Mr. Darden. I don't come to school on Wednesdays anymore...

I begin today's blog post with an anecdote from my not-so-distant past. Based on the title alone, many of you already know where this is heading, but for those of you who don't, let me fill you in:

It was my first year of teaching, and I was in the hallway supervising the children as they passed from one class to the next. As I was thinking the thinks that a first year educator thinks, one of the Spanish teachers approached me. To protect the innocent, her name has been changed. For grins, let's just call her  Dernabette Derano. Yeah. That has a nice ring to it. Anyway, Ms. Derano looked angry, and she was heading my direction. My first though was Oh no! I've done something wrong!

"Mister Dar-Den!" Her voice rang out in a high-pitched tone.

"Um... Yes, Ms. Derano?"

"I don't come to school on Wednesdays anymore." She was clearly fishing for a listening ear, a captive audience, if you will.

I'll bite, I thought. "Why?"

Without missing a beat, and in direct earshot of everyone in the hall, she responded "Because the Panda Day Schedule is f***ed!" She turned around, stormed away, and we both went back to our respective duty posts, as if nothing happened.

This little slice of life has become somewhat of an inside joke between myself, a few close friends, and a handful of colleagues from my former position at Pershing Middle School; however, it also sums up the main idea of this blog post. Something was bothering Ms. Derano that day, and she just felt like she needed to get it off her chest. The Panda Day schedule didn't affect me one way or the other, but in her little world, it clearly meant a lot, and I think that's the point. Something has been bothering me recently, and I'd like to share. I hope this doesn't turn into a pity party, or an airing of my hot mess of a life online, but if it does, apologies in advance.

January 27th marked the end of my first six months here in Japan, and I can proudly say that I am glad I made the decision to come. That being said, the road hasn't been 100% footloose and fancy free. For the past month or so, I have been rubbing my ashy elbows with Seasonal Affective Disorder. Overall, my demeanor has been genki, but there are times when I get sad. For those of you who read my blog, please indulge me in my rant. Humor me as a "captive audience." Be the first-year-of-teaching Jimmy Darden to my Ms. Reda... I mean, Derano.

In case you didn't know, I have lived in Houston most of my life- with the exception of about a year, give or take, in Michigan, and the four years I spent at university in Lubbock. Needless to say, I have little to no experience with severe winter weather. It rarely gets below the freezing point in Houston, and snow is a once-every-few-years-or-so miracle. In regards to Nagano Japan...

...that's just not the case.

The winters here are nothing like they are back at home. On a typical day, the temperature gets up to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The nightly average is about 20 degrees, but it can get even lower if Mother Nature feels like showing off. Combine that with a home that's built for earthquakes and summer highs, without winter insulation or central heating, and you get the perfect storm of a Texas boy who seems like he hasn't got a prayer.

I sometimes feel like this monkey.

There are mornings when I wake up and sit in bed for thirty minutes or so, just thinking about how bloody cold it is. I inevitably have to go to work and teach the future of Japan, but that snooze button gets so much more use in the winter. There have even been a few times when I have shown up to work within seconds of being tardy. That's never a fun feeling...

"You're late!"

On top of the cold weather comes the snow. According to many of my fellow Nagano JETs, my town doesn't get very much snow, and compared to the other regions in the ken, they would be correct. However, many Nagano JETs come from the American Midwest. For them, snow is something that is a common occurrence. For me, not so much. I am still learning how to deal with walking, biking, and even driving in these treacherous conditions.

Regular snow day...

...Mother Nature showin' her ass.

On a side note, I finally made the decision to get a motor vehicle. I was getting annoyed with walking/biking to the grocery store in the dead middle of winter, and I grew tired of being at the mercy of someone else driving me around whenever us expats get together. I'm completely grateful of their kindness, but it's so much more comforting knowing that you can come and go as you please, without having to always go when and where another driver takes you.

Of course, driving only benefits me when I need to run errands or attend to social matters. Contractually, I'm not allowed to drive in to work, so walking it is. That old, and somewhat annoying "parentism" of having to walk to school uphill in X feet of snow blah blah blah... holds true to an extent. When you're snuggled up inside with your boo, or in my case, video games, the snow is a remarkable sight to behold. It's a heavenly painting of white awesomeness that makes you appreciate living in a place with four seasons. When you have to walk to work in it, it's a hellacious sea of slippery slush that sucks the fun right out of your workday before it even begins.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The road to my elementary school isn't paved at all.

JHS students hanging out after class.

Okay, enough with the gloom and doom of my winter woes. I thank you for putting up with my rant on what a cold and miserable little twit I can be. I promise I'm not all grumpy during the winter. "Hold on, hold on, hold on. I can't do it. I can't sing no more sad songs. One, two, three, HIT ME!" (Cue the brass stage band) For those of you who have seen Dreamgirls, enjoy that little Easter Egg. If you haven't seen Dreamgirls, you're missing out. 

Jimmy want a piece of yo' choc-o-late cake!

With all of this snow and Japan's mountainous terrain,  winter sports are sort of a big deal here. I've gotten swept up into the craze of snowboarding, and I try to go as often as possible. As of now, I've been out seven times, but I want to make that number twelve before the end of winter. When I go snowboarding, I can magically awaken and spring out of bed without a problem. The cold doesn't bother me, and it's fun to use nature for recreational purposes. It kind of reminds me of back home. The summers are unbearably hot. Most of the time, Texans battle the heat by staying indoors, but it's also nice to do an activity in the heat to take your mind off the heat. The snow resorts of Nagano are like the Gulf of Mexico and the Guadalupe River.

I can't believe this is in my backyard...

Whenever I am snowboarding, I don't feel any of the sadness that I feel on normal work days. It's a fun activity that enhances my coordination and balance, along with cardiovascular strength.  I've never been stellar at ball sports, though I do appreciate a low stakes game of volleyball or "21" from time to time. I'm not overtly strong, I'm not a particularly fast runner, and I would never describe myself as Sporty (but I am interested in other things- Spice). Snowboarding is different though. In this sport I feel what little athletic intelligence I have being put to use. I'm no scientist, but I'm willing to bet the same kinesthetic skill set I use to snowboard now, is the same set I used when I did gymnastics all those years ago. 

I'm a total beginner, but I think the dreads make me look like a BAMF... 

Resting with my board.

Snowboarding also reminds me of my all time favorite hobby: going to theme parks. While there are no roller coasters of note in Nagano-ken, snowboarding is a suitable consolation prize. You get to ride the chairlift or gondola up the mountain, and going downhill on the slick snow is like a ride in and of itself.  The coolest thing about snowboarding, though, is that it's a fun thing to do with friends.

Hanging out on the slopes with friends isn't the one-step-saves-all answer to my seasonal depression, but it is something that I don't take for granted. I still miss all my friends and family back at home, and I don't think that will ever change. While I'm here, though, I want to make the most of my overseas experience: For better and for worse. Looking inward, this is just another step along my journey into adulthood. 

Mister Dar-Den!