it.

February 16th, 2013: Main stage concert at the snow festival with guest singer Inagaki Junichi

It doesn't matter what time of the year it is.

In Japan, people will create an appropriate event to enjoy each of nature's phenomena.

Welcome to Tokamachi.

Dress appropriately when you visit and enjoy all the snow.

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What are your tricks for surviving the winter? Share in the comments!

Thailand Guide

By: Jaclyn Spears/Friends of Niigata Noise
Photos: Flickr Commons - click through to source

As you may have heard, Thailand is one of the most popular travel destinations for ALTs. Why is that? It might be because, as far as holiday destinations go, Thailand has everything you could possibly want. The food is amazing, the culture is rich and fascinating, the night life is varied and exciting, and it's just plain beautiful. There's dirt-cheap hostels and five-star resorts. There's trekking and temples, shopping and spas. Oh and one other great thing about Thailand: while it's not the cheapest place to fly to from Japan, once you're there your costs will be extremely low. All in all, it's a great place to relax and recharge.

That being said - I wouldn't personally recommend going to Thailand without doing some research first. There's a lot to do and see, so you may miss out on something if you don't take the time to plan ahead. Also, if you don't have a lot of experience traveling, or have never been to mainland Asia there may be some surprises for you. So I've asked some ALTs to share their experiences in Thailand and what they learned on their trip. Hopefully this post will help you have the best possible experience if/when you make it to Thailand!

General Tips

Everyone had some stories about traveling within cities. One common tip: if you take a taxi, make sure the driver is using the meter. They will often try to over charge you. Be assertive and ask how much it will cost beforehand. Also, watch out for tuk-tuk scams where they force you to go shopping (apparently drivers can get gasoline vouchers for taking you to certain stores) or drop you off before you destination. And don't believe them if they say it's any kind of national holiday. Avoid the most aggressive drivers and agree on price beforehand.

You don't need to worry too much about illness. If you have a sensitive stomach, it may be worth bringing some medicine like Gravol or Pepto Bismal. If you're going to be spending a lot of time in the jungle, you may want to look into Malaria pills. In general you should be fine with a strong bug spray. If there's an emergency, drugstores in Thailand will have what you need.

Remember to exercise caution at all times. Guard your passport, gaijin card and phones carefully! Wikitravel has a very good, in-depth safety guide you should definitely check out.

Thailand is a country that takes Buddhism quite seriously. Unlike Japan, conservative clothing is expected at religious sites. You won't see many girls in mini-skirts and high heels. So if you plan on visiting temples, remember to cover your legs and arms, or bring something with you to cover up - a breach wrap or skirt is convenient. Some places will rent things to you for a small fee.

Experiences You Don't Want to Miss!

Thai massage! Get foot massages or try the full Thai body massages. You will never find them as cheap anywhere else (seriously, insanely cheap!), and it's a great way to relax after a day of sightseeing before heading out for the night. You could also try a foot bath with the little skin-eating fish.

Check out cabaret shows that feature the "lady-boys" of Thailand. The shows are extravagant and unique in Thailand.

Thailand is a great place for snorkling and scubadiving! 

Places

Bangkok

The capital city is huge and offers tons of things to do or see. You will find the most aggressive tuk-tuk drivers and travel agents here. As long as you're assertive, you should be fine! (If not, you'll learn your lesson quickly.)

Some of the best sights in Bangkok are the Grand Palace, Wat Pho (or "Reclining Buddha") and the Wat Arun ("Standing Buddha"). The Grand Palace is beautiful and elaborate, a must-see in our opinion.

Riding the river taxi is an experience you should definitely check out. It's a far-cry from the public transit of Japan.

You can find some crazy nightlife in Bangkok. There is, of course, Khao San road (known as a backpacker district) and surrounding area. You'll find a lot of "gaijin" bars here. Sukhumvit is also highly recommended.

Chiang Mai

 

It can be a little difficult to get to, but is worth the effort. You may have to take a train or overnight bus to get there - it's about 8 hours from Bangkok. It's main draws are: the small-town feel (despite being a good sized city) and friendly people. There are plenty of expat bars and restaurants; and most of all, it's a great base for treks and other activities.

A note about guided tours/treks/classes: make sure to check out reviews of anything you plan to do online. This is especially important for tours involving elephants to make sure the animals are being treated well. One thing we learned is that the "saddle" seats used on elephants is actually quite uncomfortable/painful for them. Look for places that offer bareback rides and that focus on the rehabilitation and conservation of the animals.

Sukhothai

If you're into ancient history, check out Sukhothai. This ancient capital is a great place for a day trip or a place to stop en route to Chiang Mai. You can rent bikes and cycle around the park, or just go for a leisurely walk. Nice hostels and friendly bars in town.

Phuket and other Islands

This island far to the south is a popular tourist destination with beautiful beaches and an active nightlife. However, several of us found it to be a depressing place to visit. It's extremely touristy and slightly more expensive than other places you could go to.

Ko Samui is also highly recommended. You can access Koh Phangan from here for the  famous "Full Moon" Party. If partying is your thing, the Full Moon beach parties are not to be missed.

If you are strapped for time and/or money, Ko Samet is a great island option. It is the closest island to Bangkok, which makes it convenient to get back to the airport for your flight home!

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Have you been to Thailand? Share your recommendations (or warnings) in the comments!

The Thing About Feelings

By: Jhana Williams
Illustrations: http://www.irasutoya.com/

The thing about feelings is... they change! They change because the sun is hot, because it snowed, because your boyfriend didn't respond to your text, because your girlfriend wants you to go steady, because your colleague wore pink to school, because your Facebook friends didn't like your new photo album, because you could really do with your favorite food from your home country. You see that’s the thing about feelings - they change!!! It follows then, that it is definitely unwise to let our feelings direct our attitude. Yes, I said it. Calm right down, and realize that our mental attitude will always determine how our day will go, and since life is really just a total of the many small experiences we encounter... it means that our mental attitude will certainly determine the direction of our life.

You see; I'm sure that you've been through at least 1 situation that left you feeling angry, scared, inadequate, hurt, etc... and that's OK! J Life is just like that. No one, and I repeat, NO ONE has it perfect. Why then are some able to dance in the storm, or to take limes and make tasty Margaritas? I subscribe to the belief that this is because they have practiced how to control their mental attitudes. I will share 2 techniques that you may utilize; they are the acts of compartmentalizing and forgiving. Read on! J

Let's go! By "compartmentalize", I'm humbly suggesting 2 things. First, that we live in "day-tight compartments" and secondly, that we all take steps to separate our feelings from our reactions. I first learnt about the concept of living in "day-tight compartments" while reading Dale Carnegie’s “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living”. In short, "day-tight compartments" refer to us taking it 1 day at a time. Of course, we all have future plans, and a past that we check in with ever so often (some good, some bad). But, are we taking the time to enjoy the present? Always remember that  "today is the tomorrow that we were worried about yesterday" and that "the present is a present". Furthermore, learning to place things in mental boxes and packing them away until they actually happen, or need to be addressed is an essential skill that we may adopt in an attempt to acquire and maintain a healthy mental attitude. I can’t tell you just how many times I have worried about things that have already happened, will never happen, or that simply have to happen. This, in turn, creates unhealthy feelings. The only way to fix this is to pack them away into safe compartments, and move on with our lives.

Next, let's talk about forgiveness. The big thing about forgiveness is that we may think that we are finding it difficult to forgive others. However, in reality, we often find it even more difficult to forgive our own selves. We easily say things like I’m so stupid, how could I have said that, why did I wear that, I can’t believe he/she thinks that about me... you get the drift. These feelings create emotions that come packaged in various shapes, sizes, looks, and textures. We need to give ourselves a BREAK! We need to understand that no one is perfect, and this "thing" will not matter in the next couple of years (unless you choose to live with the guilt or the horrible feelings, causing it to become toxic within you). Being able to forgive yourself quickly will help you to be in a better place, mentally.

So, as I was saying! The thing about feelings is they make us ill, and they try to control us! The idea presented here is a challenge for us to find strategic methods that we can effectively use to control our feelings, and free ourselves from the ups and downs that life tends to so generously offer to us. The best results will be achieved after some trial and error, and it will take time. The end result, however, is something that we should work ceaselessly to achieve. That is a positive mental attitude.  The advantages of having a positive mental attitude are so much that this article would go on like the song the never ends. Nonetheless, I can tell you that you will love what it does for your hair, your smile, your skin, your heart, and your life.

LOL (Load of Love),

Jhana

ALTs in PNG

Words/Photos: James Kenyon

To get to Dona village, first you get on a bus to Tokyo. Then it's a train to Narita Airport and a seven hour flight to Papua New Guinea's capital city, Port Moresby. You'll be hit by the heat and humidity as you walk across the runway and rush straight on to a connecting flight to the quickly developing city of Lae on the opposite coast. Another bus ride past jungle, construction sites, missionary camps with barbed wire fences and open markets gets you to the port. It's been a long ride but hey don't worry, you're halfway there already!

The boat trip follows the coast in a banana boat open to the elements and is spread over two days, spotting dolphins and counting the flying fish zipping out of the water as you pass. You'll see small villages on the beaches and kids that run out into the water to wave as you turn into the mouth of the Waria River and head back inland. Not long now, you'll pass people on canoes carved out of tree trunks and on rafts, taking their produce down to be sold on the coast where they'll let the raft float out to sea and walk for days to get back home when they're done.

You'll pull into a small inlet, slowing onto a mud bank by a small bridge a foot wide, head up onto a path that winds past coconut trees and banana plants. Then, with the heat of the boat, all your first bug bites and the exhaustion of traveling behind you, finally walking into the village square where the team working on the school funded by Niigata ALTs says “Hey! Great to see you, let's get started.”

Papua New Guinea makes a hell of a first impression, and as a couple of the team discovered this year, a strong second one too. PNG, and specifically the Waria Valley region of Morobe Province on the north east coast is where the Niigata ALT community (that's you!) is focusing its fundraising efforts to build new schools and support education. Every year for the last decade and a half, we've worked with our partners to find a community that really needs a school. In 2013 that community was Dona village, of the Jia tribe.

Jia is also the name of their language, one of the 800 plus native to the country. The tribe is split into four clans that members are born into (unless you're a lucky Niigata ALT and get invited to join when you visit). The clans and ownership of all the land is passed down on the mother's side of the family. The four clans are the Bego – charged with keeping the livestock, the Wapo – who handle the cultivation and gardens, the Sakiya – fishing and boats and the Yewa – who organize entertainment and serve the food at festivals. The first thing you say after your name when you meet is which tribe you're from, and being from the same clan is a sure fire way to score hugs and cheers.

Dona turned out to be one of the most prosperous settlements in the whole valley. Picture a long thin village that snakes from the river into the jungle, a main dirt path with homes made from bush materials on either side. They're fairly robust buildings, but with untreated log frames and palm roofs that will last between three and five years before the entire structure must be pulled down and rebuilt. Inside you'll see the ground floors aren't much used and a high water mark that shows how extreme the floods can be when they hit. Last year the villagers spent a week traveling around the village by canoe after a particularly strong rainy season.

There are a small group of more permanent buildings built by the Eco Homes team – another project run by Culture Link, our partner organization in PNG. They are made with plained wood planks that fit together making real walls and floors, they're painted and designed to last. It's a similar design to the Niigata funded schools and a sign of what the local craftsmen can do when they have the funding for milling equipment, tools and transport. Traveling further along the river, we saw a few other examples of permanent buildings - the single college, a medical outpost and then there're the churches.

Of all the buildings we've seen in Waria Valley, the churches were always the biggest, most lavish and well funded. One in particular, in another village a short trip from Dona, towered over everything else around it, freshly redecorated and with well a well kept ornamental garden around it. As a non-believer, it can be a little frustrating to see the amount of money that's spent on religious buildings when the area is so desperate for medical facilities and education. But Christianity is a big part of the community, bringing the people together twice a day for sermons – one of which we were lucky enough to be invited too. There were prayers, a bible reading and worship songs played on guitar just like you'd find in a western evangelical church. The priest was involved in every aspect of village life, even picking up tools to work bareback in the sun all day on the school building project. In Waria, it was Lutheran missionaries who first arrived and converted the populace. They still have an outpost in the area not too far from Dona and two German missionaries visited as recently as last year. Religion is inescapably a piece of the area's modern cultural identity.

Coming back for a second visit meant we could see firsthand how quickly PNG is developing. In 2012, our guide was excited to have a mobile phone, taking pictures and wandering back and forth all day searching for an elusive bar of reception (he could have been searching for a long time, the local signal tower was on a small island claimed by two different tribes that like to take turns invading it and pulling all the other's stuff down, tower and all). This time we saw adverts for mobile phone providers the second we stepped off the plane, and more than once we were pulled aside even in Dona to see someone's new mobile. Communication will be key in connecting the tribes to the mini economic and social revolution taking place in the cities.


The youth of Waria is keen to catch up – we visited the technology college, the only place in the province for higher education. They're asking big questions: How can Papua New Guinea become a developed nation? What does it take to become a powerhouse of industry like China or at the forefront of technology like Japan? And my favorite: “How do I get your job?!” The students there were internet savvy and aware of the larger world around them, coming up to us to exchange Facebook details for accounts they'd set up on visits to Lae.

Then there's the school project in Dona. Work had already started when we arrived, a base frame on stilts to keep it out of the floods. The floor boards were being nailed in and walls pulled up, it looked fantastic! So hey, of course it had to all go wrong.

The biggest difference between the traditional and modern style buildings is the milled wood – planks made from the really big jungle trees. A lot of money goes into renting a portable saw mill, specially designed to be usable on almost any terrain, whether that's steep hillsides or shifting sands on beaches. A sad blip in PNG's emergence into the global market is how that sawmill was invented and first produced in the country, but they didn't copyright the design. An Australian firm took the idea and now PNG has to lease it back from them at inflated rates. Running and repairing them isn't cheap either so when one breaks down in the middle of a project, you know you've got a big problem.

We trekked along one of the government roads – a dirt track cut through the jungle – to where the milling had been taking place. The team in Dona had chosen six trees, enough wood to complete the entire project. One of the giant trunks lay half milled where it had been felled, the mill sitting silent beside it. It would take weeks for a replacement part to travel there but rather than being down, the villagers were all upbeat and eager to talk about the progress that had already been made. The roof was nearly ready to go on! Did we want to go and bang a few nails in? It'll get done when it gets done, Papua New Guinea island time... Hey! Let's carry the last of the planks back and have a coconut.

The school was far from finished when we left, but we had the opening ceremony anyway.

And it was great.

What's Not In The Notes

By: Adele-Elise Provost

In November of 2011, I was rehearsing Christmas carols with the chorus club at my base school, and worrying that I wouldn't live to see 30.

I was in the grip of a cancer scare that ended up being completely benign, but my memories of the time have the acuity of panic to them. Standing around the grand piano with the wind outside and faded prints of dead composers looking down at me, I remember thinking to myself, If I only have a few short months or years ahead of me, isn't there something else I’d rather be doing with my life?

The answer, much to my surprise, was no.

Teaching English has never been a life goal, and for me joining the JET Programme was more about exchange than education. Of course, there’s a lot to be said for the flicker of understanding in students’ eyes, for watching conversational competency grow and blossom over months and years. But what I realized during that stormy afternoon is that teaching isn't’t just about helping kids get better at English. Teaching might be the most potent, most meaningful way to engage in internationalization. From the tumultuous center of my secret crisis I looked out on the smiling, laughing, open faces of my students, and I realized that we were making a connection, here around the piano, that would change every one of our lives. In small, important ways, all of us were being enriched by the joy of this experience.

Looking back, all my brightest memories of teaching in Japan turn out to be made up of moments like these, moments where, although a teacher, I was not actively teaching: singing with the chorus club, baking cookies with students in the Home Ec room, cheering them on during Sports Day, chatting in the halls. Teaching may have been my job, but it wasn't my mandate. I was here to be me, and to let students take a look through my window on the world.

The Japanese word sensei translates roughly as ‘born before’, and I think that this touches an important point: Teachers, by virtue of their more extensive life experience, have the responsibility of acting as role models for those who haven’t had quite as much time on the planet yet. For the majority of my Japanese colleagues, this responsibility seems to amount to inculcating appropriate values and behavior in their students – important work, certainly, since respect of oneself, others, and the planet are crucial aspects of a functional society – but I think there’s more to the job of the ALT than moral rectitude. We are, at our best, exemplars of adventurousness and optimism, ambassadors not only of our respective countries but of the very idea of internationalization. It can be frighteningly easy, no matter where you live, to forget that there is a ‘rest of the world’ out there, as real and tangible and complex as the place you call home. We come to Japan to remind students of this – and even more importantly, to share with them the exhilarating secret that the ‘rest of the world’ can be within arms’ reach if you so choose.

Life-and-death moments – whether real or perceived – have a way of drawing everything into focus, branding moments in time indelibly into your synapses. As I joined my voice to those of the students on Silent Night, I felt a human connection that overcame age, nationality, and the rest. This, I believe, is how internationalization happens. And giving children the chance to experience it is why teaching in Japan has ended up meaning so much to me. I still don’t expect or intend to spend the rest of my life as a teacher. But now, the JET Programme’s twin purposes – English language education and grassroots internationalization – seem much more like one aim than two.

The famous cellist Pablo Casals once said, “The most important thing in music is what is not in the notes”. Deep in my heart, I feel that the same applies here. Teaching, like music, is a wonderful thing, which connects people by creating experiences that bring our shared humanity to the fore. And just like music is infinitely more than a series of notes, I believe that the most important thing in teaching is what is not in the curriculum.

May Your Next Chapter Make You Happier

By: Jhana Williams

I am sure that you can list many amazing things that have made your JET experience a lovely journey. Though it's always difficult to face changes in our lives, I am confident that the path you choose from here on will guarantee you the time of your life! The question that many may ask is "what really allows us to have the time of our lives?" Clearly, I am not at liberty to answer this question for everyone, but I can make a wild guess. I gather that we feel quite accomplished as humans when we believe that we are honoring our purpose. Whether this sees you studying, traveling, moving on to another job, spending precious time with family, understanding yourself more, or simply taking some time to just relax until a few things unfold; I pray that you will be deeply fulfilled.

The key is that YOU own this next chapter! Take a bold step and write YOUR story on every page. Elizabeth Gilbert in her book Eat Pray Love wrote the following:

"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it."

I too subscribe to this thought that we are responsible for our happiness on this journey called life. I think we have the duty of organizing our thoughts. Once we are cognizant of this fact and go about acting accordingly, there are no limits to the joy that we can feel inside, and share with others. It is obvious then that your next chapter will be as beautiful as you desire.

I know that your desires may seem big right now, and that your dreams may be very overwhelming at this time. That's a good thing! That kind of thought fuels us to take the less traveled path, to keep focused, and to inspire many. I trust then that you may understand that the only limits that really do exist are the ones that you have created or have allowed others to create for you. The world is ours… think about it. Many of the things that we find as common in today's world were non-existent 300 years ago. They were manifested from a mere thought, an idea! So think big, go hard, be overwhelmed, and create something beautiful!

Finally, I trust that you will find true peace of mind in your next chapter. Always remembering that true happiness abides where there is contentment. I trust that your thoughts will be so radically positive, that your words and actions will reflect your thought life. I trust that you will experience that wellness that can only be achieved when there is mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual balance. I trust that you will guard your hearts and your minds against everything that seeks to shift your balance, and I believe that you will bless and inspire many as they read your next chapter.

Only the very best my dears,

Jhana xo