Lessons from Traveling Alone

Recently I traveled alone to the island nation of Taiwan.

Me pointing at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

Me pointing at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

In beginning my solo adventure I remembered posts from my former Japan sidekick Rob Milchling’s blog, where he often spoke about traveling, often alone. He has taken many solitary trips around the East Asian region and beyond. I never actually read most of his posts about traveling, perhaps out of jealousy that he was blogposting faster and more efficiently than me, but I assumed these entries’ existence meant I had many lessons to learn on my own upcoming trip.  I was right.

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Transitioning to Japanese Kindergarten

I teach in many schools.

Specifically, Japanese private kindergartens.  Young kids rarely learn anything their usual Japanese Sensei doesn’t already know.  However, Japanese school officials acknowledge that many adults are far too timid with gaijin (foreigners).  They believe exposing young children to foreigners will help them embrace English learning throughout their lives.

Since I am legally forbidden from sharing pictures of my students, here is a picture of another Japanese Kindergarten class from the Wall Street Journal.

Since I am legally forbidden from sharing pictures of my students, here is a picture of another Japanese Kindergarten class from the Wall Street Journal.

The schools I teach in are spread throughout the metropolitan area of Osaka, Japan’s second largest city. In Japan, Kindergarten includes a compulsory form of what the western world understands as optional “Pre-K,” and has three levels: the three to four-year-old “Nensho,” the four to five-year-old “Nenchu,” and the five to six-year-old “Nencho.”

Starting this job was frightening for me, although frightening was an improvement. Thanks to some chats I had with encouraging people at the right time, I felt reassured that I was capable of fulfilling my requirements. No longer quite petrified, I was still confused by the young children and nervous about making mistakes. I didn’t understand them.

It was the unknown and I was scared. Having conquered the last transition, I was ready to try.

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One at a Time

I wanted to title this essay “How my Crude, Cynical, Obtuse, Straight Japanese Friend Gives me Hope about the Future of LGBT Rights in Japan,” but in the spirit of progress, this message sent by text to a friend (with a more colorful word after “one”) seemed more fitting.

With the arrival of marriage equality in the United States, perhaps the moment is timely to talk about the gay rights movement in Japan, or lack thereof.

Pride Month Celebrations began in 2010 in Japan.

Pride Month Celebrations began in 2010 in Japan. Source

Well, it exists.  But it’s in its infancy.

While they don’t experience the open persecution seen in Russia, the Middle East, and parts of Africa, LGBT people in Japan are locked in the prison of strict social customs. Most gay men in Japan seem to either be foreigners or partially to completely in the closet, which is why I’ve had to change their names in this post. They probably have a long way to go in an isolated, patriarchal society where older people hold all the keys over a submissive youth.

But the tide will turn, and I know that because of Yuu Koyama.

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Korea: According to Ji Yeon

Golden Week is vacation time in Japan. During this nationwide string of holidays in the first week of May I had the opportunity to visit South Korea, with my friends Ian and Seth.

Me, Seoul, Seth.

Left to right: Me, Seoul, Seth.

Korea has a rich culture. The food is delicious, the history is fascinating, the landscapes are stunning, and the girls are beautiful, even if they weren’t all that interested in talking to me. South Koreans may not be happy, however, with the simple fact that the most memorable experience of the trip for me was a daytrip to see the Demilitarized Zone, also known as the DMZ, and the weird country to the north of it. With my own eyes, I looked upon North Korea.

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Simple Pleasures

Catching Up:

I’m not famous. If you care enough about my doings to visit this blog, you may have been aware of my recent birthday.  And if you’re my Mom, you’re probably aware it was March 22nd… which isn’t so recent.  Yeah, this blog post took awhile.  The gifts for entering my marathon year came in many forms, but they can be boiled down to one word: change. And it all came from the people around me.

Nipponbashi, Osaka.

Nipponbashi, Osaka.

Normal life is resuming for me in Osaka, Japan.  My 26th birthday came during the peak of the abnormalcy (LibreOffice says that’s a typo, but if normalcy is a word, so damn well is abnormalcy), and it surpassed expectations by about ten thousand percent.  So here goes the most narcissistic story I’ve ever written, a post about my own birthday, as a grown man.

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