Fingerhuts Underwater in Ko Tao

My older sister Lynn and I have been scuba diving every day for the past 5 days. We got to Ko Tao Island and found a nice little row of bungalows called Big Fish. The guy who runs the place in an old American dude who has been here for 20 years. For some odd reason, most of this resort's customers are Danish or German. The scuba instructors speak English so that's all that mattered. We signed up for the PADI Certification course. We watched the videos and read the textbook, flashback to half-ass homework assignments in high school.

After practicing some basic skills, we were ready for the open water. Our first few days we spent in water up to 18 meters (about 54 feet) just getting comfortable adjusting our ears and monitoring our breathing air. Yesterday, we finished the beginner's course. Lynn got a ticket for the ferry to the neighboring island of Ko Samui, and I chatted with our instructor Henrik about the advanced diving course. When Lynny heard that I would be going to 30m (100ft) today, she had to do it too. With one swipe of the pen from Mr. Boat Ticket Man, she got it changed. This morning, we descended to the deep and tested ourselves for nitrogen narcosis. It is a condition some people get when diving at deeper depths. Some people can get almost delirious from excess nitrogen in the blood. (It is said that some narcosified individuals offer their breathing apparatus to fish swimming nearby. Luckily, we kept it in our mouths.) We had to perform a simple number test. On the surface, I did it in 15 seconds. Down below, I took a sluggish 18.

I spent the day today keeping a 150cc motorbike from slipping, sliding and crashing down the unsealed roads of the island with 3 Danes and a German. Lynn finally got on the ferry this afternoon, off to explore more of Southern Thailand before flying back next week. I got an e-mail from younger sister Katie who said she is coming here Sunday or Monday with her friend. As I undergo the Great Southern Thailand Sister-Swap, I will continue with my advanced course, tomorrow diving during the night. We will take torches (flashlights) to see what kind of shenanigans go on under the water after dark. (I heard at one point, we all turn them off at once. Can't wait!) I am thinking of continuing here until I get a Diver Rescue Certificate, still a few steps away.



On a different note, I want to call attention to the Kyushu Hash House Harriers. They are once again going strong. After a very solid Hash in Miyazaki to open the year, there will be a huge City-Hash this Saturday. I cannot wait to hear all about it. If you are checking the Champon Adventures from Japan, I suggest you get out and Hash! Good job to everyone involved and keep up the good work. Brother Disco Ass is watching from afar(even when I am underwater).

An Irishman's Close Call

I recently went on a three day/two night trek up into the mountains outside Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. The first day we hiked up a mountain and stayed the night in a small hut among a hill tribe. We had a group of about twelve people and I think we just about put the village children through college with the purchase of some choice beverages. It was a beautiful place to watch the sunset and the approaching rain.

The next day we set out in the downpour slipping and sliding down the other side of the mountain before spending some time at a massive gushing waterfall in the jungle. This being the rainy season here, the rivers are all swollen although fortunately, the leeches stayed away.

We made our way to our lodging for the second night, anohter hut on the banks of a massive raging river. Wanting to cool off and remove layers upon layers of mud, we ventured a few feet into the river just enough to get wet and clean up a bit. As I was standing there, I glanced over and saw Dez, one of five Irish university students, out further than he should be. He was quickly swept into the massive rapids and he was down river and out of sight before the rest of us could believe what was happening. The other 7 people I was with had their shoes off in the midst of bathing, but I luckily had my shoes on. I sprinted as fast as I could along the banks, falling over rocks and onto the sandbars. I really didn't grasp the gravity of the situation until I paused running, looked down the river and didn't see his head above the water. I continued to run and scramble over the rocks on the side until I finally saw that he had managed to grab onto a bunch of bamboo poles in the middle of the river. I told him to hold on as he screamed for help. I grabbed another bamboo pole and stuck it out to reach him. By this time, our Thai guide Sing was there and he also had a pole. Using both, we managed to pull him to the side. He collapsed on the bank but he was conscious and alive.

There are certain situations in life that happen in fast motion. Something as simple as washing off in a river can escalate into something so far out of our control in a matter of seconds. I can't imagine how things may have turned out and I am certainly not going to spend time thinking about it. Just seeing his body cascade down the muddy water among the jagged rocks of the river and his head barely bobbing above the water was surreal. True, Dez was a lucky Irishman this day and the beer tasted a little better that evening.

On to Chiang Mai

I have made it back to Thailand. I am writing from the beautiful town of Chiang Mai.

From the capital of Laos, Vientiane, I took a short bus ride north into the mountains and stayed in a small backpacker's town called Vang Vieng. There are some amazing limestone cliffs overlooking the town and the lazy Nam Cha river winds through. The main bus center of town is on the massive airstrip, built by the American Military "to perpetuate countless crimes." Taking a page from the Southern Missouri's Beer-Drinker's Handbook, tubing has become a popular pasttime. My first day there, I was shuttled about 3km north of town, given a tube and hopped in the Meremac of Northern Laos. Along the way, people have set up little bars serving the excellent BeerLao and other enticements such as rope swings, tree jumps, caves to explore and so on. The next day, I joined a kayaking trip. This time, we were shuttled 20km north of town and stopped at several caves and jumping spots as well as facing the occasional class 2 rapids. My evenings I spent at several establishments in town, drinking cold BeerLao with some Canadian lawyers, sampling the "happy" garlic bread and avoiding the restaurants with episodes of "Friends" playing 24 hours a day, no joke.

From Vang Vieng, I took the breathtaking 7 hour bus ride way up into the mountains of Northern Laos. It was amazing to see how people live along the thin mountain roads. They build their houses on stilts hanging over the side of sheer drop-offs and even carry on some kind of agriculture even though the mountainsides are all over 45 degree angles. The views from the winding road was incredible. Finally we came back down and entered the World Heritage former capital city of Luang Prabang. It is renowned for its French architecture and beautiful temples. The night market was one of the best I have been to--a long street filled with high quality fabrics, scarves, lamps, clothes and the highly sought after BeerLao T-shirts. Most importantly, the sellers did very little hassling, you were free to browse without any pressure, and the crowds were minimal. I spent the day there bicycling around, locating a waterfall not too far from town and having a nice swim, then coming back to relax a bit before climbing the large hill located in the center of town and watching the sunset from a Buddhist temple with views of the town and the majestic mountains in the distance. It was at this point that I realized I had asked myself the question upon arrival in Luang Prabang, "why is this a World Heritage city?" Looking at the town and all the surrounding temples among the pristine mountains, I got the picture.

I made the decision to make it all the way from Luang Prabang to the Thai border at Huay Xi, Laos. To do this in one day would require use of the suicidal, unsafe at any speedboat previously seen crossing from Cambodia into Laos. It was going to be a 6 hour trip up the Mekong river. This time, we were provided with life vests and crash helmets. Despite the deafening engine, I somehow managed to doze off a few times, only to quickly awaken paranoid that I would somehow slump over into the Mekong which was flying by us at about 70 km/h, most likely decapitation to ensue. Arriving in Huay Xi, I was told I could cross the border before it closes and have enough time to catch a 5 hour bus to Chiang Mai in Thailand arriving at about 11pm. With a healthy supply of sleep-aids legal in these countries, I happily agreed and was whisked across the Mekong one last time. I must have slept through a rather powerful thunderstorm in the car, but was delivered safe and sound the the jewel of Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai. I will attempt a 3 day trek/raft/climb/meethillpeople/barbeque/waterfall/elephantride/feedthemonkey/cowtipping adventure in the mountains here before heading back to Bangkok for a mini-Fingerhut reunion of sorts.

My trip count so far: 5 days in Bangkok, 11 days in Cambodia, 9 days in Laos, Chiang Mai - 1 day and counting.

The long road from Phnom Penh to Vientiane

For about the last 5 days, I have been making my way north from the capital of Cambodia to the capital of Loas. It's been an arduous, but surely interesting journey on the backroads and the Mekong.

The first step was a 5 hour short-bus ride north to the small city of Kratie. There was no leg room and my left arm got terribly sunburnt because there wasn't room for it in the bus. In Kratie, me and this geologist Brit John took a short boat ride to see the endangered freshwater Iyerwaddy dolphins in the Mekong river. The next day after falling victim to conniving Kratie driver/transportation system, we set off for Stung Treng. We were guaranteed only 3 people in the back of a taxi for the 4 hour ride because we paid an extra 6 bucks. But sure enough, as soon as we rounded the corner, another guy jumped in. Fleeced again!

In Stung Treng, we boarded a small canoe-type raft with a Toyota car engine attached to it. Needless to say, we flew from Stung Treng to the Cambodia/Lao border crossing. When we left Stung Treng, it was a very sunny day. As we made our way further up the Mekong, it became apparent it was gonna rain. Our tiny boat was unsheltered. As the wind kicked up and our boat driver kept the speed up, we were battered with rain, although it might have been glass shards. Finally, it let up and as we approached the stilted shack known as Cambodia immigration, the super-duper immigration officer got out of his hammock and put on his shirt. He stamped us on our way and collected his "official" $2 overtime fee. Although we thought we paid for transport all the way to Laos, we were then charged another dollar to get to the Laos immigration office across the river. Happy to be out of Cambodia for the time being, we got stamped in Laos, paid the overtime fee there and headed for town as it began to get dark.

We were set on getting to the bungalow/backpacker town of Don Det, located in Si Phan Don, or 4,000 islands area. Here, the mighty Mekong diverges into countless channels creating many islands and picturesque waterfalls. We were able to stay in a nice riverside bungalow for a dollar a night. We spent the next day strolling a couple islands, checking out mile-wide rapids and falls, wading through flooded paths, enjoying the extra-happy menu of the local restaurants and like the Lonely Planet suggests, recovering from Cambodia. On Don Det, I believe I have recovered evidence of the fist ever Ducken--the ducks and chickens of the island have a very good relationship. Recovery complete, we reserved a seat for the next leg of our journey.

Pick it up from my journal entry:
The journey from Don Det to Pakse was an interesting one. John and I got on a Lao truck/bus thingy at 8:40am and told we'd leave at 9am. People were loading bags of all sizes onto the truck. One guy got on, opened one of the bags, pulled out a few frogs and ripped off one of the legs of the still-living thing. Sure enough, we felt the other bags and there were animals of some kind in there. Six Spaniards got on and objected as more and more bags and baskets were loaded on. It got to be 10am, we were still there and the Spaniards weren't happy. One guy displayed his expertise in Spanish cussing. "Joder! Tu puta madre!" Me too. They got off and got there money back, setting off on foot. Finally we set off. On our truck, there were about 20 people, several bags of rice, several bags of animals: species unknown and in various stages of near-death, 2 large pots of fish swimming in Mekong River water (one of whcih fell off onto the road spilling the water and depositing the fish onto the hot pavement), baskets of unknown groaning animals and finally a large wicker cage containing about 40 chickens all crammed together and shitting onto aforementioned bags/baskets/passengers. We happily got off the Farmyard Connection in Pakse, Laos.

John and I recovered with a few of southeast asia's best beers, BeerLao. He was off on an overnight bus to Vientiane, while I was getting a morning bus (the VIP, no farm animals) to the town of Savannakhet. Savannakhet is a town on the Thai border which was heavily bombarded by American troops around the time of Vietnam. I checked out an amazing Buddhist temple then checked out the local Museum. Most of it was an homage to national communist heroes and pictures of farming and Laos' burgeoning "industry" as evidence of its place in world communist powers! Yeah, I was the only one at the museum. Upstairs they had a few old bombs left by America and a few pictures with captions like: "U.S. imperialists and puppet soldiers use Savannakhet Airfield for perpetrating countless crimes." Good stuff. Outside there was an old US fighter plane and some cannons on display. There were a group of teenagers sitting and talking on the fighter plane. One guy was laying on one of the wing flaps. As he got up, the flap turned and he tumbled to the ground. Ah, sweet victory! Vindication! Go USA!

I opted for an overnight bus to Vientiane("local" = no animals, just bags of rice piled 2 deep in the aisles and from floor to cieling in the rear). I managed some good sleep on the bus despite the Loatian karaoke hits blasting all night and rain blowing in the windows in the middle of the night.

So now I am here in Vientiane, not much going on here. I think I will go to Vang Vieng tomorrow, where I here they have some good tubing. Can't wait...

Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh

Yesterday, I returned to Phnom Penh from Sihanoukville. This is a little beachside town on the southern coast of Cambodia. I relaxed for 2 days on some excellent beaches and hopped on a scooter to explore a nice waterfall.

After returning to the capital yesterday, I decided to check out 2 places that most tourists visit when in Cambodia. First, I went to the Tuol Sleng Museum. In 1975, the genocidal Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge forces took over this high school and made it a detention compound and interrogation center. The aim of the Khmer Rouge was to rapidly create a communist state, to undergo its own "Great Leap Forward". Many intellectuals, people who knew foreigners and sometime people who simply wore glasses were rounded up form all over Cambodia and sent to prisons like this. Here they were interrogated, tortured, beaten senseless until they gave name of friends, family members and anyone else they knew to be traitors of the state.

After thorough torture, the prisoners were loaded into trucks and taken about 20km outside the city to The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. I made the very same trip on the back of a scooter after visiting the museum. Here the remains of 8985 people have been unearthed. There is a memorial pillar with many of the skulls and bones stacked inside. As I walked around the fields, there were many holes, some with signs saying things like: the remains of 420 people were found here or 166 bodies of women and children were buried here - without heads. As I walked, I looked down and was amazed to see bones still protruding from the dirt. I brushed my hands across them in disbelief and was further amazed to see clothing, worn by the victims on the day of their execution, sticking out from the dirt.

On a lighter note, I continue to meet very interesting people: A former Canadian Football player who now works on oil pipelines in western Canada, on vacation until the roads freeze again and he can drive on the ice; A young Japanese kid who has been bicycling through Japan, China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. "I love to bike," he says; A former English teacher in Japan who has opened his own shop in Phnom Penh. His business: loading up peoples' ipods with albums for $.75 per. I got 10 bucks worth.

Keep checking back here, I will head to Northern Cambodia tomorrow then into Laos soon after.

Holiday in Cambodia

I just finished up 3 days in Siem Reap and I am now in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. The first 2 days I spent checking out Angkor's countless ancient temples and crumbling structures. I opted to get shuttled around to them by a guy working at the guest house I stayed at on the back of a scooter. His name was Phech Sopaul, or just Paul. I also met 2 lawyers from CO who met in the courtroom (facing eachother)and have been engaged for over a year.

By the third day, I was pretty much tired of seeing the temples, so we did something a little different. There is a huge lake in the middle of Cambodia and of course many people who live on the lake fishing and raising alligators. I shared a boat with a Brit banker who was on his way back from working in Bogota, Colombia. We checked out the floating villages and I was the only foreigner to jump into the muddy, flooded canal with the Cambodians.

Then Paul took me to what he called the killing fields. It was a site at which many people were massacred during the Khmer Rouge's regime and institution of communism. Today, it is a Buddhist monastary complex. There was still a pile of bones as a memorial along with pictures and diagrams of different ways in which people were killed. As I began to feel pretty emotional thinking about this, I strolled over to a classroom where there was a foreigner teaching english to a classful of young adults. I stepped outside and there was a Buddhist funural service going on. There was the body in a concrete pyre and men began to put burning wood inside to cremate the body. I saw some women and kids crying for the deceased. It was an amazing place with so many real things happening.

I then asked Paul if I could go to his house. He lives in this tiny, one room shack with a hammock for a bed and a dirt floor. He cooked me a little food he usually eats and his mom brought over a special dish too. We strolled around the neighborhood and talked to a few people, one guy who makes genuine engravings like the ones at Angkor Wat and sells them to hotels and rich tourists. Last night, I paid Paul more than what he asked for for the 3 days. He was pretty happy and invited me to drink with him, some other co-workers, the guest house owner and the owner's family. It was great fun an we raised our glasses every 2 minutes to drink Anchor Beer poured over ice. I did the usual foreigner thing of repeating funny Cambodian phrases to everyone's amusement. I was sad to leave Siem Reap this morning, giving Paul my e-mail and a recieving a promise that he will ask me to invest in a new guest house he wants to open.

Land mines are a part of everyday life all over the country. Millions of mines were laid in the decades of war in the 60s to the 80s and they are still a huge problem today. I visited the Siem Reap mine museum. This small one room building has tons of old mines and bombs gathered by the museum's creator, Aki Ra. He was a child soldier for the Khmer regime and he actually placed many of the mines when he was a child. Today, he works on locating and disarming the old, but still active mines. Several children live at the museum. They are all amputees or are blind. Being in Cambodia, I have seem so many people walking or crawling around missing legs, arms, or everything. There is really no reason for these terrible devices to exist in the first place. Most mines are created by the huge powers: Russia, China or the good old USA, and end up in extremely poor places like here and Laos. About 90 Cambodians are victims of land mines every month.

More to come from Cambodia...

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Greeting from monsoony Cambodia.

Yesterday morning, I boarded a bus in Bangkok and set out for the Thailand's Eastern border with Cambodia. This was a smooth 4 hour drive. Despite arriving at the border and already possessing a Cambodia visa, I waited in a line for a good 2 hours for 2 stamps in my passport. After the nice a/c bus and the paved roads in Thailand, Cambodia was not quite there. The road from the border to the nearest big town of Siem Reap was about 130km of muddy, potholed, washed out slop. We set out from the border at about 4pm and arrived at about 12:30am. Plus, I was in one of those temporary pull down seats in the aisle on our short bus.

This morning I woke up and hopped on the back of a motor-bike with my new friend Paul as my guide. This nice young Cambodian man proceeded to drive me 80km East to the ruins of an ancient Khmer temple. There was no one around there, I had the chance to explore the crumbling stones in the middle of the jungle for several hours. We repeated the same incredible journey back to the city, speeding down the muddy red roads thourgh rice paddies, dogs laying on the road, naked kids waving as a white man passed by, women bathing near the well in mid-afternoon and dump trucks trying to avoid us.

Every time I open my eyes, there is another photograph I am sure I have seen as I paged through our monthly National Geographic as a kid. The culture here is just so amazing. Cambodia is a very poor country and people do what the can to make some money. Cattle are the means to bring crops to the market, sharing the busy roads with scooters and 3 year olds on full sized bikes. Need some gas? Pull over and buy it by the liter from soda bottles recylced as gas containers.

This evening, I walked the grounds of Angkor Wat. This is perhaps the most expansive structure I have ever been in. Oh, and it's 800 years old. I have taken so many pictures the past 2 days and I can't wait to share them. I will spend the next 2 days exploring Angkor Wat and countless other ancient Khmer temples in the area. Stay tuned.

Banned in Bangkok

Greetings everyone. For the first time, I am blogging from the road. I am currently sitting in an internet cafe just off Kao San Road in Bangkok. Today was my third day here. I arrived Thursday night late and was lucky to find a room. I made sure the room had a fan--more of a jet propellar. I was defintely cool but mostly slept in the fetal position in case it worked its way loose off the cieling.

These 3 days I have mostly spent walking, strolling and working my way around the little free city map I picked up at the airport. I must say, I've covered a good portion of it already. I made a few purchases--a medium sized backpack for shorter excursions, a pair of sandals to avoid doing sock laundry and a pair of pants in order to properly enter the buddhist temples(all fakes, of course). Yesterday, after a long day of walking in the heat, I rewarded myself with a movie in a cavernous, frigid theater. I watched "The Island". It was classic Michael Bay/Armageddon type stuff (Joey, you love it) but the action was pretty good and it served its purpose for about $3.75. After that, my adrenaline was pumping, so I hopped on a TukTuk, a 3 wheel taxi vehicle. The driver was whipping in and out of traffic and I couldn't help but laugh as I held on for my life.

I also moved to a different guest house yesterday, slightly cheaper and a cool place to relax and watch some pirated movies on the first floor. I've arranged for a bus ride to Siem Reap in Cambodia--I will leave Tuesday morning. I plan on working my way through Cambodia, then north to Laos, the back to northern Thailand. Bangkok is most defenitely interesting, but I'm ready to get out. As far as food goes, mostly been eating Thai or Indian, but tonight I had to have some pizza at this one place. I kept walking by and the smell brought me in. I had some amazing Dragonfruit today. Just a few interesting things I've noticed the past few days: tattoo parlors in the back of vans, an abundance of white people but a noticeable lack of American accents, a family of 4 on a scooter on a busy street--no helmets, standing for the Thai national anthem before a movie, old dogs laying and chilling anywhere even in traffic.

This is just a start, but hopefully the next time you hear from me will be in the heart of Cambodia. I'll see if I can't get to a beach while I'm there. Out.

PS - I was in a scavenger hunt in Tokyo a while back. My friend Brooke just sent me the link for some of our pictures. Check 'em out. You'll notice, I'm the guy whose feet are off the ground in each of our team's 3 pictures. Classic.

Sayonara, Japan

In about 48 hours, I will get on a 1-way flight to Bangkok. I will leave Japan after spending 3 years here on the JET Program. There's so much I want to say about Japan and my experiences here. Perhaps I should only say this: To everyone I have met, worked with, jumped off waterfalls with and to Japan as a country, Thank You.


I'll be in SE Asia for about 2 months before heading back to the states. I can't wait to get to Thailand, a country I have heard so much about but never been to. I'll try to keep updating this when I am travelling, but it could be spotty. Feel free to e-mail me to sey hay. Stay tuned for more Champon Adventures...

A good-bye barbeque

On Saturday, I joined the Ishizuka and Yoshida Families (minus Michiyo and Taiji, repectively) for a great barbeque at Minoru's favorite spot in Kikuchi. The weather was a good 35 degrees. But the river was high which allowed some fun in the water with the kids. It was a great time until my sandal fell off and floated away. On the way back, we paused to pick a few of the blooming sunflowers in Shisui.

City Hash, July 17, 2005

The blazing 35c afternoon of July 17 witnessed the 32nd running of the Kyushu Hash House Harriers (The Professor’s Return). With Disco A** set on organizing a successful day after a minor fiasco in Miyazaki last month, the group gathered in front of Kumamoto Station among sleeping ojiisans and yelping school girls. The group set out and was quickly confused by the diverging trails and maze of ancient shrines and monuments of the Kitaoka Nature Park. Then it was on through the noodle-thin streets of Yokote Machi. The trails meandered through forgotten toriis and emerged at the newly gutted Shimasaki Quarry (as seen before on Champon Adventures). With an option to bask in the ectoplasmic green waters of the ancient quarry, the hashers made their way east back towards the city. On Home was reached after the trail wound through the raked rock gardens of the Hosokawa Mansion, a bum residence and the massive parking lot for the high school baseball tournament. Everyone found relief in the cool breeze and ample shadiness of Ninomaru Park. As the clouds rolled in and the lightning began, a rousing religion was held. The gods rumbled their approval, for Disco A** had made these hashers smile.


The dirty details:

-25 heads turned out. There were 7 immortals and about 7 virgins along with 4 Miyazakians, a long way from home.

- A more-red-than-usual Alastair finished the course about 10 minutes after Disco A** and caused DA’s heart to jump when he earlier cried in anguish happening upon the YBF.

- No one was overcome by the heat to the point of medical attention. Thanks for doin’ it safe everyone.

- 2 hashers merit special attention for their (before the jump) loins of steel. James and Mark took up my offer of an 8m jump into the quarry lake. Its radiated sacred waters instantaneously rendered them uber-impo.

- There were 3 immortalizations on the day:
　　
(1) – Alastair was coined “Red Raja” after many stellar hash performances. His blazing red speed and hair to match along with his genealogy of Indian oppression were brought to light.
(2) – Nancy, always bringing her legendary genkiness to each hash was made into Sister “Poo Ticket” —the Japanese toilet paper brand bearing her name(Hello! Nancy!) and its Aussie slang term.
(3) – Miyazaki hare Emily was baptized as “Jacko Flash”. She has previously introduced the hash (and alcohol: one in the same) to young high school boys in MiyaBama. Also quoted was her great hash performances and propensity to shed her inhibitions at various times.

- After about a year hiatus, Professor Quintana marked a successful return to the hash thanks to its Sunday placement.

- A big thanks to everyone who made it out. It’s great to have such numbers and especially a good number of first-timers. Keep spreading the word.

----------------------------------------------------------

On the occasion of personally completing 3 happy years on the Kumamoto/Kyushu HHH, I want to share some facts and personal shout outs. Most of this information can be found in the ever-expanding Official Kyushu Hash Excel Spreadsheet. You can see a small sample here or download it from the Kumamoto AJET Yahoo!Groups page. Make it yours today!








This was the 32nd running of the hash. I have been a hare or a co-hare for 10 hashes. I have not missed a hash in the last 3 years here, that’s 24 of them. I’ve also hashed in Hong Kong, Singapore and I will hash soon in Thailand. We have had some excellent hashes this year. 4 out of 9 hashes brought crowds of over 20. The hash is alive and well. Big shouts to Kumamoto Hash founders Austin, aka Sakuraba, and James Ringworm. Also, hash legends Muppet, Fracas, Lettuce, Sonic-san—you’d be proud. I am happy to have continued the tradition during my time in Japan. This has been my livelihood while I have been here and I will miss it. I am confident this strong tradition will continue for many years. Sh*tf*ck, Sliced Bush, Nuck-a-Nuts, Jacko Flash, Bitchiro and all you other immortals that will be sticking around: You have been chosen from many to show others the way. Keep it up here and in Miyazaki and bring it elsewhere. Be proud of who you are, don’t forget your roots and most of all, ON ON!

If you happen to have the picture from the starting box, could you mail it to me or post it in comments? Thanks.

Last Lesson

Today, I had my last English classes in Japan. I decided to play a game of maru/batsu. It is the Japanese version of true/false, where I read a statement and the students walk to the true or false side of the room and rack up points if they're right. I made all the statements about myself and Japan. Here were the questions, how many could you get right?


1 Mark is 26 years old.
2 Mark eats onigiri for breakfast. (rice ball wrapped in seaweed)
3 In Korea, Mark ate dog. (actually it was China)
4 Mark went surfing for the first time in Miyazaki.
5 Mark studies Kanji by watching Japanese Comedy TV Programs.
6 Mark will travel to Africa when he leaves Japan.
7 Mark’s brother Joe lived in Fukuoka.
8 Mark thinks the most delicious takoyaki is in Osaka. (octopus dough ball)
9 Mark went snowboarding in Hokkaido and Nagano.
10 Mark passed 2kyu Japanese test. (3kyu)
11 Mark know the kanji for ”へ” 屁　(fart).
12 Mark had a bicycle, motorbike and a car in Japan.
13 Mark always likes to eat school lunch.
14 Mark has been to the Kumamoto Fish Auction.
15 Mark went scuba diving in Thailand.
16 Mark lives on a farm in America.
17 Mark say Aya Ueto at a shopping mall in Tokyo.　(popular Japanese pop star)
18 Mark watched the sumo championship in Fukuoka.
19 Mark has been to Australia and New Zealand.
20 Mark can write his first and last name in katakana in less than 5 seconds. (マークフィンガーハット）

words to leave by

I recently had the going away party at my Board of Education. We are asked to get in front and say a few words. Some people don't think much of it, but to me, it's pretty important. Especially because I have been in Japan for 3 years, it's more than "thanks, good-bye." It's chance to show the people who work so hard to make out jobs here much easier, make our jobs possible. The speech to them should be in Japanese, for obvious reasons, and to show them you have cared enough the last few years to take some time to study a bit. I wrote it myself with helpful corrections and suggestions by Manami. So here was my speech, good luck, jf:

If you can't read the Japanese characters, mess with your encoding in your browser.

こんばんは

私はマーク　フィンガーハットです。

これまでの３年間、早かったです。私は江南、江原そして花陵の３つの中学校に勤務（きんむ）していました。３中学校とも、とても楽しかったです。まず、江南中学校の生徒たちの英語のレベルはとても高いと感（かん）じました。そして江原中学校と花陵中学校の生徒たちは、英語を使うことを躊躇（ちゅうちょ）せず、私とcommunicationをとってくれ、たくさんの面白い日本語を教えてくれました。その中で、私が一番、気に入（い）っているのが、帰る時に使う“さよ　おなら”です。しつれいしました。

この３年間、私は本当にたくさんの助けが必要（ひつよう）でした。以前（いぜん）、教職員課に勤務（きんむ）されていた長田さん、退職（たいしょく）された横田さん、そして教職員課の吉住さん、清藤さん、樋口さん。
本当にありがとうございました。とても感謝（かんしゃ）しています。

最後に、私はこれから少しの間、東南アジアを旅行して、そのあとアメリカでの生活を始めたいと思っています。日本、そして熊本のことは絶対（ぜったい）に忘れません。将来（しょうらい）は日本語を使った仕事をしてみたいです。
現在、熊本にたくさんの友達ができましたが、親戚（しんせき）もできました。兄ジョーの おくさんのご家族のみなさんです。

熊本でたくさんの思い出ができました。本当にお世話になりました。ありがとうございました。

Tasaki Market, Kumamoto 田崎市場

I e-mailed my friend Jamie the other day and told him I was about to go to the fish auction. He replied: "whoa, I didn't know you were in Tokyo, when are you coming back?"

Hard to believe, but there is a fairly huge fish market/auction right here in Kumamoto. It's located about 2km west of Kumamoto Station in Tasaki Machi. This past Thursday, Joe D and I joined two of my Karyo JH teachers for an early-morning tour. We met the teachers at about 5:30am then headed over to the market. I was manning the video camera so Joe snapped all these photos.


Mr. Fukushima, Joe and I pose with our official market tourist hats. Too fly.


All these guys gather every morning among rows and rows of styrofoam boxes filled with all kinds of sea animals. The guy standing above everyone runs the auction.




Squid, bloody Tuna tails and my current desktop photo. Gorgeous shot, Joe.



A large Tuna is cut into more managable pieces before being sliced into the classic sushi shape.



After getting our fill of fish guts, we headed over to the fruits and vegetable market. These watermelon line up for shipment. There is also an auction for fruits and veggies, this was more organized and formal than the fish auction.

At about 7am, we ducked into a tiny shop for a delicious breakfast of Maguro-don. It was a heaping bowl of raw tuna with and egg on top with seaweed slices and mountain potato. We poured soy sauce and wasabi on top. One of the freshest and most delicious breakfasts i've ever had. Finally, it was time to go back home and freshen up for a long day at school. On the way, we spotted this hip hop fan. I think she was just coming home from a long night of clubbin'. SEXY!