That's A Whole Lotta Photographs!

Today I took my 5000th picture in Japan. Here it is:

I agree it's not a very spectacular photo, but that's exactly why I have taken 5000 pictures. At the very beginning of my photography career there was a photo contest in Palau that I entered (got a sympathetic honorable mention!). At the awards ceremony one of the winners said something that I will never forget, "The difference between professionals and amateurs is that I (a professional) take a lot more pictures." I was shooting film in Palau and ended up taking around 3000 photos in two years. I thought that was a lot.

If I see a scene I like I try to take as many photos as possible. Chances are good the angle I first 'saw the shot' from is not the best, so I alter that and height and exposure and distance/lens length. This is a reason that switching to digital was so attractive.

Today I took 160 pictures in about 10 minutes with the kindergartners. Most will just end up sitting in a folder on my computer, but here are a few I liked:

A Little More from Geruma

These kids are studying harder than it appears.

The two fifth and two sixth grade students sorting out the dates and tenses.

I was playing in the hall with some of the kindergartners who were learning to wind and throw tops (and they were way better than me). One of the girls came out of the kindergarten room with this card. I'm not sure what the front says (a-ke-ne-?), but bonus points are definitely awarded for the arrow pointing me inside...

This says, "Demito-sensei [star, star, heart] asonde kudete arigatou." I don't know where the spaces go in those middle words so I can't look them up, but I'm told this card says "David-sensei, Thank you for playing with us." This was an "I love my job" moment.

Geruma's teachers' room. I sit at that oval table in the middle.

The lunchroom.

This is a lunch I was glad to get on Geruma: a ricy/jumblayaey main dish, mashed potatoes with corn, and an apple piey dessert. Of course I was still hungry and so I got seconds.

A Better Day

The winds have pretty consistently blown on weekends this winter, keeping me and my kayak homebound. The wind didn't get a 2008 calendar, however, and wasn't aware that today was part of a three-day weekend. I jumped on the lapse and went out kayaking, taking my fishing pole but not really having any goals for the trip.

I ended up on a beach on the north shore of Aka. I could see Zamami and even hear the noon bells, but this beach isn't accessible by any roads so I was as remote as could be. I explored for about two hours, discovering a trail up to one of Aka's dams and sneaking up on some endangered Kerama deer. No real beach treasures, but it was fun looking.

This is the beach. My kayak is out there on the far end.

It has been so long since someone has been on this beach that the sand has weathered into ripples from the wind and rain.

Zamami village is straight ahead.

I thought this was pretty cool how the water washed this coral up into a wall.

Endangered Kerama deer.

Tokashiki Half-Marathon

Yesterday I did my laundry and paid close attention to what I ate. I stretched last night and woke up at 5:40am this morning to stretch again, eat early, and shower. All in preparation for today's Tokashiki half-marathon. Tokashiki is the big island in the Kerama chain and there aren't many opportunities for me to see it. I was annoyed at the exorbitant entry fee of 4000 yen (just under $40) but entered because I knew I would be in shape and Tokashiki is just so close.

I met the first grade teacher at the port at 7am, when the boat was supposed to leave. Three of us were going from Zamami and we were picking up 10 others from Geruma. A lady came running up a few minutes later to tell us that the boat was canceled due to high winds. The excuse given was that they thought it would be dangerous for the children (what?). I was not amused in the least because while last night's winds were rather strong, this morning's were not (I checked online prior to leaving). Boat decisions are always made the morning-of, but it appears this decision was made last night.

There are few times when I get frustrated with small island life. Very few. I like being separated from the mainland and I appreciate the reminders we get with boat cancellations. But I don't want the cancellations to affect me! My frustration was only amplified by my belief that the winds were not in fact strong. Losing the $40 entry fee (that I thought was a rip-off to begin with) didn't help, but the worst of it all was that I still had to run 26k today as part of my training plan for the Okinawa City Marathon in two weeks.

In an attempt to channel my frustration, I began the run as quickly as possible. It worked; I ran the 26k in 2:08.

Now I'm sitting here while the Tokashiki half-marathon is taking place only 3-4 miles away. On the other side of a channel with calmish water (I could see it from my running route). The only conclusion I can come to is that a boat driver (or the village office paying him) was not excited about spending the day on Tokashiki. Perhaps understandable, but 13 people were affected by this decision, including people who have been training. Also, some $400 in entry fees were wasted.

Argh.

Circle Yes or No

And... Geruma!

Geruma is amazing because it's an entire school that is still half the size of the classes most ALTs teach. There are 11 elementary students, three junior high students, and seven pre-schoolers. There are no fourth graders nor any ninth graders. There are 14 staff for 14 elementary and junior high students.

I arrive via speedboat to the Aka port at about 8am and get picked up by the woman who runs the cafeteria. We drive 4-5 minutes across the bridge and to the village on the other end of Geruma. She also gives me a ride back at 3:20 for the 3:30 boat. Some days, like tomorrow, I have a sixth period class which ends at 3:50. If I hurry we can just barely make the 4pm departure of the Queen Zamami (fast catamaran passenger ferry) to Zamami. But it's incredibly windy tonight so chances are good the Queen will be canceled and I will have to wait at the Aka port until the last speedboat at 5:30. What do I do for 1.5 hours? Nap. Study Japanese. Stare blankly.

The school is on the right and the gym on the left, with the library, cafeteria, and nurse's room on the first floor. We even have a full 200m track!

The view from the classrooms. Yesterday a flock of boats off the point prompted many of the staff and students to break out the binoculars in hopes of seeing whales. No dice, though.

This is a picture I took before Geruma's late September sports day. Note how turquoise the water is - probably due to the 5% summer cloud cover instead of February's 95%.

Me teaching the 7th grader, Karen. Is this a posed picture? Perhaps.

The three first graders during music practice. The second grader, Hana, is standing.

Pictures from Aka

The Aka elementary students gathered in the library. There isn't enough space in the teachers' room, so I spend my down time split between here and the computer room.

There are three boys in the first grade class. Takahiro is following 'left, right, up, and down' instructions from his cohorts to dress his stick figure. He's also winking at you.

Setsubun was a holiday that fell this past week. All I know of it is that the 9th grade students go to the pre-school class dressed as evil spirits and the pre-schoolers throw beans to fend away the spirits. When the spirits get extra spiritual, all of the little boys gather behind me and cry. White man, beacon of comfort.

Throwing beans before crying.

The cafeteria with all of the students and teachers. A bonus of Aka and Geruma is that the food is prepared on Zamami for all three schools. So they send extra to Aka and Geruma. Which means I can get seconds. Which is great.

But only great if the food is good. This day it wasn't. There is something worthy of seconds about half the time. I agree with my friend Amy's recent post that Japanese food, for the most part, is terrible. It might be unfair for me to make my judgments on cafeteria experiences, but restaurants haven't been much better. It should be noted that I have really only experienced Japanese food in Okinawa. The ramen I had in Tokyo was awesome, but ramen doesn't really count as cultural fare.