Bill's Blog

Our school encourages students to develop their passions and interests. My daughter Ocean is a caring little girl and she chose to help the poor and homeless. Yes, there are homeless and poor in Japan. There are not as many as I saw in Los Angeles or New York, two cities with similar populations in the USA. Japan does do a better job of taking care of the disadvantaged in their society, but of course, no society is perfect.

Ocean organized a group of her friends to collect donations for the Sanoh Children’s Center. The center provides a place to supervise and care for children of low income families. Often the parents are working and the center is a home away from home for them. One of the activities the Sannoh Children’s Center is a monthly night patrol to find homeless men and give them food, blankets, heating pads and other essentials.

Ocean ever since she was little, would want to help poor people she saw on the streets. This is an ideal activity for her. The center is located in an old building in a warren of homes and businesses in the Kamagasaki neighborhood of Osaka. It is one of the poorest areas of the city and is in stark contrast to our upscale suburb of Onohara. It is good for the kids to see lower socioeconomic areas and interact with the people who live in those challenging environments. Japan has a much lower crime rate than other countries, so it is fine to walk with children in those streets on a Saturday evening. Due to language barriers, I wish we could do more. The center is accepting donations.

In looking for 1984 for my wife, I found “Burmese Days” the first novel by George Orwell. It is based on his time as a police officer in the Indian Imperial Police force in Burma, now Myanmar from 1920-1927. The British ruled Burma from 1885 – 1947 from their base in India. The book was published in 1934.

Orwell took a lot of heat from the old “Burma Hands” because it portrayed them a petty bigots and it hit a bit too close to home. He said it was fiction, but based on his reporting from seven years in the country. I love books about expatriate communities and glad I found it.

The setting of the novel is a remote “station” in northern Burma. A small community of British expats are working in the timber industry and are often out for weeks at a time in the forests. The social life is centered around the European Club in the center of the village. It reminded me much of my time in eastern Venezuela, working for a school serving the petroleum industry. The main character is Flory, who is a bachelor in his 30s and after 11 years in the country, has learned the language and appreciates Burmese culture, unlike most of the expats there, who are there to make money and keep their British culture and traditions and whose social life revolves around the club. I see this in my various posts throughout my career as an expat, some people get into the local culture while others prefer to keep their own. I am finding it harder to integrate in this age of the internet when you media is from all over the world. It is much different from my first posting in Colombia before the internet when one was truly cut off from America.

Flory is quite critical of the society and is kind of an outsider. When he falls in love with the visiting English niece of one of his colleagues, he is torn apart when she prefers the British culture of European Club and does not appreciate Burma the way he does.

I thought the best quote capturing the spirit of the novel, when describing Flory as he approached middle age.

 “For as his brain developed – you cannot stop your brain developing, and it is one of the tragedies of the half-educated that they develop late, when they are already committed to some wrong way of life – he had grasped the truth about the English and their Empire. The Indian Empire is a despotism – benevolent, no doubt, but still a despotism with theft as its final object.”

I learned a new vocabulary word, pince-nez which are those Teddy Roosevelt glasses without ear pieces, but a nose clip.

I highly recommend the book for people interested in the history of the British empire, Myanmar and the life of expatriates.

Owen is playing for his middle school soccer team. They defeated the Kyoto International University Academy this morning 7-0. They really dominated the game. Owen played only in the second half and scored a goal (see video below). He scored a second goal but was offsides. He played striker and my biggest impression was that in Japan he is tall, so he really stood out. I hope they can repeat as WJAA champions. The tourney will take place in a month.

My appreciation of the sophistication and the pleasures of London grew immensely on this, my second visit to the city. I was mostly working on both occasions so didn’t get a chance to fully enjoy all there was on offer for tourists. I did manage to get out and about a bit, however. I compare London to New York, because it has the same bustling energy with its theatre district, iconic buildings and cosmopolitan populace and visitors. I think London is more refined than New York with much more tradition. I know that is a cliche, but I see why many others have come to same conclusion.

I love theatre and so we went to the West End to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, a play based on the 2003 novel by British author Mark Haddon. I didn’t read the book and my friend did, but we enjoyed the play equally. The 2 and 1/2 hours went by in  flash as I was swept up in the story. It gave me much more empathy for people who suffer from autism, which great theatre is supposed to do, get you into the story. I am always amazed at the sets, choreography and acting. I joke with other educators that seeing plays in London and Broadway has forever ruined high school plays for me. They just don’t compare. 🙂 I was curious which theatre district was bigger, Broadway or the West End. More people attend theatre productions in the West End than on Broadway, despite NYC having more venues and seats. London is the center of the English theatre world. The amount of great actors, and musicians for that matter, that have come out of London is amazing.

The hotel was located in the neighborhood of Kensington, which is close to the football club Chelsea’s famous stadium, Stamford Bridge. I made the walk to see it and buy some gifts for my children who are avid soccer players. The apparel and souvenir shop rivaled that of the Green Bay Packers store at Lambeau Field. The Premier League is the most popular sporting league in the world and Chelsea one of the biggest clubs in the league. We didn’t get a chance to see a game because we were working all weekend. I do want to see a match the next time I am here.

On this trip I discovered the pleasure of the British pub. I can see why the concept has been copied the world over. Coming in from a cold wet evening, the atmosphere is very relaxing. I like seeing families in the pub and it has a much different feeling than a bar in the US. I had a fish and chips and sampled local craft beers. I enjoy watching people connecting with each other. It is one of my new year’s resolutions to take time out to sit in cafes or pubs and enjoy other people’s company. I am often too busy to take time out to reflect on life and have a good conversation with family and friends.

On the morning of our arrival, we were trying to stay up so we took a long walk from the hotel, through Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace, to Westminster Abbey and the Thames. London is a great city for walking, like Manhattan. Walking is so good one’s health, I see why there are less obese people in places where walking is encouraged or convenient. I was so impressed with the Tate Modern Art Museum, which is down river from Big Ben. The architects converted an abandoned power station, maintaining the industrial feel, but turning it into a work of art. There were pieces by Picasso, Dali and others. We spent several hours going through the exhibitions. I like how the city government places an importance on the arts, both theatre and the visual arts. Experiencing the fine arts makes us more human and it is another reason why I love London. Next door to Tate is a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, which was not open on a winter, weekday morning.

London has become one of my favorite cities in the world and I hope to come back with my family to see it again.

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford” — Samuel Johnson

Our visit to Singapore is ending soon. It was a delightful vacation, as all vacations are when I can spend lots of time with my wife, children and loved ones. It really doesn’t matter where we are! However, there were many things I like about this island nation. We had a great last day, spending the afternoon swimming at Palawan Beach on Sentosa Island.

First, in looking at the world today, the three major ethnics groups of Singapore get along well and live peaceably together. On my run this afternoon, I passed a Chinese Buddhist temple, a Malay Mosque and a Hindu temple, all within a couple blocks of each other. The Singaporeans I talked to our proud of being from here, and can look down upon where their ancestors came from, China/India/Malaysia and say that they have a better life. Many Americans pride themselves on saying the same thing. In a world where tribalism and intolerance is growing, it is refreshing to see cooperation and working together.

Singapore is open for business. The government takes care of everyone here very well, even the disadvantaged, unlike we do sometimes in the USA. They have embraced the global economy and it has become a center of commerce in Asia-Pacific, with a super busy airport and shipping port, an impressive financial district and Western expatriates bringing their global viewpoints here. They are a role model for cities.

Coming here during the Japanese winter has been fabulous. I love the sounds of the bird, the Asian Koen every sunrise and sunset, the flocks of chattering parakeets soaring around the building and the lush tropical gardens that cover the city. My sister-in-law has a large rooftop terrace with a shower, hammock and comfortable chairs that is so nice to spend time. Watching the incoming monsoon storm clouds, the rapidly descending sunsets and feeling cool breezes is very relaxing.

There are some downsides however. I would be concerned about their growth if I lived here. I wonder how many more people can fit on the island while maintaining a high quality of life. There will be more traffic jams, less green spaces, etc. They will eventually have to stop migration or at least slow it down. Immigrants, especially the highly skilled ones, have helped Singapore, but it is an island, and space is the issue.