Rainy Day

This morning I woke up in my cozy warm bed, with my silky soft blanket snuggled about my face, fluffy down comforter above it for insulation, and yet one more comforter on top for weight. Warm and wonderful, I reset my alarm for an half hour later and revisited those sweet morning dreams. When it was finally time, I got up at my leisure to survey the raging winds outside. It was blowing the winds at a near 45 degree slant. "Oh well!" I shrugged, and went to heating up some yummy veggie soup for breakfast, and huddled under the kotatsu as it blew warm air over my legs and feet. A lovely morning, made even cozier by the soft lamplight in the living room.

Finally, it was time to get going to work. So I dressed, strapping on a winter jacket beneath my bright red raincoat, and set off to work, intending to bike. "The weather's not so bad!" I thought to myself as I stood under the eave of my balcony. Well, well.

That opinion was soon retracted. The cutting wind blew the freezing rain right into my face, the cold paid little mind to my poor gloves, and the road was populated with dangerous umbrella clad bicyclists - and I wasn't even a block from home! This was my day to the tech school, which is a 30-40 minute bike ride away. I considered turning back to drive instead, but by this point it was much too late for such a move, as the drive would take over an hour through the too-smart-to-bike traffic. So I persevered.

It may look pretty now, but offers no relief from the elements on a bad day.

The hail started 5 minutes in, and yet I kept on. My knees were entirely drenched 10 minutes in, but they kept pedaling. The worst part came after 15 minutes when my shoes gave out and let the cold rainwater sink in and splash around, to the horror of my tights-glad toes. All of this was grim, but the worst part was what lie ahead. 8 hours of cold wetness, with no hope for relief. My feet were condemned to lie in that cold bed of water, legs clinging unwillingly to the damp tights and sopping pants, and hair to dry at its own frizzy leisure.

So here I sit at school, pressing those freezing feet together for warmth, nursing a cup of irony green tea, and wondering when the convenient store across the street will open and I can look for dry socks. On top of that, I forgot my lunch. :S

Well, I feel a bit better now after telling the plight. Things are not so bad as all that. You see, we have no class today, since all the students are in tests, so I have a leisure day of writing and planning a Christmas lesson. I have my wallet, so I can buy whtever food or warmth I need. I have a secure job, nice coworkers, a warm home to return to at the end of the day, and people back home who care about my little troubles. Also, I'm pretty happy to have a car, which allows for this to not happen every time it rains.

In short, I have cold feet, but life is good!

________________________________________________________________

That night I unthawed in a scalding bath. I then reversed the morning routine: more soup for dinner, camping out under the kotatsu, and returning to that wonderful bed with a hot rice bag for companion. ^-^

A Week in the Life

As a sort of penance for my lack of posting, I decided to type up a record of a week in my life based off my daily diary entries (by December 18^th, it'll have been a year straight!). So here you go. It's long, but a nice summary of the day to day.

Couple quick notes:

3^rd grade = 12^th grade | 2^nd grade = 11^th grade | 1^st grade = 10^th grade

Kitako = the Academic school = high level English

Kagiko = the Science and Technology school = low level English

AwaNou = the Agricultural school = even lower level English

Thursday, November 24, 2011 ☼

Today was a huge contrast to yesterday. Happy Thanksgiving, by the way! I felt really rushed and flustered with this inner agitation... Anyway, up at 6, had breakfast, baked a couple more muffins, and went to work (Kitako) early to do the 3rd grader's test. Printed it off, made a warmup for Debate class, then had debate with E先生 in class 204. They weren't in high spirits. Worked on the test some more, had ramen for lunch. In 109 we had combined class, and a guy from Australia visited. During lunchtime I found something for English Club & chatted with that 3^rd year student. Next, 209 with W先生. They're so much faster than 204! Then the extra class with E先生, Translation, in 303. Got to tell them all about Thanksgiving. Went right from there to English Club, where we played a Department Store board game, then chatted. Left about 5:15, tired and flustered, rushed home, realized my carrot cake had gone bad (green) and started driving out to Tokushima for a Thanksgiving party at Zandra's. Traffic was really bad, so by the time I got past the first bridge, I just turned back home. The return was super fast. Hunkered down at home, ate some supper and one of my carrot cake muffins. Kind of vegged out in front of the computer for a while, checking facebook, and all the Thanksgiving posts. Then washed dishes from that messy carrot cake, started listening to Russian Short Stories, showered, and went to bed at 9, extremely glad that I turned home after all. Guess the week has had plenty of ups and downs.

Friday, 25 November, 2011 ☼

The week is coming to an end, but it's not over yet! Got a text in the middle of the night that the family planned to talk over Thanksgiving, so woke up at 5 and Hungout (on Google) with Nic and Zac, then moved to Skype with Mom, Dad, Grandma, & the Nelsons, who'd all just eaten their dinner. Such a small group this year! It was fun being passed around the room on Sandy's ipad. :) Finished at 6:30 and got ready for school, then went in early to Kitako to work on and print that test once more, then to Kagiko. Lovely morning. Sent some emails, printed my worksheets. Taught the Speaking Test Review lesson with Y先生, then with O先生. Lunch, got a snack at the school store, and got wedding gift ideas from O先生. H先生 gets married tomorrow! Last class with K先生, and went to work on those science articles for Ks先生. Left right at 4:15 and started riding home, but decided to swing by the newly opened YouMe Town shopping mall in Aizumi on the way. Got a card to rack up points. I've never done so much shopping in one night in my life! My arms were getting tired from carrying the bags. Got through with most of my Christmas shopping and left around8. Biked home, then went out to fill my car with gas for tomorrow. Vegged at the computer, posted on my blog about my car's gas mileage, and went to bed around 10.

Saturday, 26 November, 2011 ☼

A long, long day, but excellent in many ways! Got up at 4am so I could talk with Mom, Dad, Nic, Adam, & Cunninghams before they set out for tree hunting. After that I journaled, organized presents, made a couple envelopes to send gifts in, tried to put some folders away, and got ready for the day. Left here at 8:15, picked up Thomas, then went to Tokushima station & picked up Zandra and Katie. We drove out West to Shikoku Saburo no Sato for Shikoku Field Day! Hung around, and started at 12:00, lunch somewhere in there. 90 ALTs from all 4 prefectures came. I was put in brown team, with mostly Ehime people. We played... human pyramids, hunker, janken, sumo, dragon tail, knots, capture the flag, slaughter ,and a hand-pushy game. All a lot of fun, high contact sports. We ended around 3:30, got in our cabins, which were way nicer than expected. Made a trip to Marunaka (grocery store). Adam announced the animus spirit for each team. Were were the Falcon! Then we had a Thansgiving BBQ outside, everyone sharing food. Cleaned up, and played a game of Sardines that lasted forever (50 minutes), since no one could find Robyn. Then went in and curled up in the cabin with giant futons wrapped around us. Chatted til midnight with Zandra, etc (5 others), and bed soon after midnight. Our cabin housed all the people who had an inclination to actually sleep, not get wasted on drinking games. Huzzah!

Sunday, 27 November, 2011 ☼

The end of this busy season is in sight... maybe. Aside from Harry's alarm going off around 5 and 6 am this morning, I slept like a rock. All the way until almost 9am, when everyone in the cabin started waking up. We all sat around eating breakfast and chatting. Collected gifts for the Kodomo Gakuen CWC (Child Welfare Center Visit, celebrating Christmas with the orphans) from a few people, and got on the road about 10:30, with Zandra, Katie, and Sarah. Arrived at YouMe Town at 11:30, got lunch at the foodcourt from Sukiya, then shopped around for a while. We were all a bit tired and didn't wanna stay long, so I sent them to the bus stop and got home around 2. Laid down for a nap til 3, then checked email n' stuff, sat under the kotatsu with hot chocolate and my diary, got groceries at the Big, and returned home. Did laundry, listened to some more Russian Short Stories and left~5:50 to go to my pastor's house for the Natsume Cell meeting. We had home made mochi for dinner (YUM!), chatted, then had a little bible study and talked until 9. Headed home, had a snack, and got to bed around 10.

Monday, 28 November, 2011 (misty)

Today wasn't as peachy keen as it might've been, but there was nothing terrible about it. Slept until 6, got up, and spent a long time over my miso and rice for breakfast. Got dressed, and arrive at Kitako by 8:15. Printed my activity for 1^st period, was briefed on the classes for today by Thomas, then started in on the 3inarow classes. 302/3 was a discussion & test review period. I didn't do a very good job of leading, but it was finally over. Next, combined Debate for 209. Thomas led a Jeopardy game review session. For 109, we just went through the book. Our students are so understanding >_<. Ate lunch with N先生 and chatted about our trip to the zoo this weekend. When will I have a free weekend ever again??? That student came by again to talk. E先生 and I did a review Jeopardy with 204, then I revised and printed that wily test. Chatted with Ng先生 and T先生 about H先生's wedding last weekend, then about boyfriends and whatnot. Left right at 4:15 to go home and sit at my computer ,eating dinner & watching 3 new episodes of Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu (JPN Drama, lit. “The Reason I Can't Love). They know just how to draw in young girls! <3 Took a shower, had some milo, looked at videos from my first month in Japan (from the Flip, formerly inaccessible), and went to bed by 9. No Aikido tomorrow!!! I was just so tired today...

Tuesday, 29 November 2011 ☼ /♣

Slept in luxuriously until 6am (that's almost 9 hours of sleep!), thinking there was no Aikido. Ate breakfast, read the news, got dressed, and cycled on over to Kagiko to discover that I'd skipped practice! >.< Printed the grading sheets right away, updated my diary with the latest entries, printed a page of JPN Sign Language, and had my first interview test with 101 & K先生's class. They did a lot better than I expected, and really tried to memorize their responses! Came back, graded the sheets, finished with my diary and journaled a bit, sent some emails, ate ramen for lunch (surprise, surprise). Found out more about Friday's enkai(school drinking party) when I went to the school store with Hy先生 and B先生. Had the interview test with Y先生's class and they did even BETTER! Cleaned off my desk, chatted with teachers, and left at 4 because they were all going to a meeting and wanted to lock the staffroom. Stopped at Geo, the video store on the way home and rented Home Alone for class tomorrow. Stopped at Circle K to pay bills, and rode home in the setting sun. Went for a bike ride until 6, then came in and had udon and miso, and hot chocolate in front of the computer. Watched Home Alone, washed dishes, took in the laundry, and generally picked up the apartment. Bed by 10!

Wednesday, 30 November, 2011 ☼ /♣

Well, it's the end of November and none of my well intentioned plans have come to fruition :/. Ah, well. Woke up at 6 and slept til 6:30, got dressed, and cleaned the apartment a little more. Sent off some facebook messages and went to AwaNou. Listened to “The Darling” from the Russian Short Stories. She reminds me a bit of me. They moved the staffroom at AwaNou to add space for the heater. I had class for first and second period, both in the library, and with all the 20 students. We watched Home Alone. They were really absorbed with/by/in it! Thought its interest gradually lessened for me with the repeated back to back viewings... Wrote in my diary and journal for 3^rd period. Last class for 4^th with the movie one more time, then back for lunch. Ramen, of course, while I read news at my desk. Sent out a few emails and such, journaled some more, viewed the oshibana artwork in the hallway, and went to cleaning time with S先生. Left at 4:15, stopped to pick up some pretty leaves. Went to YouMe town for my last round of Christmas shopping and got home at 6. Had some udon as I read the latest letter from Mom <3! Started organizing gifts to send tomorrow, then went grocery shopping at the Big and got more presents at Daiso. I think I've been spending way too much recently :(. Came home and continued packing until 10. Showered, replied a facebook video to Justine, and got to bed by 10:30/11ish. Can't wait til these gifts are out of my hands!

Thursday, 1 December, 2011 ♣

Work is going to become awfully easy when I finish this week! Happy December, by the way. I'm getting into the habit of waking up at 6 and sleeping until 6:30. Had breakfast, dressed in my new clothes from yesterday, and finished up packing those Christmas packages. Drove to work so as to be able to carry them. W先生 filled me in on how to conduct the Debate class interview. Started with 204. The students were much better than expected. They had to give a rehearsed opinion, then form once about a random topic. After that I went to the PO, err, first Bank to pull out yet more money and pay the gas bill. At the PO I discovered that to send everything would cost over $100! YIKES!!! So I sent the small stuff and will pull things out of the big'n. Ramen for lunch, chatted with teachers. Finished Ch. 6 with 109, and more interviews in 209, bit higher level. Thought I had the extra class with E先生, but he was mistaken, so I got to go back to my desk and write in my diary :). In English Club we watched Home Alone – my 5^th time in 3 days. We ended at 5, so I went home and had red bean bread, udon, and miso soup for dinner. Watched a Documentary called Stuff, then one called Stupid in America, which led me to shorter 20/20 segments and learning about Eugenics in America. I also took a bunch of my Christmas package, hoping to drive down the cost. Cleaned up a bit, and went to bed at 10:30m after contacting a bunch of JETs through facebook about the CWC visits and Swing Dance this weekend.

Car Stats

I finally got down to an empty tank for the first time since getting here! So this evening I had the pleasure of calculating and converting the totals.

I get 400km per 23litre tank. That probably doesn't mean much to you, but nor did it to me, until I calculated that it equates to a whopping 40 mpg! It's no wonder, when you consider how tiny it is. You just have to bob your leg to some music for it to start rocking.

Anyway, after that I was feeling pretty snooty petuty about my nice mileage, until I did one more conversion and it put me in my place. Gas has been hovering around 138yen/litre, or ~$1.50. Sounds low, right? Well change it, that's $5.50 a gallon. Maybe it all works out in the end.

If you'd like more info, here's the link to the wikipedia page. Mine is the Autozam Mk II (1990-1994), Me Lady edition, near the bottom.

What's Around the River Bend?

Yesterday I went out for a bikeride. I had no particular destination in mind - just time and some energy. Chose a direction and headed off.

Along the way I found a little shrine inside a bamboo forest. Bamboo is probably the coolest kind of wood. How does it come up looking the so uniform every time?? Within the shrine clearing, there was also a [seemingly] abandoned house. I started snooping around, peering in and opening doors until I realized that someone might actually live there after all. Nevermind all the spiderwebs, dust, and junk lying around. Would an ancient looking house really have modern cooking appliances lying around if it were really abandoned? Shut the kitchen door quietly and skidaddled.

Next I came along a giant patch of flowers. It was about the size of a rice field, set up with rows and everything. Only, the product was beauty rather than food. There was a lovelove couple strolling through the pretties, and some elderly women also making their way through, cameras at the ready. After taking my picture, they had a good time asking all about where I'm from, the stay in Japan, etc. Just around the corner from there was another big patch of pink flowers in bloom.

Not far from there was a pottery shop.

As I went further toward the mountains, I saw one of those big retaining walls up close. Up the side ran a tiny orange ladder. "Imagine climbing that!" I said to myself. After a moment or two of consideration, I did more than just imagine it.

However, I saw a snake right away, had to go through countless webs hosting bright yellow and blue spiders with a body the size of a nickel, and there was no ladder to the second tier. Gave up after that, but it was worth a try, right?

Continued on the road into the mountains, just wanting to see what was around the next bend. The road began to elevate, houses and cars lessened, and the nearly-dry riverbed took on some white water rapid qualities. "If you see a path into the woods, follow it!" Or so I did when I saw one. It led up and up, zigzagging around the side of a really large hill. Just as I was beginning to wonder how much farther it would be, a giant metal structure loomed overhead. It was a nice view, and nice hike.

On my way home I found a GIANT aloe bush, chatted with a fisherman about his odd choice of fishing spot (on top of a canal gate), and ran into the obaachan that has been giving me bagfulls of vegetables and fruit every time I pass by her house.

Got back 4 hours later, tired, hungry, and happy. I was going to title this post "Favorite Part of Japan", but really, you can do this anywhere. Set out and see what you find. Take an open mind and lots of free time.

Thanks for reading!

Food

It seems to be a common notion that singles living alone thrive on cheap, easy-to-prepare food. I got the memo about the first one, but easy-to-prepare? Pssh. I've done way more cooking here than I ever did in the States.

When I first got here, my meals consisted of rice, rice, and, er, rice. I've been experimenting with a lot of flavoring options since then. Garlic, curry, egg, onion, basil/oregano, taco powder, mayo and barbeque sauce, seaweed, peanut butter & jelly, black bean, red bean, soy sauce, brown sugar, and so on. I've already eaten about 28lbs of rice in these 3 months. Who knows what new deliciousness I'll come up with yet? Now, even though rice takes ~30 minutes to make, I don't quite consider it cooking.

Since coming here, I've developed a whole new way of looking at meals. Rather than "eating what you're in the mood for", you eat what's in the fridge. This can vary a lot from week to week depending on who I've been seeing and what kind of gifts they kindly gave. A lot of the vegetables I get (eggplants, onions, radish leaves) would be a chore to eat on their own, so instead I chop and throw them into soups, salads, and the daily dose of scrambled eggs.

Now that I can make 7+ meals out of the contents of my freezer-sized fridge, I really wonder how I was ever able to look at the brimming fridge back home and say "there's nothing to eat!"

Soup: Chicken, carrots, onions, radish leaves, and quinoa

Banana soup, Udon/onion miso, with a dash of sudachi

Zuccini, tomato, egg, and seasoning (aka: cleanout the fridge meal)

Tomato onigiri

Dumpster Diving

It's always been my goal to live as cheaply as possible. Now, just because I'm in a new place and have an ample salary, that doesn't need to change.

Upon arriving, I had just about everything I might need for general living, so there was thankfully quite little to buy. My only great desire was for a chair to put on the balcony and enjoy the view, but this could wait.

However, I discovered a new hobby one evening as I was taking the trash out. I wasn't yet sure which side plastics and burnables went on, so set to inspecting the clear bags in the little garbage shed. It was then that I noticed several bags filled with clothes. "What's this? Free clothes??" Despite lieing next to rotting food waste, they were tucked safely inside their own sealed bag, so I snatched them up and went up to the apartment to dig through the new finds. It was like finding Christmas in the garbage shed! There were several cute sweaters, shirts, and skirts for future use.

After that I've been keeping an eye on garbage piles when I see them. I've since pulled out six more bags of clothes from around town to drag back home and sort through. Some are rightfully placed in the trash, but there are enough good items to make it worth the search. Using this method, there are also a lot of things that simply don't fit (children's clothes), but they can be used as fabric for craft projects in the future.

The jackpot of this project was when I was lurking around the International Student D

orm one night and discovered a heap of goods on the side of the road. It's the end of the semester, so a lot of these internationals are heading home. Where else for their stuff to go than in the trash? My car of course! When I saw this, I rushed home to drive back and load up a carful of junk. I got a table, bookshelf, tv stand, manga set, griddle, a bunch of kitchen stuff, a zillion hangers, and, after all, a chair for my balcony. I made a real racket out there piling pots, pans, and tables into my tiny car. A few people popped their heads out the door to see what was going on, only to find a fellow foreigner hard at work in carting away their things.

What'll be waiting in the next wastebin?!

Recent Events

It's been a long time, blogging world! It seems that just when I have plenty of things to write about, I haven't been on lately. So, I'll give you a quick update on my general doings of late.

Last weekend was, a 4 day weekend. I won the lottery when it comes to national holidays + school holidays. The science school (Kagiko) had their Culture Festival on Saturday. Because it isn't my base school, I was able to go as a spectator, sample all the food stands with koroke (fried mashed potatoes), negiyaki (fried leek), and Frankfurts (hotdogs). Because this is a vocational school, I also got to see many of the things that the students have made, like benches, children's slides, and even a cardboard teahouse!

Also that afternoon was an English speech contest. I had been coaching a couple of the

students all week beforehand, so it was great to finally see them perform. And even take 2nd place, mind you.

There is an IT teacher at school who happens to

have a bluegrass band on the side. He invited me to a concert this weekend, with just about all of the Bluegrass musicians on Shikoku in attendance! It was great to hear songs that I could completely understand. Some of the English was heavily accented, but others sounded just like their US counterparts.

Among other news, I went hiking again with another group of foreigners. We didn't see any other hikers on this trail, though didn't reach the top either. It was a lovely way to spend the holiday. The next day I had my bike impounded and had to walk the ~45 trek to an abandoned schoolbuilding to retrieve it.

Also bought a dougi, karate uniform for the Aikido 'tournament' this weekend. I've been going to the Aikido club at my school every Tuesday morning for lessons. There are usually only 3 students on any given day. The other ALT at the school is also in the club, but goes on Wednesdays instead. We've had extra practices this week in preparation for the Enbutaikai this weekend, though, and I finally got to practice with Zandra. We had the match this morning. Certainly made plenty of mistakes, but overall had fun. There was a mixture of tiny kids in white belts and old men in their umpteenth degree black belt. Even got to see our sensei's sensei! He is the kind of man that would inspire George Lucas to create Yoda.

Choose Your Own Adventure

What do you do when a little grandma (obaachan) gestures to you, *House, My, Come*? Why, you smile and nod, of course!

Or at least, that`s what I did this Sunday after church. We started talking last week, working through the many communication barriers that can arise between one English speaking foreigner, and a deaf lady who uses Japanese Sign Language. I had my car with me this week, so afterward we went out to it and got in. "Where is this going to go?" I wondered, but knew that whatever we ended up doing, I had all afternoon.

Our first stop was Fujiguran, the local mall, so she directed me there simply by pointing. On her cell phone she typed out kaimono, shopping. We parked and went in to the grocery store there, roaming all the fresh food aisles and picking up much more variety and expense than I ever did while shopping alone. At first I was thinking that we were buying lunch for ourselves - some fruit, bread, and dessert - but by the end I knew there was no way we could eat all this alone.

A neighborhood street, much like Funoshiki-san`s

We finished shopping and got back in the car, and she directed me to her house. It was nice to not worry about making smalltalk in the car for once! I was quite relieved I realized she lived somewhere I was already familiar with. It would make the return drive much easier. Before we went in, she warned me about her dog and how he likes to bite, showing a gash on her hand. She opened the door very slowly, only to reveal a mini 4lb dog. He was really friendly when not being "affectionately" bopped by her slippers.

Once inside, I learned something new. We weren`t alone! Her husband was there and they started chatting - he seemed to be deaf as well, but somehow much easier to understand. You could tell that he was the socialite of the two. They gestured things about eating, so I thought that we would then have the lunch we picked up. Instead, the led me back outside. "Maybe we are going to a neighbor`s to eat?" I thought, as we walked up some steep stairs to a place a few doors down. Instead, it turned out to be a restaurant. And a fancy one at that!

We sat down, a pair of cute, short , gesturing ojii/obaachans, and their young foreign friend, about 1.5ft taller than them, acting as interpreter to the bewildered waitresses. After all the ordering was sorted out, the meal went really well. We shared food, told stories with our hands and eyes, and left full and happy.

Back at the house, we talked some more, this time using the assistance of pen, paper, and dictionary to further conversation. When they found out that I was going dancing that night in a couple hours, though, they shooed me out to go get ready, seeing that 4 hours had passed already. But before I left, they packed a whole bag full of bread, sudachi (lemon/lime fruit), sweets, and a plant.

The whole day was like a little mystery, never knowing what would happen next. This was the first time that I could fully appreciate how much can be communicated between people by simply using your hands and a smile.

Apartment

Before coming, many people warned me worried about the probable sardine size of my apartment, but it has turned out to be much more spacious and comfortable than expected. The system in the JET Programme works so that each new foriegner will take the place of the old one. With this set up, I was able to arrive to a fully furnished abode, that even included food! There have been 8 former ALTs to live in this apartment - from America, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and the UK, so a lot has been accumulated over the years.

I spent the first week exploring all the closets and boxes inside the apartment, discovering new things every day. Did I need to wash clothes? No problem. Charge batteries? Covered. Practice calligraphy? Sure thing! I also received my my "predecessor"`s bicycle, and bought her car. For the first couple weeks, it felt like I was living someone else`s life. It was like being a guest in someone else`s house, but without them there. Two months later, it feels a lot more like home.

And, so, because the [second] best way to know a place is to see it (first is to actually be there), here is a nice long video tour. For those who would prefer the more instant route, I`ll also post some pictures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa6ctts9ljk

Driving

Do you see that dark blue car, nearest the road? It`s mine! It`s called a [Mitsubishi?] Carol, that I bought off of the ALT before me. And, boy, is it small!

I was really nervous about driving when I got here, knowing that the Japanese drive on the left side of the road. So even though I had the car the whole time, I only drove it twice in the first month of being in Japan. Not so good for practice. But it seemed to work out well in the end. During that time, I was somehow stripped of my right-side-of-the-roadedness. Now I`m able to drive quite comfortably, and no longer flick on the windshield wipers every time I try to turn. The only remains of American driving I have left in me, it seems, is an inability to remember to stop at railroad crossings, and the unconscious tendency to approach the left side of the car to get in.

Little Carol has served me excellently on rainy days, when my bike tire was popped, and on the weekly 40 km excursions to the Agricultural school. It will also enable me to go on those mountain climbing trips I`d like to attempt! However, there are a lot of extra expenses that come with car ownership. There is gas, repairs (I need to get the oil changed and tires checked soon), a monthly insurance bill - extra high because of my young age - and Shakken. Shakken is a [biannual?] check to certify that the car is in working order, and costs somewhere in the ballpark of $1000. Not looking forward to renewing it next year. >.<

Takoyaki Party

I hosted my first dinner party last night! How did it go? Excellently, considering I haven't had more than a couple people over at a time since.. my 14th birthday? In any case, it wasn't by my effort that things went so well. The company, 6 girls from Kitako, all drove over to my apartment sround 6:30 after school on Friday. There is another typhoon moving along near us, so it was raining buckets, and already dark outside. We jumped in our cars and headed to the supermarket to all pick up supplies together. The customers at The Big probably shook their heads at our troupe of girls wandering through the aisles, giggling as we discussed the oddities of Japanese food (fermented soybean, "devil's tongue", a zillion types of seaweed).


45 minutes later, we got back to the dry saftey of my apartment. Everyone commented on the spaciousness of it, remarking over how well furnished and decorated it was. There I got to explain that everything here is an accumulation of things that the 8 other JETs before me have contributed. A nice array, I'd say! It came in really handy for the evening, as it provided a neverending supply dishes, bowls, and utensils.

We soon got to cooking, each finding a job to contribute - cutting cabbage, making the dough mix, setting the table, and mixing ice cream for later. The main dish was to be Takoyaki, fried breadballs with octopus in the middle, and seasoned with mayo, okonomi sauce, dried seaweed, and fish flakes. We'd also gotten a lot of snacks to tide us over until dinner really started at 8.

From there we ate and chatted, ate and chatted, all on repeat for several cycles through the night. The food was delicious, the conversation self propellant, and the atmosphere a nice combination of warm lamplight and the sound of heavy rain falling just outside the screendoor. Just about everything was said in Japanese, but the topics were mostly simply enough for me to follow. We talked about the food, cultural differences, boyfriends (or lack of them), and about people at work. I got to try sake and beer for the first time, but couldn't get over the taste. However, I persevered throughout the night and finally got down a small mug worth of alcohol, with no noticeable affects on the body. A few others drank, too, but we mostly hit up the other beverages - Mommy peach milk, apple juice, green tea, and Aquarius, a powerade-like drink.

After several rounds of takoyaki, a couple girls bustled into the kitchen, turned out the main light, and came back with a cake on the table! It was an adorable white thing covered in fruit and candles. It was to celebrate Fukuyama-sensei's birthday and to welcome me to Japan. We blew out the imaginary fire, and then all dug in with our separate forks and spoons until the cylinder of cake became a simple circle cardboard plate. At the very last, we dug into the ice cream. It had not had enough time to really freeze, so became more of a vanilla shake, no less delicious.

We all cleaned up together, trying to think of good cleaning songs as we washed, dried, and put away dishes. They all left around midnight, with plans for another party when the weather got cooler. Nabe, anyone?

Start of School

The above is a picture of my main base school, Kitako.

It's been a while! Sorry for being so quiet lately. Things have certainly changed a bit since the lazy, drifting days of summer when I first got here.


School is in full swing now, and I have officially introduced myself to my 15 classes at the 3 different schools. It was kind of interesting to give the same lesson again and again and see how all the classes react. Some listened intently, eagerly answered questions, and whizzed through the quiz at the end. Others slept or stared in boredom and seemed utterly bewildered by the half-page of English on the quiz. Then there were those classes that thought it perfectly acceptable to talk and walk around the room during the presentation. As assistant teachers, we are not supposed to attempt 'discipline', so in those cases I just raised my voice and plowed through them until the end of the 50 minutes. Thankfully enough, those one are spread out enough that my voice will have time to recover.

Students and classes aren't the only variable factor in the lessons. The success also depends a lot on the JTE, or main teachers. Some of them have been very helpful in giving advice and helping with the preparations, and others seem to see the Team Teaching classes as a chance to sit back quietly and let someone else do all the planning/presenting. As time goes on, I'm sure I'll learn how to work with them, but for now I'm just trying to keep up with which teacher matches which class, and what's going on in them.

All of this is new territory for me. 15 years of school taught me how to sit through endless hours of classes like a pro, and how to economize my studying to get a satisfactory amount of effectiveness out of the least amount of time. Sure, lack of sleep as a result of procrastination left me tired, but the work really wasn't so bad. Now, though, I've jumped clear to the front of the classroom. Things look a lot different from up there! You wouldn't realize how much time it takes to plan new lessons, prepare handouts, and teach the material. It's draining. Three lessons a day is my usual fare, and that's been plenty. Already, though, I've noticed myself building up callous to the new type of work. Rowdy classes are not as disappointing, and I've discovered that you can do just about anything with the class and they will believe it was intended to be that way.

Well, that's all for now. In the next post I'll have to detail some of my activities outside of school, because there have been/will be a lot lately!

Typhooooon

Big news of the week? A typhoon is set to hit Tokushima this weekend!


I first heard about it on Wednesday when my main school, Kitako, talked about canceling the Culture Day festival this weekend on account of the weather. Since then, I`ve seen teachers with the storm radar window up on the browsers all day, watching the progress. Today the buzz has really begun. Every time I`ve talked to anyone today, we end up hovering around the typhoon topic. "This is my first time in a typhoon!" I offer, hoping they will give me some pointers or stories. With that method, I`ve gotten anything from "Aww, it`s just heavy rain, no big deal," to "You had better take a half day and go home early. Sometimes roads are underwater, cars blown around, and you could end up staying the night in your car!" So, what can I make of these mixed responses? There is an American maxim, "Better safe than sorry." Then again... ~

Another topic that people have been hot to bring up has been hurricane Irene that hit the states, uh, recently? "Yes, we will have a typhoon here - by the way, didn`t the East coast just have a big one?" The first time I heard that, I had no idea, and realized how out of the loop I am. No tv, no time to waste on current events with limited internet access, no English radio. And so, no real news input, other than whatever circulates around school (most of which I can`t understand). What else is going on out in the world?

In other news, many firsts this week! Had to give a speech in front of the whole assembly. It went over really well - thank you all for the prayers and encouragement! I just looked at the wall way across from me, and tried not to think about the 1000 faces looking my way. For my first class, Thursday morning, I made a powerponit to present pictures of America, Minnesota, U of M, my family, and my hobbies. After that a game and Q and A period. It went over pretty well, and just fit within time! Then I did the same lesson again today at the Science and Technology school (Kagiko), and.. well.. I`m going to need to learn to change the level of lessons depending on the schools. They were walking all over the room and talking the whole time, despite our trying to get their attention. Ah, well, we did our best! And it`s not so important for these students to know English.

No beach party last weekend. Just a long bike ride to Naruto, going to church (found one!), and cleaning up a temple/memorial site with the church folks. It was a lot of fun! I`ve been tired all week, though, so am looking forward to the weekend to rest.

Summer Days, Blowing Away

Good news! I signed up to get internet at my apartment today. It is one of the faster types available, and doesn`t cost much more than the really slow one (around ￥4300 per month total). The bad news? It`ll be 3 weeks before they can install it. *queue Zelda dying scene* Ah, well, at least there is a date in sight, right? It`s been a month now, what`s 3 more weeks?

In other news, I have a 3 day weekend!!!Because I spent all of last weekend at Prefectural Orientation (English Camp and Awa Odori), I got two days of "daikyu", or compensation days off. This month is the best time to use them, as school is not yet in to use them, as school is not yet in session, so I`ve decided to have two 3 day weekends in a row, and one 3 day week. Sounds cushy, and one 3 day week. Sounds cushy, no? Now I have to find something to do with all that time! Maybe watch an anime that`s on my harddrive, or bike out to Naruto and get a glimpse of the whirlpools, or scour Tokushima city for signs of a church, or work ahead on Christmas presents. There is always something to do. The difference here is that there is rarely anything that must be done. What a sweet break from the 4 year hustle I played during college.

The weekend after next sounds promising, though, with a JET beach party in the works. It is a ways away, but I may be able to is a ways away, but I may be able to carpool with others going and split the gas money. Still have yet to see if I`ll go, though...

Shirohama Beach

Still working on getting a cell phone. I chose Softbank in the end after all, since there doesn`t seem to be one best company. And, of course, their ads are adorable. (just type Softbank into Youtube and look for the white dog!) So maybe next week I`ll have my own keitai, and be that much more contactable.

Hm, I feel like I`ve been cranking out so many letters in the past couple weeks that I`m not sure what else to say! As always, please continue to tell me about your lives and what`s been going on at home. Every time I write the 553** zipcode (or 68122) I feel a little pang of nostalgia for all of you. Hope things are going well!

Overview

Hello again, folks!

So, I`ve gotten a few questions as to what I`m actually doing while I`m here, so I`ll try to clear some of that up with a general answer session.

I am employed by the Japanese government to teach English in the public schools. Technically, I am employed as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT), so I will always be working with a Japanese Teacher of English (JTE) in the classroom. That gives a bit of relief to my lack of experience! We will plan lessons together and execute them as a team for the students. I`m teaching high school aged students, so they are not much younger than me. However, there is a clear distinction between who is a student and who is a teacher - all of the students wear uniforms to school. This is common throughout Japan, through Junior and Senior High.

I am assigned to work at 3 different highschools. Kitako is my base school, and has a special English program, so the students here are very smart. Right now I am here every day, but when school starts, it will just be two days a week. Another two day a week school is Kagikou, a science and technology school. It has more of a vocational focus. I`ve only been there once, so have yet to feel out the atmosphere. And my last school, Awanou is an agricultural school. It has all sorts of plants and animals on the grounds that the students take care of, and whose produce they sell to people in the town. It`s a very practical school, but the students aren`t very motivated for schoolwork, and many have various disabilities that make it difficult to learn. I`ll be there once a week, and need a car to drive the 40 minute distance.

My job is also salaried, which means that I am able to pay for an apartment, and live alone. Before coming, I heard many estimations of how big (small, rather) my apartment would be, but it really is incredibly spacious! 2 bedrooms, a living room, kitchen/dining area, and bathroom/shower. My school subsidizes the rent, so it is only about $400 per month, I think. It`s a much nicer place than I could find in Minneapolis for that much, at any rate! It also came fully stocked with things from the previous ALT owner, so I barely had to buy anything to furnish it.

However, I have had a lot of expenses in this first month. I bought a (used) car, insurance for it, paid rent right away, orientation costs, and will soon have to get set up with a phone and *crosses fingers* internet. As long as I can make it until my next paycheck, I think I`ll be financially flourishing for the next few years, and hopefully pay off my student loans while I`m at it.

Let`s see... what other kinds of questions have I gotten? My area is not quite as rural as I anticipated, and feels very much like a suburb to me. There are houses all over, plentiful supermarkets, and even a mall in (or near?) my town. It`s about a 40 minute bike ride to the biggest city in the prefecture, so I`m nicely positioned. At the same time, though, there are almost as many fields as there are houses (ok, not quite), wedged in their tiny lots. Rice, radishes, pears, and a zillion other plants whose names I don`t know. It`s rather pretty, really.

As far as how I`m doing, good still. However, I seem to be tired almost all the time, even after habitual 9 hours of sleep each night! People say this is a part of adjusting to a new culture, so it must be true. That being said, I have plenty of time in which to rest or read or write or bike, or any activity that I please to do other than tv or internet. I`ve been getting increasingly lonely, so any emails, letters, pictures, or postcards you might send would be greatly appreciated. Also, I have lots of extra bedding if someone wants to come for a visit!

That`s all for now. Feel free to ask any more questions that I`ve neglected!

PS - see if you can find me in two of these pictures. *hint - I`m the only one in bright clothes.
http://tokushimakita-hs.tokushima-ec.ed.jp/index.php?action=pages_view_main&active_action=journal_view_main_detail&post_id=363&comment_flag=1&block_id=257#_257

Arrived

Hello!

So the summer is continuing nicely. I`m all settled into the apartment, clutter on the table and all. Life has already taken on a routine consistency, but still has the refreshing newness that it ought. I go to my school (Kitako) Monday to Friday, from around 8:30 to 4:30, and look for new tasks to perform each day that`ll keep me busy. I`ve already gone through most of the English materials in the former teacher`s desk, so today I made a poster with pictures of Minnesota (from a Travel Guide, no less!). My wonderfully kind supervisor has been taking me around to get different paperwork filled out - Alien Registration, Car insurance, tax whatnots, and so on. I hope they are paying her extra for all this.

We`ve also visited my other two schools, Kagiko (Science and Technology focused), and Awanou (Agricultural school). Kagiko reminded me a lot of dad`s garage, and Awanou had a relaxed, farmlike environoment. I like them both, but won`t go back again until September. Why, you ask? Because it`s summer vacation! Believe it or not, Japan does occasionally have some breaks (1 month for summer). However, what you won`t believe, is that everyone goes to school during summer. And takes classes! I couldn`t figure out why all the students were still in their uniforms when we first drove into town. They must like them a lot, I thought. Gee, who knew.

In the evenings I go home to hours of free time. Usually I read a bit as I make supper and bake myself in the hot apartment (postponing the use of a/c til November 1st. Hm, or was that heat?). Then, around 6, when the sun is nearing the mountainous horizon, I set out on my bike and wander the town. I`ve gotten pretty lost a couple times, but everyone is quite friendly, and I know that all roads lead to roam... Rome. I`ve had a fair variety of adventures with this method of time-spending, and find it very enjoyable indeed.

Altogether, things are good good good. I would really like to get into some kind of group, however, and perhaps makes some friends. The trouble is in deciding where to try. A dojo? Volunteer group? Hiking club (if there is one)? Choir (yes, family, you will laugh)? Hmm, it`ll come in time.

If you have any ideas on other activities, let me know! More importantly, if you have any news or nonnews in your life , let me know that , too :). Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, and hopefully letters coming my way! It`s really nice to know that people care.

(once again, pictures for later!)

Travel Part II

It`s a little late in coming, but I`ve finally made it to Japan!!!

The plane flight went by really quickly (at least, only as fast as 13 hours can go). I found myself having to ration my time, between reading on the Kindle, eating the delicious meals, walking around the cabin, chatting with the neighbor, and watching movies. It was only after we landed that time seemed to come to a grinding halt while we waited in all sorts of lines, went through customs, etc., etc. But we were in Japan!

This whole time I`ve felt really calm about moving half way across the world. I thought My emotions will catch up with me once I`m on the plane. But it wasn`t until the very end of the flight, when we were instructed to put our tray tables up and seats back in the full upright positions, that my full enthusiasm was roused. As the plane descended to the rice fields below, my heart took flight to the heavens above. I`d dreamed of coming here for so long, seen so many pictures, videos, stories... but now here it was! Here it is, actually.

Tokyo Orientation was just another 2 day period of organized, fancy waiting. But it eventually blew through, and I was on the final flight to the real destination, Tokushima. The mountains and rivers and ocean stretched out below the clouds. Within a few hours, I was under them myself, settled in the new apartment. Home.



(Pictures to come later!)

Traveling Part I

Here begins the first leg of the journey! Things are finally coming into full swing now as my arrival in Japan thunders down to less than 48 hours away. Yet, still, it's barely sunk in. Does that mean there may be a severe shock when I get there? I sure hope not...

So last night I left my sweet little nephew, sister, and brother in law behind in Omaha. They dropped me off at the Greyhound station and said goodbye. It'll be a year+ til I get to hug them again, and who knows what little Westley will look like then! They'll send pictures, though. Here's one for now.

The Greyhound ride was relatively enjoyable, as usual. This is my third time riding them, and the bus drivers all seem to have a nice sense of humour. Justine very generously gave me a Kindle for a going away present (can you believe it?!), and it came in soooo handy all night. Not only did I have something to read (Water for Elephants), but she even got one with a case that had a perfect little booklight! So I could read all for hours without disturbing the person next to me trying to sleep. As for sleeping, I got a little myself, in just about every scrunched up position you can think of for a bus seat. My bare arms and feet were cold all night, but morning finally came, as did Chicago.


Next came the trickiest leg of the journey, lugging my 4 bag, ~160lb. luggage around Chicago. It also wasn't encouraging that the only review for that Greyhound station online said that the person got mugged. Ugh! Yet, when I got there, everyone along the way was incredibly friendly and helpful. I know that there are bad people in the world, but I seem to never run into any of them! (or if I do, am happily blind to it) God has so faithfully kept me safe in every shady situation so far.

At 1 our Pre-Departure Orientation started, and I learned all about the flight and other things, and we all ate dinner together. Now time to turn in get rested for the flight tomorrow!

Tokushima

Tokushima, Tokushima!

It's like a sweet little treasure in my mouth to say the name of my new home. News of my acceptance into JET came two months ago, but it wasn't until yesterday that my placement was narrowed down to a specific prefecture. It hasn't seemed quite so real until now that I can point to a map and look up touristy information. The town has yet to be named, but this is good enough for me for now. There is also a good chance that I'll be working with highschool students, possibly rotating between a few schools.
It looks like the area is fairly agricultural, so I can skip through rice fields all day long, if I like. Also, there are mountains of mountains in the area. That'll making biking more arduous, but I can't wait to do some hiking up those many beautiful slopes! My biggest worry about this particular place is the weather. It's labeled as a humid subtropical type, and is roughly the same latitude as southern California. Now, we complain about humid summers in Minnesota, but I can't imagine what it will be like going to a place with "humid" in its climate name...

I was so excited yesterday that I sent out a lengthy email to most of my friends and family that have been asking for information(and some who haven't ;) ). In retrospect, it seems a little old fashioned. But then, how is it that email can be a classical form of communication already? Afterward I realized that facebook was a much better method of broadcasting the news. Oh well!

By whatever means it may be, I'll try to keep everyone updated!

conGraduations!

Today I graduated from the U of M. Even though people have asked me all day, "What do you think, how do you feel??" I'm still not sure what to say! It feels great to be done, but not so much in the surging excitement sort of way as it is a quiet relief.

No more daily quizzes, tests and papers, or making sleep sacrifices to the insatiable god of procrastination? After a lifetime of schooling, it seems unbelievable. What comes after this? We'll see! But I think this summer will keep me plenty occupied as I plod toward a life without eternal institutional evaluations. Dad reminded me, though, as I mentioned this to him, that I may no longer have letter grades, but will still be confronted with bonuses, promotions, tax-breaks, and other systems that "grade" in a more consequential way. Oh boy.

The day went really well, though! We drove past all my old schools along the way before arriving at the present, last one. The U was swarming with people. Seniors wearing the traditional black gowns and families bathed in exultant smiles. Check-in felt like a demonstration of cattle herding as we were all funneled through the basement of Mariucci Arena and out to the exhibition. When we got to our seats, I immediately whipped out the crocheting I had already hidden under my gown and went to work industriously. Being exceedingly frugal, I chose to use the ceremonial garb left over from high school and make my own tassel. It turned out fairly well, and is bound to be more memorable than the simply buying one. The ceremony only lasted a little over 2 hours, an organizational feat for having 1200 students walk across the stage (or so the rumour goes!).

Afterward we took pictures and soon whisked away to satisfy the longing of our stomachs. When I first moved into the dorm 2 years ago, Mom, Dad, and I went to Davanni's for supper before the final break. So, to complete the circle, that's where we went today, this time with considerably less junk in the car. (although we did go dumpster diving around the Superblock first.) Got a slug of goodies from the Asian supermarket, United Noodle, and finished off the celebrations with some deliciousness at Coldstone.

It was such a lovely day, full of a sense of accomplishment, seeing former classmates, and the new friends I've made here. And to finish the day, I got to test the bedtime of summer in a long chat spent with an old friend hearkening all the way back to kindergarten.

First Post!

Hello, and welcome to this little blog!

I was encouraged to start one in an effort to keep people updated on my doings, which I hope will make for worthwhile future content. You see, in July of this summer I am embarking on a journey of a whole slew of firsts. I was graciously accepted into the JET Programme, sponsored by the Japanese government to teach English in an effort toward greater cultural exchange. I have yet to find out the exact whereabouts or specifics on my future home, but will, as promised, keep you informed!
Now, while I keep a frequent diary, write letters, and enjoy writing in many respects, I still feel a bit bashful about doing so for an actual audience. As the Japanese say upon introductions, please treat me kindly. よろしくおねがいします。*＾-＾*