At its end.

Well my Japan adventure has surprisingly come to an end. For the last seven weeks I've been submersed within the Japanese culture, attempting to learn as much as I could from the people and surroundings. I definitely felt like it was enough time. I was able to accomplish all of the assignment for my internship. I made a lot of new friends that I will be missing when I leave. It was honestly an experience of a lifetime. I was able to do so many things (as you can tell in my blogs). I also did so much more that I failed to blog on, but I'll have stories left over to tell when I get home.

I leave for the airport tomorrow afternoon, but my plan to defeat the jet lag demons started two days ago.

[my plan]

So for the last two days I stayed up past 4 in the morning (the sun was coming up it was weird).
With this I'm hoping that it will mess up already funky Japanese sleeping pattern. Then to really put the spin on the jet lag I will stay up all night tonight. Theoretically, I will be extremely tired once i get on my flight. The goal is to fall asleep for the entire 10 hour plane ride. When i arrive in the US it should be 12pm the same day. In conclusion, when I walk of that plane I should be good and rested, already adjusted to my regular sleeping pattern.


That's my plan, flawless I must say. I'll let you know if it works.

4th country surfed (theoretically 5th)

I know get to add Japan to my list of countries surfed in my life time (so far).  Others countries 

1. Mexico

2. Costa Rica 

3. Nicaragua

and now

4. Japan

(beat that Fish)

I will add Kauai, Hawaii to this list because it's pretty much another country surfwise and any other wise for that matter.

So 5 countries. Hopefully as I continue to breath oxygen the number of countries on this list will grow.

A friend of Jeff named Hero Kamatsu took us surfing to this fun little surf spot a few hours from Tokyo.  He started surfing when he was 44 and has loved every second of it. He took us to HIC (Hawaiian Island Creations) surf shop in a town called Chiba.  The guys and gals at the shop were very nice.  The people in the surf culture here in Japan are quite different than the hectic city urbanities I usually run into.  It was nice to see some friendly faces and get back in the water.  The beach is definitely one of the things I miss most about home.  The surf was not perfect, a little choppy and scattered but I was still able to catch a few good ones. I think I'll get to go at least one more time. Can't wait.

One more thing, the Japanese are so efficient.  Surfers had buckets and portable showers to wash themselves off and their wetsuits and boards. It was just so impressive. Some of you surfers reading this can appreciate that, I know I can.  I usually leave my wetsuit in the back of my car wet and sandy until the next time I use it, which makes for an unpleasant smell.

 As I was walking around an artist district in Tokyo I came by this small house/business with a pile of bamboo flutes at the front with a sign that read, "please try."  I tried playing a flute and found it quite difficult to play.  One lady that was there, who I may add was dressed very cool, played the flute exceptionally well and made it sound so Japanese.  I was determined to try and get the flute in my hand to at the very least, make a sound that didn't sound like I was just blowing air into a pipe. The owner, who smelled of freshly drank saki, passed on to me some words of ancient Zen Japanese wisdom, he said, "it is not about making a sound, it's about centering yourself in meditation." Upon hearing these words I proceeded to center everything within me and forget about the sound I desired to make. As my soul centered I took a deep breath and let the air that was in my chest escape through the bamboo I held in my hands. The sound was exactly the same so I gave up and kept blowing into the damn thing until it made a sweet sound.  It was lots of fun,  even the lightheadedness. 

He then said I can make my own for only 1,000 yen (about 10 bucks).  How could I say no to that?

Moral of the story: I'm not a very good Zen meditator or musician

Karaoke to the tenth degree

Karaoke, Saki, Friends, and bad voices. It was a great night.

And just incase you were wondering I rocked a solo to Fergalicious 

Tokyo National Museum and

We went the Tokyo National Museum today. I fell in love with the Samurai armor. I tried to out it on and got tackled. Just kidding but if that silly glass wasn't there i definitely would have tried.

Japanese Temples

These are everywhere. They are very beautiful. Oh and you can pay money to use the escalator, we walked.  

The Crossing

 We had our first english service this Sunday and it went extremely well.  I was definitely prepared thanks to Jeff and Katrina making me run through my message with them (over and over).  I heard some good stuff from the people who were able to make it out this time.  We have 3 more to do and I'm looking forward to continuing this conversation.

Night on the town.

We had our fun-nest most touristy day yet.  

Sights we saw things we did

1. Tokyo Tower

Designed just like the Eiffel Tower expect more modern looking and it says Tokyo on it.

2. Zoji Temple

One of the largest Temples in Tokyo, it was intense

3. Imperial Palace 

Think of it as the White House of Japan

4. Sushi Bar

Good sushi better saki

5. English pub in Japan 

There were real Brits in there with real British accents.  

6. Pork Kabob

Not sure what one of the things we ate was. It took about 30 chews just to get it to go down my throat.  It was definitely a local spot though.  There was a line out the door with no other tourists in sight.  We got to eat next to a bunch of people on crates outside.  The table was just big enough to fit our beers and meats. We met some new friends on our adventure this night. Some Tokyo business men.  The guy next to me we dubbed the Japanese Mark Twain.  Very nice guys.  They taught us a new word "kungpai,"  it means "cheers."

Definitely a night to remember, which we do, for the most part. 

Paint Thugs

After 4 days and many many hours of painting we have finally finished.  We spent a lot of our days recently painting a large warehouse for Greatest Gift Ministries, a non-profit that is run through the church.  Since I'm on the topic let me tell you a bit about this unique ministry.  The ministry is modeled after Operation Christmas Child by Samaritans Purse, which builds gift boxes for young boys and girls and sends them to less fortunate kids in other parts of the world.  Darren the founder of the ministry personally delivers the boxes to the countries they are built for.  The difference of his ministry is that his teams are made up of believers and non-believers.  Many missions trips are mostly for Christians but Darren presents a challenge to nonbelievers to go to these places and experience it for themselves.  This is huge for the Japanese nationals that go on these trips.  They do not see extreme poverty every day so it is hardly a real problem to them.  Yet once they see it for themselves it opens their eyes up to the world and it also places them in a very sensitive spiritual state.  Darren has been able to disciple people that have gone on prior trips.  We also got a great opportunity to meet with a couple girls that went on past trips to Cambodia and the Philippines. We had a great conversation about living a life of service. Now back to the painting we did. We did a stinking lot of it. The end.

June Showers

Right when I got out of the shower Jeff notified that the most intense rain my friend has ever seen in Japan was coming down.  I proceeded to look for myself at this monstrous rain.  Jeff was right and an impulse kicked in. I threw off my towel and threw on some shorts and ran outside.  I knocked on Katrina's window and her and Jeff ran out to meet me in the middle of the park.  Rain thunder and lighting poured down around us.  One of the most freeing moments of my life.  Its up there with the night skinny dip (doug Ian you know what I'm talking about).  We were running in the street as cars drove past and awkward stares by the Japanese motorists.  We were next to a business with the door open and noticed the employees laughing  at us.  I motioned to them to join us but they passed on the opportunity.  A few minutes later I saw one of them run out and enjoy the moment.  For some reason I sensed a bit of liberation for him, a small break from a typical Japanese work day.  Today was a great day.

Train-folk

Talk about an awkward sandwich.  There are some moments in life that you just can't pass up.  Take this one for example: Japanese punk on my right, gamer on my left. It was an intense game.  

"Warning"

So i find myself walking by many cautionary signs.  Many like the one you see here.  To me this sign looks like something you definitely want to read.  This concerns me because of the fact that my linguistic understanding of the Japanese language is nonexistent.  I will do my best to go by the pictures.  Lord help me if there are none.

Jui Jitsu.

Jeff and I had our first day of jui jitsu last night.  The entire lesson was taught in Japanese and there was only 1 other American there.  All in all it was a great first session.  We will be training about three times a week while we are here.  This is a high quality dojo.  The national champion trains here, but he is in Brazil right now for the world championships.  Who knows maybe by the end of the trip I'll be the next champ (not likely, but I'm still going to have fun).  

ps. I have never been more sore in my entire life.

workout

I went on my first run today in Japan. It was definitely stimulating.  Every corner there was some thing new to look at for the first time.  Tiredness never crossed my mind.  It was all image.  I'll take my camera next time I go out.  

Oh and in case you were wondering, I wore pink short shorts and a green tank top. haha I'm not sure Japan was ready ready for it, I got some weird looks. 

Time to start my day, I woke up at 4am Japan time and I feel great.

Konnichiwa

One of the easiest flights of my life.  I ate lunch, then read for a bit, then slept, then woke up to eat again, and then slept some more, and then woke up and I was about to land in 30 minutes. Yea it was nice.  I really have to thank God for these great travel genes.  I just switch into hibernation mode whenever I travel.  I'm made for this stuff.  

Tokyo is so amazing. It is such a huge city, keep a look out for new photos once I make it into town.  It's about 12am Tokyo time right now. I had my first meal in Japan, which oddly enough was Indian food.  And dang good Indian food at that.  The owners are from Nepal and they pride themselves for making the best Indian food.  It was quite amazing, I ate four different types of nan (sooo good).  I'm starting to learn some Japanese words.  I tried to ask for more water and failed, but I'll do better next time.  

I will be sleeping in tomorrow and then hitting the town.  I'll try and get some good shots of the district I'm in for ya'll. 

I also made some new friends.  Dieki, Yumi, and Yuki (probably spelt wrong) they live here in Japan and seem really nice.  Yuki likes Lincoln Park, haha.  Im looking forward to getting to know them more. 

stay posted more to come as my adventure continues.

Japan is about to begin.

Well I just printed out my itinerary for my Japan flight.  But still it has yet to hit me that I will be spending the next two months there.  I also packed today.  I managed to get everything into one backpack and a carryon.  Remember now thats 7 weeks and only two bags, impressed? I could have got the job done with one but i thought i would take it easy on my back this time.  Back to the it not hitting me thing.  I don't know what's wrong with me.  Is it my carefree attitude, or my absent mindedness?  I just can't figure it out.  Anyways this will be my first of many (hopefully) blogs that I will be posting about my adventures in Tokyo.  I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with you these next few weeks.  

I leave Monday the 2nd and return the 18th of July.  I'll have some opportunities to do some exciting and challenging things while I'm there so whatever your style is pray for me. If its head bowed eyes closed, prostrated, Indian style, whatever. Just throw some up for me. Gracias. 

We are going.

One thing ends another starts.

Somethings continue from an abrupt stop.

They stop and they go.

Some will see red, some will see green.

What ever the case, shortly, we will all return with a tale

I'm looking forward to sharing stories and experiences from our summers.  

Al-Jazeera.net/best news website I read

I highly recommend adding english.aljazeera.net to your bookmark, as well as making it part of your daily news source. I have been frequenting this site over the last few months and I have enjoyed it more than any other news-site i've read. Yes i know even more than NPR, please dont hate me. It just has so much news from all over the world. I have learned more about global politics than ever before, it's quite pleasant. Now there may be some resistance and skepticism about this website, which some may claim as being pro-terrorist, and anti-American, but give it a chance. Compare their stories with similar ones given by more accepted sources and you will find that the contrast is slight. But hey the media will always be plagued with half stories and subtle (many times not so subtle) propaganda, so really give it a try. I hope you come to appreciate it as much as i have.

Thank you Steve for the reference.

Brotherhood.

A gracious answer to pray at a pivotal point in life.

This shared life of sorrow and joy has been mixed,

mixed with the narratives of a select few.

This selection was divinely inspired,

divinely orchestrated in perfect unity.

Common themes knit together contrasting paths.

Our banner will be unity in diversity. 

Brotherhood - a common bond amongst a group of men with a common maker

Boredom

and unrest

its seeping in through the walls

transcending everything you have created to keep it out

yet any attempt fails and breakdowns

faster it drowns your entire body in its cold abandonment

you fight it with all that you have but your mind cracks 

filling and overflowing with the thoughts you've been avoiding

they hit you hard and leave you unconscious until you wake 

The Breath of Nature - Chuang Tzu

When great Nature sighs, we hear the winds

Which, noiseless in themselves,

Awaken voices from other beings,

Blowing on them.

From every opening

Loud voices sound. Have you not heard

This rich of tones?

There stands the overhanging wood

On the steep mountain:

Old trees with holes and cracks

Like snouts, maw, and ears,

Like beam-sockets, like goblets,

Grooves in the wood. hollows full of water:

You hear mooing and roaring, whistling,

Shouts of command, grumblings,

Deep drones, sad flutes.

One call awakens another in dialogue.

Gentle winds sing timidly,

Strong ones blast on without restraint.

Then the wind dies down. The openings 

Empty out their last sound.

Have you not observes how all then trembles and subsides?

Yu relied: I understand:

The music of earth sings through a thousand holes.

The music of man is made on flutes and instruments.

What makes the music of heaven?

Master Ki said:

Something is blowing on a thousand different holes.

Some power stands behind all this and makes the sounds die

down.

What is this power?

This is for those who love nature.

Musing.

I was hanging out with my buddy Geoff last night and he said that something that really caught my attention. It's short and sweet, and it definitely qualifies as a musing.

"you can't look in a face like this and not believe in a creator."

Geoff 

This was the most adorable kid I saw while I was in India this interterm. Geoff couldn't be any righter.

Musings

"It's a delightful harmony when doing and saying go together."

- Michael Eyquem de Montaigne - 

Abe would not approve

I was in Los Angeles this weekend with my Post-Modern Metropolis class touring Downtown.  As I was walking around I saw what seemed to be a business or court building with and interesting visualization in front of it.  As you can see in through the fence it's a large bronzed statue of our 16th President, Mr. Abe Lincoln.  Sleeping just under his nose is an African-American homeless man.  Somethings not right here.  I wonder what Good ol' Abe would say if he saw this?  I think he would be a bit disappointed. 

Abe had his war that he fought for to the end.  Even though some disagreed with him on both sides he still fought for those who could not fight for themselves.  He put into action laws and rallied the masses, which led to the abolition of slavery.  Abraham Lincoln the great emancipator gave an example that our society and culture has yet to grasp.  

We just walk by without looking at this other nation that lives on our street gutters and park benches.  Abe died for his war.  Sadly we are doing little to fight for ours.  

This photo was taken from behind a fence.  What I'm not clear on is which part of the fence i am on?  

Wiki(broken)links

A website named wikilinks has been shut down by a US Federal Judge. 

You may be asking what is Wikilinks? Well Wikilinks is a website for whistleblowers (A Whistleblower is anyone who has classified documents or information that contains incriminating information and wants to divulge the information).

The website was available to anyone who wants to post information without any repercussions from the authority he or she is "whistling" on.  The way that the site is set up makes it virtually or in this case electronically impossible to trace the source.  The site had thousands of different documents, ranging from Guantanamo Bay documents (ways to direct inmates not to talk to the Red Cross), and information from Swiss bank accounts (ways that companies launder money).

there have been several attempts by Chinese censors to have the site taken down. All it took was the stroke of a pen by a judge.

This has turned into a 1st Amendment violation issue.  One columnist said that it was equivalent to reading one article in the Times that you did not like and then closing down the company.  How can such a thing happen? When the dispute first took place the company did not have a qualified lawyer needed to battle against such powerful institutions.  Now that the the incident has become more high profile there have been lawyers who have been willing to represent the company.  There will be another hearing on February 29th.

We'll be waiting to see how our government chooses to apply the 1st amendment even if it exposes them in the process.  Will the constitution be respected?

Blogspot...

I'm officially a "blogger." (which is the hottest word to hit mainstream media since terrorist)  

Also I'm taking the liberty of welcoming myself to this here community of thought.  

I am looking forward to dialoging with you, sharing and challenging one another in the quest for meaning to this life.

and while we are at it, why not have a little fun?