The End of the Drought: The Grenawalts and Walker's Arrival

I had lasted the drought.  It had been a month without my wife and over half a year since I had less than 6,000 miles between my family and me.  However, there was a storm brewing to the east.  Kate's arrival from her trip to the U.S. came just one day following my conference in South Korea.  Our reunion served as the perfect primer for the week.  Jonce, Katie Jean, Joe, and my mom were scheduled to land in Japan just three days after Kate.  Over the course of one week I planned on giving them a Japanese-culture crash course.  Yes....rain was coming....I looked up at the sky and I welcomed the downpour with open arms.

Kate and I were running to the International Arrivals area of Terminal 1 when I hear "Seth!" come from my left.  To my surprise I looked over to see an unkept, possibly homeless man sitting down against the wall.  How did this man know my name and how did he get in the airport?!  Well, upon further inspection it was Jonce...with one of the gnarliest beards I had ever seen.   Shortly after seeing Jonce, we noticed Katie Jean emerged from the crowd looking cheerful as always. 

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Lets get something straight, the whole reason why I grew a beard in the first place was for people to differentiate between Jonce and I more easily.  Now I have to get new glasses or something.  Plus, now I have beard envy!

Shortly thereafter we cruised over to Terminal 2 for my mom's flight arrival.  After a short while I watched Joe and my mother's face completely light up as they entered the arrival area.  Truly a hallmark moment.  When I asked my mother about her most memorable moment in Japan she said "Seeing you at the airport when we arrived and hugging you neck!"  There is a reason why countless movies capture this moment of arrival, it's magical...  So, after a brief reunion we made our way to the Japanese utility vehicle I rented for the big pickup. 

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Excited to be in Japan and in the rental car!  Plenty of room for everyone and their respective luggage. 

Everyone was in good spirits, which made it much easier to deal with my stupidity as I drove onto the toll road (wrong road) on the way to Tokyo (wrong direction).  800 yen and 30 minutes later we were back on the right route as it started to rain.  Here at the Hosting Enterprise of Rubberneckers Organized by Walkers in Japan (HEROW-Japan ...possibly the worst acronym ever) we slowly ease you into eastern cuisine.  So for their first meal I decided to introduce everyone to Japanese curry at Cocos.  

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Yay! I can't read anything, but there are pictures!

This style of curry is always a crowd pleaser.  In fact, Joe instantly feel in love with the pork cutlet curry.  Looking back on all of the food he tried while visiting, he said this was his favorite.  Everybody seemed to really enjoy the curry.  Katie Jean also had an octopus salad that she liked a lot. 

The rest of the rainy drive home was filled with lively conversation as we discussed our big week ahead of us.  Once we got back to the Ninomiya house I showed everyone around and made sure nobody went to bed before 9:00 to help with jet-lag.  It was raining, both literally and figuratively.  I was finally able to spend time with family and I was loving every minute of it.  

Christmas, Big Buddha, conveyor belt sushi, and shopping were on the itinerary for the next day. Much more to come!  

-Seth

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Korea - Days 4 and 5: See ya Korea

Early on the 4th day both Matt and I awoke bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  In true Haines fashion, he practiced his speech for the first time just hours before giving it.  Also, in Haines fashion, it turned out great.  I envy his Joe Cool approach to these matters.  If I don't prepare far in advance and stress out about it, it doesn't turn out well. 
 
 Matt pointing to the title of his paper/speech.

The rest of the day was spent dipping in and out of presentations whose subjects tickled my fancy.  Following the final presentation, all of the symposium participants gathered for some closing remarks.  One of the organizers mentioned some statistics about the event.  For example, ISLCT did obtain its objective of "international-ness" through submissions of countries like Korea, Japan, China, United Kingdom, ect.  However, it was interesting to see that nearly 70% (from memory) of the participants hailed from South Korea.  I don't think it was as "international" as they had hoped. 

Quick pic before they took down the symposium banner.

That night Matt and I ate dinner with the guys from Hann Ocean Technologies (Henry and Andreas).  Afterward we walked to a more 'Western' bar to have some celebratory adult beverages, play pool, and throw darts. 

Matt is helping is partner (Henry) to line up the shot.  Andreas is on the left.

I'd rather not disclose how many drinks I had that night (if I could, I would).  We had a great time hanging out with Henry and Andreas and made it back to our hotel safely.

Day 5

I woke up this day with one single goal in mind.  You see, Jeju is a volcanic island with many natural beauties scattered throughout.  However, none of these interested me more than the Manjanggul lava tubes.  Why you ask?  Well, because I'm a dude who daydreams about huge waves of scorching hot lava powering through underground tunnels, reaching temperatures so hot that the rocks themselves melt!  Yeah...that's probably why.

Before we could walk within the vast underground cathedral birthed from fire, we had to go to the airport.  Recall, if you will, the unfortunate welcoming we had to Jeju that was the breaking of Matt's suitcase.  Upon arrival at the airport we tracked down our guy and he brought out Matt's 'like new' luggage.  For our troubles Matt convinced them to let us check into our flight way in advance (this will be important later).  Next we started nailing down the logistics of our quick trip to the lava tubes.

In theory, we could take the hour long bus ride, walk around the lava tubes for a bit, and be back to the airport about 1.5 hours before our flight.  So we went for it.  Since we had no idea what anything/anyone was saying, we relied on the kindness of people to get us around.  We hopped on an airport bus that took us to the main bus terminal.

These statues were outside of the bus terminal.  Creeped out...?

Through some quick communications via map-pointing we were able to 'eeni-meeny-miny-moe' our way onto the correct bus just before it left the bus station (seem familiar...?).  During the ride we were able to see different side of the island, both literally and figuratively.  We got a glimpse of the more low-income areas which reminded me of Mexico in some ways.  A unique aspect of living in Tsukuba is that a low-income area is essentially nonexistent, so I was a little caught off guard.  Another very interesting observation was their farm plots.  

All of their farm land had lava rock walls, and a lot of them.  The rocks were simply stacked on top of each other, no mortar, no nothing.  I thought to my self "They look so fragile, doesn't the wind just blow them over?"  I think wind isn't an issue because their stacking method leaves a lot of holes between rocks.  So, the wind just passes through the holes.  Bada-bing, bada-boom! 
The bus dropped us off right next to a sign that said "Manjanggul: 2 km"  D'oh!  Without hesitation we set off on our mile long walk.   



Apparently most people drive to the lava tubes.  There wasn't much of a shoulder.

Oh, cool. Tetris ahead.  

After about 30 minutes, we finally made it to the lava tubes.  The Manjanggul lava tubes are over 8 miles long, but tourists are only allowed in a 1/2 mile section.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site because it has some of the best preserved lava tubes in the world as well as some rare features.  

Walking inside is quite surreal.  This room for example seemed like it was excavated for, say, a subway.  In terms of scale, the ceiling in this room was about 30 feet up.  Much like a river canyon, you can see various levels of flow based on the horizontal lines on the walls.

As you might imagine, walking was difficult due to the lava etched floor. 

I find it hard to describe all of the aspects of the lava tubes that made them so cool to me.  So let me just say: "The Manjanggul lava tubes are the cat's meow."  I think that sufficiently gets my point across.  Matt has more photos that I would like to post, but his computer is broken so just check back in a couple of days.    

While taking in the splendor of the lava tubes we lost track of time.  It goes without saying that our antics to get back to the airport were reminiscent of a Charlie Chaplin short.  For the sake of length I will give the condensed version of the story:

A failed attempt to grab a taxi lead to us boarding a very questionable bus.  Matt and I quickly became the only passengers on the obviously outdated bus as it bobbed and weaved through the countryside in an almost chaotic fashion.  There was a moment where I thought he might be taking us to his murdering grounds.  I guess he determined not to kill us as he finally dropped us off at another bus stop.  We eventually got on another bus that took us to the main bus terminal, but we had lost at least 45 minutes and it was not looking good.  

We ended up arriving at the airport about 30 minutes before our international flight was set to depart.  In any other case, at any other airport, we would have been utterly out of luck.  But we weren't out of luck...we had already checked in.  Also, the airport (although international) is quite small.  So, we made it through security and to our terminal in 10 minutes flat.  We had, once again, escaped the clutches of poor punctuality and were on our flight to back to Japan.  See ya, Korea. 

-Seth 

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Korea - Day 3: Captain Heat MIA

Being the worry wart that I am, I couldn't sleep the night before my presentation.  This meant that I arose before my alarm had a chance to do its job.  I donned my suit, grabbed breakfast, and headed to the conference.  Interestingly, of the 29 other wind energy presentations, there was only one that even remotely related to my work.  It just so happened to be during the earliest time slot as well.  The conference was set up such that for each 20 minute slot, there would be about 5 simultaneous presentations occurring in different rooms.  They were separated into categories such as Wind Energy, Hydrogen, Solar, Biomass, ect.  The first presentation really set the tone for the rest of the symposium...

Ummm...permission to speak freely...?  Thank you. 

To put it simply, I was disappointed with the presentations most of the time.  Perhaps I'm too much of a presentation snob by letting these things eat at my soul.  Maybe my expectations were too high going into this professional, international gathering of scientists and engineers.  Then again, public speaking isn't the forte' of scientists and engineers.  You know what is though, math.  And you can bet they let everybody know with their huge equations that they put up on the screen.  

"Hey man, thanks for putting those huge double integral equations on the screen that it took you months to solve.  Now just give me a couple seconds to decipher the variables and understand their implications...Great, thanks!" 

NO!  In case you didn't pick up on the sarcasm, that is not an effective way to present this stuff!  All of those minuet details are what your technical paper is for.  I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I seriously doubt very many people can process these equations in a matter of seconds.  Not only was there a lot of this big equation business, but almost every other golden rule of public speaking was broken.  So...I cringed as I sat through presentation after presentation of habitual screen reading (back to audience), laser-pointer abuse, and PowerPoint slides that were nothing more than a huge block of text. 

This was from a plenary speech.  And yes, he read that entire block of text for about 2 minutes.  At least he read the English paragraph, not the Chinese.

The main point I want to get across from this (unnecessarily) long rant is this: Now, more than ever, I understand the need for individuals in technical field to take some form of public speaking classes.  Many times there were no questions during the Q&A session because nobody understood what had been happening for the past 15 minutes.  However, on the bright side, this did have two positive consequences.

One good thing about this plethora of poor presentations was that the diamonds in the rough gleamed ever brighter.  This made me especially excited to sit in on a rare lecturer who was articulate.  Namely, the fellas from Hann-Ocean Technologies and their two presentations on Hexifloat and Drakoo.  The company has a great idea for a renewable power generating station that incorporates wind, solar, tidal, and wave energy into one system.  You can check it out by clicking here.  Throughout the conference, we got to know the two representatives quite well (more on that on the new post).


The other pleasant outcome from these presentations was a lack of pressure for mine to be perfect.  It was like in school when I would always try to follow the kid who I knew had the worst presentation.  I would look good in comparison.  Its a time-tested formula that can be seen in high schools everywhere (i.e. attractive girls surrounding themselves with ugly girls).

This contributed to my presentation being, in a word, easy.  Aside from one or two technical difficulties, my lecture went off without a hitch.  The questions that were asked (a sign of comprehension) were answerable so I didn't look like a bumbling idiot in front of everybody.

Standing in front of the oral presentation schedule for the Wind Energy room.

Following my presentation I went upstairs to drop off my computer and unwind before the dinner banquet. 

Big ice sculpture behind desserts.

Waaaaaaay more people showed up to the banquet than I had seen all day.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that dinner was the only thing some people attended. 

Before we could rush to the buffet line (thats how they do banquets in Korea), we watched a 20 minute magic show.



When they announced that we had to sit through a 20 minute magic show before we could eat, I got angry.  Rather, I was getting 'hangry' (hungry-angry) as my brother would say.  However,  I found myself content with the entertainment once it started.  I especially loved that "Inspecter Gadget" was one of their songs.

Matt and I found ourselves seated next to several Japanese people, which felt oddly comforting.  We were able to have great conversations as business cards flew around the table.  The food was absolutely delicious and once we were properly stuffed, went back to our room to relax.

At this point I relished in the peace that comes after completing something you have worked so hard on.  Now I could kick back, truly relax, and help Matt with his presentation the following morning.  He worked on it for the rest of the night while we watch the Asian games (like The Olyimpics, but only Asian countries could participate).

If you are curious about the actual content of my presentation, let me know.  I will try to figure out the best way to send it to you (i.e. PowerPoint with notes, video, ect).  

-Seth

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Korea - Day 2: Gettin' Jiggy with Jeju

I woke up to ominous wind whistles coming from our balcony door.  As I lazily walked to the it I began to notice plam trees bending and swaying in the wind outside.  A quick head poke out the door informed me that today was going to be a very cold day.  This fact put a slight damper on our plans to explore the island more extensively.  Namely, I had been entertaining the idea of paragliding, but the strong winds would obviously prevent that from happening.

The main reason we stayed at this particular hotel was because it served as the venue for the ISLCT conference.  Therefore, we decided to go check out the conference rooms so we could wrap our head around the magnitude of the event, check in, get our name tags, ect.  During the registration process we were handed lunch coupons.  Niiiiiiiice!  Other than my stockpile of oranges I had (accidentally) purchased the previous day, Matt and I had not tried Korean cuisine.

We soon found the restaurant up the street and discovered that communication with the waitress was difficult.  She didn't speak English and the menus didn't have many pictures.  In a moment of desperation I asked "Nihongo ga hanashimasu ka?"  Which means "Can you speak Japanese?" in Japanese.  She very enthusiastically said yes and from that point we were able to convey our needs and questions more effectively.  Whew...I never would have thought that I would have to use Japanese to bridge the gap between English and Korean.  


Matt ordered the seafood boil as it was one of the only things we deemed "safe" to eat.  Although he did have some difficulty getting meat out of the crab and prawns.

I ordered rice served in an extremely hot stone bowl called "bibimbap."  If you truly know me, you know that the name 'bibimbap' is all the convincing I need to order it.   The bowl was so hot that even after eating out of it for 15 minutes, I was still unable to touch it without burning my hand.

My impression of Korean food is that it is both very hot and cold.  Wait!  Let me finish.  It is cold because their chopsticks are made of metal, much their food is served in metal containers, and their appetizers (daikon radishes, dehydrated baby fish, greens, bean roots) were all chilled.  All these components gave an overall impression of a cold eating environment.  However, in the same breath Korean food is all about heat.  Almost every item is coated in a thick red pepper sauce called 'gochjang'.  Even my bibimbap came with a bowl of gochjang which I added for some desired spiciness.  I found that i enjoyed the hot-hot combos the most. 

After lunch we walked around in an attempt to see some sights.  We eventually found our way to the botanical gardens.


The gardens were fairly standard, but did feature some interesting displays.  One example is the cactus room which had a cool and colorful picture comprised of red and yellow cacti (upper and lower right).  In fact, Jeju has embraced the cactus and turned it into a popular souvenir.  
 
 Jeju cactus chocolate is perhaps the most beloved cactus related item sold on the island.  

But wait, there's more.  They also use cactus as the main ingredient in tea, dye, caramel, and taffy.  Coming from the New Mexican desert, this whole concept blew me away.  Why hasn't New Mexico capitalized on its cactus in a similar way?!  Maybe it's a cultural phenomenon.  Maybe it's too weird to really catch on in the U.S.  I don't know, I'm an engineer not an anthropologist. 

From the botanical gardens we could see a huge bridge in the distance.  Naturally we walked over it and found a trail to some waterfalls.



The waterfall was stunning.  With that said, I found humor in the "no lifeguard on duty" sign.  I figured that it goes without saying, but I guess you never know...

After going back to the hotel and eating I remembered "Oh ya, I have a presentation tomorrow!"  So I did some powerpoint revisions and Matt let me practice my speech in front of him.  At that point everything seemed to be in order, spirits were high, and it was time to check out the hotel casino.

I wish I could say that I gambled all night, had a wild time, and won a lot of money.  The truth is that the casino was quite desolate, the minimums were high, and both Matt and I gambled away our allotted $50 in less than 30 minutes...dang it!  Well, at least we got a 'free' beer out of it, right?  I think it was God's way of telling me to go to bed and get some rest.  After all, the next day would be a big day.

-Seth

Cultural note: Matching on Honeymoon Island

Jeju island is a very popular destination for Korean honeymooners.  It has many quirky, exciting things for newly weds to do.  However, I didn't get the memo about couples wearing matching clothing.  Everywhere we went we saw couples wearing the exact same sweaters, vests, hats, ect.  It took me a while to get wise to it, but once I did I started trying to snap photos of them for the blog.  Actually, it seems like a pretty fun thing to do on a honeymoon.  Kudos to them.

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Korea - Day 1: That familiar foreign feeling

2:42 AM Posted by Seth 0 comments
We had taken shots of "airport bus madness" and were in dire need of a chaser.  Fortunately for us, the flight from Tokyo to Jeju was smooth enough to suppress the burning in our throats.  It was especially pleasant because we were seated in the emergency exit row, which gave us ample leg room.

Upon arrival we had been in high spirits until Matt found that his suitcase wheel had been bent beyond rolling capacity.  Awww, crap.....we waited around for some assistance and watched as the nervous airport staff tried in vain to bend the wheel back to its original position.  Eventually they gave up, which meant that Matt would get a loner suitcase while they tried to fix his.  

Filling out the paperwork for the loner luggage.  


My stack of Korean won.  Pop quiz hot shot: How much $US equivalent do I have in my hand?

While Matt was busy repacking this belongings, I went ahead and exchanged my Japanese yen to Korean won.  After Matt got everything settled with his luggage, we boarded a bus en route to our hotel.  During the hour long bus ride, several characteristics about Jeju Island became immediately clear.

1.  These statues were virtually everywhere!  They are called Dol Hareubangs which are carved out of the plentiful supply of lava rock (since Jeju is a volcanic island).  They are traditionally thought to be gods providing both protection and fertility.  Dol hareubangs are now the symbol of Jeju as they are in essentially every park, billboard, and tourist shop on the island.
 
2.  Oranges are a staple crop of Jeju.  The variety of orange is a fairly sour Mandarin orange or tangerine.  I couldn't even count how many orange grooves we passed on the highway.  Here is a photo of a truck transporting oranges.  

3.  I didn't know a SINGLE word of Korean.  At least when I arrived in Japan I knew how to say 'hello', 'thank you' and 'goodbye.'  I literally had no words in my Korean vocabulary bank.  I had been so busy preparing my presentation and paper that I forgot to make an effort to learn anything.

Upon arriving at the hotel we realized that we had hit the jackpot.  The Lotte Hotel is a 5 star luxury hotel with gorgeous accommodations and a wonderful (english speaking) staff.  Once we were lead through the maze of hallways and elevators we entered our room.  I was instantly drawn to our balcony by the stellar view.

The jaw-dropping view from our room.  Ocean on the left.  Ocular awesomeness.

Matt and I made quick work of unpacking so we could walk around the grounds and explore. We wanted to check out the beach so we headed in that direction.  Along the way we ran into a couple old ladies selling oranges.  I really wanted to try one and thus attempted to communicate "1 orange."  Again, knowing a little bit of Korean really could have come in handy...well I ended up buying 7 oranges.  I wasn't mad though, they were quite inexpensive.

This statue was a outside Pacific Playland which showcased dolphins and seals. We intended to go to a show, but never followed through. 

"Hey Matt, go act like you are talking a solemn walk on the beach." Perfect.

There was a restaurant on the beach that serves 'raw baby octopus.'  How raw?  Well, is 'still alive' raw enough for you?!  Apparently eating live octopus is fairly common in South Korea.  Um....lets just say, I steered clear of any situation that would result in me encountering a plate of living octopus.  

Following sunset, we trekked back to our hotel room.  On the way we noticed preparations for a buffet-style dinner which featured a dragon show.

Before the dragon show.

The show was apparently created with the help of the guy that runs the fire show at the Mirage in Las Vegas.  It was very entertaining with fire, lasers, projections on sheets of water, and huge robotic creatures.

It had been a long day so we spent the remainder of the evening in a state of relaxation while trying to decipher Korean television.  You can view more photos of the day by clicking here.

-Seth

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The first 11 minutes of my trip to South Korea

The entire 7 1/2 months of work in Japan has lead up the the International Symposium of Low Carbon & Renewable Energy Technology (ISLCT) on Jeju Island, South Korea.  Both Matt and I had been preparing for our presentations and paper submissions by putting in long hours at work.  I continually had flashbacks to the days of writing my master thesis (not good).  Finally, it was time to show the world the results of our research...the only problem is that we had to get to Jeju first.

Let's be honest, I have a terrible punctuality problem when it comes to public transportation, but THIS ONE WAS A DOOZY!  Matt and I had to catch the 6:00 am bus that went to the airport because we had to be on the one, single flight that connects Japan to Jeju.  We intended to get a taxi that would take us from our apartments to the bus station in 4 minutes flat.  However, a perfect-storm of mis-communication meant that Matt and I were left standing dumbfounded with all of our bags in front of the apartment at 5:49am.  At this point we only had one option and it's feasibly was dwindling by each passing second.  We looked at each other and said in desperate tone:

"Well...I guess we have to run."

The stats from our run from the Ninomiya House to the Tsukuba Center Station.  At least we burned some early morning calories.

Here are the logistics: There was 1.1 miles between us and the bus that was (probably) already accepting passengers.  Matt and I were both dressed to impress with nice shirts, slacks, dress shoes, and coats.  We each had a suitcase & backpack combo that we had to take with us and we had to be there in less than 11 minutes.  Imagine us sprinting in slow motion, theatrical soundtrack playing in the background, determined looks on our faces, our backpacks and jackets slowly drifting up and falling down from our powerful strides across the pavement.  Now take those images and erase them from your mind.  The truth is that our run lacked any form of grace or beauty.  We were like two frightened animals, striving for survival. 

I was in a state of panic as my chest pounded and my lungs burned.  The only sounds were the sounds of my clunky shoes, luggage wheels rolling on the pavement, and desperate gasps for air.  I forced myself to think of only one thing:

We cannot miss this bus.  

It was this simplicity that kept me from giving up.  Throughout the run I kept pulling out my iPod to check the time with my free hand.  Quick glances behind me told me that Matt was still running and thus, still had hope. As we got closer, it seemed more and more likely that we could pull this off.  The bus station came within view and I saw that the only bus there was the airport bus.  People were putting their luggage underneath and handing over their tickets to the driver.  We might actually make it!  For a second I thought of yelling and waving my hands so that they wouldn't leave without us, but it hadn't come to that...yet.  

An elevator would take us down to the bus so I pushed the button and looked back to find Matt closely behind me.  Upon exiting the elevator we made eye contact with the bus driver and I finally knew that we had made it!  As we handed over our luggage and tickets our bodies coughed and pumped out sweat in protest to our impromptu morning jog.  People gave us puzzling looks as their eyes fixed upon us.  We were just two sweaty minorities in obvious pain as we walked down the rows to our seats.

Matt and I found seats at different parts of the bus and quickly started shedding our numerous layers of semi-formal clothing.  As I took off my jacket and sweater, Matt smiled back at me with a look of utter disbelief that we were on the bus.  Before i could sit down the bus driver shut the door and started driving.  We had truly caught the bus by the skin of our teeth.

I wish I had enough composure to draw a smiley face and take this picture. 

I was sweating bullets.  The Banana Republic sweater I was wearing quickly became a sweat rag and I was forced to take off my shoes and socks.  Sprawled out over two seats, I noticed that my window was fogging up like crazy.  Then I looked up and noticed one other window with some serious condensation. It was the window directly above Matt's seat.

Throughout the hour-long bus ride I continued to play out the morning in my head.  What would have happened if we hesitated any longer at the Ninomiya House?  What if we hadn't purchased the bus tickets the previous night?   I'm always amazed when a large sequence of events can come down to a few short moments that determine success or failure.  I'm glad that we had made just enough correct decisions to teeter the outcome in our favor. 

Let's just say, I had hoped that we had finally learned our lesson and we would avoid these circumstances by taking caution for the remainder of the 5 day trip.  Well, it didn't exactly work out that way....       

-Seth

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I Left for Work and Ended Up on a Mountain Peak

It's Saturday.  Normally I would take this day to catch up on some Zs, watch TV, or any other leisurely activity that can be acronym-ized.  However, with the Korean conference coming up soon, I mentally prepared myself to spent at least half of the day working.  I planned on waking up early so I could work during the morning hours.  Not everything goes as planned.

Although I was a bit sluggish, the morning became productive.  I did some laundry, cleaned, and took a shower.  By 11am I was walking out of the door, fully prepared to spend at least 4 hours in the office.  The only task I had left to do was buy eye drops at the drug store on the way to work.  On that ride, thoughts began to creep into my head...thoughts about being outside in beautiful weather.  Thoughts about looking at the yellow, orange, and red leaves that now pepper the landscape.  Thoughts about how I crave the adventure of a spur of the moment, solo quest.  In the 5 minute bike ride from the Ninomiya House to the drug store, my entire daily agenda transformed.  Operation "Spirit Quest" was under way. 

My close proximity to the bus station served as a catalyst for this whole undertaking.  The new plan was to catch the bus to Mt. Tsukuba, get to the top, take some photos, and spend a couple hours doing work in a rotating restaurant while overlooking the scenery.  Essentially, I justified this trip by convincing myself that I would still get work done.

Since I was donning my dress shoes, jeans, backpack with computer, and a nice sweater I opted to take the cable car up the mountain rather than hike.  From what I could gather, today was the beginning of an autumn festival on Mt. Tsukuba.  There were stages for performances, extra food vendors, and lights throughout the trees for night-time strolls.  Quite frankly, I was taken aback at the number of people on the mountain.  This made the treks to both peaks a more burdensome as I slithered through the crowd on the trails. 

 North peak shrine. The hike to the north peak from the saddle point took about 30 minutes.  This was a similar story when I headed southbound. 

At the south peak. Notice my dress shoes with zero grip/support.

 Southeast panorama.  The view from here was worth the whole day.  Click for a larger version.

Some decorative rope hanging between the trees.

 
 I finally made it to the rotating restaurant AND, believe it or not, I actually worked for 2 hours. 

 After I rode the cable car back down the mountain, I stopped to take a couple more photos.  It started to become magic hour, where the lighting is just right. 

I decided to try this yam flavored soft serve ice cream as I waited for the bus back to Tsukuba Center.  I was surprised by the magnitude of its yammy-ness.  I guess I should have expected that.   

I made it home from the mountain just as the sun fell on the horizon.  I really enjoyed myself today.  It's amazing how liberating it feels to break out of one's self-created routine.  During the trip I listened to some fantastic music and podcasts, reflected on life, and enjoyed God's creation.  Perhaps I'm setting myself up for more suffering at work in the future.  However, in the grand scheme of life, these rare, sobering moments have a special precedence all on their own.

-Seth

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One is the Loneliest Number: A Throwback to Bachelorhood

Gone are the days of wearing everything in my closet twice before doing laundry. 
Gone are the days of having to make solo journeys to the grocery store,
Of playing video games until my eyes bleed.  
Gone are those days.  
Gone are the days of leaving the bathroom door open while I pee.  
Gone are the days of mixing together any/all remnants of leftover food in an attempt to muster up a full meal.  
Gone are those pride-less days of bachelorhood.... 
Well, not quite.

Its been almost two weeks since Katie rode the big metal bird back to the land of Liberty.  She wanted to visit friends and family, but most importantly she went to celebrate the 60th birthday of her father.  She will be stateside for a month in an effort to visit everyone.  Coincidentally, the same plane that took Katie to LAX also brought Matt's mother, Debbie, to Japan!  This meant that the Haines' would be in and out of Tsukuba as they traveled around Japan for about 2 weeks.  


All of these changes forced me to default to bachelor mode.  Without Katie around, I quickly started cutting corners on the principles that separate humans from animals.  Suddenly I find myself adhering to my personal doctrine of minimalism.  For example, I've taken to mixing rice with anything in an effort to stretch out the leftovers Katie made long ago.  I haven't done laundry, trimmed my beard, cleaned anything (except dishes), or gone to the grocery store since my better half boarded her plane.

Before your perception of me becomes skewed by what was mentioned above, consider these key factors that have enabled me to maintain this lifestyle for two weeks.  
  • The Ninomiya House provides semi-annual cleaning services for free.  So I got my apartment professionally cleaned just days after Katie left.  
  • I've scavenged off of the Haines' since they offer me leftovers when they leave town.  Also, you would be amazed at how far a batch of stew can go when you mix it with a bunch of rice.  
  • I strategically packed my clothes when I came to Japan, which has given me two weeks of outfits.  Plus, I haven't been ashamed to wear the same things over and over again.  
Alas, this behavior cannot last indefinitely.  The laundry pile looks a little too much like Mt. Fuji and my refrigerator is cooling nothing but air at this point.  I suppose I will have to put on my big boy pants and rejoin civilized society soon...

By no means am I trying to invite you to a pity party with me as the guest of honor.  I do miss Katie a lot, but I've stayed quite busy.  After all, what does a modern 25 year old dude do in his free time?  Well, crawling back to the comforts of my pre-married life, I've taken to playing guitar, watching movies/TV, taking photographs around Japan, and old-reliable; video games.    

Here is a night shot of Doho Park.  It's very close to our apartments and probably the best park in Tsukuba.

Perhaps I'm painting a more bleak (pre-pubescent) picture than my situation necessitates.  My life isn't crumbling.  I've been working very hard at AIST and keeping up with all of my other obligations such as language class.  Katie's trip coincides quite nicely with my work schedule as I will be busy preparing for a conference in Jeju, South Korea. It is called the International Symposium on Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Technology (ISLCT).  In addition to my 20 minute presentation at ISLCT, I will also write a technical paper and submit it to the Renewable Energy science journal for publication.  If accepted, my publication in the journal would be a huge resume builder.  It will also add major credibility to the work we are doing here.  Needless to say, the upcoming conference puts more pressure on my work schedule...but in a good way. 

Promotion photos from my hotel in Jeju, South Korea

In short, there is a part of me that enjoys the carelessness associated with living alone.  However, it's already ran it's course. I'm counting down the days until Katie comes back because I miss her pretty smile.  Afterall, lets face it, I'm a better person when she is around.

Side Note: Recent sampling of unorthodox cuisine

Here is a pancake drink I've been wanting to try for a long time.  It comes out of the vending machine piping hot and tastes exactly like pancakes with syrup and butter....which is weird.  Quite honestly, I could only take a couple drinks of the stuff before dumping it down the drain.  

Tea time at work is often the perfect venue to try unique delicacies such as this.  Dumpling-esque snacks with meat inside are as common as candy bars in the U.S.  As you can see, it's as black as the deepest void of space.  The blackness its self isn't the most interesting thing, it's the ingredient that is used to make it black.  Take a second to think about what a baker might add to his bread to accomplish this...   
Reeeaaady? 
As you probably didn't guess, the company which produces these little treats adds bamboo charcoal powder into this bread!  I could actually taste a small hint of charcoal as I ate it!  Surprisingly it wasn't too bad, so I finished eating it.  It was definitely one of the most unique things I've had so far.  You can see other foods made with charcoal by going here.

-Seth

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"Holy huge hanabi, Batman!" - The Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition

Lets be honest with ourselves, fireworks are awesome.  I, personally, have never heard anybody speak to the contrary.  Try to imagine this conversation:

"Hey dude, wanna hang out with friends, eat some food, and watch massive, colorful explosions hundreds of feet in the air?"
"Nah, man.  I'd rather stay at home and watch re-runs of Jersey Shore."

It's hard to wrap your head around what is going on here isn't it!?  That's because everyone who has been close enough to a good show loves fireworks!  Recently, I had a life changing fireworks experience at the Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition.

What makes the Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition so great is that it's just that: a competition.  The event serves as a one-two punch of advertising and entertainment.  Fireworks companies showcase the best that they have in order to entice big event organizers into hiring them.  An awesome byproduct of this is the privilege of witnessing brand spankin' new fireworks, never before seen.

Photo from Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition

Background
Fireworks in Japanese is 'hanabi' which literally means 'fire flower.'  Although it was the Chinese who invented fireworks some 2000 years ago, Japan has really embraced them. In fact, in the 1860s Tokyo got so amped about fireworks that they shot them off every single night over the course of two summer months each year.  Yeah, they're cool, but every night!?  No thanks.  Eventually they toned it down to a couple festivals per summer.

Another testament to their passion for blastin' is the world record 48" (4 feet) in diameter shell from the Niigata prefecture (pictured below).  This behemoth weighs about 900lbs and gets shot up over 1/2 mile high.  Once it reaches full bloom it spans slightly less than 1/2 mile!  Since they only launch these in Niigata, we weren't able to see this big boy in action. 

Here he is, in all his 48" glory being loaded in a mortar tube by crane.

Our firework viewing venue
If you've been keeping up with the blog you will remember out friend, Junichi, and his wife, Kaoru, from Agape International Chapel.  They invited us to their apartment in Tsuchiura to view the show, which didn't start until 6:30.  We were told to come around 3:00 to beat the rush, but we decided to leave a little later.  It wasn't until we got close to the launch site that we realized why we should have left early...

We were forced off of our bikes and had to walk in a endlessly long line.

Shuttle buses were bringing people from all around Tsuchiura and dropping them off here.

We braved the chaos a little longer before finding Junichi's apartment right smack in the middle of it all.  His apartment building was fenced off to keep the 100,000+ people from invading his parking lot.  Most of the spectators tried to have the best view by sitting in rice fields or river bank.  In fact, Junichi said that some people come claim their spot as early as 5am that morning!  Dedication or idiocracy...?

Tamaya.....Kagiya!
Not long after arriving, Akira and his wife, Masako, joined us as well.  We visited with each other for a while and commenced adult beverage consumption.  Then, as the twilight faded, the show started...

Junichi said that two years ago those buildings weren't there so the view used to be perfect.

During the competition, there were two stations where companies would launch shells. This particular company, however, used both stations and all of the space in between for their show.  It was the best show of the night. 

As the shells travel upward you hear people saying "Tamayaaaaaaaa..."  Then when it explodes they say "Kagiya!"  These are the names of two very famous families of pyrotechnicians in the 1700s and 1800s.  Back then, people used to cheer for their favorite company by shouting out their names.  It has since become a custom to shout this out as you enjoy the show.

Sorry for the terrible photo, but you can see that some fireworks made very distinct shapes.  To me this guy looked like a Pacman ghost.  There were also hearts, smiley faces, UFOs, ect.

Pictures don't do them justice.  Video is a little better because you can comprehend the magnitude, but it's still no substitute for the real deal.  Here are a couple of videos from this year's show (not my videos):



One huge difference from any fireworks show I've seen in the U.S. is that this show lasted much longer.  Most shows in America last about 30 minutes whereas the large Japanese firework displays last 2+ hours!

Another dissimilarity is that only recently have they started syncing shows with music.  When this did happen, we could faintly hear music from loudspeakers in the distance.  It hasn't become popular enough to broadcast over the radio yet.  Thinking back, every 4th of July I can remember we would tune our radios to a station and listen to an all-American line up of "Born in the USA", "Proud to be an American", " and "The Star Spangled Banner" during the fireworks show.  Obviously, that wasn't the case here.   

The pupil becomes the master
Throughout the course of the two hour spectacle, we devoured a fair share of noodles, rice balls, salad, and stir fry.  Following the show we decided to stay a while to let the crowds disperse.  How would we pass the time...?  Well, eating of course!

Junichi brought out his small propane burner and tacoyaki plate.  Takoyaki, or fried octopus balls, are made by pouring a batter into half-sphere burners.  You then drop cheese, chives, and octopus (or 'tako') into the center of the batter.  You can really put anything you want, but this is the more traditional recipe.  Once the bottom half has cooked, you use a small metal rod to flip them over and cook the other side. 

Akira making sure the batter is ready.

Akira was proclaiming that he was the takoyaki master.  Partly because takoyaki originated in his hometown, Osaka.


After the first batch, Akira taught Chelsae how to do it.  This is her cooking her very first takoyaki.

Add some Japanese sauce, fish flakes, seaweed, and mayo and...wallah! Takoyaki!
(photo from chickchicksewing.blogspot.com)

Everyone was impressed with how well Chelsae did so they called her the new "takoyaki master."  After we finished eating (again), we decided the crowds had left so we could ride home easily.  Before we mounted our bikes, we took one last photo with everyone. 

Once again, I'm amazed at how blessed we are with good friends and good times.

You can learn more about Japanese fireworks here and takoyaki here.

-Seth

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