jolynn_alayne's Xanga

Japan

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 08:52:42 GMT

It is 3am and, as usual, since I have returned from my three week visit of Japan, I am bright-eyed and full of energy at this unthinkable hour of the day! Infact, the clinic where I seldom work, called to see if I could come in because they were very short-handed tonight, and I gave them an enthusiastic, "Yes!!!" that I could work because I was hoping that by working, I would tire myself out enough to sleep a whole night tonight- wrong! Oh well, it was worth a try...

It has been fourteen years since I lived in Hokkaido, the northern most island of Japan. Some places have changed alot. Other places seem to have stood still. While I am bright eyed and busy tailed, I am going to jot down some of the differences I have noticed on my world wind tour of Hokkaido.

SHIMOKAWA

I shall begin with Shimokawa as it was the city that I taught English in and I am most endeared to. The Board of Education and all the teachers have changed, but that is, of course, due to the fact that teachers in Japan have to move every four years. It must be a drag to be a family member of a teacher!

Also, on a less obvious note, the town has dwindled from 5,000 to less than 4,000. There are so few jobs available in Hokkaido that most of the younger generation move to Tokyo. At this rate, I fear the town will become a ghost-town in my life-time.

The super market has closed down. However, I saw there were two new small stores and also a Seico Mart (convenience store). There are Seico Marts everywhere in Hokkaido! Who needs Walmart when there is a Seico Mart??? (Hokkaido also has "7 Eleven" but it is called "7 & Holdings" although the grocery bag says "7 Eleven". I don't feel that 7 Eleven has a chance compared to Seico Mart though, 7 Eleven doesn't seem to carry quite a selection of goods; for example, they don't carry any diet soda, which, in my humble opinion, is a bummer.

When I moved to Shimokawa fourteen years ago, I was told that it was so remote that they had quit train service to Shimokawa. However, the train tracks were still there. Now, I found that they had pulled up the train tracks. I found that rather depressing as I believe Japan's INFRASTRUCTURE was build on trains and bicycles.

One of the few postive things I noticed about Shimokawa was that they now use computers and have high speed internet! Impressive!

Also, they finished the Great Wall of Shimokawa and finished the Ice Candle Museum. When I was there, someone had referred to the Wall as the "Small Wall of Shimokawa". Now, though, it is a full two kilometers long which is as long as the Chinese Government will allow. Oh, I happened to find my name inscribed on the wall fourteen years and ten days before! Can you believe that? It used to be free to inscribe one's name on the Wall, but now it was about 3500 yen (35.00 Dollars) to inscribe one's name. And, in olden times, you could inscribe on the actual rocks that make up the wall, but now you sign a sheet of paper and then it is somehow traced with a machine onto a small pillar on top of the wall somewhere.

For the most part, though, Shimokawa seems to have stood still. Apollo Restaurant is still there, and the owner remembered exactly how I used to like my chicken and he made it with the fried chicken on the side rather than covered in curry. He remembered that my husband always liked the curry and made him a big bowl of it. Oh, and he still serves the scrambled eggs with ketchup and half a banana on the side. Also, the kids enjoyed his classic pizza which I mention only because no other restaurant served pizza in Japan unless, I suppose, it is strictly a "Pizza Restaurant". From an old photo, I did notice that some pictures of fish are now gone from the wall by his coffee cup cabinet. But we saw that the coffee grinder is still located in the same spot... Oh, he said his kids are grown now... moved to Tokyo, I think...

The hospital is the same. Dr. Noda who used to treat me when I was sick, is still there, and coincidentally, treated my 5 year old who caught a viral and also got sick. The nurses still wear white uniforms, but I saw a few nurses wearing white pants rather than dresses. The hospital seems to have been standing, frozen in time, since World War II. The doors, however, are now automatic, and seem vaguely out of place in the tired, old, delapidated hospital.

The small fourplex that I used to live in is still there. The present AET (Assistand English Teacher) graciously showed us the place, and amazingly, the house now has a toilet! It now has plumbing! The toilet used to resemble an out-house. Infact, a truck would come house to house and literally suck up the wastage out of each toilet. (Each house has a big round metal lid near their front door- the truck would attach a hose to it and suck up the wastage)

The house seems to have weathered fourteen years of AET's all right. The remarkably tiny kitchen has not changed at all. It contains the same wall paper, same ugly yellow linoleum, same cabinet. Even the dining room table seems to be the same table although the chairs are different. There had been a lovely garden in front of the fourplex- it is now gone, though.

Some parts of Hokkaido have changed. But Shimokawa, seemed to have stood still except that we have all gotten a little older. It is also worth mentioning that my eldest son, Benjamin, was born in Japan fourteen years ago. He was actually born in Nayoro, the next city, because it had a large hospital; however the blue-eyed baby was quite popular in Shimokawa. That blue-eyed baby is still quite popular in Shimokawa although those blue-eyes have long since turned hazel, and he is now taller than his mom who is sitting here writing this story...

NAYORO

I didn't spend alot of time in Nayoro, but it is worth mentioning that the large, delapidated hospital that Benjamin was born in, has been torn down and rebuilt. It is technically the same hospital, but it is a different building. It is good that they built a new hospital as the old one had literally been there since World War II. The head boards on the old beds were rusty, and don't even think that they had beds that would move up and down! I was a nurse who had taken time off to be an Assistant English Teacher in Japan, and I gave birth while there and needed an emergency C-section...I could handle anything but the only thing I really needed was a bed that would move up and down! (I also missed pain medication, but Japan has socialized medicine, so you can't expect too much). It is also worth mentioning, however, that they did give me and my child wonderful care.

So, we returned to Nayoro to show Benjamin where his roots were.

There is a large department store in Nayoro called, "Seibu". It is still thriving. They used to have Mos Burger inside the store, but it has been replaced by a whole row of various fast food shops including Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Donut Shop. There is also a Farmer's Restaurant that serves Emu meat that I had wanted to eat at because I knew someone who knew someone else who worked there, but it was closed.

We had found Benjamin a small bear pillow at Seibu when he was a baby, and he LOVED that pillow. Infact, I had someone send him another one when it got raggedy. Well, we could not find that pillow at any other department store in Japan, but we found it again at Seibu and gave it to our five year old who is sleeping on it at this moment...

ASAHIKAWA

It used to be that as women became older, their dress color would gradually darken. For example, teenagers would wear bright clothes, middle aged women would soften their colors, and they would be wearing greys and blacks by the time they were old women. Also, the old ladies would still often wear kimonos.

But clothing has changed! The girls wear black and white striped clothes, and it is not unusual at all to see young women wearing pink hair or other various colors. We saw one girl that had hair (fur???) on her sandals! She reminded me of XXXXXXXXXX

Even the old women wear flashy clothes. One old lady had purple hair! And I saw no old lady wearing a kimono.

Probably the biggest change that people complain about in Japan (and I include it in the paragraph about Asahikawa simply because it was the largest city I stayed in and therefore had larger problems than a smaller city) is a decrease in basic morality. Fourteen years ago, everyone left their doors unlocked, now people lock their doors at night. Fourteen years ago, someone could accidentally leave their bag at the bus station, and return later to find the bag untouched, sitting in the same spot. But now, it would be gone in a flash!

We cannot say that Japan has lost her Christian Heritage, for she was certainly never a Christian country. She has lost something, but I don't know what exactly it is that she has lost. Whatever it is, though, I admit that my country has lost for sometime- and much longer than merely than fourteen years...

The best thing I, as a Gaijin (foreigner) noticed, was that Asahikawa has signs in Japanese and also in Romagii- Romagii means "Roman letters" meaning it is spelled in A,B,C's. Fourteen years ago, I could get lost very easily trying to read Japanese signs, but now it is not so easy to get lost.

To Think That I Was Supposed To Be On Vacation!

Wed, 16 Nov 2005 04:56:19 GMT

TO THINK THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ON VACATION
Aug 23, 1985 (I just found this in my drawer)
Jolynn Dean Singh

You really can't blame me. I had to do it. I had to kill him. He was on my bed last night, and he really scared me.

This moring when I woke up, I didn't even remember killing him. It's so common to kill spiders, that it is hardly a traumatic eperience for the murderer.

However, I did know something odd had happened this morning- especially when it took ten steps to get to the end of my cot (it usually just took me to roll over and I would land on the ground). And I was completely convinced something odd was happening when I found, to my curiousity, eight legs dangling over the edge!

Never the less, I got safely to the ground, and I came face to face with an ant.

"Good morning," said the ant.

"Good morning," I replied. Then said I, "Who are you?"

Then ant looked sore and hurt that I did not know his name. But gaining his composure once again, he answered, "I'm Captain Alexander Ant and am controlling Confederate Forces against the doodle bugs. Why, just yesterday they broke into my tunnel killing two ants and injuring seven others!"

"Oh my goodness!" I said. I had always pictured doodle bugs as being a harmless, little creature, but now I realized they were horrible, dispicable little creatures.

All of a sudden, the ant spied a doodle bug digging in the dirt. "It's been a pleasure meetin' you," said the ant and away he went.

I could have sworn that doodle bug had a bow and arrow, and the ant looked as though he were wearing boots, but...

I walked by myself for a while until I heard some crying. Behind a sunflower sat a colony of spiders, Tears were streaming down their faces. It seemed they had recently lost a dear friend. "Stephen Spider was the best friend a spider could have", mourned one spider whose name I later learned was 'Sam Spider'." "He was like a big brother to me," said little orphaned Sally Spider. "I'll never forget him," said one, and even another mourned over how he would miss Stephen Spider's kind heart. "I remember the times I was a baby in Farmer Brown's yard. Farmer Brown was going to step on me, but Stephen Spider sneaked up behind him and bit Mr. Brown on the ankle so that I could escape."

As I watched the mourning spiders, a tear rolled down my face. I had never met Stephen Spider but I would have liked to have known him- he sure must have been a great guy... or should I say, "a great spider"?

Bizarre Dream about Troy and Caroline

Thu, 03 Nov 2005 15:56:41 GMT

Man, I had another crazy, bizarre dream last night. I can't blame it on eating spicy food because I only ate a little meat and bread, nothing spicy at all.

First, let me explain the significance of my dream. My friend, Caroline had been married to Troy for a long time, but they got divorced, and he re-married and joined the army and went to fight in the war. He got blown-up last month, and I went to his memorial service, recently.

Here goes...

I dreamed that we were in some beautiful mountains. The trees and grass had a vibrant green to them. The path that led up to the lodge we were in was light brown with only a few rocks along the way.

I looked out the window and saw Caroline coming up the path with her mother. Caroline had on a beautiful wedding gown, and she was going to marry Troy, again! I was surprised that she looked like I remember her to have looked 15 years ago! And although I have never met her mother, I do know that she is part-Cherokee, and in my dream she suddenly looked very much like an elementary school teacher I knew long ago who was also part-Indian.

They stopped and turned around to see a mass of cheering crowds in the background. I told my friends at the lodge that she didn't realize they were cheering for her and Troy. I imagined throngs of people cheering. You see, last night I watched a T.V. special about Prince Charles and Camilla, and I never really forgave him for what happened to Diana... I guess that is why I saw throngs of people- that was how it was when Diana got married.

Then, I got worried because Troy never showed up on the path for the wedding. I cried to my husband, Ash, that Troy wasn't going to show up, he had changed his mind. Then I ran to another room and cried to God and asked why He would allow Troy to change his mind. He was supposed to marry Caroline, again. but God simply told me, "You'll understand someday, my child". But I kept crying, because I didn't like that answer!

Then, I realized that although I was supposed to be the maid-of-honor, I was wearing a white dress, also! I then became horrified because I was reminded of a movie I recently watched called "Monster-in-law" in which the mother-in-law showed up wearing a beautiful white gown to the daughter's wedding. But, then, I looked down and realized that my dress was now Royal blue. Whew! I was so relieved!

Then, suddenly Troy was walking down the path. I was perplexed because I thought God wasn't going to let them get married, again. But, perplexion soon gave way to happiness, and I was so happy. But Troy didn't look buff like his army pictures- he looked like I remembered him to look 15 years ago...just a black suit coat, nothing special at all.

Next I knew, I heard my pastor, Morris, speaking. And I knew that Troy and Caroline were getting married, again, in the other room. Funny, I could hear Morris reading Proverbs 31- (In Real life, I had just finished reading that chapter in the Bible). Then, I was mortified because I realized that he wasn't reading the KJV Version, and I knew that Troy and Caroline ONLY read that translation! (In real life, their church believed that all other Biblical versions were actually "perversions"! Don't ask- that's another story!)

So I ran into that room. But they were happy, so I forgot all about that. I snapped a couple of pictures with my disposable camera. I only had a couple of pictures left on it. (Funny, in Real life, I only had a couple of pictures left on my disposable camera, but I had taken it to the store, anyway, last night to be developed).

In my dream, Caroline and Troy weren't having a traditional wedding in which the bride and groom stand in front of everyone. Instead, they were sitting on a couch, and the church (my church) were having "home church". That loosely means everyone was sitting around in chairs and rockers instead of sitting in a "church building" in some pews. And I saw everyone from my church- I even saw Dan and Siew Lee- In real life, I hadn't seen them in ages. Oh, and I saw that my pastor's daughter had on blue jeans and an orange tee shirt. I think I dreamed that because I noticed a lot of people at Troy's Real memorial service had worn blue jeans. And I also dreamed about an orange tee shirt because Halloween had been celebrated two nights ago, so maybe that was fresh in my mind.

I remember looking down to make sure my blue dress was still Royal blue! Thanks goodness it was! And I saw that my dress was a tight, little thing, showing off cleavage! I wouldn't ever wear something like that, in real life! But... perhaps I would if I could- maybe that was why I dreamed that I could fit into that snug little blue dress???

Then, I woke up. I didn't jump out of bed. I sat there pondering why I had such a vivid, yet bizarre, dream? It was cold, and the kids were still in bed, so I sat down at my computer desk, and quickly wrote down my crazy dream before it drifts away into Never-land, never to be remembered, again.

Jolynn Singh
Nevember 3, 2005

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Sun, 25 Sep 2005 18:34:35 GMT

Bring me roses while I live
That my life be more fulfilled.
Lay not flowers upon my grave
Where only dust behold their rays.

For in the grave I cannot see
Tokens of thy love for me.
So bring me flowers, and bring me tulips,
And bring the roses while I live.

Jolynn Dean Singh
May 18, 1989

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 03:21:51 GMT

"Our Tsunami"

As an active Red Cross Volunteer, I noticed something today...

In the past, we have often used the term, "refugee" in reference to people living in remote corners of the earth such as in the Sudan, Bosnia, Indonesia, etc. Today, however, our own neighbors who are flooding in from Lousiana and Mississippi, are being coined, "refugees".

People say that children learn more from their parent's actions rather than by their parent's words. I asked my 13 year old son, today, if he wanted to be a Red Cross Volunteer when he grew up- he adamently replied, "No!" When prodded as to why he wouldn't want to do this, he said, "Number one, you don't get paid to do it. And secondly, you work all the time!" I could not, for the life of me, convince him that it is indeed delightful helping people. He absolutely thinks this is the most disgusting hobby to do with one's life and time! Oh well, so much for learning from parent's actions!

Jolynn

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Thu, 30 Jun 2005 17:58:06 GMT

VIOLET
The Story of the Boy Who Was Not Normal
J. A. Singh

When Mark was a little baby, his mom took him to a day-care.
"What a good boy you have!" said the day-care lady at the end of
the day. "All the other children cried and cried. But Mark sang to
himself and played with the toys, all day long!"

The next week his mom took him to his Grandma's house. "What a
strange child you have!" exclaimed his Grandma. "He played with a stick and a little red
kitten, all day long! I have never seen a child who enjoyed sticks
and cats so much!"

When Mark was four years old, his mother got him a big box of
crayons. Mark memorized the names of every crayon. He enjoyed tangerine,
shartruce and apricot, but his favorite was "Violet". He even quizzed
all the neighborhood children to see if they could spell "violet", but
no-one else seemed interested in spelling it.

When Mark was five years old, his Mom and Dad took him on a shiny,
white plane. "Oh, what a good boy you have! He keeps himself so well
entertained!" exclaimed the stewardess. He played with the peanuts
that the stewardess gave him, he drank the bubbly soda which she poured
for him, he even picked the fuzz off the blue seats.
Finally the airplane landed in Arizona and the family went to see
their uncle who lived in the desert.

There was sand everywhere.
Mark loved the sand! He built tunnels in the sand, he made sand
castles, he even made stick-people out of little pieces of wood.
"What a strand child!" said his uncle. "Why, he thinks this boring
desert is exciting!"

Well, things just got worse as Mark got older. The first day in
kindergarten, Mark did a "color-by-number" sheet of an umbrella, but
the teacher hollered at him for putting dots all over the top of the
paper. He explained that the umbrella needed "rain drops"!
"You're child is not normal", sighed the teacher. "I think he needs
to play games."

So Mark got his first game of chess. He enjoyed it, and he
frequently won.
"Oh, what a clever child!" exclaimed a very smart lady whom Mark
beat at a game of chess. But the very next day, someone else exclaimed
"what a strange child" he was because he actually made Mr. King and
Mrs. Queen kiss when they won the game!

High school was tough. But, high school is always tough. Mark just
made it tougher on himself , though, because he began writing stories
and drawing pictures. Some people found his stories fascinating, but
most people felt he was just plain strange.

And Mark knew that he was indeed strange. So he put away his
drawings and his writings, and he grew up and became a Doctor.

When Dr. Mark watched his own five year old child carry on a
conversation between the forks and the spoons one evening during
supper, Dr. Mark remembered his own conversations with Mr. King and Mrs.
Queen, and he began to laugh, and then he began to cry.

That night when his child was fast asleep, Dr. Mark quietly took his
box of crayons and opened them up. He smiled at Shartruce, Apricot,
and Tangerine. But when he found Violet, he remembered his imagination.
And once again, he found the unique joy that comes to one who can and
does color with Violet.
THE END

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Wed, 29 Jun 2005 15:41:26 GMT

checking to see if this is the correct site..

'THE VILLAGE'
A PORTRAIT OF THE MODERN DAY CULT
Jolynn Singh

What makes a cult a "cult" is often hard to define to the untrained eye. However, it has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and to that, I could not more adequately agree.

"The Village" gave me a portrait of my earlier life when I was succumed into a life which, to the casual observer, appeared to be naively innocent, other-worldly pure, and distant to the real world in which we live in.

The "world" in which I lived, created a scary, secret world of "them" which lived on the outside. We, too, were kept in mortal fear to leave the confines of our group- too afraid that "they" might come and get us and damn us to the everlasting fires of hell and also of the chastisement of the elders. How often I heard our elder pronouncing damnation to young adults who wished to visit family and friends during the Christmas vacation!

In "The Village", the elders created the perfect Utopia for it's townfolk, and created a mythical boundary that it's townfolk could not cross.

How then, could evil enter the perfect Utopia, you may ask? It was there all along in the elder's hearts! It was the elders who creatd the "they" that the people feared! By creating oppressive "theys", the elders kept the people in constant fear and submission. The Elder's evil nature was also evident when they allowed a daughter to stay blind, rather than seeking out help from the outside, simply for the good of the collective community!

Toward the end of the movie, the elder kept saying "Innocence" in reference to his ideal community. Isn't it ironic to read in the newspapers how non-innocent our oppressive cults tend to be! They do so often have secrets that are hid away from the people!

I have learned that God has not given me a Spirit of Fear, but rather a Spirit of Love, Peace, and a Sound Mind. We are not meant to live in constant fear, hatred, nor to observe the ordinances that the elders have created for us.

And, I have also realized that no matter how hard we may attempt to create a Utopia there will remain in us a seed of trickery and deceit- which can never be completely hid behind long dresses, authoritative elders, isolated communities, or even the dismissal of currency. I would recommend "The Village" to anyone who wonders what kind of spell a cult has to empower and captivate human-beings.

Jolynn Singh
2/16/05

I found this sheet of paper scribbled on, and thought I better type it up before it gets lost, never to be seen again! It needs a lot of work, but I will go ahead and post it...

FROTHY FOAM IN THE CARIBBEAN

I knew I was truly in the Caribbean the day we left Mainland Puerto Rico and headed east to Viequez. Behind the boat, the wake danced and intwined itself with white, frothy peaks weaved with streaks of azure blue.

The entwined color of white and azure reminded me of watching hand blown glass being made- in one context, one can see the blue of the clear glass, but somehow the colors become entwind with each other. However though, this wake was certainly no lifeless piece of glass! Rather, it appeared quite alive. Every crescent peak had the appearance of a tiny shrimp that would flounder and squirm with every undulation and wave.

I had never before seen blue and white peaks dance and fawn for my attention. But, watching the dancing, azure foam from the wake of the boat, I knew I had finally found "The Caribbean".
Jolynn Singh
December 2004