Sorry for the delays on the most recent post. İ imagıne they will come in a torrent in mıd july.

Because I Haven't Implied It Enough

There are two days left where my students will be in school. It is saddening. I wish that this year could go on, but I know it won't and we will all move on in different directions. Sometimes I dream about what my students will become in 5 or 10 years. Who knows. What people expected of me when I was 15 and what I became at 25 do not line up. Life happened.
I had a dream last night. I was on an airliner and was traveling with a group although I didn't register who the group was. The plane started to descend, we were landing in Moscow. As we got off the plane and started to go through customs I became very confused as to where I should go next to find my baggage and get to my connecting flight. Just then a small hand took mine. I realized that I had been traveling with my students and now they were going to show me which way to go to safely get to my next flight. Subconcious working?
I have less than three weeks until I take off for Europe. On the 18th I fly to London and spend 5(?) days there, then to Paris for 4 days. Then, back to London and on to Istanbul. I will spend about two weeks in Istanbul and eastern Turkey which should be rife with adventure.
Meanwhile I continue with graduate courses over the summer. Masochist I am. I am also just starting to delve into preparing for Japan. I fly to Japan on July25(?) where I will begin next year's cycle. It promises to be an exciting, scary, and happy couple of months.

Washington D.C.

This past week I took my 8th grade class on a trip to Washington D.C. This was the second time that I have visited my nation's capitol. The last time I was there I was the age my students are now. We had arrived in late afternoon and thought that we would walk around the memorials that surrounded the Mall. After coming topside from the subway my first realization hit me. My kids had no idea how to behave in a city. They were tripping over each other and tripping me. They would stop short and turn around, running into someone behind them. They would stand on the left side of the escalators and block the human traffic. They were pointing at people and talking loudly enough for those people to hear them. They gawked at tall buildings. It was extremely annoying. In a way I loved them for this.

In a way I wish it was just me and the kids with no parents. It was nice to have them with, but I felt like I was stuck between the two worlds of the kids and the parents. Both offered a little sanity in the face of the other. Sitting with the kids for too long would make me want to yell at them to stop wrestling with each other. Sitting with the parents too long wound me in a web of stories about people that everyone knew or was related to. I was stuck between the old and the young.


One of the parents commented on how young our nation is. In less than ten generations we are connected to our founding fathers. It is true. We are a young nation, but we are not a young government. We are quite an old government. We are one of the oldest in the world. You might think of France, England, Germany, China, Egypt, Greece, etc. We have a government older than them all. Still, we are quite young. A bumbling young nation, laughing the laughter of youth. Barebacked, soot faced, grinning. It is a good thing to have an old government who tells us stories of the people it knows and those it is related to. It gives our bumbling nation the proper dose of maturity.


On one night as the parents and I sat around talking one of the students came to talk to her mom and ended up sitting down for a while. Her mom was asking me what grades I had taught and as I told her 4th-12th she also asked me what age I preferred to which I said,

"I used to prefer high school kids, but I think I have changed my mind. I like this age. (nodding to the girl) You have changed my mind. I think I might stay with middle school age."

Some days I seriously consider it. 8th graders are smart, but not yet cynical. They are witty, but not yet sharp tongued. They are crafty, but not so much so that they can deceive me. They are funny and light hearted. They are old enough to begin to understand the world, yet young enough to be eager to hear of it and be enchanted by it. Of course they can be pretty annoying too. The always want to test each other's physical limits. How far can you bend your finger back? Want to arm wrestle? Can you jump and touch the ceiling? Perhaps, perhaps, I will continue to teach middle school kids. For now though that will have to wait. For now I will return to the old world. The grass is always greener, so it goes.

The Coming Year

I've been accepted to JET and barring something unfortunate I will leave for Japan at the end of July. There I will spend my first piece of time in Tokyo and then go to my assigned city and school. I won't find out where I am being assigned until early June. Again I have to wait.
At least now I can begin to prepare. I have ordered guidebooks, novels, and langauge tools to help me get started. I also have to consider what I need to do before I go. Sell this, buy that. Find someone to water my plants. I also have to try and figure out how to continue graduate school while living so far away. This shouldn't be much of a problem because the master's program I am in is designed for just such a thing.
I'm relieved and excited. By the begining of August my soles will have another 35,000 miles on them.

Do You Ever Think Of The Things That You Don't Think About?

It has been a while since I posted here. Nothing much has been turning my wheels. I continue with graduate school which is interesting, but not worth mentioning. I continue teaching, which is interesting, but not worth mentioning. I continue looking for a job for next year, which might actually be interesting to some.

I had my JET interview in early February and there the story hangs in anticlimactic limbo. I have to wait until the first week or so of April before I can hope that I will be notified whether or not I have been chosen. In the meantime I have applied to a few other places. I applied to greater L.A. Unified, which is a fancy way of saying every school in L.A. has a chance to have yours truly as an employee. I have also applied to N.Y. District, which is a dull way of saying all of the beautiful boroughs of New York City can peruse my resume'. They would be glad to have me I’m sure. I applied to the Brooklyn Catholic Diocese. I thought, what the hell, I like being in a Catholic school here. It has its perks and a down side, but I think the perks are good for me. I also applied to St. John Basco Catholic School here in bustling Sturgeon Bay. I don’t know why I did that. I guess because it was easy enough to do and seemed like a good safety. While I am sure the school will be a good one I am not so sure that I will want to be a teacher there. I need out of Sturgeon Bay. I’m too young for this. Perhaps when I am 35 or 40 I can come back.

So those are the safety nets, which is scary. If I don’t make it into JET I am not sure what I will have the gumption to do. I suppose I would end up in N.Y. one way or the other. Bright lights, big city.
On another note, I will be traveling again this summer. I have plans in place to go to London, Paris, Istanbul, and other parts of Turkey. I may visit relatives in Germany if time allows. Also, if I get the job with JET I will be shipping out at the end of July, landing in Tokyo then who knows. So, for those of you who like to read the travel blogs the season will be coming soon. Oh… also I am taking my class to D.C. at the end of April. Good fun!

Jet Interview

I had my interview with JET today at noon. Everything turned out o.k., but for entertainment value I will give you the run down.

I had to drive from Milwaukee to Chicago. I left Milwaukee at 830am and arrived in Chicago at 1000am. It was snowing pretty fierce when I left Milwaukee which was great because one of my wipers doesn't work. I arrived in Chicago and got to the proximal area of the embassy. I parked in a structure that I knew would cost me a lot, but it was close and I wanted to make sure that I was on time. I changed into my getup, which was nice slacks, shirt, and tie. No Jacket thank you. I searched for the building and couldn't find 723 n. Michigan Avenue. It didn't exist. So I called my friend Ryan, who went into my email and retrieved the address, 737 n. Michigan Avenue. Thanks Ryan.



I went up to the suite and checked in with the front desk, then went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. A little tip, you can easily and cleanly fit a travel toothbrush and tube in your pocket for such times. I then sat for about fifteen minutes with a bunch of other applicants who were more sharply dressed than I, but looked so green I thought it was spring. Four of us were called in at one time, each assigned to a different panel consisting of three people. I liked my group. I had a man who was about 30-35, Japanese, very well spoken English and relaxed. I also had a woman who was my age, 25ish, she was a former ALT. Lastly I had another man, about 35, who was a little less relaxed and spoke English just a hair less than fluently and was very quiet. The quiet guy only asked two questions I think, so let's pass his questions up. The other two were more engaging.



Ok JET applicants, this is the part you are looking for. The first question they asked me was, "Why do you want to come to Japan?" I answered, "I want to come to Japan to experience the different religions and culture of Japan. I have read that Japan is uniquely unique and I want to explore that more." The asked me about my criminal record, how I would teach Christmas to a classroom, how would I handle culture shock, how I would handle living in a small town, how would I feel if my coop treated me like a tape recorder, what kind of school clubs could I run. I also mentioned that I had a friend in JET who was signing for another year. They asked where she lived and then one guy said, "Ok, what horror stories has she told you?" I said, "Nothing, almost all of it has been positive which is why I am very interested in joining the program myself." They pressed me again for some bad things, so I told them about how during the rainy season on Okinawa she had trouble with some mold on the floor mats of her apartment. They liked to hear that.

After I mentioned religion in the first answer they kept coming back to that. I had more than a few questions about religions and what I hoped to explore with that in Japan. I remember one was, "If someone said that Christianity and Americans were violent and used Iraq as an example what would you tell them to change their mind." I think I answered that, "Some Christians and Americans are violent, but to characterize an entire society by the actions of its government is not right and will lead you to incorrect assumptions." To which they replied, "Do you mean the American government or the current administration?" To which I replied, "The current administration of course. Our president has less than a 33% approval rating, meaning that less than 1/3 of Americans approve of the actions he is taking in office. Obviously he is not a good representation of America."


I think that fact that I had lived in Egypt was a plus, they kept bringing up culture shock, sticking out in the crowd, having the community watch you, and such things. It was nice that I could answewr with a, "been there, done that"

They did ask at the end of the interview if I had any question, to which I replied,
"I have lots of questions. The more I research the more answers I find, but I also find more questions. I have too many to ask you right now, but since I have you here before me I would like to ask you this. You are all obviously dedicated to this program. In your own words and opinions what is it about Japan or JET that you would tell me or someone else that would attract me or them to it?"

I think that I stumped them with that. I am not sure if that was good or bad. The former JET answered, the other two didn't.



I got a good feeling as I left, they all gave me big smiles and that was it. I am pretty sure that I was the first one to get out of the four of us that went in, but I was also the first to go in. During the interview there were no awkward pauses or stuttering. I didn't fidget or slouch. It was good. I also didn't cross my legs because I had read a blog previously warning against that. I have high hopes. I don't see why they wouldn't take me. Seriously, compared with the lot that I saw, I am obviously the best candidate. Now I just have to wait until the first week of April to find out if I am in or not. In the meantime I will pursue job leads in the states.

JET, Round One

Congratulations! We have completed the review of your application for the
2007 Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program and are delighted to inform
you that you have been selected for an interview in Chicago.

Really? Me? Wahoo!

Happy New Year

You feel like you are going to die. I suddenly dawns on you why people die of exposure in this lake even in the summer. As your extremities get colder your heart beats faster, trying to pump blood into areas going numb. Of course your hands and feet go first. They start to feel heavy and painful and then you don’t really feel them at all. Your breath becomes more labored and your skin turns red. All in a matter of seconds your hangover is gone and replaced with new found energy to get out of the water, but you can’t move fast enough because your feet are frozen. Emerging from the icy water you scramble for a towel or blanket, but have a hard time holding on to it because your fingers have lost some dexterity. As your buddy hands you a beer you realize how much fun you just had faking your body into thinking you were dieing.
That’s right; it’s the Polar Bear, a northern tradition. Every year on New Year’s Day men, women, and sometimes children gather on the frigid shores of bodies of water to welcome in the New Year with a cold bath. This year I was in Milwaukee for my cold bath. At noon the appointed horn was blown and about a hundred people rushed into Lake Michigan. Meanwhile thousands of people looked on. My friends and I intended on making it by noon, but partly because of my laziness we were on a high bluff overlooking the lake by the time the horn blew. Soon enough we were on the beach, disrobing and getting ready to go in. I strapped on my sparkly silver crash helmet and starting weaving through the crowd to find my icy fate. We ran in and took a dive, as we came out people cheered and flashes went off. A few of our buddies had gone in before us and so came to pose with us for pictures. Of course our gear was a little bit weird, but there were other people there who were far more interesting.

On guy went into the water with a tuba while he played On Wisconsin, Wisconsin’s fight song. That was pretty good, but was bested about ten minutes later by a samurai. He was dressed in full regalia, swords and all. Most people run into the water, take a dive, shake a little and then slowly make their way back into shore. It’s expected to do that at the least, otherwise it doesn’t really count. The samurai took it to another level. He slowly walked into the water and just kept going, slowly. After he got about thirty feet out he turned around and raised his swords and then went under. After shaking off he slowly returned to shore. He must have been in the water for a few minutes. It was a great time and I can’t wait until next year!

The Gift Of The Magi

The other night my brother called me. He was shopping at Target and was wondering whether or not our grandfather would like a gift set of cheese and crackers for Christmas. I said, "I don't know, I mean, I guess he would, yeah ok, just get that." After I had hung up I mulled over the gifts that I myself had bought, I did something a little different from usual this year. I bought only one gift for each of those people in my immediate family, with a couple of exceptions. I was trying to harken a feeling of last year's Christmas.

I was in Germany for Christmas last year and on Christmas Eve the family came together, after a nice meal, to exchange gifts. Each member gave only one gift to each of the other members of the family. After thanks and hugs we headed to the local church for Christmas mass and later came home to have a beer or two and go to bed. I loved last Christmas very much because of its simplicity. Each gift was carefully thought out because it was the only one you would give to that person. When unwrapping was done there wasn't a huge pile of packaging and paper, but a small amount of trash.

In America a lot of people go out to shop for presents with little in mind of what to get. They simply wander around the store until they see something someone they know might like and on and on until everyone on there list is filled. Everyone has to make sure and give gifts to co-workers, the mail man, friends, and family. Come Christmas day a bonanza of wrapping paper and gifts litter the floor of households as families play with new objects. Objects that are nice and fun, but not really to the core of what would be useful or meaningful for them. So why do we feel this compulsion?

For more than a century we have interfered in the matters of other countries to protect our economic interests. In the back rooms of our minds we justify these things as being humanitarian efforts of the U.S. We think this because this is what we have been told is true. It is not.

We have installed new leaders whose politics were traumatizing to their countries or conducted operations that were clearly undemocratic. In time the people of those countries fomented anger towards the U.S. and eventually we received the backlash. The most poignant in our minds in the past twenty years would be Iraq. We have protected the interests of American investments at the cost of human lives and the reputation of the United States. That is what we are doing, simply protecting investments that private American companies would like to retain, not human rights or America's freedom. These acts of thuggery diminish U.S. policy, strip it of its lawful conduct, and reduce its prestige.

Suddenly one day a few planes crash and kill thousands of Americans and we are left wondering what is going on. When we learn who did this we can't understand why they could feel this way about the United States. In exasperation we realize that these people were not alone, much of the world has similar feeling. We look around at each other and our politicians and try to retrace our steps to find out what we can do to prevent this from happening again, but the answer is shrouded by years of being lied to and distorting the truth. We realize many of these people have been bullied for decades. Martin Luther King realized this when we couldn't figure out a good way to win in Vietnam. As U.S. policy makers scratched their heads he said this about the Vietnamese.

"We have destroyed their two most cherished institutions: the family and the village. We have destroyed their land and their crops….We have corrupted their women and children and killed their men."

These covert actions are usually taken by the Executive branch which lies about what it has done or plans to do to the congress thereby undermining the congress's constitutional role in our democracy. By downplaying these covert and illegal acts by the government we become narcotized from thinking about such issues. Presenting our American actions in a vacuum rather than as responses to multinational corporations and civil rights actions we end up mystifying the creative tensions between the people and their leaders. All this encourages us to throw up our hands in the belief that the government determines everything anyway, so why bother, especially if its actions are usually benign. Thus we minimize the power of the people and, despite our best patriotic efforts, take a stance that is overtly antidemocratic. As Richard Nixon said,
"When information which properly belongs to the public is systematically withheld by those in power, the people soon become ignorant of their own affairs, distrustful of those who manage them, and eventually incapable of determining their own destinies."
He would know.

Most of us can realize that bigger is not necessarily better. Today, rather than boasting of our consumption we are more likely to lament our waste. In terms of using the world's resources and spoiling the environment Americans are the world's most irresponsible citizens. In our lifetimes each of us are expected to generate about 150 tons of garbage (that means outside of recyclables) and we are expected to generate 9.8 tons of particulate air pollution. These numbers are just the tip of the trash-berg because what we often don't consider is that every ton of waste at the consumer end has also required about five tons in the manufacturing stage and even more at the initial site of extraction. We can all agree that Americans take more of the common pool than any other nation. We don't need so much stuff; we all know material things don't make you happy anyways. Too many people are confusing financial wealth with personal wealth.

Why do we even give gifts at Christmas? Is it because the magi brought gifts to Christ? If that is the case I must remind everyone that they brought only one gift each and with the intention that Joseph should sell them to have money with which to reach Egypt, not because baby Jesus would think they were cool and the magi would stimulate the economy.

I Once Was Him

Japan?

A few weeks ago I had a pretty bad day at school. Most of my day I
carry a positive attitude and am surrounded by people who do the same.
Last week as I came into school our Title One teacher stopped me in
the hallway and held up a magazine. She said, "Have you seen this?"
Yes, yes I had. UW-Milwaukee had sent me a few copies, not to mention
that I was quoted in the article. The school of Education had decided
last year to run a story on myself and my friend, Elina. We had both
gotten our degrees at the same time and both decided to take our
teaching overseas. She had gone to Japan and I went to Egypt.

To the point. The article was a source of pride for my school, as it
should be. I was proud, but I am naturally a humble person. So I
didn't tell anyone and didn't want the attention. Word spread around
school and soon all the teachers and students knew. I didn't plan to
stay this coming year. I wasn't ready to tell everyone and wasn't happy
to be found out. In the article it states that I am going to teach
in Thailand. This is not entirely accurate. I do plan to go abroad
again, but I cannot be certain where. At the time I answered the
journalist's questions I thought I might go to Thailand. I was looking
at a Catholic high school in Bangkok and had some friends that were
heading that way as well. By the end of the summer that notion had
fallen through and a new one had taken its place.

A few days ago I mailed in my application to the JET program
(http://www.jetprogramme.org/index.html). I am applying for a position
as an Assistant Language Teacher. I am supposed to be placed in a
public school in Japan. ALTs assist with classes taught by Japanese
Teachers of English. This could involve team teaching or something
like that. I would probably have to assist in the preparation of
materials and hold extra-curricular activities, but not actually be in
charge of the class, which is good and bad. I'm sure that I will miss
holding the reins, but in a way it is a really good thing too.
Currently I am pursuing my Master's in Education through UW-STOUT’s
internet program. I a currently doing this while teaching full time and also working a
part-time job (8-20hrs) on the weekend. It is very tough. It is my
understanding that the ALT position is more like an 80% position. This
seems like a perfect fit. I get to go overseas, keep teaching, and
pursue my Master's. Although I still don't know if I have been
accepted to JET.

I only made two requests on my application, to be in a city of more
than 500,000 and to be placed near Elina. It is always nice to have
friends near to you. Plus the fact that I am actually licensed to
teach must be a huge plus. You don't actually have to be a licensed
teacher to be considered for a position, or even have a degree in
education. All you need is a Bachelors degree and numerous application
materials to be considered. Most of the application is something that
makes sense to me. Routine information like proof of citizenry and a
mission statement. One odd thing was the letters of reference. The
reference writers had to mention JET specifically in the letter. Then
they had to sign that letter. Then they had to fill out a reference
writer information sheet and sign that. Then they had to take those
two signed documents, seal them in an envelope and sign the seal of
the envelope. The level of security seemed a bit much to me. After I
sent out the application I had a little panic attack because I thought
I had missed one thing and the directions state that everything must
be sent in one package and will not be accepted otherwise. Everything
turned out ok, but it jolted me into thinking about what will happen
if I am not accepted.

A few weeks ago when my uncle Hans was visiting he asked where I was
going next year and then suggested Alaska. I balked initially, but in
the next few days and weeks the idea gestated in my head. When for a
brief moment I thought I had botched my JET application I checked in
to teaching in Alaska. It seems as though teachers are needed. One
site I looked at estimated a starting teacher’s salary at 52,000. I
searched for openings and job fair information and it was all very
interesting. To check out Alaska's Education site look at
(http://www.eed.state.ak.us/). Although the moment of panic has lapsed
Alaska is still in my mind and is now my secondary choice if for some
reason things don't work out with the JET program. So in the coming year I will end up in Alaska, Japan, or maybe somewhere else. Certain things I prefer, but it really makes no difference as long as I can keep teaching. While I am certain I am uncertain. My place is held by a shoestring. My life is lead by the blind desire to keep moving forward.

They said make a funny face, I did. Cheers to me.

The End of the Road

For now it is the end of the road. Another few thousand miles of travel, another country the three largest U.S. cities, one new state, and best of all a chance to spend time with my freinds.

Once I had asked a my girlfreind where all her freinds were. It seemed as though she didn't have any, I never saw them for months. In response to my question she called a number of people in Chicago, San Franciso, and Brisbane Australia. I now realize that I am fast becoming the same way. In my home town I have only one person I really talk to who is not family. Other than that most of my freinds are elsewhere. The span from New York, LA, Istanbul, Cairo, Denver, Vancouver, Badsackingen, and of course Milwaukee. Like many other aspects of my life, my freinds are becoming scattered.

I hold great affection for those I just visited, thank them for their help and hospitality, and hopefully I will seem them or you very soon wherever you may be.

MTA

New York's Mass Transit is very good, although it was not the first in the world as many believe. London had the first subway (tube).

St.Patrick's and Alexander Hamilton

Strawberry Fields Forever

LA Aquarium

One day Peter, Arni, Yumi, and myself dawdled to the LA Aquarium to get Yumi outside of the house for a while, she had been asking all week to go and finally Arni relented. It was quite fun. We fed the birds and touched Rays. Rays feel really smooth but also slimy. It was pretty exciting to get to touch them and they actually liked the attention as long as it was gentle. We saw all manner of aquatic life like sharks, stars, seahorses, urchin, turtles, and an aray of larger fish. Generally it was good to get out for a little while.

Staten Island Ferry / The Colosus of NY

Since I was old enough to appreciate it and ask about it my grandfather has told me stories about how when he was in WWII (the big one) he was on a destoyer called the USS Savage. Many times he left and entered NY harbor. He always ends his stories with, "I was always sad to see her go and glad to see her when I returned." So when I was in town I had to stop by the old ladies house and tell her that John Nelson says hello and he is doing fine.

Trade Center 06'

Of course while in NY I had to see what ground zero looked like. Basically it looks like a hole in the ground, as you can see by one of these photos. The entire area is fenced off and around some of the parameter there are story boards depicting exactly what happened at what times. On some of the fencing there was black board where people wrote messages such as the one above, if you can't read it this is what is says.

Yo New York

I hope you are starting to feel better
I see that nasty scar is starting
to heal...a little...
I will always pray for your (lives??)
stay strong. You are still the
greatest city in the world

I love you

Its Not Just Another Cock and Bull Story

The New York Stock Exchange