Awa Odori: Where all are Fools

There is a saying about the Awa Odori Festival in Tokushima, Japan: "Those who dance are fools, those who watch are fools. Since both are fools, why not dance?" This weekend, I learned the meaning of that phrase.

The Awa Odori is a traditional Japanese dance - one of the most famous. In it's most simple form, it is, well, quite simple. Step forward and with the same arm as foot, extend the arm. Now add the same music over and over again, a little crouching, a little artistic grace, a Japanese Yukata, paper lanters, lots of food, beer, and crowds like crazy and you have the second largest dance festival in the world.

Every year, the new JETs in Tokushima and any other JETs that want to, get together with an international group to have a pre-dance party and then dance together in the main festival. We went to two different stages and performed the dance in front of hundreds, probably thousands of people. They gave us yukatas, which are pretty much big robes with sashes we tied around our waists. It was very tiring, my feet were killing me, and I was sweating like a pig, BUT it was also probably the most fun I've had in Japan since I got here. We had to wait a long time for each dance so we just all stood around and chatted and talked about how hot it was and how crazy this festival was. We also had to walk through masses of people on our way to the next stage. The mayhem was exhilerating and exciting, and as we danced, the crowd laughed and pointed and had a great time watching our crazy gaijin (foreigner) version of their special dance.

Now I can't wait till next year...

It has finally come

I have 2 new sweaters - cardigan-like. They look very teacher-y; they're very cute. I just got pearl earings from my mom, and pierced my ears so I can wear them. I have found myself putting my hair up...it's, well, teacher-like.

I think I'm psyching myself out. I'll probably get to Japan and feel like a student still, with a sidekick tutoring job. I won't feel like a teacher, maybe a poser, but not a teacher.

Or maybe this is what I tell myself to make sure I don't get my hopes dashed. Somehow I hope that I can stand up in front of a classroom and BE a teacher. I hope that I can actually be an authority on anything - even English. I hope that I won't be a student my entire life (but that I will ALWAYS be a learner). I hope that all this work I've done will actually pay off, that I don't have to have my PhD before I can teach anyone anything.

I used to tutor Korean kids, but I could never shake this overwhelming feeling that I was failing, that they weren't learning anything. I still knew that I was only a junior in college with no tutoring or international experience. It was frustrating, discouraging.

Now I'm going to go teach elementary students, junior high students, and I'm going to like it, and I'm going to be good at it - I have to be. Somehow, it will be incredible. Do you think they'll be able to say my name? I guess Nikolina is mostly all Japanese syllables - except for the L. Hmm.

I'm going to be a teacher. I'm going to be a teacher, and I can't believe it.

The city is NARUTO!

So, I have figured out that I'm going to be in Naruto, Tokushima. Naruto is a city of about 60,000. It is about an hour away from a city of over 200,000, Tokushima, Tokushima, and about 3 hours away from Osaka, which is the second largest city in Japan at about 2.7 million (at night - the population exceeds 3 million during the day). Naruto is famous for a hotspring or something like that. There's bridges that connect Shikoku to the main island of Honshu. I need to check out the beaches and see what those are like...

TOKUSHIMA!!

I just received word about my placement in Japan today. I'll be placed in the province of Tokushima on the island of Shikoku in Japan. Now that I have my placement, I am officially a Japenese Exchange and Teaching program participant, and own my title of Assistant Language Teacher. I'm very excited.

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands and is located directly beneath the largest island, Honshu. I won't be far from Osaka located in southeast Honshu. I don't know yet what city I'll be placed in, so I don't know if it's a small town or a larger city. I like this placement because it's southern, which means I won't have to deal with snow and sad weather. I had enough rain in Seattle to last for a long time.

Horray!!!