June 19: Changing Rhythms

I am

rhythmic, pulsing

melting into onsen

bursting into lungs run up hill

refresh

A road through the woods. Video included for the sounds of various birds.

Green Village is a glorious break from the bustle of Tokyo - a resort built by the Tanaka family around some natural hot springs. While we were the only group there during our stay, the resort is often open to the public. The air thrums with birdsong and bullfrog chants. It is lush and green and smells of nature.

Our one full day on site started with group calisthenics at 7:30 a.m., followed by breakfast. I really wanted to take advantage of being away from the city to go for a run, so I woke up early and headed out for an hour. I chose to stay on a straight path in the hopes that I would not get lost. Any time I came to a fork in the road or a turn that I thought might seem straight in a different direction on the way back, I took a photo and paid careful attention to where I went. It only took me a couple of decades but I may finally have learned my lessons about my navigational skills in new locations.

The run was just what I needed. It was a challenge given some rough(ish) footing, decent altitude (2500 ft), and hills (ascended 550 feet over the course of 4 miles). But it felt so good to be out there. I love exploring a new place through running and have been frustrated by my inability to do so in Tokyo. I’m learning there, too - recognizing that city running is not a good fit for me and that I cannot endanger either my own ability to engage with all that Japan has to offer or the well-being of the others involved with the program. So, I’ve been good and swapped running for doing a lot of walking. It is not the same thing.

It was, therefore, sheer delight to head out among the trees and be surrounded by new birdsong. The route took me out to a larger road with houses and rice paddies with a good view of town nestled among the mountains. As I headed back towards campus, the hills started echoing with the ethereal sound of women singing. A house near the rice paddies was blaring Japanese folk music and it was bouncing all around me. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I was suddenly captured by a group of sirens. It was magical. Just listen to this short recording to hear for yourself.

I made it back to Green Village in time to join for calisthenics and breakfast and then the first few sessions of the day making teru teru bozu (dolls to ward off rain), decorating badminton paddles, and making chopstick guns. I had a blast immersing myself in all of these craft-oriented activities and enjoyed the conversation that was released in the process. It reminded me of the joy I have found gathering with friends in recent years to do watercolors or other craft activities.

The afternoon schedule, on the other hand, was filled with activities I dreaded: most especially badminton and dodgeball. Whereas I loved all sports activities as a child, I have discovered with worsening eyesight that I no longer have any ability to engage positively in sports that require interacting with flying objects, at least not when people are feeling competitive or pressured to succeed. Because Matt had told us that it would be ok if faculty took some time for ourselves while we were at Green Village, I opted to return to the American House to soak in the onsen and then do a little work. I deeply appreciated the chance to be intentional in my approach to the onsen and spent time meditating on how fortunate I was to be able to attend Technos and on filling myself with love, acceptance, and gratitude. This is a practice I know I need to work into my life more consistently and I appreciated the chance to practice it in such peaceful surroundings. I also deeply needed the time to myself - this was the day that I experienced a personal meltdown and felt a bit at my breaking point in terms of feeling the fatigue of being so far from home - metaphorical and physical.

I was also grateful to have missed the sports activities after hearing more about them. Badminton would’ve made me feel like I was letting my partner down and based on my experience trying a similar game earlier in the week, we would not have been able to get any sustained momentum at all which is no fun. I don’t need to win or be great, but I do need to be able to vaguely play. The description of the evolution from Japanese-style dodgeball (cooperative in nature) to American-style (winning at all costs) was nothing I wanted to be part of. I found a later discussion with Jina (one of the Technos faculty originally from NYC) about the differences in the way Japanese and Americans approach playing games or other group work really meaningful. She noted that the Japanese consider something a collaborative success if everyone participates in the same way regardless of whether or not they win whereas Americans consider something a collaborative success if they engage solely the strengths of each individual to win.

Our day at Green Village concluded with a barbecue and fireworks. As usual, I was seated at a table of nearly entirely students given our dietary restrictions. It was always an interesting place to be - those students had bonded deeply and I often spent the majority of the meal observing how they interacted. It was also a unique pairing because most of the dietary restrictions were a result of Islamic faith (no pork) and not my restrictions on meat / living things more generally (though one student in the group was vegan). At times, this pairing chafed all of us, I think, because we longed for things we could eat but were left off in order to fulfill other members’s restrictions. The students got very upset at a lunch for not getting any meat whatsoever, whereas I about lost my mind over not getting miso paste due to it fermenting to have a little alcoholic content. Mostly, I think, we recognized the generosity of our hosts in doing all they could to accommodate.

The barbecue was lovely - a great chance for folks to talk and laugh together and at least at my station, a great opportunity to witness this group of students sharing the work of preparing the meal and ensuring everyone was cared for. The food was also outstanding - some really terrific noodles with vegetables and my favorite grilled onigiri. The students finished it off by dancing away in the lawn before we all went and lit sparklers in the night sky.