This is the ninth mp3 letter ‘written’ to my nana and RSS fed. I ride a bike to school and talk in stuttered phrases due to pedaling or distraction. There is some apologizing for this. After a quick stop at the Family Mart for some lunch we listen to ‘One Great City’ by The Weakerthans off their Reconstruction Site album [Golden Boy photo from Miss Vincci (cc) on Flickr]. The bike ride home is spent rambling.

This is the Eighth Letter to Nana in which I ramble on my way home from a school in North Iwata, and jump on a train to go home to Hamamatsu. In which, I discuss teaching children, change in season / schoolyear / child-development. Also, some Japanese school system attire, upcoming plans for Golden week and we hear “Do You Like Icecream?” ‘Lime’ Level Unit 11 Song, “Paper Plates” by Butter Vaughn Kingson, along with what it’s like to ride on a train in Japan.

The sound quality may or may not be so great due to my lack of meticulousness in monitoring the peaks. Also, there may oor may not be too much “train-listening” time. I may, or may not be apologizing for these things.

This is the seventh Letter to Nana in the series in which I write from my school in Iwata and walk about 15 minutes to the station to go home for the evening. I discuss my dad visiting, how it’s odd living again with my father, and how much fun and frustrating it is to travel with him.

There is some talk about the awkwardness that seems to surround a foreigner living in Japan. This talk may or may not be interesting or insightful or important. I don’t feel as though it’s offencive, but it may be, although I’m not sure how. What I do know is that, for whatever reason, it’s awkward to talk about. This is really why I am bringing it up, so that I can explore why it is so awkward.

Although this has been discussed to death, and shown in film and television, It’s another thing entirely to experience first hand. I hope I’m making at least some kind of clear case here.

This is the sixth in the series of Letters to Nana highlighting Jeannine and Aaron’s trip to Tokyo in the Winter of 2008. Although there is some amount of preambling in explanation of Tokyo and their trip’s itinerary, there is a slideshow of photos set to music during the last (and better) half of this episode. Tokyo is good, and we recommend going there.

The music used is used without permission, but we’re not really concerned.
+81 - Deerhoof
(Aaron’s Karaoke rendition of Everyday by Buddy Holly)
Tout va pour le mieux dans le pire des mondes - Les Breastfeeders
The Stars of Track and Field - Belle and Sebastian

You can Download Letters to Nana 6 here (Requires Quicktime).

The music in this video is used without permission. Sorry?
Xavier Rudd - Green Spandex
Jose Gonzales - Heartbeats
The Weakerthans - Our Retired Explorer

You can Download Letters to Nana 5 here (Requires Quicktime).

The fourth letter to my nana where there is an apology about the fourth letter not including pictures of the kansai, but an explanation that they will be coming soon.

Christmas in japan is stranger than it is back home. However, they have more reason for it to be a consumer holiday than ‘westerners’ do…

Speaking of consumerism, I talk a bit about my newest purchase/favourite thing in japan, the kotatsu and the strangely cold-but-not-canada-cold japanese winter.

I mention seeing a punk show, in particular a band called Blue III, and also some troubles with eating vegetarian in japan, and in general missing being looked after in terms of my meals.

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

This is the third letter in the series of letters to my Nana In which I review a paper I had written for a seminar several weeks ago concerning getting to know Japan.

Unfortunately, I am a rambling mess. Hopefully this at least gets us thinking about some ideological differences between how ‘Western’ notions of the individuals are different than those of the Japanese. Fear not, there are many more rambling entries to come I’m sure. (Also, here is a blog post on this same topic that I hope might clarify a few things I’m trying to get at.)

There is also some discussion of my upcoming backpacking trip through the Kansai (Mid-west) area of Japan.

This is the second letter in a series of letters to my Nana.

In which, there is some discussion of my being sick, and how children are a bit dirty. Also, a teaser of my discussion of social and political theories of the Japanese social system.

As well, Don, my brother-in-law-but-not-really-in-law is visiting me for a month, and there is some discussion of him sharing limited space with me, what we’ve done over the weekend including the Daidogei festival in Shizuoka (which is near Hamamatsu), and what our travelling plans are for November.

I know this is not much of a premiere episode, sound quality, um’s and ah’s, road/rail noise, but I figure I need to start somewhere.