Shikoku, my Japanese island home, is famous for a couple of things. Udon is ridiculously well-known here (and quite tasty!), and mikans are a staple of any school lunch. But perhaps one of the best known traditions in Shikoku is the 88 temple pilgrimage. A famous Buddhist monk by the name of Koukai supposedly traveled or helped build these 88 temples around the end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 9th, and in homage, pilgrims visit the 88 temples in his honor.
Every prefecture has their own special little traditions, and yesterday, many Kagawa JETs gathered to do a small leg of the 88 temple trip, with 6 of the temples right in a small area.
We started at temple 77, in Tadotsu at about 9 am. We went all out; not only were we walking the 6 temple route, as per tradition, but we wore the traditional pilgrim (or "Henro," which is what they call the pilgrims) garb: a walking stick, a bell to scare away animals (and used in meditation), a white smock, a sedge hat, and a purple prayer sash. Next, we went to temple 76, even though it’s bad luck to go backwards rather than in order.
After we’d gotten lost, and then explored 76 a little bit, we took the very, very long route to temple 72. 73 was next, and at temple 73 we had lunch. Temple 73 has an interesting story: Koukai supposedly stood on a cliff, and said that either he would save humanity, or die trying. If he survived the fall off the cliff, obviously, he would succeed in showing humanity the road to enlightenment. So Buddha stretched out his hand and saved him, and Koukai went on to become an accomplished Buddhist monk, as well as one of the best calligraphers in the world.
Also, temple 73 was originally high up on the mountain, but about a century ago they decided that was very inconvenient and they moved it much further down. The site of Zentsuji from the current temple is still very impressive, and the ruins of the old temple way up on the cliff are still visible.
74 was a smaller temple, and had a nice steep climb up a cliff only to reveal a rusty children’s park.
75, though, is the big one. Zentsuji was actually Koukai’s birthplace, so the temple located around his actual birthplace is very impressive. There is a 5 story pagoda at one end, and a main hall with red carpet and dozens of old, golden lanterns hanging from the ceiling. There is also an 1000 year old tree right in the vicinity where Koukai wrote one of his famous texts.
When we finally reached temple 75 at about 3, one of the monks gave us a tour of the main hall, including the dark tunnel. You go down a flight of stairs into a tunnel that is completely dark; absolutely no light and no talking are allowed. The tunnel stretches from one end of the main hall to the other, and the only way you can avoid getting lost is to keep your left hand on the wall. The tunnel is meant to reinforce how dependent you are on your eyes, and to give you reflection on your deeds as a human being. Halfway through there is also a statue of Koukai and his parents, placed in the exact location where he was born.
It was an exhausting trip, but well worth it. The temples are spectacularly ornate, and as a lover of history, I was thrilled with how… ancient the places felt. You can also purchase a book that details each of the temples, and at each temple there is a brush master that will sign the page with temple's unique seal. The 88 temple pilgrimage is also a big part of Shikoku’s culture, and it granted me a glimpse into the fascinating history of Japan.
Also, just in case I didn’t mention, from temple 77 to temple 75, it’s about a ten mile walk. That walking stick came in very handy; though I heard bells for hours afterward.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
I'm Thankful for Students who do not set Fires
I post this, because it is almost American Thanksgiving, with turkey, gravy, depressing holiday specials (I’m kiddin, I love Charlie Brown), and all the trimmin’s.
It’s also time to say what we are thankful for in our lives. (Oxygen?) I decided I’d do a Japan-Work-Related thankful note. Ahem.
Today I had one class, and a little bit of a depressing class at that. I was glad to see two of the groups were into the review game, and one group decided later on it’d try its hand and hope 3rd place got something (umm no, try participating from the beginning and then we’ll talk), but like most days at sFF, I wonder if I’m getting any traction at all.
Then I hear stories from other JETs, just random little tidbits thrown out onto the Internet, and it makes me thankful that I ended up with a pretty darn good batch of kids. Little angels? No… more like hormone-infused teenagers who seem to love you one second and then despise the very ground you walk on the next. When placed in the bigger spectrum, though… well Bad President, Above It Boy, Shortman… I’m grateful for you.
… But if you turn into little punks, I withhold the right to strip you of my divine American blessing.
Happy Thanksgiving!
* Note: I am not thankful for fax machines at convenience stores.
It’s also time to say what we are thankful for in our lives. (Oxygen?) I decided I’d do a Japan-Work-Related thankful note. Ahem.
Today I had one class, and a little bit of a depressing class at that. I was glad to see two of the groups were into the review game, and one group decided later on it’d try its hand and hope 3rd place got something (umm no, try participating from the beginning and then we’ll talk), but like most days at sFF, I wonder if I’m getting any traction at all.
Then I hear stories from other JETs, just random little tidbits thrown out onto the Internet, and it makes me thankful that I ended up with a pretty darn good batch of kids. Little angels? No… more like hormone-infused teenagers who seem to love you one second and then despise the very ground you walk on the next. When placed in the bigger spectrum, though… well Bad President, Above It Boy, Shortman… I’m grateful for you.
… But if you turn into little punks, I withhold the right to strip you of my divine American blessing.
Happy Thanksgiving!
* Note: I am not thankful for fax machines at convenience stores.
I’ve been bopping all over the place the last week or so, so you may have to settle for a quick summary of an entry.
The weekend before last, I got on a train and went to Osaka just to take a test that sucked me of my will to live for at least another month (the GRE, in other words.) I did, however, get to figure out the subway system all on my own, and the 8+ Electronics store in Umeda was well worth the cold side-journey. It honestly had everything electronic, though I was a tiny, tiny bit disappointed in the lack of DS/iPod accessories.
Last week, a brand spanking new mall opened near-ish to my town, and I spent a happy four hours exploring the stores, which include a sizeable book store, wonderful grocery store, and yet another electronics store. When did I suddenly like shopping? It’s like I came to Japan, discovered I had a sort-of disposable income, and my brain switched into girlie mood,” Oh this is sooo cute! I just have to try it on. And maybe this too… would this look good with these boots?” If you think it’s exhausting to read that, just imagine what it’s like to be trapped with a brain THINKING it.
A happy side effect of the mall shopping was I built up the courage to tackle the 1st Harry Potter in Japanese, which is 461 pages to the English version’s 200 something. I’m imagining that the 4th book will be split into something like five volumes… Anyway, it’s a struggle just to make it through a paragraph a day (I’m on page 3!) but actually understanding the stray sentence structure is refreshingly motivating.Lastly, the end term test is next week for both of my schools, and the kindergarten were I visited during mid-terms has requested my presence, so I get to go goof around, English style, with them again. That, the 3 day weekend, and my brand new space heater (my bedroom was 11 degrees Celsius last night, or 50 degrees for all you F-readers) really go a long way in improving my spirits.
The weekend before last, I got on a train and went to Osaka just to take a test that sucked me of my will to live for at least another month (the GRE, in other words.) I did, however, get to figure out the subway system all on my own, and the 8+ Electronics store in Umeda was well worth the cold side-journey. It honestly had everything electronic, though I was a tiny, tiny bit disappointed in the lack of DS/iPod accessories.
Last week, a brand spanking new mall opened near-ish to my town, and I spent a happy four hours exploring the stores, which include a sizeable book store, wonderful grocery store, and yet another electronics store. When did I suddenly like shopping? It’s like I came to Japan, discovered I had a sort-of disposable income, and my brain switched into girlie mood,” Oh this is sooo cute! I just have to try it on. And maybe this too… would this look good with these boots?” If you think it’s exhausting to read that, just imagine what it’s like to be trapped with a brain THINKING it.
A happy side effect of the mall shopping was I built up the courage to tackle the 1st Harry Potter in Japanese, which is 461 pages to the English version’s 200 something. I’m imagining that the 4th book will be split into something like five volumes… Anyway, it’s a struggle just to make it through a paragraph a day (I’m on page 3!) but actually understanding the stray sentence structure is refreshingly motivating.Lastly, the end term test is next week for both of my schools, and the kindergarten were I visited during mid-terms has requested my presence, so I get to go goof around, English style, with them again. That, the 3 day weekend, and my brand new space heater (my bedroom was 11 degrees Celsius last night, or 50 degrees for all you F-readers) really go a long way in improving my spirits.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The World Is Flat... Which Is Why We're All Falling Off the Edge
So lately, as I’m sure you’ve heard, there’s been this whole “financial crisis, the sky is falling” going on. As I mentioned a few weeks back, I’m really not attuned to economics. Don’t get it. Don’t understand it. It gives me a headache.
Last week, I picked up “The World Is Flat” and though I’ve only made it through the first hundred pages or so, I have to admit that coupled with this article, http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2008/11/11/opinion/11herbert.html?s=1&pg=4, I am extremely discouraged.
I am discouraged not only about the economy, but about people’s blatant inability to see past the ends of their own noses… and about the supposed “intelligence” of our international media.
Coming from a background in heavy-duty historic scholarship, I’ve always found journalistic writing a little, hmm how to put this, analysis-lite. “The World is Flat” is a perfect example of this. Essentially, the argument boils down to the idea that because of the Internet and world-wide communication strategies, individuals can now compete against individuals for jobs, instead of laboring under the old time “nation competes against nation” or “company competes against company” frame. The author backs up his thesis… over, and over, and over again… by visiting Elysian-like structures in Bangkok, Tokyo, and parts of China. He pushes… over and over again… that young Indians, Chinese, Japanese, and Russians (haven’t gotten to the part if he mentions Latin Americans at all) can finally compete for jobs at big companies with Americans, because of the magical Internet. And, you see, outsourcing isn’t because of greed. No, no, silly. It’s because individuals can finally now test their abilities against people all across the globe, and Asians just happen to be better at math, better at science, better at computers, better educated, more motivated, politer, and just more gosh darn efficient than Americans.
The author conceives that all of this individual competition is a good thing, because it means the more competent and talented individual gets the job he or she so richly deserves, and it can give generic college-educated Asians a leg up into the middle class. He also alludes that this is a good thing for Americans, because it will force us to be better at math, better at science, better at computers, etc. in order to simply survive in the world. And people are always at their best when competing, am I right?
The author is so excited at his own brilliance (that he can boil down complex economic and social issues into four words) he never really addresses how having a flat world might not be such a hot commodity. The thinking might have gone that the book won’t sell if he takes his own theory apart, but that’s analysis-lite for you, and I’m only speculating.
Ironically, he does allude to one of the largest issues that make a “flattened world,” at the moment, impossible, repeatedly. The issue is unsurprisingly, wages. In interview after interview with company presidents or managers or owners or what-have-you, the spokesperson makes sure to stress that the real reason jobs such as accounting, journalism, even secretarial duties, are being outsourced is that there people over in the other hemisphere are simply smarter, and want it more. A Microsoft executive mentioned how they had thousands of applications in their Chinese branch for software programming, and they simply gave the job to the guy with the highest IQ. You see? He’s just smarter than you, that’s why he got the job. It’s individual competition at work.
At almost every location he visits, however, the author makes a point to describe the wages each worker is getting, and how many Indian workers it takes to screw in a lightbulb, compared to how many American works. Unsurprisingly, it takes about five to twenty Indian workers for every American worker. The price of living in India is so staggeringly cheaper than America, that companies can not only pay a telemarketer a handsome salary of $600 a month, but afford insurance for the entire family. Additionally, because most of a telemarketer’s customers are American, since they work for predominantly American companies, they can work at night and still attend school or work another job during the day.
It isn’t surprising the author skirts this issue, because if he were to directly confront it, his entire thesis would fall apart. An American worker must ask for a higher wage to survive in a society of higher incomes… created by business owners, who live in the United States, and spend all the profits their company makes outsourcing driving up the cost of living. The world is not flat. Competition between individuals is not even, and is not based on merit alone. It’s based on money.
Unintentionally I believe, the author also ignores directly discussing something that nearly screams out from every sentence. Whether discussing how much more motivated Chinese students working for a Japanese outsourcing company are by learning Japanese, or how Indian students constantly go back to college to improve themselves, and citing that age-old urban legend that every other country in the world constantly outperforms Americans on the essentials of life (math and science, naturally), the author never addresses.. ethnicity. Or, if you want to be sloppy about it, race. The closest he comes is suggesting that learning is more valued in Asian societies, which is why Asian-American students outperform their Caucasian American peers in math.
Every country the author sets up as a front-runner to inheriting the American business empire is Asian (small quibble: yes, Russia is usually considered part of Europe, but it is hanging around on the Asian continent as well.) The author also rarely holds these countries up against scrutiny beside other Western nations like the United Kingdom or Australia or France. It’s always Asia, in some form, against the US.
This makes sense in an economic frame. America is considered the Goliath of business. Countries like India and China are often heralded in the media as the under-dogs, the scrappy competitors.
With my partiality to think “culture” in everything I see, I noticed that India, China, and Japan also have a striking similarity besides geographical location; they are, by and large, racially homogenous. According to the CIA World Fact book, China and Japan both boast an ethnic minority population of less than 9%, and India is compromised of two ethnic groups that make up 97% of their population. Only Russia’s 79% Caucasian compares to the United States 80%; however, Russia’s minority groups total about 4, while the United States have 5 to 6, including more interracial citizens at 1.61%.
*Note: On the CIA website, minority ethnicities listed under China actually number around 8 or 9, but they are all grouped together because each group only compromises about 1%.
As you can see, Japan, China, and India all boast an impressive homogenous makeup. Russia and the United States are by and large similar, but this is only percentages. As we’ve seen in recent months in India, as the Hindus (80%) burn, threat, and maim the Christians (2.3%), religion can be a volatile factor as well.
In “The World Is Flat,” the author emphasizes that individuals in India, China, and to a lesser extent Japan (to the point Japan has started outsourcing to China) are merely more competent in subjects he claims the American education system no longer bothers with; math and science. But he never goes fully into depth with the educational system in either China or India; the most he mentions as at a college level, is a president insisting history majors take several courses in computer science as well, to make them more “employable” (which, as you can imagine, I deeply resented.) He simply laments with the old line about “bad teachers in poor schools,” “bad test scores” and “no one-except Asian Americans-caring about math anymore.” Gosh, this is turning into a long book review, and this is only with 100 pages under my belt. Of course, that isn’t too much of an issue, since the author goes over the same… material… again… and again. This is why journalists should stick to writing two page articles that require little in depth explanation, general presumptions unsupported except by “personal observation,” and dripping with an inability to see the other side of an argument.
Last week, I picked up “The World Is Flat” and though I’ve only made it through the first hundred pages or so, I have to admit that coupled with this article, http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2008/11/11/opinion/11herbert.html?s=1&pg=4, I am extremely discouraged.
I am discouraged not only about the economy, but about people’s blatant inability to see past the ends of their own noses… and about the supposed “intelligence” of our international media.
Coming from a background in heavy-duty historic scholarship, I’ve always found journalistic writing a little, hmm how to put this, analysis-lite. “The World is Flat” is a perfect example of this. Essentially, the argument boils down to the idea that because of the Internet and world-wide communication strategies, individuals can now compete against individuals for jobs, instead of laboring under the old time “nation competes against nation” or “company competes against company” frame. The author backs up his thesis… over, and over, and over again… by visiting Elysian-like structures in Bangkok, Tokyo, and parts of China. He pushes… over and over again… that young Indians, Chinese, Japanese, and Russians (haven’t gotten to the part if he mentions Latin Americans at all) can finally compete for jobs at big companies with Americans, because of the magical Internet. And, you see, outsourcing isn’t because of greed. No, no, silly. It’s because individuals can finally now test their abilities against people all across the globe, and Asians just happen to be better at math, better at science, better at computers, better educated, more motivated, politer, and just more gosh darn efficient than Americans.
The author conceives that all of this individual competition is a good thing, because it means the more competent and talented individual gets the job he or she so richly deserves, and it can give generic college-educated Asians a leg up into the middle class. He also alludes that this is a good thing for Americans, because it will force us to be better at math, better at science, better at computers, etc. in order to simply survive in the world. And people are always at their best when competing, am I right?
The author is so excited at his own brilliance (that he can boil down complex economic and social issues into four words) he never really addresses how having a flat world might not be such a hot commodity. The thinking might have gone that the book won’t sell if he takes his own theory apart, but that’s analysis-lite for you, and I’m only speculating.
Ironically, he does allude to one of the largest issues that make a “flattened world,” at the moment, impossible, repeatedly. The issue is unsurprisingly, wages. In interview after interview with company presidents or managers or owners or what-have-you, the spokesperson makes sure to stress that the real reason jobs such as accounting, journalism, even secretarial duties, are being outsourced is that there people over in the other hemisphere are simply smarter, and want it more. A Microsoft executive mentioned how they had thousands of applications in their Chinese branch for software programming, and they simply gave the job to the guy with the highest IQ. You see? He’s just smarter than you, that’s why he got the job. It’s individual competition at work.
At almost every location he visits, however, the author makes a point to describe the wages each worker is getting, and how many Indian workers it takes to screw in a lightbulb, compared to how many American works. Unsurprisingly, it takes about five to twenty Indian workers for every American worker. The price of living in India is so staggeringly cheaper than America, that companies can not only pay a telemarketer a handsome salary of $600 a month, but afford insurance for the entire family. Additionally, because most of a telemarketer’s customers are American, since they work for predominantly American companies, they can work at night and still attend school or work another job during the day.
It isn’t surprising the author skirts this issue, because if he were to directly confront it, his entire thesis would fall apart. An American worker must ask for a higher wage to survive in a society of higher incomes… created by business owners, who live in the United States, and spend all the profits their company makes outsourcing driving up the cost of living. The world is not flat. Competition between individuals is not even, and is not based on merit alone. It’s based on money.
Unintentionally I believe, the author also ignores directly discussing something that nearly screams out from every sentence. Whether discussing how much more motivated Chinese students working for a Japanese outsourcing company are by learning Japanese, or how Indian students constantly go back to college to improve themselves, and citing that age-old urban legend that every other country in the world constantly outperforms Americans on the essentials of life (math and science, naturally), the author never addresses.. ethnicity. Or, if you want to be sloppy about it, race. The closest he comes is suggesting that learning is more valued in Asian societies, which is why Asian-American students outperform their Caucasian American peers in math.
Every country the author sets up as a front-runner to inheriting the American business empire is Asian (small quibble: yes, Russia is usually considered part of Europe, but it is hanging around on the Asian continent as well.) The author also rarely holds these countries up against scrutiny beside other Western nations like the United Kingdom or Australia or France. It’s always Asia, in some form, against the US.
This makes sense in an economic frame. America is considered the Goliath of business. Countries like India and China are often heralded in the media as the under-dogs, the scrappy competitors.
With my partiality to think “culture” in everything I see, I noticed that India, China, and Japan also have a striking similarity besides geographical location; they are, by and large, racially homogenous. According to the CIA World Fact book, China and Japan both boast an ethnic minority population of less than 9%, and India is compromised of two ethnic groups that make up 97% of their population. Only Russia’s 79% Caucasian compares to the United States 80%; however, Russia’s minority groups total about 4, while the United States have 5 to 6, including more interracial citizens at 1.61%.
*Note: On the CIA website, minority ethnicities listed under China actually number around 8 or 9, but they are all grouped together because each group only compromises about 1%.
As you can see, Japan, China, and India all boast an impressive homogenous makeup. Russia and the United States are by and large similar, but this is only percentages. As we’ve seen in recent months in India, as the Hindus (80%) burn, threat, and maim the Christians (2.3%), religion can be a volatile factor as well.
In “The World Is Flat,” the author emphasizes that individuals in India, China, and to a lesser extent Japan (to the point Japan has started outsourcing to China) are merely more competent in subjects he claims the American education system no longer bothers with; math and science. But he never goes fully into depth with the educational system in either China or India; the most he mentions as at a college level, is a president insisting history majors take several courses in computer science as well, to make them more “employable” (which, as you can imagine, I deeply resented.) He simply laments with the old line about “bad teachers in poor schools,” “bad test scores” and “no one-except Asian Americans-caring about math anymore.” Gosh, this is turning into a long book review, and this is only with 100 pages under my belt. Of course, that isn’t too much of an issue, since the author goes over the same… material… again… and again. This is why journalists should stick to writing two page articles that require little in depth explanation, general presumptions unsupported except by “personal observation,” and dripping with an inability to see the other side of an argument.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
So, the banana craze is over in Japan just as quickly as it began. Ladies, no longer will you lose 30 pounds by eating whatever you want, as long as you start the day off right with hot water and bananas.
But if my local Maranaka is any indication, the onion-and-potato craze has only just begun!
Word Count: 6000
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