December 2

December 10 - 12
Hokkaido Mid-Year Conference

Tuesday through Thursday was the 2002-2003 Hokkaido JET Mid Year Conference. It comprised mostly of presentation classes, workshops for senior and junior high teaching, keynote speakers, and the like. Much of the information presented was very useful, although I wish that there was more information that was appropriate for senior high level teaching. It feels like most of the optional workshops were more geared towards Junior High level, most likely since there are more ALTs teaching at that level. I guess maybe next year I should do my own workshop. :)

The week also included it share of parties, including a return to the dance club called "Booty." It was a lot of fun to be back with all the JETs again. Other highlights for me included a trip to Sapporo Factory for some shopping and video games, visiting two Starbucks in the course of an hour, and seeing the lights in Odori Park.

On the last day of the conference, we had the option of attending three different cultural events. One was going to a Temple and being a part of Za Zen meditation. The second was a tour through a TV station and newspaper building. The last choice (the one I chose) was to visit Yamanote International Kindergarten. It's a Kindergarten comprised of mostly Japanese students, but some children of other nationalities. They emphasize international understanding in addition to regular kindergarten curriculum. This also includes a little bit of English instruction. Needless to say, I was in heaven. The children were adorable. It was also a nice change of pace since I only get to visit senior high schools when I teach.

There are a lot of pictures of the conference, including more pictures from booty and the adorable kindergarteners. Visit the Mid Year Conference picture page to see them all.

December 14 - 15

This weekend my friend Desi stopped by the visit on the way out East to see Travis. We had a pretty good time. We watched Harry Potter 2 because Desi hadn't seen it yet, as well as spend way too much time in an arcade. The picture above is a purikura or print club picture that we took in the arcade.

Purikura is one of those Japanese pop culture mysteries. Basically, all over Japan there are these photo booths that let you take pictures of you and your friends with various backgrounds and themes to them. They're often find in tourist areas, but also just your run of the mill arcade or 100 Yen store will have them as well. Students take these purikura pictures by the hundreds over the years and then collect them in special purikura notebooks and also give them to their friends. Although sometimes a little silly, it's not too expensive and usually ends up being a lot of fun, so I'm usually up for some purikura.

December 22

Today was one of the busier days I've had in Asahikawa. First of all, Lavonda, Julianna, and I visited a Methodist church in Asahikawa in the morning to watch a children's Christmas play. The kids were adorable. They were acting out the story of Jesus's birth and they all looked so cute in their little costumes, especially the sheep.
Check out the bashful sheep	"I'm Joseph and you're not!"
Check out the feast on the right	Don't mess with the shepherds
The full cast	This one played Baby Jesus
Immediately after the Christmas play, we headed off to the 6-jo Catholic Church for some Christmas carols. The songs were mostly traditional Christmas music that I was used to, except they were all in Japanese. It was all good, though. We were all invited to join in the singing so I had a great time. I also found out what time Christmas Eve mass was, so it was a successful visit.
After the caroling, we went downtown and had dinner with the International Club of one of the Asahikawa schools that Julianna teaches at. It was the three us, one of the teachers at that school, and three students.
The next item on the agenda was the birthday party of our friend Yumiko. It was held at a bar called "The Bank" (which confuses the heck out of you when someone calls you late in the evening and says, "Hey, wanna go to the bank?").
Yes, the kid is underage, and no, he wan't drinking (that's a coke he has, seriously)	Yumiko, the birthday girl herself
Big hug!	The day I figure out what goes on in Julianna's head is the day I join the asylum with her
After that was a walk downtown to the Sugai building (an arcade/movie theatre) for some purikura.
This is the outside of the purikura booth	Here you can see the mirror and scissor stations around the booths
FINALLY, we went to sing some karaoke after the purikura. I think this picture of Lavonda and Julianna asleep while I'm singing pretty much sums up how tired we all were after that day.

December 24 (Christmas Eve)

Well, if things had worked out the way they were supposed to, I would have went to Christmas Eve mass tonight, spent Christmas at home tomorrow, then be on my way to Kyoto and Hirsohima with my friends at the end of the week. But, if life teaches us anything, it's that thngs don't always go as planned...

Instead, I was on my way to the Catholic Church right after work, when I hit a snag - more like slipped into a snag. As I was crossing the street on the way there, I managed to slip on the ice. OK, I'm gonna fall - no problem - it hadn't been the first time I had fallen in this city. However, as I was falling, my right foot somehow had some traction on the ice and remained still. Therefore, as I fell, I twisted to the left on my right foot, heard a crack, then fell to the ground. Of course, the first thing I try to do is stand up again. I proceed to fall again. OK, now I'm in the intersection and the light is about to change. Well, I could either get run over, or crawl across the street. I chose the latter. I make it across the street and realize at this point that I'm not going to be able to make it church this evening.

I manage to hop up on my left foot and hop to an apartment building close by. As I approach the door, a woman walks out, looks at me, at says, "Daijoubu?" ("Are you OK?"). I tell her no and ask if there is a phone nearby. She pulls out her cell phone, I thank her profusely, and call Julianna. A few minutes later, Julianna arrives in a Taxi and we head off to the hospital (may I add that Julianna was way too excited to be going to the hospital. I get to see a doctor, who luckily spoke enough English that I was able to understand him without any problems. Looking at my X-rays, he said that I had fractured the smaller leg bone near my ankle (the fibula) and that I needed screw fixation to help it heal. He said that I could check in tomorrow and that I would have surgery on the 26th. After having a temporary cast put on, I headed home.

Julianna, Sumi, and Lavonda kept me company and we watched "It's a Wonderful Life" and then we opened my gifts from my parents. The next day I was off to the hospital.

The presents from my family (I know, I'm a lucky guy :) )

December 26 - 30
My life at Shindo Hospital

So, with the help of my friend Kumiko I check into the hospital. Originally I had been put into a two bed room, but they then moved me into a five bed room since it was easier for me to get in and out of with a wheelchair. Everyone in the hospital is overly nice to me, especially the nursing staff. I got to meet my anesthesiologist, who spoke perfect English after having spent some time in Canada. My surgeon came in to explain my surgery to me, which was aided by the following two printouts that he gave to me (on the second page, my surgery involves the two screws, not the rush pin):
On Thursday, they asked me to put on this thing which I can only describe as a diaper without any absorbancy. I made my best guess at to how to wear it and put on the rest of my surgery gown. They wheeled me into the surgery room and pretty soon I was being prodded by the anesthesiologist in my spine. Let's just say that part was the most painful of the entire ordeal. However, after about 5 minutes I finally was numb from the waist down and we were ready for surgery. The two hour surgery was uneventful and I slept through most of it, which was good since I don't think I'd want to be awake when they started drilling the screws into my bone. Afterwards, they wheeled me in for some X-rays, then back to my room where I slept most of the day. Lavonda came by later and gave me some flowers, which was so nice - she even got orange ones! By late evening I had feeling back in *ahem* all of my body, which was nice.
Hospital life in Japan wasn't too bad. It's pretty similar to US hospital life, with just a few quirks. For one thing, everyone goes to bed at 10:00 PM sharp. They play a piece of "When You Wish Upon a Star" and a voice over the loudspeaker wishes you a Good Night. Then they shut off all the lights in the rooms. At 6:30, all lights come on and another jingle is played as well as a Good Morning wish. The nurses follow, taking temperatures, blood pressures, asking how many times you went to the bathroom the previous day, etc, etc. In my room there was a Japanese man who had accidently cut off the tops of two of his fingers in a saw. (He works at a furniture store). The day after my surgery we were joined by another foreigner-an older Russian man from Sakhalin (the disputed island to the north of Hokkaido) who had fallen through his roof. He had the same injury as me, except that he had broken both of the bones in his leg, not just the one as I had. We called it the "kokusai room" (international room). Hopsital food was, well, hospital food. It was OK for the most part, except for the natto on my last day there (sticky fermented soybeans).
All in all, I owe Shindo Hospital a big debt of gratitude. They bent over backwards to help me and were extremely patient as I would look up the new words I was introduced to, such as the Japanese words for IV and bowel movement. Also, my friends and coworkers in Asahikawa made sure that I wasn't lonely either. As much as it saddened me (not really), I was discharged from the hospital on the 30th of December, with a rapidly healing leg contained within what was probably the biggest leg cast that hospital had ever seen.
My chariot	That would be my leg with the pink ice packs attached to my cast
The happy camper himself	A view of my room