Goodbye, Oooooomuta!

You've been pretty good to us. Next stop: Hiroshima!

2 More Days

Officially, we are out of here Tuesday morning. That means 2 whole days left to finish our packing, cleaning, and saying goodbyes to the good friends we've made here. It's sad, you know, because even though the world is small and Japan and the U.S. are well connected, we probably won't see most of these people again. Hopefully we keep in touch and they take our invitations to visit America, or we make it back here. But in reality, life probably won't bring us back to Omuta. We're definitely going out with a bang, though. Today we went to three barbecue/potluck parties, feeling stretched thin, and saw the beginning of the awesome Daijayama Festival, which we've been waiting all year for. Above, a teaser photo of us in front of the Hon-machi (neighborhood) dragon float, as it was paraded for the first time during the festival. It will be burnt tomorrow night so that the dragon spirit can return to "heaven," or something like it.

Hakata Gion Yamakasa Matsuri

This festival (in the Hakata and Gion areas of Fukuoka city) was amazing. We awoke at 4:00am to watch groups of scantily clad men and children race through the streets carrying beautiful floats as the sun rose. So festive and wonderful. I wish every day started this way. Make sure to check the video at the bottom to get a true sense of the event.

This is Omuta: Part IV

Oscar Mayer Wienermobile Crashes Into Wis. Home

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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: July 17, 2009

Filed at 8:42 p.m. ET

MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis. (AP) -- One southern Wisconsin homeowner is probably not in love with the Oscar Mayer wiener. The famed hot dog's Wienermobile crashed Friday into the deck and garage of a home in Mount Pleasant, about 35 miles south of Milwaukee.

Police said the driver was trying to turn the Wienermobile around in the driveway and thought she was moving in reverse. But she instead went forward and hit the home. It sat in the driveway as if it were stuck in the garage Friday afternoon.

No one was home and no one was injured. No citations were immediately issued.

Both the home and vehicle suffered moderate damage, which Oscar Mayer spokeswoman Sydney Lindner says insurance will cover.

Police hadn't been able to speak to the homeowner as of early Friday evening.

Alabama Heat vs. Kyushu Heat, Round 2

The only thing I remember about Alabama, driving through when I was 7 or 8 years old en route from Oregon to Florida, is that my mom was pulled over in the middle of the night and I woke up in the parking lot of a courthouse. It was midsummer, it was hot, and Willow had chicken pox (thanks to me!). I lay down on the middle bench seat in my pink and green homemade sleeping bag. Mom and Popper often drove through the night in shifts, and sleeping on this bench was great. As I got older and my legs grew longer and more restless, that bench seat torture, but at 7 or 8, it was just so that if I put my head to the driver's side, I could watch the stars through the window until I was sleepy enough to doze off.

Anyway, Alabama. The cop was a real jerk. He probably just pulled us over because it was a hippie van driving in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, and as such, the van (and its driver) were not allowed to leave the state (or was it county?) until the fine was paid when the courthouse opened at 9, or 10, or whatever. That's what I know of Alabama. Well, that, and I might have seen fireflies there, but to tell the truth I don't know which state that was in. It was a loooong road trip.

I do remember it was hot. Florida was, too. Kyushu, however, is the hottest, most humid place I've ever lived. Check out the stomach sweat on this t-shirt!

Almost Done

We only have 3 weeks remaining in this fair city. Just wanted to say that. Wow.

Happy Birthday, America! Love, Japan.

All hail the chief of fireworks with his satanic sparkler. Thanks, Japan!

Partygoers at our apartment. We served mini-hamburgers (sliders), and tried to have an American-style potluck, but this was hard to explain to our friends who insist that "serve yourself" is not the way that parties work. "U gotta love" Sayaka's t-shirt that she picked up at the Iowa State Fair last summer!

Lighting fireworks by the stinky Omuta River is the way to celebrate on a warm July evening.

Yuto thinks he's funny, and Chrystal is not amused. Actually he was trying to tell me how to smile for pictures. He paid a tribute to Michael Jackson by dancing to the whole of "Billie Jean" earlier in the evening. It was amazing, but the pictures of it are not.

Alabama Heat vs. Kyushu Heat, Round 1

(This is what I look like when I answer questions.)

Vince wondered how this Japanese heat stacks up to Dixie's. Well, it's a tricky question, and here's a multi-part answer, which I know everyone was hoping for. I do love to talk about the weather.

The past couple weeks have been really weird and uncomfortable weather-wise, with the humidity defying logic and torrential rain (sorry about the grammar, dad). Today, however, the rain stopped. It may have just been an extremely condensed tsuyu, though the forecast calls for more thunderstorms in a few days. It was nice and cool this morning, but that was a nasty tease. It's getting hot again.

But all in all, the late spring/early summer hasn't inflicted Deep South caliber misery. The highs have been mostly in the 80s, and though it doesn't cool down a whole lot (lows in the 70s) there haven't been any scorching 105 degree days like they were having this June in Bama.

That said, the schools don't have air conditioning. 85 degrees, high humidity, in a room on the fourth floor with 40 thirteen-year-olds feels really HOT. Sweat doesn't evaporate. It layers. My white shirts are steadily yellowing. (The plus, however, is that finally everyone is sweating, not just me.)

The lack of a/c brings Kyushu within shooting distance of Alabama, but Alabama can counter with its soul-destroying lack of breeze. It's windy here, and hot damp wind is better than no wind when you're wilting.

Maybe then Kyushu would say something about how it has wasps that can spray blinding venom into people's eyes (one of these monsters was flying around the teacher's room last month! They're huge!), but that would be beside the point.

So I'd say it's worse in the SEC.

After the Japanese rainy season subsides (which I guess is next week-they seem to have set dates for everything), it'll be hotter, still humid, and there'll a good chance of getting hit with typhoons.

Chrystal cools off in Kagoshima's own "Dolphin Port." She's about to ask me a question, and then take my picture.

Tsuyu

Last week we had a few golden days (above is our gleaming "Leo Palace 21" apartment complex), but each and every day the humidity was building. I'm not sure exactly how this was possible, as it was already really humid, but by the end of the week it had crept through my skull and into my brain. Is 300% humidity possible? Apparently it is, here in the future.

Thunder clouds kept cruising in but didn't do anything.

Finally, Sunday night it started to rain like crazy... And it has only let up in fit and starts ever since. It's the rainy season--tsuyu--and it got off to a slow start, but has made up for it with a record amount of rain. Every day there have been huge gusting sheets of rain. Our umbrellas are blowing out one by one. Yesterday it was raining mildly for most of my way home, but with a block remaining the storm revved back up and the rain went horizontal, my umbrella became useless, and I started to run. Chrystal was about a minute ahead of me, and unlocking the door to our place, but I couldn't see her until she was within ten yards. Apparently, I looked funny.

Everything is sticky. There are huge spiders. The children are drinking from gushing roof gutters. Today I was told by one of my students that I was his "girlfriend boy." It's getting dicey. Fortunately, we have this:
We take it orally, but might soon have to start mainlining it.