Erik Rolling Again, Fixes Bicycle Tire

August 30, 2001; Web Posted at 10:36 PM JST

Finally, after a week without his bicycle, Erik managed to take the bicycle to a repair shop where they promptly changed the tire for him.

 

When asked whether his inability to change the tire on his own meant that he had no masculinity whatsoever, Erik was quoted as saying, "Absolutely."

 

He talked with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, and during the candid interview, Erik described the gut-wrenching process he went through to try to salvage his masculinity.  "I tried again and again to take the stupid tire off.  I used my bare hands, and even tried using some common household spoons, but it just wouldn't work for me."  Visibly shaken, he continued, "But I'm just glad I finally found someone who was man enough to fix it for me."

 

Erik rode his bike back from the bicycle shop in the rain, which he used to obscure his tears.

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Earthquake Rattles Erik, Or So He's Told

August 25, 2001; Web Posted at 8:29 PM JST

 

In a late-breaking story, ENN has confirmed that Erik was in a relatively strong earthquake on August 25, but Erik seems to have missed the whole ordeal.

 

"I sure didn't feel it," he said when questioned outside his home today by throngs of reporters.  "What earthquake?"

 

The USGS (United States Geological Survey) reported that an earthquake registering 5.3 on the Richter scale occurred Saturday night, August 25.  The epicenter was somewhere to the west of Kyoto, or between 15 and 30 kilometers west of Erik's location in Ritto.

 

Erik, at the time, was at a party in Kusatsu, just west of his town, Ritto.  "I remember that someone mentioned that the ceiling lights were rocking back and forth.  But I didn't feel anything.  That kinda sucks."

 

In a written statement released late today, Erik called for the United States to take diplomatic action to stop Japan's "aggressive tactics."  In his condemnation of the earthquake, Erik called the recent string of natural disasters "an escalation," and "a clear violation of the ceasefire," referring to the deal brokered by US Secretary of State Colin Powell following the Typhoon Pabuk incident.

 

The earthquake caused no damage whatsoever in Ritto, and there were no reports of injuries or other problems in Japan.  Stay tuned to ENN, as always, for updates as they become available.

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Typhoon Pabuk Slams into Erik

August 23, 2001; 4:54pm JST

On August 21, Typhoon Pabuk made its way from southern Japan and on to the Japanese mainland.  Pabuk, which packed winds nearing 145 kph before making landfall, dumped rain across the southern Japanese islands and forced the cancellation of flights at Osaka's Kansai Airport before hitting Erik at about 9:04 Monday morning, as Erik made his way from the apartment to work at Ritto High School.

 

When hitting Erik, the typhoon caused the most problems not in its windiness, but rather its rainy-ness.  "I couldn't believe how hard it is to ride a bike in this typhoon," Erik said in an interview with ABC's Peter Jennings.  "My glasses had water spots on them, my pants were wet...  Good thing I brought that rain jacket."

 

Later in the evening of August 21, the typhoon's winds began hitting Erik through his apartment windows.  "I eventually just had to close the windows," he said, wearily.  "You know, I've barely been in Japan two weeks and already they're bringing out the natural disasters.  #$*@!"

 

Typhoon Pabuk, a name meaning "big freshwater fish" in Laotian, was tracking along the Japanese archipelago on Thursday, August 23.  It caused flooding along coastal areas on all of the major Japanese islands, but was expected to move out to sea late on Friday, August 24.  Erik was quoted as saying, "Good."

Photos: Reuters

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Erik Immobilized as his Bicycle Gets a Flat

On August 22, Erik tried to ride his bike to Kusatsu, the next town over, to hang out with a friend and watch a movie.  Unfortunately, just as Erik hopped onto his bike, he had to hop back off.  Why?  A flat tire.

 

"This is unbelievable," Erik said in an interview the next day on the Live with Regis and Kelly syndicated morning television program.  "I don't know if the typhoon did it, but I just can't believe that my bike already has a flat tire.  What am I supposed to do now, walk?"

 

Erik's bicycle is a brand-new Bridgestone/Firestone model, which was generously purchased for him by the Ritto Board of Education.  Still, Erik seemed unimpressed.

 

"Now that I think about it," he told Regis, "it sorta makes sense.  It is a Firestone tire, after all."

 

Erik planned to take the bicycle to a repair shop sometime on August 23 or 24.  See the updated story in this bulletin for more information.

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Erik Begins Work at Ritto High School 

The heart and soul of my trip to Japan, of course, is teaching English at my local high school as an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher).  I'm just getting to know Ritto Koko (Ritto High School), and already I like the place a lot.

 

Before coming to Japan, I had worried that my supervisor and fellow teachers would be upset that I know very little Japanese, and I had this image of them simply being strict, formal, and generally unfriendly.  I couldn't have been more wrong.

 

My supervisor is amazing and speaks wonderful English, and she has been very helpful in helping me settle in to my job as well as my new surroundings in general.  She even took me shopping and helped me set up a bank account and an answering machine (which insists on greeting callers in Japanese).

 

The principal and vice-principal of the school are similarly friendly.  Despite the fact that they speak very little English, we've managed to have some fun together already.  The vice-principal and I have watched two or three high school baseball games on television when we were "working" this week.  High school baseball here is HUGE -- everyone watches on TV much like Americans watch the NFL.  Crazy.  Anyway, we've done some male bonding over baseball.

 

The other teachers at Ritto are laid back and have shown an interest in me, so they're more than I could have hoped for.  I've met with a few of the teachers to discuss lesson plans, but I suspect we'll discuss that more as the first day of classes approaches.

 

I actually start in the classroom on September 3.  But first, I must give a speech -- in Japanese -- to the entire school on September 1, at Opening Ceremony.  Should be quite an adventure.  Stay tuned to ENN for more updates, including photos of the school and my coworkers...

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Erik Visits Historic Kyoto

On several occasions now, I've taken the 30 minute train ride to Kyoto, which as been billed as the most beautiful and endearing city in Japan.  I must admit that I feel lucky to live so close, but I've only begun to explore this large, remarkable place.

 

The most exciting time I've had in Kyoto was on Thursday August 16, when I heard about this incredible nighttime festival in Kyoto during which enormous fires in the shape of Japanese characters are lit on the mountains surrounding the city.  I went with a bunch of fellow JET friends, and we met with thousands of people crowding the streets in Kyoto that evening.  We had dinner, and then went outside to find the fires on the mountainsides...  it truly was breathtaking.  In the distance, just over the outlines of tall buildings, we could see this bright orange glow in the shape of a Japanese character.  Unreal.

 

Earlier in the day, we visited a Buddhist temple in the city, not too far from the train station.  This temple was the "Temple of the Founders," and it apparently is the largest wooden structure in the world.  Absolutely peaceful and quite beautiful.  I'll have photos soon, I promise.  This temple is one of dozens in the city, so I have only begun to scratch the surface of this amazing place.

 

More on Kyoto after my next excursion!

 

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Erik Settles Into New Home in Ritto, Japan

Well, I made it into my new home on Wednesday, August 8.  Ritto is what all my Japanese friends call "rural," but it seems rather suburban to yours truly.  Ritto has about 50,000 residents, and it's complete with 5 different 24-hour convenience stores, two supermarkets, two high schools, and a McDonald's.  What more could I ask for?

 

Ritto is in the southeast part of Shiga Prefecture, which is Michigan's sister prefecture.  The closest major city is Kyoto, which is about a 30 minute train ride away.  Tokyo is 2 hours to the east if you take the bullet train.  Shiga Prefecture is related to Michigan because it has a "great lake," Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater source in Japan.  It's quite beautiful, surrounded with mountains and apparently some nice beaches (although I haven't seen any yet).

 

My apartment, then, is right near the center of town.  It's a one-bedroom place, with a small kitchen/dining room, a living room, bathroom, and an office or what I like to call "wardrobe."  All except the kitchen and bath are tatami, which means they have traditional Japanese straw mat floors as opposed to carpet.  It's really very nice, and more than adequate for one person.

 

As for work... I've been going to school every weekday since moving in, but I have yet to teach a class.  My life right now consists mainly in making new friends, learning about and traveling around the area, settling in, preparing my first few lessons, and learning some Japanese.  Indeed, the biggest challenge so far has been living here without any Japanese skill at all.  It's very humbling, and rightly so.  Unlike Jerusalem and Cyprus, very few people in Japan speak English.  So, I'm doing my best to pick up some of the language so I can figure out what the buttons on my answering machine mean.  Hmm.

 

Thanks again for looking in.  I promise I'll put up some photos of my place as soon as I have them.

 

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