A Little New Year Celebration from Hong Kong....once again

ITS THE YEAR OF THE GOAT!!!

Just about every international school in Asia gives a holiday

for CNY, and the closer in proximity you are to China, the more time off you get!  Indonesia being south of the equator, and a 4 hour flight away from HK, we get a good 4-day weekend which happened to be just perfect for our adventure.

The day we arrived, Thursday, February 19th marked the official turn to the Year of the GOAT!  They also say it could be the SHEEP or the RAM!  Guess it depends on how auspicious the year is to one.  Since 2015 has thus been good to us, we're inclined to believe the Year of the Ram suits it best for us. Each day promises some celebratory event in honor of the new year.  Day 1 (19th) is the kick off CNY Parade over on the Kowloon side. We decided to spend the day on that side visiting the touristy Jade and Temple Street markets, which for me makes it a complete trip to HK!  What we didn't bank on was that in honor of the biggest holiday in HK, the Jade market would be completely closed and the Temple Street market would be operating at a quarter of the stalls.  Bummed, we journeyed back toward the parade route only to find loads of people already camped out at 4 pm claiming prime spots when the parade wasn't even starting for 4 more hours!   We pictured some nightmarish additional two-hour return path to take the Star Ferry or metro back over to the HK side.  A shared nod of 'let's just watch it on TV' led us all too easily to the longest escalator in the world (2,600 feet), en route our temporary home at "the mid-levels".

Here's looking down the midlevels.  The escalator is the structure on the right, and a much needed set of stairs along side.  Much needed as there was only enough room to build one escalator between narrow buildings.  As far as I recall it runs 24 hours a day; 6am to 10 am it carries the inhabitants and workers down, and from 10 am it carries them back home!  Of course our tourist schedule didn't match the escalator's and we found ourselves doing a lot of stairs! There are tons of shops and well-patroned restaurants fully aligning this path.  You can imagine we spent about half of our time here just in transit.

Of all the great restaurants on the central-midlevels system, this one advertised something unknown to Jakarta - Fondue - just can't get this awesomeness back home.  So forget sticking to CNY favorites tonight.  Good thing my phone kept track of our steps taken that day bc the heavy, delightfully sinful fondue was only countered by the 24,300 of 'em by the end of the day. That is 10.44 miles and a grand total of 30.8 miles for the weekend. Now that is a lot of steps. The only disappointment, no place to watch the parade.

Day 2:  Set out midday...after all it IS our vacation, and therefore, our chance to relax!  It's great being an international teacher as no matter where you go there's always someone who knows someone, IF you don't already know someone there yourself!  It's not surprising that the brother of one of our really good friends here in Jakarta would offer to meet up with us in his home city, HK.  A very lovely encounter, indeed, full of great conversation and healthy food at LIFE Cafe!  It felt so normal, just like talking to our Jakarta friend, Brian, but Cork knew HK inside and out, including bus numbers to help get us on our way to Stanley market where we would shop and enjoy the rest of the daylight!  Feeling a bit sheepish (pun intended) with having skipped over Day 1 without anything of CNY, we weren't about to miss the Day 2 event, the Fireworks show!  Feeling Victoria Peak offered the best views in town, we were set to depart Stanley Market and enjoy dinner and show up there.

 

Fortunately/Unfortunately no taxis were coming to help us get there, and no bus driver would even talk to us about taking that route.  The taxi stand line just kept building up, and finally we gave up after an hour of trying multiple locations for taxis, and took the bus we came in on back to Central.  Now I also add "fortunately" taxis weren't available since it was particularly cloudy by then and unlikely to see past it for the colorful sky explosion.

Along the harbor, we spotted the ferris wheel, and while thousands of onlookers for the fireworks display were filling up the wide sidewalks, they somehow weren't thinking getting above the crowd!  Score!

 

DAY 3: We did what ever good HK citizen does for day 3 of CNY...
headed to the races to test our luck!  
There's even a dedicated CNY race...this year it was race #7!  What horse would we bet on but Gurus Dream, of course!  (Guru means "teacher"!)  The Chinese might read into Gurus' loss to tell us that it is not an auspicious start to the year for teachers!  But then again, we're not as superstitious as the Chinese who would.

Feeling particularly Chinese that day, it was about time we do as the Chinese do and partake some DimSum!  Peking Garden back at TST came by recommendation!  Easy to find right outside the Star Ferry entrance in the mall-type building, and certainly worth passing on!

As I mentioned earlier, it's not so rare to find people all over the world with one or two degrees of separation. Indeed, from a Facebook posting I made a day earlier, our friend, Dawn, from Korea realized we were both in HK! A few messages later, and we're meeting up with her, her husband, and co-worker/friend for some live music at the Hard Rock Cafe! It was a great surprise reunion in a land far from our homes.

Our final day in Hong Kong included a lovely send off by the pink dolphins near Lantau!  Truth is, they're not really pink, they're actually white!  Since they're mammals, the blood rushing through their bodies as they move displays a pinkish tone...much like we do when blushing!

Some dolphin watchers return to port sans any sightings.  We think the luck that bypassed us at the track, doubled up this day considering seeing 1 or 2 is "lucky" as told by our tour guides, and we saw at least 10 that hung out all around our boat swimming at the bow, passing underneath, breaching, and even doing flips in the air!  I'd say THAT's an auspicious start to the CNY 2015! :)

There's so much to do and so many interesting things to witness in HK, it'd be easy to return time and time again even when it's not CNY.

It's been a long time but I have not forgotten

So much has happened the past year.... plus. I finished a Masters degree, switch jobs and moved to Jakarta to teach at Jakarta International School and most importantly met someone, fell in love, proposed, got engaged and now planning to get married this summer to my fiance', Trisha.  Seen below glowing as always with her handsome male suitor...ME!

Anyway, enough excuses for not writing. I am sorry and I promise to write more.  And I will start now!!!  This is a post from OUR new blog together.  www.textbooklanding.blogspot.com

Add this to your list of blogs to follow. But keep in mind I'll still be wayfaring and writing.  So don't give up on me yet.  I have many more stories to tell and memories to pick out of this aging brain.

So enjoy a clip from Textbook Landing.  Peace Love and Chicken Grease.

Murphy



Now that we are on our way into the third full week of school if feels much easier to sit down and write.

Here's a little ditty about Murf and Trisha. Two American kids growin' up in the heartland.

Enough of that. I won't continue to try and fit our life into that great John Cougar Mellencamp classic. However, I will try and let you know what has been going on for the past few days and weeks since our last update and it will be easy because there has been a lot of fun things. Have we mentioned how well JIS has taken care of us since we arrived? Well, just in case we have not proven that to you, our faithful readers, we will give another example.
Two Fridays ago there was a big street party over at "Admin Row" where all the top administrators open up their giant homes for a school party and invite all the teachers and families.  The block party starts at 3:30 and rolls smoothly into the night with excellent food, wine, flowing margarita machines and ice cold Heineken on tap. As the twilight moved into evening the party's momentum continued with the electronic sounds of DJ Jroo. (That's what I'm calling him.) Andrew is the son of the Head of School and mixed up some Mad Smooth Beats from the 70's, 80's and 90's with modern vibrations for today's top artists.  (Don't you think I sound like a writer for DJmag?)

This brought everyone out to the street to dance and start  "Gettin' Jiggy With It". (You have to watch this.)  Think back to the last time you were at a block party....... Got it???  Were you in High School?...Junior High?...Elementary?...or was it last year?  Whichever you are pondering all of the above were on the bricks gettin' jiggy with it that night.  One of the highlights of the night was seeing a dance-off between several teachers and students.
These kids were children of teachers who had moves.  They kept calling out the teachers to the middle of the street. Some in groups of three to four and even one-on-one.  It was amazing to see them match move for move. It was one of the most memorable beginning of the year parties we've been to.

This next part is all about me. Sorry honey!!  Sunday night was a hard rockin night.  Along with 18 other guys and girls we rocked it out with James, Kirk, Robert and Lars and the rest of Jakarta's heavy metal rockers that could not wait another minute to see METALLICA take the stage. With head banging and non-stop singing from the juiced Jakarta crowd the boys of Metallica put on a loud energetic show that finished off the Asian tour.  I won't go too in depth with the setlist and happenings of the concert. I will let you know it was one of the best concerts in the recent years that I've been able to see. Here is a link to some videos for you to choose from if you need to get a little Metallica fix. (For sure you have to watch one of these.)

We have been extremely lucky to be around so many great new people.  Everyone has been too hospitable and welcoming to us.  Last week we had 3 birthday parties. The first was with our friend Kim, who I worked with in Tokyo and is in Trisha's department this year. We celebrated her 50th at a Japanese restaurant located in a swanky hotel.  We toasted the night with shochu and fine Japanese sushi, unagi and great new friends.  It was nice to get out in the middle of the week but we paid for it in the morning at 5:30 am when the alarm sounded.  It makes for a long day at work when you start before the crack of dawn. However, finishing at 2:00 in the afternoon for me and 2:40 for Trisha is pretty nice as long as we don't have a meeting. We can't always be that lucky. As the case in many big schools, we have lot's of meetings.  It is just the life we have to get accustomed to here at Jakarta International School. We have Staff, School, PLC, DRE's, BS, BS, BS. Did I mention BS meetings?

When they were all finished and the weekend had started it was off to another MS Math party where the math jokes were kept to a minimum and the food served by Ally and Shawn was at a maximum overload.  Stocked with wine, drinks and beer they put on a spread that included, fresh grilled shrimp,

baked salmon, numerous salads and Ally's "secret recipe" scalloped potatoes that added a little extra love to my handles. Yet, the night was not over there.  Next stop was our beloved Eduardo's Birthday party (pictured here in the middle), who came in new with us this year. We continued the partying theme with mugs of beer from the local dive bar DeHooi.  This place has it all. Beer, food, live music, pool tables, darts, fun people and lot's of smoke.  Everything a bar needs.

Saturday provided us with a much deserved sleep-in. I can't think of the last time we slept in til...9:00. We had some much needed time to catch up on emails and especially time together.  We find that with the move to a new school there are many occasions to get out to mix and mingle with our new colleagues and develop new friendships that will last for the next several years and a lifetime. At some point we will have to actually turn down some of these invites... but not yet. There is just too much fun to be had right now and we sure showed that this weekend with one more bday party.
We made our way out to a nice Indian restaurant to celebrate the birthday of Kate, the first person we met here in Jakarta.  The spicy food just kept coming and the V&T's were hardly empty and always topped with ice and lime.  The night included traditional dancing and even a special showing of two cobras charmed by the magical sounds of the silent flute.  Hard to beat that on a Saturday night out on the town.


Unless its teaching Ani how to make pizza.
I guess next week we will head out to the JIS cabin. Yeah, they have their own cabin that sleeps about 15. Now you know what will be next on the blog.

One last thing and it is super important.  Happy Birthday Mom!!  We are sending you miles and miles of love. I hope you received the gift from Trisha and I. Love you lots!

Take care all and we will see you on the next landing.

Neal and Trisha

Need to write to you about this place

Hey! It me, Neal. I need to tell my friends and readers sorry for the long delay in writing. Much has happened since my last post. Too much to get into. But this I know. I need to write tonight. I just spent the past 30 minutes reading some old posts. Drunken Kantor Man, The Day My Life Changed and a couple more. They get me thinking back to the times when it is less about work and more about play. So, it is time for some playin'. Let me see if I can take you back to a bar in

Tokyo about 6o years or so back. Back when times where better and cheaper.

In my neighborhood there is a little shop called Kayabara. It is just out of the exit at Kayabacho Eki on the Hibiya Line. My buddy AJ and I had walked around our neighborhood looking for a place to eat and drink. Then... we find this gem.

Well, AJ and I stroll up to this place that is conveniently located behind two parked cars in a driveway. The only way we found it was by the giant hanging red lantern. We walk in and grab a table. Instantly noticing there are only men in the place. Wait! There is one woman and she looks as she has never been here before. AJ grabs a bottle of Kirin Beer for 500 yen, which is pretty damn cheap for a liter of beer. Looking around the bar you can see why there are only men in the place. There is a thick cloud of cigarette smoke hovering above every table. Each table has about 5-8 guys crowed around a small table big enough to hold some small glasses, tiny portions of food and several ashtrays. Coupled with the small yakitori station in the corner where spewing out fumes from chicken fat dripping in the fire as the customers grill their own meat. This is my type of place.

The men are dressed in their standard black jackets, white shirts, black pants, black shoes and colored ties so to show some type of individuality. You know... normal Japanese Businessmen attire. Laughter fills the room as a new member joins the table. Everyone is letting off steam after a long 10 hour day of work. The men tip back the glasses of booze, beer, shochu and sake. Smoke a pack or two and tell lies, stories and jokes. It is a true happiness bar with everything you can want... except women. There is only one.

You see this type of place is not your typical Japanese Izakaya. It is special. It is a traditional Japanese place that has been off the map for decades. Only the good, the bad and the lucky find it. As I said no women are there. That is because they are not allowed. Yeah, that is right. Women can join men but the owner, an oba-chan (grandma), will not allow women groups. She told me 1. they talk too much, 2. complain about the state of the bathrooms, & 3. they do not drink enough. Those seem like good reasons. Right? Oh I failed to mention something very important. This bar is special, wait I said that. This bar is a traditional Japanese place. Oh, I said that too. Oh, I know. It is a coin bar. "Coin bar?", you ask. Yeah, a coin bar.

There is not a bartender, a waiter and for sure not a waitress. To get your drinks you walk up to a coin operated machine that dispenses your choice of three kinds of Shochu, Awamori, one Sake that you can get hot or cold, some Tory's a cheap Japanese whiskey and of course some beer. It cost you 100 Yen for a shot!!! That is basically ONE DOLLAR.

You grab a glass that is on the side of the machine, put it under the spout, drop in a coin and bingo; shochu, awamori, sake, whiskey or beer. Walk to the counter, where the oba-chan is selling food, and grab some ice cubes or water if you need then tilt back like the rest of the boys and enjoy the good times. AJ and I walked out of there filled up with bar food and booze and spent about 1600 yen together. About 16 dollars. We both had a liter of beer, tofo, veggies, meat sticks, 4 awamori and 2 beers. Yeah, 6 drinks each Anyone, want to come see this place? I think I am heading there now.

The Purest Feeling

There has been a lot of discussion between friends of mine who are still in Tokyo and those who have decided to leave during this time of struggles that Japan is facing and will be facing for the next years to come. To get straight to the point of how I feel living in Tokyo it is merely one simple word, safe. I don’t feel any different when I wake up in the morning. Only difference is I feel less rested because I have been up late every night for the past week talking to many of my friends on Skype who are concerned. I keep reassuring them that we are in good shape in Tokyo and the rest of the people who are outside the 30km evacuation zone. We really are. I trust the information I have received and look at it with logical thinking and remain calm. That is my way of living. I just relax and let go. But not everyone thinks the same as I do.

There are those who don’t feel they are safe and that’s is okay. If you are scared then get away. There are many things in life that we need and safety is the purest of them all. If you don’t feel safe or you feel threatened, out of control and vulnerable then take control of that feeling. Do what makes you feel is best. For those who have a family and want to take care of their wife, husband or children you go and do what is best for them and you. It’s what I would do if I had a family…I think.
But, don’t try to convince me that I am not safe. Only I will make that decision.

There is a lot of information out there circling the planet in a variety of different media formats. There are the big foreign media organizations from the US and Europe. There are the masses of people posting their personal editorials on international sites. There are those telling their story on facebook and other social networks. And there are the personal blogs, like this one. You have to decide what is true and not true. You make the decisions for your life. You make the choice that will impact your living experience for the rest of your life and you need to live with that.
I am NOT going to quote any facts or non-factual material that I have read over the week on this post. That is not why I am writing. This is about my thoughts and my feelings and I want to record them and I don’t mind sharing them with you.

I feel that much of the information that has been released is scaring people. Fear is a powerful emotion and makes people do things they would never do. Think of the last time you were so scared and you did something that was out of your realm of thinking. That is how I feel some people have reacted to the situation. Fear has driven them to do things I feel they would have never done if that had the right information.

I want to know what people were feeling when they went to the airport. I would like to sit at the airport and interview the people returning to Tokyo after they realize life is safe here and find out why they left. It would be such a good study to look into and find out why they left. Was it their pure emotion and thoughts that said, “I am not safe?” Was it the foreign media and the shocking headlines that caused the fear? Was it the governments’ demand or recommendation for voluntary or involuntary evacuations that made them go? Was it the free ticket home? There are many.

I would also like to ask those people who have stayed Japan some questions too. Why didn’t you leave? What made you feel safe and secure? Was it the cost of a flight that kept you here? Was it your job? Was it your commitment to Japan? Or, was it that you just felt safe? These are some questions I may or may not ask. I don’t know.

I do think there is going to be a change in the way people look at each other at work and on the street. I feel there will be a strong distinction between those who stayed and those who left. And this saddens me. Why do you ask? There will be no medal given out to those who stayed and continued living. There will be no certificate given to people returning for taking care of their families and thinking about being safe. The government is not going to line people up and say, “I want to thank these people for staying behind and making the country continue to proceed and move forward”. On the other hand, no one will say the opposite and call them cowards for leaving. It won’t happen. And it shouldn't’t. But, I think people will talk amongst friends and say, “They left when Japan needed them”. And this saddens me.

I have gone through some roller coaster emotions over the past week. I think back to last Friday night on March 11 when I was sitting in this same chair shaking from the constant after shocks. I was scared and uncertain of what was happening. I had just experienced a new sensation that will forever change me. They don’t scare me anymore. I have become desensitized and don’t really notice them anymore like I had before the great quake. I have made the switch back to the habitual lifestyle I have grown accustomed to in Tokyo. I am spending time with those I care about. I am walking in the sun and getting outside and enjoying the little things like a good bowl of ramen. Today, I went out and had a great TexMex dinner with some new and old friends. It’s what makes life grand and what makes me continue to move forward. Tomorrow is a new day. I will continue to be safe and I will continue to live life to the fullest.

Out for a walk in Tokyo

I have been asked some questions throughout the past few days.

"And now a few days later? Where are you? What are you doing? What are you going to do? The news seems worse every day."


This was a comment from a reader. Well, to tell you the truth. I am still in Tokyo sitting at my apartment. My school was closed this week with power blackouts. When this was announced many families and teachers left to US and other countries. I am still here with a handful of other teachers. We are basically doing the same thing we have for the past years. Meet up with each other, have dinner and enjoy life. Today, my friend stayed downtown after a fun night out for St. Paddy's Day. We woke up this morning walked to Tsukiji Market and have sushi and sashimi. We are just doing what is normal.

As we walked around the neighborhood I felt like some people were looking at us with a bit of surprise, since all foreigners have left. I keep getting more and more requests to leave. But i am doing well. I have plan to leave on Sunday for a teaching conference that I planned in January. I am not leaving because I feel unsafe. I feel quite safe. If I were in Fukushima yes I would be worried but I am not. I am in Tokyo. We have water. We have food. We have gas. Life is continuing. I was stopped by a Japanese TV crew and was interviewed. They were asking me why I was in Tokyo and I told them I worked here and this is my neighborhood. We were in the area where they sell Monja and were happy to see us enjoying the Tsukishima neighborhood. I told them this area of Tokyo is great and I love living across the river in Hatchobori. Now that is not normal. I don't get interviewed everyday. However, I did get interviewed on Tuesday as well but with a Chinese crew while I was donating blood at one of the Japanese Red Cross Centers.

I am going back to the balcony and watch the boats go by on the Sumida River. I have many more thoughts and questions to consider and I will post more soon. I need to get them out head and onto paper.

I appreciate the concern from all of you. You really are true friends.
I will be back after a little break.

Japan's Earthquake upgraded to 9.0!!

It has been a while since I have written. So now is the best time to let you know what happening. All my thoughts go out to families and friend of people from Sendai and around Japan. I hope those who are lost will be found.



As the day as gone on I have found myself to slowly slip back in my world as it was before March 11, 2011. I am back in my house sitting alone watching television and thinking about my life and how it has changed. I remember the times when I would watch world news specials on television separated by oceans and landmasses imagining what is it like to be where those people are and to feel what is happening. That imagination is no longer there. Though I am not in any physical danger now, I do feel the need to be concerned for my safety. I don’t know what is happening. All I know is yesterday was the scariest thing I have dealt with as an adult. I have seen things and been through many tough times throughout my life. However, feeling so completely out of control yesterday was horrifying.

I was sitting alone in my classroom preparing to upload photos for my class blog. Thinking about the week and how amazing it was. Monday started out with an absolute brilliant snowfall that would make any child dream of being out of school and at home playing. Yet, we were at school and we were playing. It was the beginning of what I though was going to be a great week. As the week went on and the days became warmer and then cooler again the feel of spring was in the air. Birds were singing, flowers were beginning to bloom and the weather was seemingly letting go of its grasp on winter. New life was beginning and things were changing for this year and it felt good. Little did I know that in seconds my life and many others were about to change forever in a few seconds?

It started with a little movement in my body. Something inside said to stop what you are doing and focus. So I did just that. I tilted my head back and gazed toward the ceiling and windows and noticed the red Chinese New Year's lanterns the children made were gently swaying from side to side. I stood up from my chair and looked out the window to see people moving quickly across the bridge over the street that connects Mori Complex with Robot Park. Robot Park is an area where out children play during outside playtime during school hours and is frequented by local children daily. As I see parents begin to move more quickly and the jog turns into a run. I realize it is my turn to run. Not out but next door to the room where 10 children are practicing their weekly gymnastics. I rush to the room and see them sitting by the windows getting their shoes. I express deeply and calmly how important it is to listen to my voice at this time and follow me now. “Boys and girls leave your things and come with me now. Stay away from the windows.” By this time we are in a full on earthquake. Nothing like this has ever happened to me. I am having a hard time standing straight. I briefly hesitate and think about leaving the building but realize it is not stopping. It is rolling on and on. It is no at least a 40 seconds into the earthquake and it is not getting weaker. We can’t leave we need to stay inside and take cover.

The safety doors that block the stairwells slam shut with another big jolt. The shutters fall and cracked down tight. The children look to me and see that this is not a game. There is no fear in their eyes, just surprise. I remain calm and I immediately get them into my room and get them under the table with the assistance of the gymnastic team and Judy, the Director or the ELC. It is now past a minute of adrenaline. We get under the table and it is still rolling on and on. A minute has passed and it is getting stronger. Judy and I made contact with a look that said, “what is happening?” The walls were swaying creaking, the ceiling tiles were cracking, the blocks were falling from the shelves and my heart was racing like never before. But, staying calm and making sure the kids were safe was my main concern. As I look back I realize I had not climbed under the table at all. One there was no room and two I was too busy watching the children and keeping them safe. When the time came to leave we filed down the stairs to the playground. The young men who were in charge of the gymnastics went back to gather the coats, shoes and bags for the children. We reassembled and left the area to wait for parents. As we left I could hear phones ringing as parents were calling to find out about their children.

We waited for parents with the children in front of the building. As parents walked up we could see the fear in their eyes and the struggle to remain calm. The kids were not fazed by the incident. One child even said, “That was fun, let’s do it again.” When you are four your really can not grasp the idea of an earthquake. But they were such good listeners. While waiting for parents I could not holding the kids close to me. I felt I needed to have the close at all times. It was very hard for me to show the strength I displayed to in front of the kids. It was terrifying. But, it wasn’t over.

We began to walk to the evacuation meeting ground with only two children left. As were walked up the stair I began to have that feeling in my stomach again. We were moving. I looked up to see the three buildings of Mori Complex begin to move from side to side; the two residential buildings are 30+ floors and Mori Tower, which are 57 floors. What will happen if they fall? Where will I take these boys? What do I do? These are the thoughts that flipped through my head. What I did was just stop and cover their heads. As I looked up I just watched these massive towers move like they were reeds blowing in the wind. Never have I seen anything like that before. When it finally stopped we moved on and the boys were reunited with their parents.

My job was done. Now what? Can I get my coat? Can we go back in? Do we stay here? Why are we under power lines? Do I need water? Where was the epicenter? How big was that? Is there any damage? Are you ok? Am I ok? Are the trains running? How will I get home? Do you want a drink? Is AJ ok? How about Robert, Miya and Lilu? Why are the phones not working? What do we do now? I wonder if Skype works? Should I wake up my family?

My mind was everywhere. I was on alert mode looking around and preparing for anything. I knew I had to get back inside to get my things and prepare for the next step. Call friends in Tokyo using Skype and call my Mom, Dad and brothers to let them know I was fine before I began my 10km walk home.




The walk home

I had walked home from Roppongi, which is where my school is located. It is not far from, just 10km. It is an easy walk and I have done it a 1000 times on my bike and on foot. I knew my way home but as I was walking I could see there were hundreds and thousands of people who had no idea where there were going. I saw rows and rows of black suits walking towards me with solemn faces some stopping to look around and others trying to use their mobile phones with no luck of connection. I am sure they were all thinking the same thoughts I had. What’s next? The weather predicted for the day was to be warmer so I didn’t bring gloves or a scarf. Yet, that was not the case. It was cold and I needed gloves. I stopped in to get some at a Family Mart, which is a convenience store that sells everything, and there was no food left or water. I found gloves but no food. The people here were not panicking at all but just being prepared. All the people on the street most likely were going to have to walk for hours to get home. I talked with some friends later and they said it took them 9 hours to walk home.

As I was walking I could see that many were lost. I offered my assistance to a couple of German girls who were trying to head North to Toda-Koen. They were heading the wrong way and would for sure been lost but I got them on track. Also, I noticed that many people were carrying yellow bags with them. I am guessing they were earthquake safety bag issued from companies. I saw one man sitting with the item out on the ground. Inside the bag were bottles of water, some snack, towels, gloves, a helmet and a book that looked like a map of Tokyo. As I walked closer I could see the he was trying to find his way through the streets of Japan on the map.

The Japanese are so prepared for this emergency. I really am impressed. On Friday, the mobile phone system was down so the Japanese Telephone Company made all the public phones free of charge. The cues were so long and people were patiently waiting and limiting their calls to only a couple minutes. I found out later that many of the beverage companies made the vending machines free as well for people to get water and other drinks. I, of course, found this out later and did not benefit from the free drinks but I was fine and had plenty of water. But, it just proves to me how well prepared the country is. People located in many places to keep the flow of pedestrians moving. Police regulating the traffic and keep order. Yet, still no panic. Unbelievable!!!

I think about the US and other countries and I wonder if anything like that is set in place. Do they?

I made it home and all was fine at my place little damage to tile work I the kitchen but nothing really. As the night approached my good friend AJ visited me. He came by to check on me and ultimately ended up staying in the extra room because the trains were still down and he could not get home. We talked about the news on television and he filled me in on some information that I just could not understand in Japanese. 4 million homes in Machida city, Tokyo were reported to be out of electricity. One thing he really helped me with was getting the gas turned back on. I went to heat up water for some tea but no gas. The building was completely shut off. When he arrived he said, “Oh, let me show you. You see there is a mercury switch that automatically shuts off the gas to your home to prevent fires. Press he for 3 seconds and it is back on.” WOW! Now that is efficiency. I had never thought of that, mercury to shut off the gas. Brilliant!

Many aftershocks rolled through the night. It seemed like there was one every 10 or 15 minutes and they kept me up until 2am. Then another one woke me up at 4am. It was a 6.6 hit Nagano. It was a bad one. Everyone was in bed. The city is leveled in some places. It is so sad. Below is a video of how it looked before and after.
The aftershocks just wouldn’t stop. They kept coming and come. They are not bad at all just make you stop and think “here comes another one”.
I got about 4 hrs of sleep and calls kept coming in. I am glad many of you called. It helped to calm me down and feel better. Thanks

6:00pm Saturday, March 13, 2011
The phone just rang and I had to stop writing. It was my good friend AJ telling me that he had to bike home to Yokohama. Then he proceeded to tell me that the nuclear plant just exploded and the walls are gone at 4pm. A 20 Km evacuation zone has been set up. Man, I was just getting comfortable again and calming down. I am scared once again. There is so much uncertainty right now. I cant understand the television announcers because my Japanese terrible. But, AJ told me that they are planning to start shutting down the electricity to Tokyo to try and reserve power. The nuclear plant that exploded was the major supplier to this area. He said to take a shower now if you want to be clean. I just did. As well as put on layers to prepare for the cold tonight and get batteries for the phone charger and flashlights. I have battery-powered lights around the house to use because candles CAN'T be used in a time like this. SO we will see what is next. Right now all is well and I am safe. No radiation here and no damage in Tokyo. They talk more of blackouts but so far not yet. I will keep you informed.

All my best,
Neal

Before and After from Earthquakes

Another video of what has happened in Japan. It starts with Nagano and move to other parts of Japan. It is hard to watch but you should see it.

Video from Japan of Tsunami

This is my reaction from watching this video for what seems like the 100th time. So sad.

It's been too long

I know it has been so long since writing. I feel terrible about it. I often sit on the train or walk around saying to myself "I need to write about this". But, when I get home... I don't. However, I have been up since 4:45 this morning talking to family and friends. My Dad called me this morning and got me out of bed after a night out in Tokyo. (That is another story) I crawled out of bed and put on the smile and BING! I was ready to Skype.
It was so great to see my family together. I have not been that happy in so long. Seeing my Grandmother, Father, Brothers with the kids and family all around was the best Christmas gift I could ask for. I almost felt like I was there in the room. I was taking pictures of my computer of all the family. It truly is amazing how Skype can bring us together. It was hard for me to hang up. I didn't want the call to end. I feel like calling back now and just watching everyone as they watch the new television my Dad bought. I wouldn't even need to talk. Just watch.I think to myself that I need to get the new iPhone 4 so I can use video on my mobile phone as well. It would be so great to show you all Tokyo as I walk around the city and explore the fun world of Japanese Life. Thank you Eva for reminding me how much I enjoy writing. I am so glad we talked this morning.

Well that is enough for now. I am starting to get a little bit sleepy and ramble too much. I see I am making a lot of mistakes and having to go back and korrect them. See! I did it again. I will leave that one.

Here is a little bit of what my morning was like. So enjoy the slideshow. I am going to call some more people since I am awake now. Maybe I will call you. Do you have Skype? If not, get it at www.skype.com and then call me.

Missing you all so much. Merry Christmas and I hope to talk soon.

The African Experience Part 2

“Coming down the mountain!” as Perry Farrell says of Jane’s Addiction. We make our way back to the Kia and set out on another long drive to Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Park {pronounced ShlooShloowee Umfolozi}. As we get closer and closer to Durban we begin to see the Indian Ocean. It is a must stop for us. I had not seen the Indian Ocean before and I know mSqwearl had not either. Our minds were made up an we drove on looking for a small village to turn off into. We miss one turn off and decide on Zinkwazi. A small little beach community that looked perfect for a quick 10 minute stop. We park and walk out onto the beach. We stand looking at the 2meter high waves crash on the beach as the tide is rushing in at our feet. While standing to capture the moment with me compact Olympus waterproof camera the waves rush over my feet. Still wearing my Gortex shoes I get soaked as a father and his children capture it on his video camera. We laugh and move up the beach. Standing in the water knee high, mSqwearl is relaxing in the cool rushing water of the Indian Ocean. Ken and I are talking about something as we hear a scream and yell from the distance. With is back turned to the water Ken makes a run for higher ground thinking the waves are going to crash into him. I bolt the opposite direction and run toward the water. I see a bobbing head being pulled along the beach. The head belongs to one of the young children who was with his father down the beach. A large swell came in to the beach too fast and was too powerful for the child to run from. The water grabbed the small boy as if it wanted to take the child to the great blue. However, fate had something else planned. As with us missing our turn a few miles back forcing us to choose Zinkwazi for our stop. The young boy would not be taken by the great waves. As I was running to the water to grab the boy, he was brought to the waiting arms of mSqwearl. He had been standing in the water relaxing as the same giant wave rushed into him chest high. All mSqwearl had to do was reach out and grab the frightened, yet calm boy, by the shoulder. As the father came running to make sure his son was safe, mSqwearl passed the child back to his father. And he thanks him as a caring father would do after watching his child be swept away.

Jasper, the father’s name, would invite us back to his home for coffee and to allow mSqwearl to shower and put on clean clothes. Soaking from the neck down after racing to save the boy , who for certain would have been swept over jagged rocks, mSqwearl, Ken and I all drive to the house up the beach. There we meet the whole family. Jasper introduced us to his wife, mother and father. His father, Jasper Sr., was a retired sugarcane farmer. In the recent years Jasper Sr. has been making trips to schools to talk about nature and wildlife. He felt that many children now a days don’t spend enough time outdoors. So, he brings the outdoors to the children. Doing so takes place in many forms. It could be live animals, plants, flowers or even animal bones and skulls. David, the young boy who was saved at the beach asked his father to get some of the animals out to show us.
Jasper kindly abides and leaves to room and comes back with a large box of treats. He first pulls out a massive skull of a warthog. He talks about how the large tusks are used for digging and foraging and the smaller tusks are used to defend itself.

The second animal he pulled out a small bag came with lots of items in it. First he brought out a tiny skull and placed it on the table in front of us. We tried to guess and determine what it was. To help us out he brought some long quills out and we immediately knew it is a porcupine.
He talked about the different quills and told us which ones are the most dangerous and how the porcupine defends itself. He told us that when a porcupine in cornered by a lion or other predator it will charge them in hopes to jab the hard quills into the animal’s face. Lions can’t resist the taste of porcupine, Jasper said , because porcupine is one of the lion’s favorite meats to eat. But, porcupines are no push over and have been know to kill lions with their quills.
As the quills get jabbed into the face of the lion by the porcupine, the lion will force the quills in deeper as it tries to dig them out. I had no idea that porcupines protected themselves that way. I love learning something new. And that day I was going to learn even more.

The third thing he took out of his massive box was a large lioness skull. He showed us how lions grab onto the face of is prey or the next. To prove his point he too his massive hands and placed them on the neck of Ken, who was sitting next to him. He grabbed and shook Ken then grabbed his own face to show how and where a lion would grab a man.

The fourth animal he showed us was a baboon skull. It was white and shiny with large fangs. Jasper said the getting into a fight with a baboon would be a bad thing. The have large front fangs but they are used for puncturing the meat. the teeth you have to worry about are the bottom ones. As they rub against the top long fangs they get sharpened. Almost to a razor sharpness. I touched them and could feel the edge, much like a knife.
We were amazed by the animals and knowledge of the grandfather. Yet, we were not finished. The children and parents all were not satisfied with impressing the Americans. They asked their grandfather to “bring out the fun stuff”. So, once again Jasper the retired sugarcane farmer now turned naturalist leaves the room. This time he returns with a plastic bag. We could see it had been in the freezer as cold air permeated through the air. He opened the bag and pulled out a whole baboon head. Still containing the hair, eyes, tongue and teeth. Ken and mSqwearl leaned back away from the beast. .

I reached forward and asked if I could hold it. He kindly passed it along to me and I admired its powerful and strong features. This baboon had come into the village and was tormenting people and killing animals. It was threatening the lives of many people and need to be killed. Jasper was asked to come to the village and dispose of it. He did, but decided to keep the head for his teachings. I am glad he kept it otherwise I would have never been able to hold it.

Out plan to stop for 10 minutes soon turned into almost 2 hours. We were asked to join them for fish curry and stew. But, we kindly denied as it was getting late and we needed to check into out huts at the game park. We did however enjoy some birthday cake leftover from the afternoon. We kindly said our thanks for hospitality and moved out the door. Once again, we are shown that people are the greatest keys to vacation and travel. Meeting this family was a pure pleasure and one I will never forget. This day has been one of the most amazing days of my life. I began the morning atop a mountain plateau in the small country of Lesotho and I finished it in the sitting room of a South African family looking at animal skulls and holding a baboon head while hearing the Indian Ocean pound it’s powerful waves on the beach of Zinkwazi.
What kind of life am I living? I ask myself this question many times. I guess I am living my dream.


Part 3 of the African Experience will show you the animals you have been waiting to see. The BIG FIVE!

The African Experience Part 1

It has been a long time coming for the next installment of the Wayfaring Writer. I am halfway around the world on my Around The World Flight. I am sitting here in Warsaw, Missouri at the Cosmic Coffee chatting with the locals. It is time to fill you on on the African Experience.
Stepping off the plane and going through customs you could see that the World Cup had hit South Africa in full swing. June 11th was the beginning of the World Cup and I arrived on the 13th after a 26hr travel schedule taking me from Tokyo to Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong and finally to Johanesburg. Walking through the madness of World Cup Mania you could see the excitement and anticipation of the tournament in everybody's eyes. I walked out of customs to see a mass of people holding signs with names from all over the world. I had hopes of seeing my sign with the name "Schwartz's Sweet-Ass Ride" on it but no luck. I sat around for an hour then stood on my bag to get noticed better and then heard "MURF"! It was time to begin an epic trip my with Ken and Squirrel, who would later earn his new South African name mSqwearl.(Decked out in our World Cup Gear)





















Summing up the three week long travel experience in one post is impossible. Luckily, I have lots of time to fill you in between working on my new house and sitting in the Cosmic Coffee shop. It will take some time so be patient. We gathered ourselves and headed to the Meewes household in Boksburg. My good friend Michele was nice enough to set us up with a place to stay at her parents house. Mike and June's hospitality and home were at a 5 star level. If they were to open a bed & breakfast I would suggest not choosing any other place. Michele's daughter, Amy was in my Kindergarten class four years ago when I was teaching in Poland. Michele and I continued our friendship after she moved back to South Africa. Arriving at her parent's house we were immediately welcomed to the family. They remembered me as Mr. Murphy and soon adjusted the name to Neal. Michele and the girls came over for some fun and playtime. We all caught up and informed them of our travel plans and when we would return. It was so good to see Michele and her girls Chloe, Amy and Leah.

With Ken and mSqwearl sleeping in the new Kia Senata I was on the road to Giant's Castle for our first adventure in South Africa. The road was flat and straight with not much to look at. Actually, it looked a lot like Kansas until a table top mountain appeared in the distance. At that point we knew we were getting to the highlands. The roads were nice and the drivers even better. It was not what I expected.















From what I had been told by people who visited I was expected a rough and dangerous environment with threats of theft and murder. WRONG! South Africa is much more than I expected. Throughout the traveling we met countless numbers of people who went out of their way to make us feel welcome. At no point in the entire 3 week trip did we feel threatened or unsafe, even though many people had told us to be careful. Being smart is all you need to do. Don't put yourself in situation that might cause you problems is what I always say. More stories of generosity and hospitality are in the next installments.

Back to the driving. As we climb slowly through the hills of the Drakensburg we find our way through some small villages on a black dirt roads covered with potholes. We drive amongst the local children waving and smiling as we go by. Some reaching with hands out asking for money. These people make their living off of farming and raising livestock in the hills. We stop for a break and a stretch, as well as to admire the surroundings. This country is beautiful, whether it is the landscape or the people. The Drakensburgs region of South Africa proved to be the beginning of the best trip of my life.

Arriving at Giant's Castle we walked into an amazing chalet with two bedrooms, fireplace, kitchen and a view to die for. We played cards and watched some World Cup matches and enjoyed some nice cold glasses of Castle Beer. This beer would soon become our favorite beer of choice. In the morning I wake up to the sound of a Gurney's Sugarbird chatting on a bush in front of the window with a breath-taking sunrise behind it. I yell at Ken to get up and he is reluctant but I force him out of bed to see the Sugarbird. He can barely see out of his binoculars but is soon awaken by the beauty of the amazing creature. "I am finally on vacation", I thought to myself and made my way to the kitchen for some fruit and coffee.

Our plan that day was to walk through the mountains and make our way to the caves. The landscape and views on our walk were some of the best I had ever seen. The one hour walk ended up taking us about 2 hours and we barely made it to the tour for the ancient cave drawings. These drawings were thousands of years old and were done by the Bushmen of South Africa.
I have never seen ancient drawings like this before. I have seen them in museums but never in naturally preserved environments like that one. They were kept in brilliant condition, even after the English had set up camp in the caves and used the drawings and walls for target practice in the 1800's.

After Giant's Castle we started off on a seven hour drive around Giant's Castle mountain range to find our next stop in Underburg to prepare of our drive up Sani Pass to Lesotho.
Lesotho is a small country in the middle of South Africa with a population a little over 2,000,000. This part of the trip would be the first of many experiences with people living off the land. The people of Lesotho had been living the same way for the past 300 years. Homes are made out of animal dung and mud.
The funnel shaped roofs covered in straw and grass allow the home to stay warm on top the the mountain ranges of Lesotho. Most people raise livestock or harvest grain on the plateaus atop the mountain peaks. Life is simple there. Men and women are considered to be equal and 70% of the female population are literate. Families usually consist of a mother and father with only two children about 2 to 3 years apart.


Women do most of the work as men often try to find work elsewhere outside of Lesotho in South Africa. The problem with this is after leaving Lesotho they find themselves in a new world that exposes them to new experiences and new vices. Often with money in hand, men find themselves searching for women and alcohol. Beginning a new life with alcohol and unsafe sex. With that comes the possibility of contraction of STDs, most common HIV and AIDS. After living a life in South Africa for sometime, they return to Lesotho with money and STDs. Spreading the diseases to their wives. 23% of the population has AIDS or HIV, according to UNISEF statistics. This information was passed on to us by Crispian, our guide and driver. Crispian has traveled and lived amongst the people of Lesotho since 1960. He was a horseman and guided tourist for many years. Now, he conducts his tours by off-road vehicle. His knowledge and experience with the people of Lesotho proved to be a valuable component in acquiring knowledge about Lesotho and its people.

The following photographs are a series of shots taken by myself and by Emmanual,the 2year old child present in the first photo. He saw my silvery, mirror-like camera and wanted to touch grab it. After looking through Ken's binoculars he reached for my camera and started pushing buttons and captured photos of another boy named David. The people who live in this village survive on the bare minimum. Fire baked bread is the main source of nutrition along with goat's milk and other vegetables. Money is earned by making a variety of products for tourist. Relying on tourists to purchase these woven hats, rugs and other artwork helps them to survive. With the beginning of Winter at hand we felt a hard wind blow and a snowstorm set in. Shoeless and wearing only one layer of clothing the boys run inside as a flash blizzard hits the peaceful village. On top of the Sani Pass you can also find Africa's Highest Pub. It is located in a small building that serves it own beer call Maluti, hot or cold wine and a variety of other bar drinks. We choose to have a hot glass of tea spiked with rum. Perfect for the cold morning that has set in. With a blanket of snow piling up outside we sit by the fire warming up before our decent down the snow and ice covered switchbacks to South Africa.

The Lesotho experience opened my eyes to Africa and I will be forever changed by it.

More to come. Part 2 will take you from the top of the mountains of Lesotho to the beaches of the Indian Ocean in Zinkwazi, South Africa.