The Winter Issue 2015

～ Winter

is

coming

冬が来るぞ

Contributors Cover Photo Melody Tsukahara

Allison BradleyPaul Dargan

Joseph JacksonLilly Hart

Josh MitchellJeff Newby

Kavita Premchan

Editors-in-Chief Amanda Fink Terrell Wallin

Creative Director Melody Tsukahara

Table of Contents

Contributors Cover Photo Melody Tsukahara

Allison BradleyPaul Dargan

Joseph JacksonLilly Hart

Josh MitchellJeff Newby

Kavita Premchan Table of Contents

Letter from the EditorsThriving in WinterInsulation? What’s that?Surfing MountainsThe PhilippinesMusic RecsVeggie Gyoza RecipeFrist Year Perspectives

35

111519232729

3

TERRELL WALLIN

AMANDA FINK

MELODY TSUKAHARA

letter from the editors

Hello, Toyama!

Welcome back to the TRAM! We hope that the transition from the nice autumn days (...We had some of those, right? ...Maybe?) to the bitter cold of early winter hasn’t been too harsh. Tip from your sempai: a kotatsu and heated carpet combi-nation is wonderful. You can thank us later. We prefer hot chocolate.

Ahem.

For those of you who would rather be out and about this winter, fear not, there is some great advice within these pages. Although Toyama winters can be cold, there are many ways that you can still be as active socially and physically without freezing your fingers off. Enjoy the few remaining days without snow, have a wonderful winter break, and we’ll see you next year!

Your editors,

Amanda, Melody, and Terrell

4

5

THRIVING in

WinterThis article was originally written by Dave Herlich

and Tori Sharpe, JETs from Aomori Prefecture. Thank you to Jeff Newby for sharing it with us.

6

U N D E R S TA N D I N G Y O U R H E AT E R S

Keeping it Toasty - The best strategy during win-ter is to designate one room of your apartment the “warm” room. This is usually your living room. The next step is to keep it at a toasty temperature.

*FREEZING PIPES: Ask someone how to turn off your water when the thermometer hovers in the single-digits. Usually every night, and when you leave your house for a few days.

*INSULATING: First, seal all cracks in your win-dows with duct tape or weather stripping. Then, bubble wrap your windows. Most Japanese resi-dences don’t have insulation, and you’ll see large sheets of bubble wrap being sold in stores. Buy enough to cover every window (and maybe your door) and tape te bubble wrap directly onto the window. DO NOT apply tape to the wood.

Kerosene Heater (Touyu 灯油)This is the most popular kind of space heating in Japan due to the costs involved. An 18 litre container of kerosene can be purchased from your local home store for abou 600-800 yen and this will provide you with over 50 hours of continuous heating at full power (the equivalent of 3000 watts of electrical eating). There are several type sof kerosene heaters available for purchase.

POT BELLYIn a word. Don’t. They smell, they’re messy, difficult to re-fill without spilling kerosene everywhere. About the only thing tat they have going for them is they’re cheap. You can get one at your local home store for around 6-8,000 yen.

RADIANTThey’re a little better than the pot-belly heater in terms of their design. They have a lift out kerosene cell inside which means that you don’t have to take the whole heater outside to refill it. These tings still smell quite a bit when they’re heating up and cooling down.

*BEING CLEAN: Leave your toothpaste / deoderant in the fridge, so it won’t freeze overnight. Take a shower at night in case your pipes are frozen in the morning. Keep an old pair of socks ready for icy days *put them over your shoes for extra traction).

*HOKKAIRO: Small pouches containing chemicals that heat up. Sold everywhere and very cheap. They usually last about 8 hours.

*HUMIDITY: The air can get really dry when you have the heat on, so placing a tea kettle on top of your eater to emit humidity is a great idea.

FAN HEATERSThe best kind of kerosene heaters. Elec-tronic ignition, timers, thermostats, lift our, kerosene tank, carbon monox-ide detectors and a fan to blow hot air around. You’ll need to plu them into a wall socket to start them. Since there’s a fan blowing over the combustion cham-ber, it burns the fuel more efficiently and doesn’t smell much. Basic models are 10-12,000 yen, high powered, larg-er tanks, and less stinky models 40,000 yen. Safety laws of fan heaters must have a timer that turns them off after 3 hours.

Kerosene Heaters

Electric Heaters

AIR CONDITIONERS: What? Are you nuts? An air-conditioner in winter!?Some of you may be able to heat your apartments using air-conditioners. If your air conditioner is marked with the words “Inverter” or “Reverse cycle”, it means that it will operate backwards. Usually only the more modern air conditioner units will be able to do this. It will draw heat (energy) from the outside air and depositing it inside your apartment. Even though the outside air is colder than the air inside, it still contains substantial amounts of energy that can be extracted and used for heating. They’re significantly more efficient than conventional heaters when operating in this way. The reason for this is that it is more efficient to move heat than to create it, and this is what an air conditioner does. They’re in the range of 150-300% more efficient than conventional heaters depending on conditions. Tis means that they’ll draw about 1000 watts of power under normal use, but will give you the equivalent of 1500-3000 watts of heat output. Many of these models have timers, thermostats, ionisers and a number of other features. They are also ideal for warming the house in the morning and for use while sleeping as they don’t need supervision as most conventional heaters do.

KOTATSU: Japanese style heated tables with an infra-red heating el-ement so you won’t burn yourself. There are 4 parts: An insulating mat that’s placed over the tatami. Some-times these are electrically heated as well. The under-side of the table has a low power ehating element at-tached to it. A quilted cover that goes over the base and completely covers the sides keeping the warm air un-der the table. A solid table top that ‘sandwhiches’ the cover between the table and the base. Around 4,000yen for small models without cover/mat.

CERAMIC: LIttle ones that sit on your floor and blow out hot air. They draw between 800w and 1100w of power when operating at ‘full steam’. Because they don’t burn fuel to cre-ate heat, they are useful for those people who are sensitive to kerosene fumes or have respiratory problems. They’re considerably more expen-sive to operate than kerosene heat-ers. Never operate this type of heater while sleeping.

RADIANT: Similar in design to the kerosene radiant heat, but they’re powered by electricity instead of liq-uid fuel. They’re available in a design that closely resembles a ‘fan’. This style has an element that can swing in an arc to evenly heat the room. Energy consumption is about the same as for a ceramic heater. Never operate this while sleeping. Useful for those people who are sensitive to kerosene fumes or have respiratory problems.

Electric Heaters

OIL COLUMN: Upright columns filled with oil and a heating element. These take a little while to heat up. They’re much safer than ordinary heaters because the heat is given off from the large surface area of the columns. This reduces the fire/burn risk associated with this type of heater, and makes it a popular coice for families with young chil-dren. Often equipped with timers and thermostats and can be operat-ed while sleeping.

8

TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY AND MIND

STAYING ACTIVEWhen temperatures begin to dramat-ically plummet, many of us tend to hibernate inside our homes. Hiberna-tion’s for bears! It’s important to main-tain a healthy lifestyle throughout all four seasons, but unfortunately a high percentage of us get almost no exercise at all during the winter months. Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t make it open season for an excuse not to ex-ercise.

WORKOUT Join a health club, make your own home gym, use the stairs at your home, buy workout videos. Make friends with a JET who has a car! They’re usu-ally happy to take you, and do NOT consider you a burden. You can also go for a walk outside in the beautiful brisk night air.

SPORTS If you aren’t into any winter sports yet, try one! You’re on a new adventure anyway, so why not find someone who can show you the ropes! There are usually plenty of people who would love a riding buddy, and it never hurts to ask! Aomori has some great mountains for snowboarding and skiing! If you aren’t stoked on ei-ther of those, try to find a gorup to go snow shoeing with. Or lead a snow-ball fight!

FESTIVALS Each major town usually has some sort of winter festival. Find out when they are and go check them out!

EATING RIGHT Often being cold causes many of us want to curl up uner a blanket with our favourite snacks and watch a movie. This isn’t entirely bad, but definitely can be if all we are eating is junk food. Be sure to keep a well-balanced diet.

9

STAYING SANE

VITAMIN DThere’s so much vitamin D in the sun’s rays that our body actually gets less of it during these months. A good multivitamin can help with all-around energy.

RELAXINGMaking your home feel like ome can be es-sential! Decorate your pad with warm co-lours that make you appy just seeing them. It’s impotant to take down time and relax to clear your mind Aomori has many onsens you cna go to where you can do just that.

JETS/FOREIGN COMMUNITYStay connected with JETs. These people are all great resources! Set up a movie night, board game, poker, or hooka night. Go to onsens together or eat yakiniku. Talk to them on Facebook, as how they’re doing, answer their phone calls and texts.

FAMILYFacebook and other social networking sites can act like magic in making you feel con-nected to people at home. Write them mes-sages and check on them whenever you can. Use Skype and schedule Skype dates with them Exchange postcards with them.

With the beautiful snow come the onimous dark clouds and shorter daylight hours with very few sunny days. It is an extremely easy time to become depressed and feeling alone. Whatever you do, DO NOT KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF. You need to get out and let people know what’s going on in your head. We are all social creatures and need to be in the company of others from time to time, regardless of our personalities. If we are never social, we’re putting ourselves in a position to feel lost and negative about life. There are many ways to stay connected, and make sure you maintain a mentally healthy lifestyle.

GO INTO THE LIGHTOne of the symptions of winter blues is the difficulty of waking up in the morning. Maximize the number of hours you’re ex-posed to daylight. Get up a bit earlier and enjoy a cup of coffee or some music before going to school. If you can get your hands on an artificial light, these can be amazing for you! They work to reduce the release of melatonin (which causes us to be sluggish).

10

Did you enjoy the typhoon free season this year? Great because as punishment, we’re going to have a bitter cold winter! Or so it seems…

As someone who lived with a twenty year old air con-ditioner for four winters here in the ever amazing Toyama, I’ve learned some tricks to beating the cold. Being the gentleman that I am, I’m here to share said tips with you!

Insulating Yourself at HomeLike most people in the winter, you’ll likely be spend-ing a lot of time home. Of course, you can crank up the kotatsu, turn your air conditioning unit to heat, and cover your windows with enough plastic to ship your entire apartment home. However, I’m here to of-fer some advice on insulating yourself.

Layer like you’ve never layered before! Have on thick wools socks? Throw another pair or some cozy room socks over them. Still not enough? Then grab yourself a pair of house booties (yes, house booties) and add another level of protection. House booties are ador-able and toasty, a winning combination.

By Patrick Finn

Insulation? What ’s That?

Long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts are a must, too. This seems obvious, but what I do is take whatever sweater/sweatshirt I wore over the weekend spend out (yes, I go out), and use it as roomwear during the week. Having a long sleeve shirt underneath it will keep it from getting stank, plus you’ll have less laun-dry to do.

Have you tried trying sweaters/sweatshirts in the winter without a dryer? No? Good luck!

Tights will save your legs as well. During the winter, heavier ones specifically for the weather are typically put on sale.

These exist for women (obviously) AND men. Yes, there are men’s tights. How they differ, I don’t know since I’ve never purchased a pair for women. These add another layer of warmth underneath sweats, or whatever you happen to pull from your moldy pile of unwashed garments.

Try wearing a pair under work pants as well. Trust me, you won’t regret it. Now if only my dress pants didn’t get skinnier and skinnier every year…

Most people swear by UNIQLO’s HEATTECH line as well, but I have no experience with it.

12

Toyama is wet. Very wet. If you’re from somewhere with dry winters like me, this can be very scary and you won’t be prepared. Have some cute UGGs you want to show off? You’ll be throwing them away after walking outside for ten minutes.

Essentially, you need to act as if it’s the rainy season be-cause it will rain, and snow, and sometimes both at the same time.

Make sure you have a good umbrella that can withstand the weight of the snow. Especially if you have to walk long distances.

Rain pants, or whatever the fancy name is for those plas-tic pants people who bike in the bad weather use, can help tremendously as well. That paired with a long rain boot, and you’ll be set.

wait! i need these too?

wait! i need these too? You might be asking, “Patrick, where do I buy all these amazing things?” Well, I’m here to help with that too. Below are some of the places I usually go for winter essentials.

Obviously there are a number of other stores out there, but again, this is where I usually get my gear. Oddly enough, I never been to a しまむら (Shimamura), but from what I hear, it’s probably a good place to hit up as well.

This should get you off to a good start this winter, and if anything, I gave you a great excuse to shop and spend money. You’re welcome.

UNIQLO• HEATTECH• Reasonably priced and decent quality sweaters.

DAISO, or any 100 Yen Shop• Scarves• Room Socks -Three pairs of these have lasted me years.

There is also a wide array of tacky patterns and colors to choose from, satisfying onlookers of varying qualities of taste.

• Hats• Gloves• Rain Pants

無印良品（Muji）• Umbrellas - Not the cheapest, but worth the investment.

Trust me.• Hats• Gloves - Personally, I haven’t had good experiences with

these since they pill like crazy, even with the price tag.• Socks - See above.• Tights - For those that have never worn tights, your life

will change.• Room Booties - See above.

where to shop?

14

By Paul Dargan

SURFING MOUNTAINS

15

torrents of children. Sport culture is a by-product of geography–little kids in Hawaii grow up surfing while little kids in Toyama grow up skiing. You’d be hard-pressed to find a ski slope in Toyama that isn’t dotted with families and elementary school kids snowplowing their way down the moun-tain. Earning your “snow legs” is hard enough without having to constantly dodge the younger, inexperienced skiers flailing around you, but this is a nuisance you will undoubtedly encounter. Pro-tip: watch out for the baby duckling formation.

What’s hot: From knee deep pow to hard-packed trails, the mountains in Toyama and its neighboring prefectures offer high quality snow for your riding experience. To start with, the main trails (known as pistes in ski lingo) are well attended to in this re-gion. Designated “heavy snowfall zones” (豪雪地帯 gousetsu-chitai), the prefectures in the Japanese Alps are provided annually with government-subsidized snow remov-al equipment–and you can bet more than a few of those are used to groom ski re-sorts. Not only does this make for a com-fortable, easy-to-ride piste, it makes for a safer one. And then there’s the pow. To the experienced rider, powder snow is the icing on the cake. Although Toyama may never match the depth that Hokkaido riders en-joy, there’s plenty of knee deep fluffy good-ness to surf through around here. It may take some time getting used to powder rid-ing (and more than a few crashes that leave you practically buried in the stuff), but once you start successfully slicing through pow you may never even want to go back to the piste.

Let me paint you a picture. It’s 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning in January. In Toyama this usually means a fresh blanket of snow and subzero temperatures–for many of you, two of the best reasons to stay under the covers and hate winter. But not for me. Because while you’re curled up in the fetal position fighting an internal battle between staying warm and finally going to the bath-room to take that pee you’ve been holding in for the last hour, I’m busy challenging Mother Nature herself by surfing down a snow-capped mountain.

Now that I’ve revealed how obviously bi-ased I am toward winter sports, let’s try to take a step back into neutral territory. I could go on for days about the pros of ski-ing and snowboarding, but I can’t ignore the cons. The truth is, there are awesome things about these sports, but there are not-so-awesome things about them as well. So instead of the typical “OMG this is the best thing ever” spiel, I’d like to give you some straight talk about what’s hot and what’s not so you know what to expect when it comes to surfing the snow in Toyama.

What’s hot: Welcome to mountain haven. Known as “snow country” in Japanese (雪国 yukiguni), this region boasts dozens of ski slopes to pick from that are all less than two hours away by car. Believe it or not, the Japanese Alps offer more than twice the number of registered ski resorts found in Hokkaido. So whether you choose to shred it up in Ishikawa, Toyama, Niigata, Nagano, or Gifu, you’ve got yourself a wide range of mountains that meet the needs of all lev-els of riders. With consistent snowfall from December to March, and reasonably priced lift tickets and rental sets available, you’ll find these slopes are rated quite favorably by both casuals and fanatics.

What’s not: Welcome to Kiddy Land. And before you get confused, no, I’m not talking about the toy store chain in Tokyo, so putaway your tomogachi. I’m talking about the

What’s not: The mountains offer high quality snow…for about 4 hours a day. “Tracked out” is a common lamentation among riders here. Your best chance of getting quality snow in Toyama, powder or otherwise, is before noon. After that you’re in for icy beat-up pistes and flattened out powder, courtesy of the aforementioned fam-ilies and flocks of elementary school kids that are bound to be roaming the slopes by then. My rule of thumb is to be at the lift ticket office by 8:00 a.m. This ensures the best usage of a standard 4-hour lift ticket. But unfortunately it also means a very early wake-up call. Pro-tip: set two alarm clocks.

What’s hot: Skiing and snowboarding trips make for a perfect mini-vacation. A 4-hour ses-sion, followed by a bite at the local restaurant, and finally a leisurely dip in any of the dozens of conveniently neighboring natural hot springs will easily become the highlight of your week. I definitely recommend the hot spring visit for beginners. Aside from the fact that you’re in one

of the best natural hot spring locations in the entire country, it’ll do your aching joints good to soak for an hour in the traditionally adorned, mineral-rich spring water bathhouses that even I sometimes take for granted here. And the best part is, if you plan things right you’ll be home in time to spend the rest of the afternoon snug-gled up at home under your kotatsu with a few tangerines to nibble on.

What’s not: It may end up costing you as much as a full-length vacation. As I mentioned earli-er, lift tickets and rental sets are usually rea-sonably priced. That being said, it’s only fair to warn you–reasonably priced doesn’t necessari-ly mean cheap. Throw in travel expenses, food, and hot spring visits, and you may find your wallet considerably lighter than it was the day before. Purchasing your own gear is another story entirely; don’t be surprised when prices on individual boards and skis fetch as much as 4-figure. Pro-tip: recycle shops.

17

What’s hot: Fight off the winter chill by throw-ing yourself right into the heart of the moun-tain. Truthfully, Toyama winters can be brutally cold and frightfully lonely. Getting out and mak-ing sweet, sweet lemonade of the bitter frozen lemons Toyama’s winter hurls at you has to be the best way to spend the weekend. I’m all for discovering just how much Netflix I can binge on, but when winter hits hard, I’ll be damned if I’m going to settle for hiding in my poorly heat-ed apartment wishing away the chills.

What’s not: Odd are you’ll be literally thrown into the heart of the mountain. Skiing and snowboarding are not easy sports. The learn-ing curve is steep, and becoming a confident rider requires a high level of both physical and mental endurance. In other words, beginners may find themselves not so much surfing as tumbling their way down the slopes. Patience is a virtue in any skill-based undertaking; win-ter sports are no exception. Pro-tip: helmets are awesome.

The list goes on, but I think I’ve laid out enough decision making material for those of you still on the fence about giving snow surfing a shot. Will it encourage some of you to try it out this year? I hope so. Did I scare some of you off of it with the less enjoyable half of this article? …Probably. I can’t deny that skiing and snow-boarding are dangerous sports that demand a certain level of respect, physical endurance, and a whole lot of practice. Yet perhaps that’s why I find them so exciting. Those of you read-ing who have climbed mountains, hiked forests, swam rivers, run in marathons, participated in sports tournaments, or simply kept a promise to improve their overall health will understand what I’m talking about when I say there is no better feeling than accomplishing a demanding physical task. And riding down a mountain on nothing more than a plank of wood and a heart full of determination is most definitely one of those tasks. So if you’ve got the guts, join me and let’s surf mountains together.

Getting out and making sweet, sweet lemonade of the bitter frozen lemons Toyama’s winter hurls at you has to be the best way to spend the weekend

18

THE PHILIPPINES

THE PHILIPPINESOne of the treasures of Southeast Asia.If you haven't been to this magnificent country then add it to your list of places to visit before the apocalypse. Whether you’re looking for a laid back vacation on the beach, an extensive shopping experience, a yoga re-treat or some sort of nature exploration, then this is the place for you. The Philippines has something for everyone. What’ more, (to quote some of my students) it’s kind to your wallet.

By Kavita Premchan

GETTING THEREThere are several ways that you can get there. You can get a direct flight from Tokyo, Osaka and even Nagoya.

Cebu Pacific and Jetstar are two budget air-lines flying from Tokyo and Osaka respective-ly. Depending on when you fly prices range from ¥25,00-¥60,000 return. Most airlines will fly direct to Manila but if you want to get to another part of the country, domestic flights are dirt cheap. I got a return flight to Boracay with AirAsia for under ¥10.000.

GETTING AROUNDI had so much fun riding some very interest-ing forms of public transportation. Of course you have regular taxis, buses and trains (all dirt cheap) but the tricycles, pedicab and jeepneys are all exclusive to The Philippines. Please note that some of these modes are for the adventur-ous and not for the faint-hearted.

The tricycle is basically a motorised rickshaw while the pedicab is powered by a bicycle; that means some dudes were pushing some seri-ous carves. A ride on either of these will put you back about ¥30-50. The jeepney is also fun to ride. These are especially made in The Philippines and it’s so interesting seeing all the personally artistic designs on these. Also, no matter how full it gets, there is always room for one more. Believe it or not, s ride on the jeepney is about ¥21.

For comparison purposes 1 peso= ¥2.5Bus minimum = 12 pesosJeepney minimum = 7 pesosPedicab minimum = 10 pesosTricycle= 8 pesos.

20

FOODThe Coconut Capital of the World

Yes, The Philippines is known as the coconut capital of the world; and rightly so. in every street corner you can find a coconut vendor. You can also find a wide selec-tion of coconut water at any supermarket; it’s a drink option at most restaurants and can be found at conve-nience stores and small shops.

Other popular Filipino foods include halo halo, kwek kwek,isaw, dugo, bags and if you’re feeling truly adven-turous you can get a serving of fried frogs. In addition there are many western chain restaurants and asian restaurants. I swear The Philippines has the most do-nut shops and pizza parlours than any other country. Shakeys, Pizzza Hut, Dominoes, Papa Johns, & Yellow Cab are some pizza chains I remember seeing.

SHOPPINGIf you love big shopping malls, then The Philippines has many and some of the largest in the world. The second and third largest malls in the world are found here. The largest mall is actually in China but 99% of it is unoccu-pied so I would say The Philippines has the largest.

Moreover, some of the cheapest shopping can be done in Manila. You can find• Chinatown• Divisoria Mall• Tutuban Mall• 168 Mall• 99 Mall

These are all found in the same area.

THE PHILIPPINES21

THE PHILIPPINES

BORACAY!Voted as the best island in the world by Travel Magazine in 2012. I found a very cheap package on Expedia; my flight and hotel for two nights came up to about ¥10,000. In Boracay you can do any water sports possible; from parasailing to deep sea diving. I suggest you make a Fili-pino friend because the tourist price are sky high. Luckily for me I was able to enjoy a bunch of activities for a good price.

I stayed at Eurotel which was about a three minute walk to one of the main beaches. At night the beach came alive with so many activities.Restaurants and shops line the beach for miles. Some restaurants even provide live en-tertainment of singing and fire dancing for their guests. Dining under the stars in candlelight, hearing the waves and feeling the cool sea breeze made for an excellent time.

MANILATo enjoy a more historical experience, check out Intra-muros in Manila. Here you can get information on the Spanish influence on The Philippines and see some beau-tiful cathedrals. While you're at it don’t miss a chance to ride in a horse carriage.

If you’re looking for a romantic experience then you should head to the Whitemoon Bar; located next to Ocean Park. You can enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world as this restaurant/ bar overlooks the beautiful Manila Bay. Be sure to go on a clear day; around 5:45pm when the sun begins to set, you can enjoy a truly magical experience.

Just so you know, I am planning on visiting this amazing country again. There’s just so much to do and not enough time. If you have any questions or concerns don't hesitate to contact me. I’ll be happy to help.

22

Music Recs... 23

Music Recs... From JoshGuess who’s back, back

again, Josh is back, to rec-ommend the some of the

dopest tracks your piddling little ears can handle. And

yes I did completely ruin the rap there. I don’t claim to be

a world class rapper, but I do claim to know several things

about rap. One of those several things is that Japan has more than its fair share

of absolutely spectacular art-ists. Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-Check

em out below.

RIPSLYME

24

DREAMBOY Not actually band but a collective of absolutely spectacular flowmeis-ters. Standouts in this group are KLOOZ, KEN THE 390, and Ta-kuma the Great. KLOOZ is a baby faced dude with a gentle flow that will have you drifting off like so much flotsam. KEN THE 390 takes you in exactly the opposite direc-tion, speed is his thing, but it’s the speed of a finely tuned sports car with a seasoned driver at the wheel, thrilling and chilling but always un-der control. Takuma the Great is an older wiser rapper. He’s trilingual and he makes sure you know it. He mixes his three languages almost as much as he changes his flow.

RecsKLOOZ: Blossom, It’s my turnKEN THE 390: Clap, BanginTakuma the Great: Chase, Make some noise

RIP SLYMEI saw these guys live a few weeks ago and all I can say is the show was a blast. These guys are definite-ly huge goobers, but they pull it off with such panache that you wanna go and dork out with them. The four MC’s and one DJ draw inspira-tion from some of the greats. You’ll hear hints of De La Soul, Jurassic 5, Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy. That’s not to say they don’t have their own sound. They’ve released 10 Albums since their formation in 1994 and had plenty of time to ex-periment and find out who they are

Recs: Jump with chay, rakuen babe, popcorn nancy, one

And of course I can’t properly talk about rap without mentioning my favorite group of all time.Small circle of friends: 大脱走(Dai Dassou), Bali Hai, Pass the micro-phone. JUST listen to them.

RIP SLYME

TAKUMA THE GREATKEN THE 390

KLOOZ

27

CookingIn Japan

28

Thewaythus

far

First year Perspective

If you had asked me nine months ago what I want-ed to do after graduating college, I would have told you I wanted to be a teacher. If you had told me nine months ago that I would be teaching right after col-lege IN JAPAN, I wouldn’t believe you.

Being in Japan under the JET program has posited many different struggles and victories, but ultimately has provided me the opportunity to do what I love in a place I have always wanted to go. It has been a dream come true. But just wait; we often think that “A Dream Come True” means that everything is go-ing smoothly and it’s all that you ever hoped for and wanted, which is true........some days.

Some days you wake up and everything seems to be going against you. You question yourself and why you are even here, tempted to just throw in the towel. However this is all part of the process. We often think that “A Dream Come True” means it is the end and ev-erything is dandy, but it is only just the beginning. Once the dream comes true, there is a process to keep the dream alive. Some of the struggles that I have encoun-tered in being here even in the first four months have been going from a place where I was close in relation to those I have a relationship with to a place where I struggle with developing close relationships. Other struggles come from the way teachers teach in the school or handle different situations which to me are opposite of what I am used to or would do. At times, even the mindset of Japanese people and the cultural differences bring forth struggles as Japanese people have a very intentional process for doing things no matter what the situation. From my personal expe-rience they have the mindset of “this is the way it is done.” Nonetheless, there are some teachers that are open to new options and ways of doing things, they just have to be introduced to another alternative. Of course, there are always some that are very fixed on the process and how things have always been done. Despite the struggle, it has given me a chance to self-reflect and really dig deep into developing the person that I want to be, specifically one who can work with different kinds of people and understand different cultures.

By Joseph Jackson

29

Having left America for the first time to come to a country I have never been and into a culture that I know very little about has pushed me to the edge of my comfort zone each day. I have always believed that growth begins at the edge of your comfort zone and that when we push the envelope we begin to un-derstand things in a different way and get to know ourselves in a different way as well. Being outside of your comfort zone is not an easy thing and can yield a lot of stress and anxiety. My comfort within the un-comfortableness has been coaching basketball at the high school as well as joining a club team and playing basketball four to five times a week.

Another important thing I have learned is that when you are out of your comfort zone and you navi-gate it well enough to where it becomes somewhat of a new comfort zone, you have to take another leap to expand that comfort zone by stepping out of it again. Being here almost four months fully engaged, I feel as though I have created new comfort zones and fa-miliarities that need to be broken. I need to challenge myself again either to gain some new skills or to get better at a skill I already posses. What did I turn to? Sewing! I have turned to sewing because it has been a challenge as it takes a special kind of patience and at-tention to detail. If you are a patient person like I am, sewing will help develop a special kind of patience that you thought you had.

All in all, in my time here in Japan I have learned that there are so many things and so many ways to challenge yourself. By putting a cap on learn-ing and understanding, or thinking that because we have done this, have done that or been here, and we know it all, we then begin to become complacent with our lives instead of looking for the little things to use in any situation to help teach us. I have been work-ing with students almost my whole life and around sports, but being here in Japan has really challenged me in those areas and shown me that there is still so much more to learn and perfect.

“Without continual growth and progress, such

words as improvement, achievement, and

success have no meaning.”

Benjamin Franklin

growth begins at the edge of your comfort zone

30

Before setting off for Japan, I had mov-ing out of the country jitters. My last few months I’d try imagining the change that was coming my way. Often I’d get too anxious to even think about it. I mulled through hundreds of websites and articles about Toyama, Japan, being an ALT, or anything loosely related to the experience. However, I still found myself feeling unprepared and overwhelmed.

After the newbies arrive, it’s a whirlwind of welcome activities. Everyone wants to make first years feel genuinely welcome. Given the lack of summer classes, ALTs have a lot of time on their hands so the activities are appreciated. I heard from multiple people not to get used to all this free time because come Autumn it would all change. And they were right. Once Autumn be-gan, the weeks started flying by. And now here I am in the beginning of December.

Four Months In

struggles and slow progression

First year Perspective

Initially, I decided that I was going to set goals every four months or so. I use this as a way to mark my progress mentally, linguistically, and frankly, for my own sanity. I want to leave my JET experience in a few years knowing that I really accomplished something. Even just in the past four short months, I have noticed my perspec-tive changing. Because of that, I have been trying to take time for myself to think and process and separate my future expectations from current re-ality. Where you want to be doesn’t necessarily always align with your current situation, which is definitely my present dilemma. I am one of the many Oregonians placed in Toyama. Most likely this was due to the sis-ter-city relationship, but I think it is because I mentioned my homestay in Fukuno during my interview. I went to a Japanese immersion school from kindergarten through high school and

By Lilly Hart

31

the best way to learn... is to make mistakes

studied Japanese throughout college. Usually, when I tell people this they are shocked and have high expectations for my language ability. Since arriving here, I have struggled with that. I don’t like people throwing around the word “fluent.” I never studied abroad or was in Japan for more than two weeks at a time. Though I have visited numerous times, I wouldn’t by any means con-sider myself “fluent”.

Having said that, many of my goals in-volve language progression. Setting a goal, how-ever, is much easier than actually getting out there and doing it. There is only so much learning you that can come from a textbook. Once thrown into the Japanese work environment, I realized I have so much more to absorb. Of course having some background does help, but I often ponder if I’d be better off starting from scratch. I keep making the same mistakes. Why didn’t I learn it the right way? Is there a “right way”? Why can’t I remember that word? I know I learned that in my second year of college. Why didn’t it stick? I regularly think to myself, “I should be better.” It has been frustrating to say the least. I often have to remind myself learning is not a competition. I cannot compare my ability to the ability of others. I hope that others also avoid comparing their ability to their peers. For the first few months, and honestly still to this day, I think these kinds of comparisons hold me back from actually putting myself out there and learning. The best way to learn, in my opinion, is to make mistakes. Ask to be corrected. Listen to what is going on around you. Interact with those around

you. I find the last to be the hardest. I constantly worry about speaking correctly and being un-derstood. So much so that sometimes the fear of being misunderstood prevents me from interac-tion. I worry that I will say something and other people will think to themselves “What did that girl just say? That made absolutely no sense.” My fear of how others may perceive my intent pre-vents me from being able to learn or being able to make a mistake.

Some people say that speaking different languages bring out different character traits in a person and I would have to agree. At least at this point in time, the Japanese speaking version of Lilly is shy. While speaking English, I’m far from shy. In my first few months, I have found it difficult to interact with my Japanese coworkers. I’m not sure if it is because I am too shy to speak to them or because the relationship between coworkers is different in Japan than the US. I believe this is partially due to the difficulty adjusting to a new environment, which is another hurdle I’m trying to overcome.

I wouldn’t say I had different expectations starting out, because I genuinely did not know what to expect. So I didn’t set any expectations. Living here, I try instead to embrace the reality and welcome anything that comes my way. Ev-ery day, I am striving to be more understanding, more well read, more empathetic, and better educated. As I need to be constantly reminded, learning is a slow process and needs to be taken day-by-day.

32

t h e - t r a m . c o m