Fairy Tales, Broadway Shows and Broken Arms

Here's a quick update: I'm home in Trumansburg. I feel like a pioneer woman, winterizing the house, stoking the coal stove, painting in Matt's room. I've been busy this past week: I walked in a 5K Memorial Event for Chris Bond, a former Physics teacher, coach and colleague who died last year from cancer. I spent Saturday afternoon in the emergency room with Matt who broke his arm. It was just a twist of an ankle, and down he went. I have entertained friends and family here at home. I have seen the movie, Religulous with friends from work. I have delivered snacks to Matt's play practice. He will be playing the frog prince with a broken arm in a very cute mixed up fairy tale called Twice Upon a Time. Last night I had the great good fortune to see Legally Blonde in Rochester with Sarah, Sharon and Susan. Whew. I am a little weary, but enjoying the leaves, the colder temps and the chance to reconnect, and have fun. Ah yes. Fun.

The most funnest fun I am having is with Matt. I pick him up each day after school and we hang out, reading, watching movies, having supper together. Then off he goes in the later evening to sleep at the DeCloux home. It's less disruptive that way. So at least for the time I am home, I'm getting my daily dose of Matthew induced belly laughter. My very best medicine.

Just when I've gotten it all figured out...

If you remember in the fall of last year, I was stressed out big time over sorting my garbage. We had burnables, non-burnables, recycling that was divided into cans, glass containers, newspapers, magazines, cardboard and pet bottles. The pet bottles you couldn't put out by the curb because they didn't pick them up. We had to carry them to our local grocery store where there was a bin for bottles and plastic food trays. Glass and metal cans had to be in separate bags. Newspapers had to be bundled up and tied, as did magazines and fliers. I had to cut and fold flat all the milk and juice cartons and put them out together. Recycling day was Monday. Non-burnables went out on Tuesday and Saturday. Burnables went out on Wednesday. It seemed as if I needed a Masters Degree in rubbish sorting to get it right. Oh yeah. No bags of burnables or non-burnables could be put on the street unless they were inside the tiny little cans that were provided for us. The neighborhood crows hang out on garbage pick up day, sitting atop poles and watching with their huge beaks and beady black eyes for garbage bags to rip apart and the opportunity to fling smelly kitchen refuse all over the street, thus publicly shaming the housewife of the offending household. Some buildings have blue nets that they put over their bags to keep the crows out, but they are not effective against these relentless hungry creatures.

I was shamed twice and I was mortified. The first time, I could play stupid and Kimura-san was nice enough about it. The second time I was just late and lazy and knew the truck would be by in just a few minutes and figured it would be fine. Nope. It was a horrible smelly mess that Kimura-san must have cleaned up while I was gone. So I never ever put out garbage unless it's bagged in the cans. The recycling is different. The birds aren't interested in the recycling. No waste, no smell, no potential food. Much of it looks gift wrapped, for Pete's sake!

The family adapted pretty well to this system after a while, although I think one of the boys (I will not mention any names here) occasionally put plastics in the burnables. I would dig through the garbage and make sure it was all in the correct bins under the sink. We had it down to a science.

Well...that's pretty much gone out the window. Plastics, according to the Japanese waste management department, are now "burnable." No they're not.

Japan apparently has filled up the space it uses for land fill so now the alternative is to burn the burnables and non-burnables. Robin says there is new technology for preventing the toxic poisons to be blasted into the air we breathe and the water we drink, but I'm skeptical. I am continuing my research into Japan's plan. Here's one article on the subject:

http://www.weekenderjapan.com/v04n16/feature1.html

The Japanese wrap everything in plastic. Bananas come in plastic. Carrots are in plastic. Every little thing you buy in a store is double bagged. For instance, I bought some spices at Mitsukoshi in Chiba on Saturday, and they put them in a little plastic bag, taped it shut, and then put that bag in another plastic bag with a handle. Bell peppers are all individually wrapped in plastic. Presentation bouquets of flowers have 3 or 4 layers of decorative wrapping. All the convenient store foods are on plastic or Styrofoam trays, have plastic lids and then are again sealed in plastic wrap. I got a little anxious throwing plastic away every day under my sink, but at least I knew it was not being burned. But no longer. I wonder why everything has to be hermetically sealed here.
This makes me uneasy. I am worried about our planet.

National Sports Day, Monday, October 13

Today is National Sports Day and Yoyogi Park is hopping! My neighbor Janice and I went for a walk this morning and noticed how quiet our streets were. The usual morning work rush was just not out. The park however was a different story. The dog park was really busy, and we stopped there for a long time, chatting about our dogs and enjoying the show. It seems to me that it's inevitable that the biggest ruckus is always caused by the smallest dog, and today was no different.

After leaving the dog area, we encountered a large group of singing preschoolers. They were lined up under the trees in their matching light blue caps, singing together. They were singing quite well for preschoolers. We listened through one song, and then the little girl standing on a little box made an announcement, bowed and stepped down. A little boy then got up in front of the group, the CD player started back up, and everyone- the kids and all the audience started doing exercises. Janice and I joined right in swinging our arms, touching our toes, doing back bends. It was all very helpful for my tight muscles and very adorable.

We went on and saw families flying kites in the middle of the huge grassy area and passed many young boys in their baseball uniforms on their way to play. What a nice idea- a day set aside for families to spend time outdoors in this beautiful October weather, playing and exercising together. Because really, I ask you, what healthy things do Americans do to "celebrate" Columbus Day?

Concert Day!

The day began early, and with rain. We figured out that we'd have to leave by 8:20 to get to Chiba and find our way by 10:00. And so, the two of us, with bass, music stand, clothing bag and 2 umbrellas set out to spend the day with the Chiba Singers. I was really pleased that on the way there, I only poked 2 people; one with my umbrella and another one with my music stand. Each poke was followed on my part by a surprised and apologetic, "Oh! Sumimasen!" But I still got some stink eye. We figured out a route that would involve the least walking (or in Robin's case, dragging the bass and hefting it in and out, up and down) but still had to negotiate some escalators and stairs along the way. One wrong turn and a phone call to Yoko later, we finally found our way to the concert hall.

This was the Chiba Bank Culture Center. It looks like any other large office building from the outside, but has a fabulous, state-of-the-art music hall that seats 450 on the 3rd floor. We were greeted enthusiastically by all when we arrived, and were shown to (get this) our dressing room. I have never before been in a position to actually have my own dressing room for a concert. It was fantastic. I highly recommend it to all you musicians and conductors out there. It was equipped with private bathroom- and truly- you could take a bath in it. There was a large deep tub with hand held shower in there. We had a little time to wait before we could get into the hall to rehearse, for the piano tuner was finishing up. We knew when he was done, because we could hear every sound from the hall and watch the stage on the TV in our room.

Marcel, Yoko and I all tried for a good run-through of our pieces, a few last minute tweaks, moving the instrumentalists around, working on balance in the new and wondrously live space, announcements, and then lunch. We were dressed and back on stage by 1:20 for photographs, and then waited for the 2:00 concert start. In Japan, concerts always start on time. They have a 5 minute warning bell, and then a bell at the hour to start the program. An announcer from back stage welcomes the audience and introduces the group and other players, and the lights come up and off they go. I have attended some concerts here where there is an illuminated digital clock in the front of the hall that lets people know how many minutes until start time, and until intermission is over. The concert was so carefully planned by Yoko that she made out a schedule of exact times for each piece, who comes on and when...all very detailed and mapped out.

The singers looked fabulous! For the first half of the program, the women wore a lacy sea foam green jacket top over a flowing full long skirt. For the second half, they wore pink velvet dresses with matching necklaces and earrings. The men wore white dinner jackets and coordinated bow ties over black pants. All very elegant and swanky looking.

I was completely pleased with their performance of the Birthday Madrigals. Their hard work and dedication paid off. Their diction was really darned good. Marcel said it was perfect! I was mostly pleased with their dynamic contrasts, their sensitivity to balance and their intonation of some very tricky chromatic close harmony, dissonance and exposed places. I would say they peaked at just the right moment. At the after party, there was a great passing of the microphone, where all members of the chorus thanked each other and their directors, spoke about why they loved the group and other things.

At the party, which was on the 7th floor of the same building, there were little papers on the tables that had the following information:

Party Program (5PM-7PM)
MC "Jin" and "Kate" (These are their American nicknames)

1. Opening speech
The Manager "Goro"

2. Eating and Drinking

announcement from MC(1)
number of today's audience

3. Reviews from the conductors and accompanists

announcement from MC(2)
received gifts and contributions

4. Comments of each member

5. Chorus time
Shenandoah
Harukana Tomoni

6. Ending

It was a very interesting party. Obviously well planned, and lots of fun! The food was great and the celebration well earned. I had the chance to meet some of the members to actually talk with them, and find out about some others. There are several married couples in the group, several scientists, a Shinto priest, English teachers, music teachers, and everyone speaks at least a little English.
They were very kind to me in their comments of appreciation. We ended with a couple of songs. And at 7:00 on the nose-we were all out of there.

It was a monumental P.I.T.A. to haul our stuff on the train yesterday morning, and we joked about finding a convenient store to buy some... convenience. On the way home, however, we added the djembe to our load so the P.I.T.A. factor grew by a bit. (And I poked more folks on the way home than I did in the morning) I wouldn't want to haul the bass, music stand, djembe and our clothes through Tokyo every weekend, but yesterday it was worth it.

Fun facts

Out walking the kids.

While reading the Japan Times yesterday I discovered some interesting things.

There were 12.52 million dogs as pets in Japan last year-more than all the elementary and junior high populations combined.

Lately, there has been a run on bananas in Japan. This is due to a new fad "banana diet." The belief is this: If you eat one banana in the morning and drink warm water, you can eat anything else you want during the day and lose weight. I guess they think eating bananas will increase metabolism and fill you up. Someone famous on TV was pushing the diet and everyone went out and bought bananas.

The word "gaijin" means outsider, and is NOT only used to describe foreigners. It can mean anyone who is on the outside of a community, and was used in the past for people who were Japanese, but from a different community. I read that some rural villages in Japan today are so closed to newcomers, or gaijin, that they are dying off. Outsiders are not made to feel welcome and communities are closed. Young people flee to the cities where everyone is from somewhere else.

The equivalent to the American community "Welcome Wagon" for foreigners is the "Welcome Furoshiki." The program was started by an American in the 50's.

Mountains and molecules...

The summit of Mount Everest

I was at a talk Tuesday morning, given by Arlene Blum. She is a mountain climber and a chemist. She was groundbreaking (and ceiling breaking) in both worlds...she led the first women's expedition to climb Denali back in the 70's, a very challenging mountain that pushed her group to dangerous limits. She's led women on climbing expeditions since. She's climbed Everest and Annapurna and has trekked across the Himalayas through 4 countries. She has been and still is fighting against chemical companies who are pushing to put highly toxic flame-retardant chemicals in everything- from couches to bedding and pillows, to pajamas to the outside of computers and other electronics. These chemicals are now found in children's bodies (and ours) in ever increasing levels. (the levels are highest in California) These toxins are so dangerous because our bodies don't recognize them as such and store them in our fat and breast milk. Currently, these toxins are being detected in killer whales, otters, squid, and polar bears. These substances are known to cause thyroid problems, low sperm count, obesity, diabetes, cancer and neurological problems. And that's just in animals that were tested. Sound familiar, anyone?

People have been having a debate lately about what is causing the epidemic of autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, infertility, cancer and a whole host of other emerging problems. It makes sense to me that there is a link- most likely from substances found all around us. Invisible poison. The chemical companies are powerful and push their products needlessly. Ms. Blum has stood up to the companies and had a direct effect on policy. In the 70's, she had a certain type of chemical (I think it's nickname is TRIS) banned from children's sleepwear because it was a known carcinogen. The chemical made up 10% of the fabric's weight. I'm sure I wore sleepwear in the 70's that had that stuff on it. She has had numerous papers published in Scientific Journals and mainstream media. The things she told us today were both inspiring and scary.

Don't buy furniture made in California. Anyone with little kids needs to find out more about this issue.

Arlene Blum is the founder and Executive Director of the Green Science Policy Institute in Berkeley, California.

www.greensciencepolicy.org

Scottish Highland Games

The Scottish Highland Games are much like Sumo..."It's a sport that combines brute strength with tradition and culture." I just heard a woman announcer on TV use that phrase to describe Sumo. But I'm here to tell you that it also perfectly describes the Highland Games. I spent the day happily outside in a green field, watching men in kilts compete by hurling heavy weights over a bar, throwing hammers, and lifting, balancing, carrying AND HURLING what is essentially a telephone pole. These guys were strong. Two of the competitors were Japanese, and I was unabashedly cheering them on with great favoritism. One guy was a beast. He was one of the larger Japanese men I've seen. He was big and strong and he knew it. Kind of cocky too. The other guy was smaller, but very strong. I think they were rugby players. They had that look about them.

These men competed in "Heavy Events." Before I tell you about it, know that the entire day's soundtrack was the bagpipe competition about 60 feet away. I rather like bagpipes, and was reminded that I would really like to learn to play them. I was hoping I could have found a chanter to purchase, but this was not the place for that apparently. Nearby on a raised stage, there were dance competitions going on for most of the day, accompanied by other bagpipers, so we even enjoyed piping cacophony for some of the day...but no bother. I guess I was not aware that bagpipes are pretty much tuned to the same key, so even if you have a dozen or so players warming up, it sounds pretty good. I actually wandered off to intentionally get in the middle of this great noise.

Back to the Heavy Events. The first event was much like the shot put. The men tossed a very heavy little cube attached to a handle. Then they threw a long handled heavy hammer. This event made me nervous. A slip too early and someone could have gotten hit. Next, they had a high bar. They again used the little weight and stood underneath it, swinging the weight between their legs before sending it flying up and over behind them, with the hopes of clearing the ever rising bar. The best event was the telephone pole slalom during which guys hefted a huge tree and had to balance it while walking between orange cones. As the tree trunk high over head swayed, wavered, wandered and the guys struggled to keep it balanced, we in the audience leaned, oooohhhed, aahhhed, sucked air between our teeth and were thoroughly absorbed in the drama. 'Twas fun.

Oh yeah, I tried haggis, (one bite was more than enough-thought you, Lap) ate fish and chips and drank Irish Ale and a shot of Scottish whiskey. Maybe that's why my tummy hurts tonight.

And here's a fun fact: some of the guys who were not competing in the sport were wearing their kilts the ...um...traditional way. I actually got a surprise peek as one of the snare drummers stepped OVER a fence. I think he knew he'd been spotted, because I turned around away from him and laughed pretty heartily. He and his buddy were laughing too.

If you want a bit of Scottish...check out Mike Myers as the Scottish Father on Youtube.

Saturday out and about

Robin and I love a little hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant, X'ian. It is known for it's freshly shaved noodle soup. It is just simply delicious and hearty. Just enough spice and meat, but the noodles are amazing. They "shave" the noodles from a huge hunk of dough for each bowl. They are a bit long and slippery, and consequently they are a little messy. I have a heck of a time eating them without splattering everything within a 10 foot radius. My bib is on the right. Robin says the spots on his bib are from me. Probably true.

Simply delicious!

This sign is hanging in almost every subway station. It cracks us up. "Please do it in the yard."
What yard?? Where?
Do what? Practice your golf swing? Wave it around at the ping pong balls that seem to be floating in the air??
At the bottom of the sign it says,"Please be careful when handling a wet umbrella."
Indeed.

These cute little boxer briefs are worn by the cute little guy who answers my phone for me. Really.

I am on the hunt for a specific tea pot for Anne. Robin and I went all over Kappabashi, the kitchen district and had no luck. This store has more pieces of pottery than I have ever seen in one place. I wandered back and in and picked my way carefully through tall stacks of everything you could imagine. It was incredible. Our next target: department stores.

The cost of Fall and the gift of children

I now live in a land where a medium sized pumpkin costs 20 dollars and an 8 inch pot of chrysanthemums goes for 40 dollars. Can you imagine? No pumpkin carving for Halloween here, I fear. I noticed these prices with dismay as I stopped my bike at the corner florist on the way home from buying groceries. I was thinking about decorating, or at least putting out a pot of golden mums, but now I think I'll wait.

We have 2 of the cutest kids living next door now. Megan is 6 and Sean is 9. I might be giving Sean music lessons. He has a lot of musical aptitude and reminds me of Chris when he was that age. I would enjoy it I think. I have taken on another little younger boy named Colin who I think will be a challenge. He has a few more ants in his pants than the average 6 year old, I'm afraid. I'll try it for a few weeks and see how it goes. It is so great to be greeted by small children in front of the house. This morning during the VP debate, I heard knocking on my kitchen door. It was Megan with a picture she had drawn for me. Then later when I got home she ran to me, her eyes sparkling, her arms out. And then as she ran to her house, she yelled, "I love you!" to me. I'm not sure what I've done to earn this little one's love, but I'll gladly take it. It's a refreshing change from the somewhat buttoned-up adult expatriate community I currently navigate in.

Megan and Sean's bubbly noise and American child-like-ness is a reminder to me of who I am. Where I'm from. What I do. And eventually where I'll be next year. And that the "real" world contains toys, dog hair, school buses, soccer games, play dates and princesses.