Memoirs of a Teacha-Ch.5- The Social Samurai

I'm back!!! Its been little over a month and although my blogging has been out of commission, the saga that is Emrah continues. As I write this, I am looking out a window at a single Sakura tree and can't help but contemplate a striking comparison with the saga of Emrah. Japanese society values aesthetics and presentation above many things. It is no wonder that the Sakura tree with its haunting majesty and creamy, pinkish cherry blossoms is held in high regard here. It is truly a beautiful sight to witness. The Sakura tree is just branches for the majority of the year. But around this time, it blossoms and is in full bloom for only 2 weeks. The wait is justified. Similarly, the chronicles of EMURA take some time to bloom. The wait will be justified...
So make yourself comfortable, light some candles, and pour yourself that favorite drink because it is now officially time to Emrah!

I must confess. A main reason why it has taken so long to blog is because I feel I can't deliver interesting accounts of my adventures anymore. Being in a country that does not primarily speak my native tongue has caused my comprehension of English to deteoriate. I am out of sync with the North American world. I hardly watch English movies. I hardly listen to English songs. I hardly read English books. Writing this very sentence feels like its taking more mental energy then it would've back home. In Toronto, I was a very social person with many social activities to participate in and many people to talk to. My lifestyle of being in constant communication with the people I care about was the fuel for my mind staying imaginative and creative. As human beings and social animals, we are meant to interact and communicate with others so that we may learn about ourselves and the world around us. Socializing makes us aware, gives us valuable perspective, and keeps us sane. Teaching basic English to children 10-12hours/day, 5 days/week takes a toll on your mind and spirit. If I did not have my weekends to be SOCIAL, I would no doubt, go insane. However, each weekend, I notice my vocabulary getting more and more limited. I'm starting to stutter. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to express what I am feeling. Its so frustrating sometimes. On the other end of the spectrum, theres the Japanese language acquisition. I guess if I'm gonna start losing one language, I might as well learn another one.

Which brings us to Japanese class and the various other activities I find myself doing to compensate for my English loss. Class is great! I'm surprised at how fast I am learning this new language. Next month, my Japanese teachers are taking Aaron and myself to an Onsen resort. Should be interesting to say the least. In addition to that there are the Ninjitsu classes. Coooool is the operative word here. I have always enjoyed physical activity but these classes are taking my physicality to new heights. Unfortunately, they are going to be cancelled due to the lack of students but to compensate, a different form of martial arts will be taught at a different location(don't know which one yet). Moreover, theres the random solitary missions I take to sight see or shall I see people see. Minatomirai, Shibuya, and Harajuku are great places for shopping but even better, people watching. I usually bring my guitar, go to the local conveniance store, grab a few beers, and just sit in public writing songs about the wacky and wonderful faces that grace my way.

This past weekend I took part in the yearly festival of Hanami (cherry blossom viewing party). It was a very unique experience. Some friends and I and a frisbee went to a park in Harajuku filled with Sakura trees. The sight I saw was nothing short of an outdoor rock concert. There were thousands of people setting up picnic style under the trees. Everywhere I looked, there were people sitting in little circles eating and drinking the day away. It was amazing! An event like this would never be legally tolerated in Toronto. There were food and alcohol vendors throughout the park. At night, the DJs came out and everyone got into a tribal like, alcohol influenced stupor. I'm glad I was able to be part of this ultimate union of alcoholism and nature.

Moving on, let us discuss my new roommate, Agent Smith. Or as I like to call him, Hugo(Weaving). The other day at the office, he was dicking around at his desk. I told him that he should probably move to another cubicle so that he would not be in plain sight of the director while he slacked off. His response was that he felt a good energy about his current work space. I simply dismissed this eccentric comment and thought nothing of it. That night, at home he decided to elaborate on his 6th sense of picking up certain energies. "Sure", I thought. "Why not"? I'm a very open minded person who enjoys a good interesting, educational conversation now and again. I think everyone has at least some degree of extra sensory perception in them. Some people are just more in tune with the world around them. I should've just ignored him...He was abit too much for my cup of o- cha. Hugo went on to say that he felt a strong vibe from my bedroom since he first moved in. He feels as if someone is in my room even though I might not be. To make a long, weird story short, he runs upstairs, brings down a pack of tarot cards, lays them out in a pentagram shape on my bedroom floor and goes into a trance. I'm not one to discriminate anyone's personal beliefs but to just walk uninvited into someone's private space (my bedroom) and do something like that made me angry. But what am I gonna do? I live with this dude. As much as I wanted to headbutt him and tell him to get the F*** outta my room, I couldn't. I don't want to cause unnecessary tension. So after his "reading" of my room, he tells me that there are two entities living with me. A guy and a girl. I called his bluff and asked him to read other areas of my room of which I felt "strange vibes" about(besides the underwear gnomes,there is nothing strange about my room).He went to say some other random paranormal bullshit. ARGH!!!! Once again, my uncanny ability to attract colorful situations and characters is validated. BTW, like Schizo, he also teaches children...

On a lighter note, I'm gonna join up with the most popular band at my gig venue and be their frontman vocalist for a few shows in the coming weeks. Three Japanese guys and me. Lookin forward to it.

More to come,
ME