Greetings and salutations!

My friends, the time has come for an actual update from the Land of the Rising Sun. I had hoped that by getting to it quickly, I would avoid a larger post; perhaps unfortunately, this was not to be the case and I’m going to do a bit of unloading before I get to how things are going here…I hope you will bear with me…I’ll try to keep things as short as I can.

Of the World

Huge congrats go out to the Italians! They proved they deserved the World Cup and the world’s praise. Being in Japan I have had the chance to see how truly universal and important this sporting event is and enjoyed the tourney immensely, despite the low score count and Argentina going out when they did. Good times all around though and if it’s proved that Italian player Marco Materazzi said what he is rumored to have, then no one can hold Zidane’s reaction against him.
www.fifa.com

I have stood by Israel for most of my life. I still stand with Israel. I support their right to exist; I support their right to be compensated (if such a thing is possible) for the unimaginable nightmare the world allowed them to suffer. I support their important role in the destiny of the world. What I do not and cannot support is the blatant hostility, overbearing aggression, and plain stubbornness that the Israeli government is currently displaying to the world in its ludicrously illegal and unjustified campaign against the Palestinians. Despite what Israel claims, there is no way to attack the guilty militants without harming the innocent – and by continuing on this course they will only continue to blur the line between the terrorized and the terrorists. Politically and morally, they are wrong.

The situation is only made worse by involving Lebanon and Syria. If Israel wants another Arab/Israeli war, they’re sure doing a good job of putting the pieces on the board. I want to be clear that those that continue to hate and attack Israel must not be made blameless, and that the ignorance of the international community is just as shocking in this whole affair. But at the rate this is spinning out of control, out of perspective, the whole Middle East could easily light up again. This is the last thing we need following the devastating bombings in Mumbai yesterday and other goings on in the world presently.

On the one hand (Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, etc.) we have ‘Christians’ against ‘Muslims’ and ‘Muslims’ against ‘Muslims’. Then there are (Israel, Palestine, etc.) ‘Jews’ against ‘Muslims’ and now we’re looking at (India, Pakistan, etc.) ‘Hindus’ against ‘Muslims’… If any of these segregated conflicts begins to coalesce in a significant way, the world could really be facing some dark days ahead. This doesn’t even consider the potential conflicts coming out of the rest of Asia (North Korea, Russia, China, etc.); it’s just so bloody frustrating sometimes.
www.channelnewsasia.com

Of Entertainment

There seems to be some life coming back to the movie world these days. Grosses are up and audiences are returning to theatres (which are finally starting to go digital). Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest has pretty much broken every box office record and there is still so much left to look forward to. I, for one, am most psyched about Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming film, The Prestige.

In terms of films past, I was able to watch Woody Allen's movie Match Pointstarring Jonathan Rhys Myers and Scarlett Johansson, on the flight. I'm not sure I've even seen a Woody Allen film before in my life, but I may have to make a point of doing so now. Match Point was a genuinely entertaining film - full of tension, intrigue, suspense, and intellect. The script was sharp and well paced – brought to tantalizing life by Myers and Johansson. I certainly recommend checking it out.

By the way, it is now my singular mission in life to rid the world of Paris Hilton. I must sacrifice myself for the betterment of all mankind - and surely God will grant me mercy. I’ve had no love for this girl at any point, but after being subjected to the ‘music’ video for her single ‘The Stars are Blind’, I know that it’s either her or me…one of us has to go.
www.comingsoon.net

Of My Life and Japan

I do promise that pictures will be coming in the near future. In the meantime, please content yourselves with this report. I am quite happy living in Osaka, a ‘real’ city at last – a massive concrete jungle, teaming crowds, a real subway which I ride to work on a daily basis, 24 hour convenience and all sorts of intriguing distractions. There can be no doubt that, in many ways, I am ‘in my element’. I have pretty much finished settling in and manage to keep myself more than busy with various hobbies, adventures, personal projects, social engagements, and of course, work.

First, some myth busting or confirmation; sure Osaka is not the gleaming citadel that Tokyo is, but the people are nicer and the food is much better. Sure it’s hot and unceasingly humid, but that’s the state of Japan at large. Sure some things are more expensive (transit, movies, telecommunications, and several other things come to mind) but, for the most part, it’s nothing too drastic. When traveling you have to adjust your expectations and adapt to your environment. It’s not hard to live comfortably here, even save some money, but if you intend to live to the same standards you did in the west, you will find yourself a pauper in short order.

As far as the social end of things goes, I have met many of my fellow instructors (an internationally diverse group) and we entertain ourselves in whatever ways we can contrive. I hang out with my Australian flat-mate Marc and a bunch of great guys in our (massive) building playing poker, visiting local watering holes, or just generally wandering aimlessly. Good times all around. Of course, being an outsider in a different culture comes with its inescapable realities, and I do feel the familiar teasing of painful loneliness from time to time, but that’s no different than anywhere else and easily (generally) swept aside. Besides, I can’t deny that a part of me is very much in love with the idea of disappearing into the crowds – an unknown nobody on the far side of the world. This romantic notion is, of course, far from the state of things and I continue to be blessed in my days here.

Work remains quite interesting. The whole 3 days of initial training we went through was nearly overwhelming but you do settle into the routines very quickly and my trainers inform me I am doing very well. Along the lines of the loneliness diatribe I referenced previously, there’s a real double-edged sword to being a cog in a massive corporate machine; but its work, so I try not to care all that much. Nova itself has proven somewhat an annoying entity at times but tolerable to say the least. Much of my work inside the tiny cubicles of the Multimedia Centre is repetitive, mind numbing, and of questionable value, but I also feel that I am learning a great deal and at least I get to deal with a fantastic variety of people on a daily basis.

To clarify a bit more, I teach English conversation (note that I do not claim to be actually teaching English) via video conference to between 1 and 3 students per hour for 8 hours a day. We (the over 500 of us who work in the building) have a rather arcane, though effective, online system of interactive lessons and educational multimedia materials which we use to walk our students through various lessons, keeping close track and records of their progress. While I do find the lower level students aggravating, I sincerely enjoy my sessions with higher level students, several of which have involved quite meaningful conversations. Maybe we can both take something away from the time spent at least.
www.teachinjapan.com

I’m still getting a lot of things (personal) organized in terms of living my life here. I am also busy making and evaluating plans for the near and not-so-near future, but I will leave details of such things for another time. If anyone is interested in my local contact information, just drop me a line at NOSPAMgandalf16@hotmail.com (remove the NOSPAM, obviously). So, unless I’ve forgotten something, which is entirely probable (Happy Belated Canada Day), I think that is all I have to report at this time; thank you to all those who continue to hold me in their thoughts and prayers.

With Hope,
Joseph

Mumbai Bombings | Match Point | Nova Japan