Journal 14 - They Love me ... Yeah, Yeah Yeah!!!

Hello everyone ... I hope you are all doing well. Yes, it has been about a month since I last wrote my journal. I'll be honest I've been trying to think about what I can talk about, because not a lot new has happened here. I've been basically living my life like any of you. I get up, I go to work, I go to bed. On weekends, somtimes I'll go out with friends or I'll come home and watch movies. I guess I can finally say I've become a regular here. No longer a tourist. Actually, to be honest, I'm saving for my next big trip, which is 10 days in Thailand. I finally bought my plane ticket and I'm leaving the end of April. I'll be flying to Bangkok and meeting Leanne and Terry (haha Terry ... now everyone knows you're going, you can't back out now) from Calgary ... Look out Bangkok. I can't wait!!!! It's funny, I told some of my students that I will be going to Thailand during Golden Week (Their spring break, everything closes for a week from the end of April). They all asked me how long I'm going for. So I told them 10 days. All of them had that shocked look on their faces and said "Wow, long trip". I'm thinking, not really ... it's pretty normal. But, to them flying to Canada or the US for 4 days is long trip. I understand why ... a vacation to them is being able to get Saturday and Sunday off ... in a row. It's not uncommon for people in Japan to work 6 days a week, sometimes 7. Some companies actually consider Saturday and Sunday as an employee's paid holiday. Nothing extra! But, the interesting thing is they're so motivated. Granted, they complain about their jobs like everyone does, but they don't seem to mind getting up early and putting in 12 hour days. I was trying to figure out what makes them motivated and I think there's a few reasons. One is, companies give bonuses twice a year. Some once a year, but mostly twice. Another reason is, companies seem to be very generous with giving out trips. Sometimes they're sent on ski vacations or Spas or even overseas places. I have a student who owns his own company and he's sending his entire company to Hawaii for 5 days. Nice eh? So, I think those are good ways to keep people motivated ... but, I think the real reason why they are is because they're use to a 6 or 7 day schedule. They've been doing it all their lives ... right from school. I'm sure a lot of you have heard that children go to school on Saturday's. I remember when I learned that I was thinking how unlucky they were ... no Saturday cartoons? Terrible. But, it actually is true ... students go to school monday to friday from 8:30 until about 5:00 and then they go to what's called "Cram" school. This is usually on Saturday's or Sunday's. Cram school is basically regular school where they learn more material ... usually because the school system in Japan feels students aren't learning enough in school. Now, cram school is "optional", but basiclly if you want to go to university or even get through High School, you need to go. So, students do go 6 days a week ... regular school and cram school. Then on top of that, students will be involved in some kind of club ... sports, art, music, etc. So, studying and working is definitely a way of life here. Students are definitely getting prepared for the real life, that's for sure.

Anyway, enough of that ... kind of went off on a tangent there. So, I managed to get some more pics of my friend. Check them out ... they're in the same folder. This July I'm actually going to go climb it. One of my students asked me if I wanted to go and of course I said yes. The entire climb is about 8 hours and people usually go at night ... yup, you read it right ... night. It's because people want to be there to watch the sunrise from the top of Mt Fuji. So, that's what I'll be doing ... that will be a great experience. I'm expecting it to be crowded though ... Mt Fuji is actually open for only 2 months. From July 1 to August 30 ... very short time.

K, so here's the scoop on the title ... Let's talk about Valentines Day. Valentines Day in Japan is ... interesting!!! It's a little different from back home. At home, it's more of a romantic day for couples ... Spend the evening together, maybe have a nice romantic dinner, or whatever. The day starts off where someone is presented with flowers or chocolates. Well, in Japan ... it's a day where women buy gifts, usually chocolates, for men. It originally started off where if you received chocolates from a girl, it means she's probably smitten for you. Haha ... some guys actually treat it as a huge ego booster for them and even boast to their friends about how many gifts they received ... gives a whole new perspective on what's really talked about in the locker room. Now, women buy chocolates for pretty much everyone and it's more of an obligation. I heard Japan stores make a huge profit off their chocolates during Valentines Day ... it's a huge market. Of course there's a "but" to all of this ... when you receive chocolates from someone ... the favour is expected to be returned on another day. That day is on March 14th. So, of course I received a tonne of chocolates from my students and I'd like to say "They like me, they really like me" ... but, that means I have to return the favour ... What a crock!!! Sigh! So, March 14th will be a day Joe is poor! Oh well, at least I'm able to enjoy some great chocolates.

Well, my friends, that's about all that's going on ... sorry I haven't been doing very much lately, but you do get to a point where you've seen enough temples or shrines. I just realized that I haven't experienced any "firsts" lately. Well, unless you want to count my first Valentines Day. I guess I really am becoming a local here. Ah, I just remembered one first I will be experiencing and that is my first ski trip in Japan. I'm going to be going to Nagano on March 6th. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what skiing life in Japan is like ... although it has been about 5 years since I've skiied last, and even back then I wasn't that great ... but I'm sure it'll be fun.

So, I hope all is well with all of you. Thank you again for the emails you have been sending me, I enjoying hearing from all of you.

Talk to you later,
Joe