The sun has finally set on my time in the Land of the Rising Sun. It was a lot of fun while it lasted.
Yes, technically (or is it "literally"?) I'm writing this from back home in Canada, but I figured I should have a post for my last day in Japan. Kind of a summary of sorts.
There are many things I'm going to miss about Japan, but there are also things I'm looking forward to now that I'm gone. I'm definitely going to miss all the new people I met, but I'm looking forward to seeing old friends that I haven't seen a while here. I'm going to miss the excitement of the world's biggest city, but I'm going to enjoy sleeping through the night without being woken up by numerous sirens (knock on wood). I'm also going to miss late-night/all-night excursions to karaoke, however I'm happy that... umm... no one has to be subjected to my horrible singing voice again. Haha, that one's a bit of a stretch. Oh yeah, I'm also looking forward to being able to read a menu and order food without relying on pictures.
I guess if we're being perfectly honest here I should mention the things that I'm not going to miss about Japan. For one, I'm not going to miss the hot, humid summers and having to camp out in my living room. I'm also not going to miss the feeling of being stared at all the time. One thing I definitely won't miss is having to pretend to be a contortionist just to ride the train home at night. If there's one thing that Canada has over Japan it's personal space.
Well what next? For now, rest. ...And trying to deal with the reverse culture-shock of being back in North America. I have concentrate really hard to remember which side of the road to drive on and I'm also finding grocery shopping to be completely overwhelming! The shopping cart just seems so ridiculously huge! Haha. The stores just seem so big and there's so much selection. I have a hard time deciding what I actually want to buy. Is there such a thing as too much choice? I'm sure I'll get reaccustomed to it all soon enough. I'm already at peace with the fact that I don't have to eat Frosted Flakes anymore :)
In the New Year I'll be taking off again. The question thus far is where to? I currently have job offers in Russia and China. I really want to go to Russia but the pay and other benefits aren't as good as the job in China. In fact they're about half as good. Plus the location is China is really ideal for travel - 120km from Hong Kong, and pretty close to Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand too. On the other hand, Russia would be really cool because it'd be completely different than any other place I've been so far. Dilemmas dilemmas. I guess I'll have to decide soon though - have to get that visa processing started if I wanna be off by February.
Well thank you all for joining me on my adventures in Japan. We'll see you next time in...?
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Japan - Day 290
Honsho no nichiyobi - cho mamonaku! (This Sunday - too soon!) ...At least I think that's what I wrote. I can't believe I only have five more days left until I'm voted off the island! It feels like I just got here - like I've only scratched the surface of what Japan has to offer. After finally making the decision to leave, I wish that I could stay.
So how can I sum up my time here? It seems like an almost impossible task. I haven't really been keeping people updated recently, so I'll try to fill in the events of the past little while...
Last week I went to Disneyland in Chiba with my roommate Maki. It was pretty fun, although it seems smaller than the ones in Florida and California. I'm not sure if it's because I'm older now and can cover the park more quickly, or if it's because it actually is physically smaller. At any rate, we still had lots of fun - going on rides like Space Mountain (twice) and watching the Christmas version of the Electric Parade. It truly is "the happiest place on Earth". Haha, okay that may be an exaggeration, but it was fun for a day. It was also fun people-watching there. Seeing grown people walking around with Mickey Mouse ears and Jiminy Cricket hats. Always a good laugh. I also learned that the main food attraction in Japan in popcorn. They love it! It's pretty much the only snack food you can buy at Disney. Salt, butter, caramel - typical flavors. But then you can also buy chocolate, curry, and cream soda. I wasn't too adventurous - I stuck to the salted popcorn.
Last week was also my birthday. Didn't have a huge party - just dinner with my friends Sachiko and Yoshi at a place called the Elephant Cafe in Shibuya. It's a pretty nice place... Pan-Asian cuisine, good atmosphere, although the service is a bit slow. That's okay though, we were able to entertain ourselves with candles and party hats (long story - pictures to come soon!). After dinner we went out for drinks at a standing bar (it's just like it sounds - no seats).
I've also been to a couple of concerts this past month. Twice to see a Japanese punk band named F.I.B. (Fill In the Blanks). Sachiko's friend from Nagoya, Tomoko, is obsessed with them, so she came up to Tokyo to watch them play and invited us to go along. They're pretty cool, and Tomoko's trying to get them famous in Canada/America. I'm gonna do my part by spreading the word around haha. So attention all ye punk fans - check out F.I.B.!
More recently though I went and saw Linkin Park in Saitama. Cho yobai! They were really good - put on a really energetic show! The Japanese fans are so crazy too! Almost as much fun to watch as the band (Example to follow shortly). Yellowcard opened for Linkin Park, as well as a Japanese visual kei band called Dir n Grey. (I'm not sure if that's how you spell their name). I've never heard of them, but apparently they're popular 'cause all the Japanese fans went pretty wild. Case in point: There were these two girls sitting in front of me and if you can picture somebody going to afternoon tea then you can picture them. Frilly dresses, pearl jewelry, fur-lined gloves... The whole nine. For Yellowcard they sat in their seats quietly, hands folded in their laps. But when the next band came on they were going at it full out. We're talking the biggest, heavy-metal head banging imaginable! 90 degrees for sure. Then, again, when Linkin Park took the stage (and when everyone else was out of their seats going crazy) they were sitting, hands folded across their laps. So bizarre. But it's all part of the experience that is Japan.
The past few nights have been spent at karaoke and watching some other friends, Fumiya and Yoshi, playing (guitar) at the station here in Hachioji. They're really good, and my roommate Beth is pretty convinced they're going to be famous one day. I think it's a definite possibility. We've also been spending most of the past couple of days translating one of Fumiya's songs into English. More difficult than it sounds - trying to make it sound good while keeping the original meaning and feeling in tact. Beth's done most of the work, and I've helped a little, along with Daisuke and Sachiko. A group effort I suppose. It's kind of an addictive process too. We started on the second track tonight. We're hoping to have it completed before their live event on Saturday so they can play it.
Tokyo is an amazing city, filled with amazing people. I've gotten to know some really great people in my two months here - I'm really going to miss everybody after I leave.
So how can I sum up my time here? It seems like an almost impossible task. I haven't really been keeping people updated recently, so I'll try to fill in the events of the past little while...
Last week I went to Disneyland in Chiba with my roommate Maki. It was pretty fun, although it seems smaller than the ones in Florida and California. I'm not sure if it's because I'm older now and can cover the park more quickly, or if it's because it actually is physically smaller. At any rate, we still had lots of fun - going on rides like Space Mountain (twice) and watching the Christmas version of the Electric Parade. It truly is "the happiest place on Earth". Haha, okay that may be an exaggeration, but it was fun for a day. It was also fun people-watching there. Seeing grown people walking around with Mickey Mouse ears and Jiminy Cricket hats. Always a good laugh. I also learned that the main food attraction in Japan in popcorn. They love it! It's pretty much the only snack food you can buy at Disney. Salt, butter, caramel - typical flavors. But then you can also buy chocolate, curry, and cream soda. I wasn't too adventurous - I stuck to the salted popcorn.
Last week was also my birthday. Didn't have a huge party - just dinner with my friends Sachiko and Yoshi at a place called the Elephant Cafe in Shibuya. It's a pretty nice place... Pan-Asian cuisine, good atmosphere, although the service is a bit slow. That's okay though, we were able to entertain ourselves with candles and party hats (long story - pictures to come soon!). After dinner we went out for drinks at a standing bar (it's just like it sounds - no seats).
I've also been to a couple of concerts this past month. Twice to see a Japanese punk band named F.I.B. (Fill In the Blanks). Sachiko's friend from Nagoya, Tomoko, is obsessed with them, so she came up to Tokyo to watch them play and invited us to go along. They're pretty cool, and Tomoko's trying to get them famous in Canada/America. I'm gonna do my part by spreading the word around haha. So attention all ye punk fans - check out F.I.B.!
More recently though I went and saw Linkin Park in Saitama. Cho yobai! They were really good - put on a really energetic show! The Japanese fans are so crazy too! Almost as much fun to watch as the band (Example to follow shortly). Yellowcard opened for Linkin Park, as well as a Japanese visual kei band called Dir n Grey. (I'm not sure if that's how you spell their name). I've never heard of them, but apparently they're popular 'cause all the Japanese fans went pretty wild. Case in point: There were these two girls sitting in front of me and if you can picture somebody going to afternoon tea then you can picture them. Frilly dresses, pearl jewelry, fur-lined gloves... The whole nine. For Yellowcard they sat in their seats quietly, hands folded in their laps. But when the next band came on they were going at it full out. We're talking the biggest, heavy-metal head banging imaginable! 90 degrees for sure. Then, again, when Linkin Park took the stage (and when everyone else was out of their seats going crazy) they were sitting, hands folded across their laps. So bizarre. But it's all part of the experience that is Japan.
The past few nights have been spent at karaoke and watching some other friends, Fumiya and Yoshi, playing (guitar) at the station here in Hachioji. They're really good, and my roommate Beth is pretty convinced they're going to be famous one day. I think it's a definite possibility. We've also been spending most of the past couple of days translating one of Fumiya's songs into English. More difficult than it sounds - trying to make it sound good while keeping the original meaning and feeling in tact. Beth's done most of the work, and I've helped a little, along with Daisuke and Sachiko. A group effort I suppose. It's kind of an addictive process too. We started on the second track tonight. We're hoping to have it completed before their live event on Saturday so they can play it.
Tokyo is an amazing city, filled with amazing people. I've gotten to know some really great people in my two months here - I'm really going to miss everybody after I leave.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Japan - Day 264
Alas my journey to Asia is coming to an end - I’ll be back on Canadian soil by December 3rd. The past month and a half has given way to some pretty big changes here in the Land of the Rising Sun – I don’t even know where to start. I hear the beginning is usually the best though, so let’s try it from there…
If I were to try and pinpoint the beginning of the end I guess I’d have to say it was September 13th. Pay day. However, this particular month pay day came and went without the pay. When we got to work the staff had no answers for us, only that they were sorry. I realize it wasn’t their fault we hadn’t been paid yet, but it was obvious they had known beforehand that we weren’t going to be paid on time. It would’ve been nice if they’d given us a heads up. I guess it doesn’t really matter anymore. Later in the day we received a fax from head office apologizing for the delay in payment with some lame excuse blamed on the banks… The fax went on to say that we’d be paid by the 18th… So 5 days late. Okay fine, I can live with that – after borrowing 5000 yen from Mari, the Japanese branch manager, to get me through the week.
Skip forward to October 15th. (I’m now in Tokyo). Pay day. Again minus the “pay” component. This time however, there was forewarning. On October 12th we received a fax saying that Nova didn’t have the funds to pay all the teachers on time and that we should be paid by the 19th. Okay 5 days late again, I can survive – I had an inkling that this might happen so I budgeted for it a bit, but after a trip to Korea and a move to Tokyo I was stretched pretty thin. October 19th came and went with no pay and no fax. The next day there was a fax from the President (who no one can seem to locate) apologizing again for the hardship we have been put under… Blah blah blah… “Dark clouds are parting” or some other bullshit rhetoric… Now we’re being told that “around the 25th” we’ll be paid. I’m no longer holding my breath. A lot of other teachers are no longer showing up for work. I continue to go because: A) I feel bad for the students; and B) what else do I really have to do? (If I’m not at work then there’s a better chance I’ll be out doing something that involves spending money). Anyone want to guess what happened on the 25th? If you guessed “nothing” then you’re wrong.
A lot happened on the 25th of October. However, none of what happened involved a paycheck being deposited into my bank account. I got a text message from Akina, Japanese office staff from my branch in Sangenjaya, telling me that I didn’t have to go to work today – Nova was temporarily closed. What? Okay, so now I’m up and on the internet trying to figure out what the hell was up. Turns out Nova filed for “corporate restructuring”. Basically asking for government protection from its creditors while it tries to sort things out - One step away from bankruptcy, and only delaying the inevitable. Nova’s going down. So they have until November 5th to find a sponsor to help bring them back from oblivion or to bite the bullet and file for bankruptcy. In the meantime all business is suspended. No work. No pay. No nothing.
This is basically the condensed version of the turn of events for Nova, previously the largest English Conversation School in all of Japan. There are many details I’ve left out, such as the emergency board meeting on the 24th where board members essentially kicked out the President. Or the fact that Japanese staff haven’t been paid longer than the teachers (they never got paid in September for the work done in August). Or the fact that there’s a chance that teachers can receive 80% of their unpaid wages from the government, if, and only if, Nova declares bankruptcy. Usually the timeframe for claiming unpaid wages has a one month turn around between filling out the paperwork and receiving a cheque, however the Nova case is different in the fact that there will be about 7000 people filing at the same time! Rumor has it that it could be very likely that we won’t be seeing any money from them for 6 months.
So that’s the situation here.
During this time I didn’t just sit around twiddling my thumbs. I was out applying and interviewing for new jobs. And I found one! With a pretty reputable company named Berlitz. I was set to start my training on November 5th.
So why am I going home?
Here’s the predicament… I haven’t been paid in 6 weeks, and I won’t be getting a full paycheck from Berlitz until Christmas. Despite emergency money sent from my family, there’s really no way I could survive in Tokyo for another 6 or 7 weeks without a source of income. On top of that the roundtrip flight I originally booked before moving Japan was scheduled for December 2nd. (At the time that was the furthest back it could be booked). I was informed that closer to December I could push it back further. Amy called American Airlines last week to see how far we could extend the return date, and it turns out that we have to use the tickets by February at the very latest. To add to this mess, my work visa also expires in February. Now there’s a chance that Berlitz would renew it for me, but not guaranteed given the contract I agreed to was per lesson and not salary-based.
So the way I saw it I had two options laid out in front of me: 1) I could take the job with Berlitz and live in relative-poverty for the next few months. Then return to Canada in February, hoping in the meantime to receive some sort of pay from Nova or the government. Or 2) I could cut my losses and return home on the originally scheduled December flight. This option would involve turning down the Berlitz job and instead using the money my family had sent to travel around Japan and see everything I wanted to see and then hopefully return home with no (or fewer) regrets.
This was not an easy decision at all. Since moving to Tokyo I’ve met so many cool people and there are so many different things to do and see here. It’s really amazing. Plus I really wanted to stay here at least a year. But is all the sacrifice worth being able to say I lived in Japan for a year? Is 10 months really that different? It just seems the most logical (financially) to pack up and head home in December. So after a lot of internal debate, I made my decision – I’m going back to Canada. At least temporarily.
I should come as no surprise that I’ve already started looking into new English schools to apply to. Hopefully I should in and out of Canada within two months. My goal is to be out and seeing the world again by February. Hopefully it’s in the cards. For now I’m going to enjoy the month of November and see the sights of Japan that I haven’t been able to see yet. I hope to go to Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Hokkaido before I go. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas of how else I could spend my last month here lemme know! I’m also hoping to go to Tokyo Disney J
If I were to try and pinpoint the beginning of the end I guess I’d have to say it was September 13th. Pay day. However, this particular month pay day came and went without the pay. When we got to work the staff had no answers for us, only that they were sorry. I realize it wasn’t their fault we hadn’t been paid yet, but it was obvious they had known beforehand that we weren’t going to be paid on time. It would’ve been nice if they’d given us a heads up. I guess it doesn’t really matter anymore. Later in the day we received a fax from head office apologizing for the delay in payment with some lame excuse blamed on the banks… The fax went on to say that we’d be paid by the 18th… So 5 days late. Okay fine, I can live with that – after borrowing 5000 yen from Mari, the Japanese branch manager, to get me through the week.
Skip forward to October 15th. (I’m now in Tokyo). Pay day. Again minus the “pay” component. This time however, there was forewarning. On October 12th we received a fax saying that Nova didn’t have the funds to pay all the teachers on time and that we should be paid by the 19th. Okay 5 days late again, I can survive – I had an inkling that this might happen so I budgeted for it a bit, but after a trip to Korea and a move to Tokyo I was stretched pretty thin. October 19th came and went with no pay and no fax. The next day there was a fax from the President (who no one can seem to locate) apologizing again for the hardship we have been put under… Blah blah blah… “Dark clouds are parting” or some other bullshit rhetoric… Now we’re being told that “around the 25th” we’ll be paid. I’m no longer holding my breath. A lot of other teachers are no longer showing up for work. I continue to go because: A) I feel bad for the students; and B) what else do I really have to do? (If I’m not at work then there’s a better chance I’ll be out doing something that involves spending money). Anyone want to guess what happened on the 25th? If you guessed “nothing” then you’re wrong.
A lot happened on the 25th of October. However, none of what happened involved a paycheck being deposited into my bank account. I got a text message from Akina, Japanese office staff from my branch in Sangenjaya, telling me that I didn’t have to go to work today – Nova was temporarily closed. What? Okay, so now I’m up and on the internet trying to figure out what the hell was up. Turns out Nova filed for “corporate restructuring”. Basically asking for government protection from its creditors while it tries to sort things out - One step away from bankruptcy, and only delaying the inevitable. Nova’s going down. So they have until November 5th to find a sponsor to help bring them back from oblivion or to bite the bullet and file for bankruptcy. In the meantime all business is suspended. No work. No pay. No nothing.
This is basically the condensed version of the turn of events for Nova, previously the largest English Conversation School in all of Japan. There are many details I’ve left out, such as the emergency board meeting on the 24th where board members essentially kicked out the President. Or the fact that Japanese staff haven’t been paid longer than the teachers (they never got paid in September for the work done in August). Or the fact that there’s a chance that teachers can receive 80% of their unpaid wages from the government, if, and only if, Nova declares bankruptcy. Usually the timeframe for claiming unpaid wages has a one month turn around between filling out the paperwork and receiving a cheque, however the Nova case is different in the fact that there will be about 7000 people filing at the same time! Rumor has it that it could be very likely that we won’t be seeing any money from them for 6 months.
So that’s the situation here.
During this time I didn’t just sit around twiddling my thumbs. I was out applying and interviewing for new jobs. And I found one! With a pretty reputable company named Berlitz. I was set to start my training on November 5th.
So why am I going home?
Here’s the predicament… I haven’t been paid in 6 weeks, and I won’t be getting a full paycheck from Berlitz until Christmas. Despite emergency money sent from my family, there’s really no way I could survive in Tokyo for another 6 or 7 weeks without a source of income. On top of that the roundtrip flight I originally booked before moving Japan was scheduled for December 2nd. (At the time that was the furthest back it could be booked). I was informed that closer to December I could push it back further. Amy called American Airlines last week to see how far we could extend the return date, and it turns out that we have to use the tickets by February at the very latest. To add to this mess, my work visa also expires in February. Now there’s a chance that Berlitz would renew it for me, but not guaranteed given the contract I agreed to was per lesson and not salary-based.
So the way I saw it I had two options laid out in front of me: 1) I could take the job with Berlitz and live in relative-poverty for the next few months. Then return to Canada in February, hoping in the meantime to receive some sort of pay from Nova or the government. Or 2) I could cut my losses and return home on the originally scheduled December flight. This option would involve turning down the Berlitz job and instead using the money my family had sent to travel around Japan and see everything I wanted to see and then hopefully return home with no (or fewer) regrets.
This was not an easy decision at all. Since moving to Tokyo I’ve met so many cool people and there are so many different things to do and see here. It’s really amazing. Plus I really wanted to stay here at least a year. But is all the sacrifice worth being able to say I lived in Japan for a year? Is 10 months really that different? It just seems the most logical (financially) to pack up and head home in December. So after a lot of internal debate, I made my decision – I’m going back to Canada. At least temporarily.
I should come as no surprise that I’ve already started looking into new English schools to apply to. Hopefully I should in and out of Canada within two months. My goal is to be out and seeing the world again by February. Hopefully it’s in the cards. For now I’m going to enjoy the month of November and see the sights of Japan that I haven’t been able to see yet. I hope to go to Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Hokkaido before I go. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas of how else I could spend my last month here lemme know! I’m also hoping to go to Tokyo Disney J
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Japan - Day 211
The countdown to Tokyo begins! Only 17 days until my move to the big city. And how big it is. The Greater Tokyo Area houses more people than *all* of Canada! I'm pretty sure I'll be experiencing some culture shock a second time around. It's going to be a busy end of the month. 17 days till Tokyo means only 14 days until Seoul. (I'll have three days in Seoul followed by two in Tokyo before I actually start working again. Just enough time to get the "lay of the land” or at least the general vicinity between my apartment and my office). I really can't wait until Seoul because I don't have another day off before then :(
I'll be working in the Sangenjaya branch in Tokyo which is only one train stop away from Shibuya Station. (The station gets about 2.5 million passengers a day). Not exactly looking forward to the crowded trains but on the bright side, according to Google Maps, there's a Denny's near my new apartment :) I'll actually be living in Yokohama which is like what Mississauga is to Toronto. It's only about a 20 minute train ride into the city centre and about 15 to my work. Seems like an ideal location. (Hopefully).
Seeing how today was my last day off for a while, we decided to go to the African Safari. It's back in Ajimu, which is actually where we went last Wednesday to visit a waterfall and winery. It took us about 45 minutes by bus to get there from Beppu. It's very similar to the African Lion Safari in Cambridge except that when you take the bus tour through the park you can actually feed the animals! They give you a "bento box" containing raw meat for the lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), some tangerines for the giraffes, and some pellets for the elephants, deer, and other random animals in between. Then you get these tong-like things to stick out through the wire caging around the bus. Definitely a way to see the animals up close and personal!
After the tour we visited a kangaroo area where you can go through and actually pet them. That was kinda cool. I was a bit nervous of being kicked though haha. I also go to pet a baby tiger cub. Her name was Akuya ("Aqua") and she was 2 months old - so adorable! And feisty! Apparently they can be pet and handled by visitors until they're 4 months but then they start to get too aggressive. It was so cute watching her run around with the trainer. Well, maybe I shouldn't say "trainer" seeing as how she told us that she didn't need any special schooling or training for her job - so maybe she's more like a tiger-babysitter...? Either way, very cute :)
There's not much else going on here... Aside from the fact that it's finally cooled down enough to move out of the living room and return to my bedroom. I can survive through the night now with just a fan... I never thought this day would come! (After spending something like 8 or 10 weeks camped out in that living room...) Now it's a frigid 34 degrees out. Feels nice!
I'll be working in the Sangenjaya branch in Tokyo which is only one train stop away from Shibuya Station. (The station gets about 2.5 million passengers a day). Not exactly looking forward to the crowded trains but on the bright side, according to Google Maps, there's a Denny's near my new apartment :) I'll actually be living in Yokohama which is like what Mississauga is to Toronto. It's only about a 20 minute train ride into the city centre and about 15 to my work. Seems like an ideal location. (Hopefully).
Seeing how today was my last day off for a while, we decided to go to the African Safari. It's back in Ajimu, which is actually where we went last Wednesday to visit a waterfall and winery. It took us about 45 minutes by bus to get there from Beppu. It's very similar to the African Lion Safari in Cambridge except that when you take the bus tour through the park you can actually feed the animals! They give you a "bento box" containing raw meat for the lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), some tangerines for the giraffes, and some pellets for the elephants, deer, and other random animals in between. Then you get these tong-like things to stick out through the wire caging around the bus. Definitely a way to see the animals up close and personal!
After the tour we visited a kangaroo area where you can go through and actually pet them. That was kinda cool. I was a bit nervous of being kicked though haha. I also go to pet a baby tiger cub. Her name was Akuya ("Aqua") and she was 2 months old - so adorable! And feisty! Apparently they can be pet and handled by visitors until they're 4 months but then they start to get too aggressive. It was so cute watching her run around with the trainer. Well, maybe I shouldn't say "trainer" seeing as how she told us that she didn't need any special schooling or training for her job - so maybe she's more like a tiger-babysitter...? Either way, very cute :)
There's not much else going on here... Aside from the fact that it's finally cooled down enough to move out of the living room and return to my bedroom. I can survive through the night now with just a fan... I never thought this day would come! (After spending something like 8 or 10 weeks camped out in that living room...) Now it's a frigid 34 degrees out. Feels nice!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Japan - Day 183
5 1/2 hours. This is how long I sat in a chair at a hair salon last week. 5 1/2 hours. The result? Straight hair! I'm pretty stoked! After heeding Amy's not-so-subtle hints that my hair could use an update I went in search of a Japanese straight perm on my last day off. (Also known as a "sta-late-toe permu"). I was skeptical at first. I didn't think any treatment in the world would ever tame my hair, but now a week later, my hair is still straight. Even when I just let it air dry. It's a miracle! Hallelujah! (Bust out the Leonard Cohen). In all honesty it's not *perfectly* straight, but it's much more than I ever anticipated. I can leave my hair down and I don't look like the Bride of Frankenstein by the time I reach the bus stop. A miracle in my books.
Aside from this life-changing event (not to be overly dramatic about the whole experience), there have been a few new developments here in Japan. My request to Tokyo has finally been approved. It looks like I'll be heading there October 1st :) ...This is after having to track down the appropriate personnel in Osaka after not hearing anything in over a month. ...Turns out they never received my request back in July after I sent it to my area manager. I'm not sure whose to blame, either him for not faxing it or the Osaka office for losing the paperwork afterwards. Either way it wouldn't surprise me, but I'm just glad that now everything is finally sorted out. Ahh the joys of working for a huge corporation... (Oh yeah, maybe it won't be until November 1st, because head office still doesn't have their act *completely* together). So here's hoping!
Starting to plan another trip. I'm hoping to get out to South Korea at the end of September before I move. Amy and I are trying to book a few days in Seoul. Should be pretty exciting! ...I'm not entirely sure what is in store there, but I'm sure an adventure of some sort!
Today me and Amy went and watched a professional soccer game. The home town team is Oita Trinita. They're not that good. Actually they pretty much suck. They're in 16th place out of 17 in the 1st Division. Not entirely sure what the "1st Division" means, but I guess one of the J-League categories... The game started out on a high enough note. Oita scored within the first 10 minutes and then again about 15 minutes later. Ahead by 2-0 things were looking good for our heroes, but that's when everything started to change. Much like watching a Calgary Flames game. After scoring the first two points of the game, Trinita fell from grace. The opponent, the Shimizu S-Pulse game back to score the next three goals. The final score was 4-3 for the S-Pulse. But at least what Trinita lacks in skill, the fans make up for in spirit. Huge flags, banners, drums, and singing and dancing filled the stadium for the entire 90-odd minutes of play. Overall it was a lot of fun and definitely worth the price of admission - even though we lost.
What else is new? Not a whole lot really aside from the fact that it's boiling hot here! Today was 29 but felt like 42 with the humidity. It's even worse since we have no Central Air in our apartment. We've actually started to camp-out in our living room (the only room cooled by the weak air conditioning unit we have). It feels like Rez all over again. In a couple of weeks it should start to cool down. Hopefully.
Aside from this life-changing event (not to be overly dramatic about the whole experience), there have been a few new developments here in Japan. My request to Tokyo has finally been approved. It looks like I'll be heading there October 1st :) ...This is after having to track down the appropriate personnel in Osaka after not hearing anything in over a month. ...Turns out they never received my request back in July after I sent it to my area manager. I'm not sure whose to blame, either him for not faxing it or the Osaka office for losing the paperwork afterwards. Either way it wouldn't surprise me, but I'm just glad that now everything is finally sorted out. Ahh the joys of working for a huge corporation... (Oh yeah, maybe it won't be until November 1st, because head office still doesn't have their act *completely* together). So here's hoping!
Starting to plan another trip. I'm hoping to get out to South Korea at the end of September before I move. Amy and I are trying to book a few days in Seoul. Should be pretty exciting! ...I'm not entirely sure what is in store there, but I'm sure an adventure of some sort!
Today me and Amy went and watched a professional soccer game. The home town team is Oita Trinita. They're not that good. Actually they pretty much suck. They're in 16th place out of 17 in the 1st Division. Not entirely sure what the "1st Division" means, but I guess one of the J-League categories... The game started out on a high enough note. Oita scored within the first 10 minutes and then again about 15 minutes later. Ahead by 2-0 things were looking good for our heroes, but that's when everything started to change. Much like watching a Calgary Flames game. After scoring the first two points of the game, Trinita fell from grace. The opponent, the Shimizu S-Pulse game back to score the next three goals. The final score was 4-3 for the S-Pulse. But at least what Trinita lacks in skill, the fans make up for in spirit. Huge flags, banners, drums, and singing and dancing filled the stadium for the entire 90-odd minutes of play. Overall it was a lot of fun and definitely worth the price of admission - even though we lost.
What else is new? Not a whole lot really aside from the fact that it's boiling hot here! Today was 29 but felt like 42 with the humidity. It's even worse since we have no Central Air in our apartment. We've actually started to camp-out in our living room (the only room cooled by the weak air conditioning unit we have). It feels like Rez all over again. In a couple of weeks it should start to cool down. Hopefully.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Japan - Day 144
Apparently today was supposed to be the luckiest day of the century or something along those lines, being 7/7/7 n' all that jazz. ...I'm not normally an overtly superstitious person but today I did find myself coming across some particularly good luck... I was scheduled to teach Tarou, some of you may recognize that name from my last update - he's the little son of a bitch that I want to strangle. Anyways, that potential bad luck situation turned out well when he didn't bother to show up for class! That seriously made my day. I now believe in luck haha :P
Amy and I got back from our Okinawa vacation a week ago and have since returned to the proverbial grindstone. Okinawa was a pretty nice place I must say. We had great weather - you'll notice the lack of umbrellas in my pictures :) We had a great hotel - there were two pools, one with a slide (yes I went on it hehe), and we had surprisingly great food! The trip, was however, not without its drama...
On the first day we decided to take the 70 km trip (or two hours by the Japanese speed limit) up to Churaumi Aquarium. Rumor had it that it was one of the biggest or nicest in all of Japan (I forget which one now). Along the way we stopped at Nago Pineapple Park and got a little tour of a pineapple farm in a golf cart disguised as, you guessed it, a pineapple. Interesting fact: Pineapples don't grow on trees - who knew? We also got to sample some pineapple wine - tastes as good as it sounds (read: bad). After that we continued on our journey to the aquarium.
We made it to the aquarium with only making one wrong turn (GPS is amazing!) and all was about to end well when I had to try and find a parking spot... So we're in the parking garage and I'm trying to edge my way into a tight spot between a wall and another car when I got distracted... Long story short, I kinda "bumped" into the pillar that juts out before the wall :( At first we were gonna call the car rental agency and lie about it, saying that someone must've backed into the car while we were inside. But then we realized that we'd need a police report - and while I'm not above telling a little white lie to the rental agency to save my ass, I definitely didn't want to risk deportation or something drastic by lying to the police! In the end I came clean and it only cost me 20,000 yen to cover repairs (About $175 CDN). Could've been a lot worse!
In other dramatic news, Amy ended up coming home with first degree burns on her arms and I'm pretty sure a concussion. Although the concussion wasn't actually diagnosed. As I mentioned earlier, we had great weather in Okinawa, so great in fact that it was about 90 degrees (so, maybe, a little on the hot side. Maybe). We went tanning on the second day and Amy was out there a little while longer than I was and ended up getting really burnt.
Not realizing how bad it was, on the third day we went out for some fun on the open ocean. I went parasailing (woot!) and we both went seadooing, neither of which were helpful to her skin to say the least. By our last day things took a turn for the worse and I ended up having to drive Amy to the hospital at 7:00 AM after she passed out in the bathroom hitting her head on the porcelain counter (where I think the concussion came in). Luckily they were able to bandage her up there and we were able to catch our flight home.
Since then Amy has started to recover (multiple hospital visits and medical bills later...)
All in all I'd say it was a good vacation - definitely one to remember! Amy will agree with me on that part :P
I thought that after my vacation I'd return to work feeling relaxed and refreshed. I couldn't have been more wrong. I've never dreaded going into work so much in my entire life! (I know, I know, woe is me). But I've gotten over it and back into the swing of the day to day monotony. I also put in my transfer request to be moved up to Tokyo! It's already been approved the question now is when will I be going...? That I don't know. I'll keep you posted!
Amy and I got back from our Okinawa vacation a week ago and have since returned to the proverbial grindstone. Okinawa was a pretty nice place I must say. We had great weather - you'll notice the lack of umbrellas in my pictures :) We had a great hotel - there were two pools, one with a slide (yes I went on it hehe), and we had surprisingly great food! The trip, was however, not without its drama...
On the first day we decided to take the 70 km trip (or two hours by the Japanese speed limit) up to Churaumi Aquarium. Rumor had it that it was one of the biggest or nicest in all of Japan (I forget which one now). Along the way we stopped at Nago Pineapple Park and got a little tour of a pineapple farm in a golf cart disguised as, you guessed it, a pineapple. Interesting fact: Pineapples don't grow on trees - who knew? We also got to sample some pineapple wine - tastes as good as it sounds (read: bad). After that we continued on our journey to the aquarium.
We made it to the aquarium with only making one wrong turn (GPS is amazing!) and all was about to end well when I had to try and find a parking spot... So we're in the parking garage and I'm trying to edge my way into a tight spot between a wall and another car when I got distracted... Long story short, I kinda "bumped" into the pillar that juts out before the wall :( At first we were gonna call the car rental agency and lie about it, saying that someone must've backed into the car while we were inside. But then we realized that we'd need a police report - and while I'm not above telling a little white lie to the rental agency to save my ass, I definitely didn't want to risk deportation or something drastic by lying to the police! In the end I came clean and it only cost me 20,000 yen to cover repairs (About $175 CDN). Could've been a lot worse!
In other dramatic news, Amy ended up coming home with first degree burns on her arms and I'm pretty sure a concussion. Although the concussion wasn't actually diagnosed. As I mentioned earlier, we had great weather in Okinawa, so great in fact that it was about 90 degrees (so, maybe, a little on the hot side. Maybe). We went tanning on the second day and Amy was out there a little while longer than I was and ended up getting really burnt.
Not realizing how bad it was, on the third day we went out for some fun on the open ocean. I went parasailing (woot!) and we both went seadooing, neither of which were helpful to her skin to say the least. By our last day things took a turn for the worse and I ended up having to drive Amy to the hospital at 7:00 AM after she passed out in the bathroom hitting her head on the porcelain counter (where I think the concussion came in). Luckily they were able to bandage her up there and we were able to catch our flight home.
Since then Amy has started to recover (multiple hospital visits and medical bills later...)
All in all I'd say it was a good vacation - definitely one to remember! Amy will agree with me on that part :P
I thought that after my vacation I'd return to work feeling relaxed and refreshed. I couldn't have been more wrong. I've never dreaded going into work so much in my entire life! (I know, I know, woe is me). But I've gotten over it and back into the swing of the day to day monotony. I also put in my transfer request to be moved up to Tokyo! It's already been approved the question now is when will I be going...? That I don't know. I'll keep you posted!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Japan - Day 127
GGGAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!
So today was a good day at work. Well, actually it wasn't so bad, that is, right up until my last lesson. Then I had the student that nobody wants to teach. The student who when you see his name on your schedule you just cringe and wish your life was cut short. Over dramatic much? Hardly.
Now most of you who know me, know that I'm a pretty mellow person. In fact, some have commented on my near-comatoseness. I usually let things roll off my shoulders and it takes a fair bit to rile me up - but once something gets under my skin... look out!
So here's the story... Tarou, aka "Bastard child," (or any combination of "choice words" you can think of) is about 16 or so. In class it's it guaranteed that he'll do one of the following: A) pick at his zits and fling them across the room; B) scratch his ass; or C) fall asleep. Today he elected for D) all the above! I can't believe this guy. He doesn't try AT ALL! He's been at the same level (the second lowest level) since 2005 or maybe even 2004! Now maybe he doesn't want to learn English - I get that. I'm pretty sure the only reason he's there is because his parents force him to be. But really, don't take it out on your teachers. Put in a little effort, just for the sake of, well, sanity. That's not asking for too much is it? Apparently.
Here's the rundown of today's lesson... We're talking about past vacations and we've gotten to the activity portion of the lesson (after introducing the new language, etc.)
Me: (Point to "New York" in textbook) Okay, imagine (tap temple with finger) you went to New York on vacation (Point again to "New York" in textbook) Okay?
Tarou: (Stops picking zits for a second and nods, resumes zit picking)
Me: Me (point to self), questions (point to list of three questions - "where did you go", "how was it", "what did you do there"), you, (point to student) answers. Okay?
Tarou: (Stares blankly)
Me: Use these pictures (Point 4 pictures with labels in textbook - a hotdog, Times Square, a baseball game, and the Statute of Liberty) to help with answers. Okay?
Tarou: (Nods)
Me: Any questions?
Tarou: (Indicates no)
Me: Okay, so, where did you go?
Tarou: Where did you go?
Me: No, no. Me (point to self) questions (point to list of questions), you (point to student) answers (point to pictures). Okay? (do international 'okay' sign with hand)
Tarou: Mumbles something in Japanese
Me: (Repeat the above)
Tarou: (Nods)
Me: Where did you go (point to "New York")
Tarou: New York
Me: Good! Now, try in whole sentence. (Point to vocab at the beginning of the page where it says "I went to France, I stayed in Paris")
Tarou: I stayed in Paris
Me: Okay, good, but New York. Now repeat, 'I... went... to...'
Tarou: New York
Me: Yes, good. Now full sentence. I went to New York
Tarou: It was great
Me: Yes, good, but answer first question first
Tarou: Mumbles in Japanese (has stopped picking his zits and moved on to scratching his ass).
Me: Okay, okay, new question, what did you do there?
Tarou: It was great
Me: Yes good, but now next question, what did you do there? (point to picture of a baseball game)
Tarou: (Stares blankly and blinks a few times)
Me: (Whisper) 'I went to a baseball game,' (Normal voice) now repeat
Tarou: Baseball game
Me: Okay, fine. And...? (Point to picture of Times Square)
Tarou: (Head drops)
Me: I went to a baseball game, and... went... to...? (look over at the head teacher in the next class over who notices my now sleeping student)
Jamie (head teacher): Wake up!!! (laughs)
Tarou: (Bobs his head)
Me: (Nudge his hand with the textbook)
Jamie: Wake up!!!
Jamie's students: Laughing
Me: (Nudge Tarou with textbook again)
Tarou: (Bolts upright) New York.
Me: (Smile sympathetically and explain trying to answer in full sentences again)
The rest of the lesson was more or less the same, ending with me wanting to jab my pen through my eye if only to stop myself from ringing Tarou's neck! Thank god these classes are only 40 minutes each!
I'm not sure why Tarou has the need to fall asleep in my class (this is the second time it's happened) because no one else seems to be *that* bored when I'm teaching them. At least this time he was on his own, the last time there was another student in the class, who was getting just as fed up with him as I was. Eventually I just gave up on him and continued the lesson with the other student. At least she was able to learn something in the end. I have to admit though, I was secretly happy that someone else could share my pain for that lesson.
So yeah, that was my day. Makes me look forward to my trip to Okinawa that much more! Only 6 more days!!!
So today was a good day at work. Well, actually it wasn't so bad, that is, right up until my last lesson. Then I had the student that nobody wants to teach. The student who when you see his name on your schedule you just cringe and wish your life was cut short. Over dramatic much? Hardly.
Now most of you who know me, know that I'm a pretty mellow person. In fact, some have commented on my near-comatoseness. I usually let things roll off my shoulders and it takes a fair bit to rile me up - but once something gets under my skin... look out!
So here's the story... Tarou, aka "Bastard child," (or any combination of "choice words" you can think of) is about 16 or so. In class it's it guaranteed that he'll do one of the following: A) pick at his zits and fling them across the room; B) scratch his ass; or C) fall asleep. Today he elected for D) all the above! I can't believe this guy. He doesn't try AT ALL! He's been at the same level (the second lowest level) since 2005 or maybe even 2004! Now maybe he doesn't want to learn English - I get that. I'm pretty sure the only reason he's there is because his parents force him to be. But really, don't take it out on your teachers. Put in a little effort, just for the sake of, well, sanity. That's not asking for too much is it? Apparently.
Here's the rundown of today's lesson... We're talking about past vacations and we've gotten to the activity portion of the lesson (after introducing the new language, etc.)
Me: (Point to "New York" in textbook) Okay, imagine (tap temple with finger) you went to New York on vacation (Point again to "New York" in textbook) Okay?
Tarou: (Stops picking zits for a second and nods, resumes zit picking)
Me: Me (point to self), questions (point to list of three questions - "where did you go", "how was it", "what did you do there"), you, (point to student) answers. Okay?
Tarou: (Stares blankly)
Me: Use these pictures (Point 4 pictures with labels in textbook - a hotdog, Times Square, a baseball game, and the Statute of Liberty) to help with answers. Okay?
Tarou: (Nods)
Me: Any questions?
Tarou: (Indicates no)
Me: Okay, so, where did you go?
Tarou: Where did you go?
Me: No, no. Me (point to self) questions (point to list of questions), you (point to student) answers (point to pictures). Okay? (do international 'okay' sign with hand)
Tarou: Mumbles something in Japanese
Me: (Repeat the above)
Tarou: (Nods)
Me: Where did you go (point to "New York")
Tarou: New York
Me: Good! Now, try in whole sentence. (Point to vocab at the beginning of the page where it says "I went to France, I stayed in Paris")
Tarou: I stayed in Paris
Me: Okay, good, but New York. Now repeat, 'I... went... to...'
Tarou: New York
Me: Yes, good. Now full sentence. I went to New York
Tarou: It was great
Me: Yes, good, but answer first question first
Tarou: Mumbles in Japanese (has stopped picking his zits and moved on to scratching his ass).
Me: Okay, okay, new question, what did you do there?
Tarou: It was great
Me: Yes good, but now next question, what did you do there? (point to picture of a baseball game)
Tarou: (Stares blankly and blinks a few times)
Me: (Whisper) 'I went to a baseball game,' (Normal voice) now repeat
Tarou: Baseball game
Me: Okay, fine. And...? (Point to picture of Times Square)
Tarou: (Head drops)
Me: I went to a baseball game, and... went... to...? (look over at the head teacher in the next class over who notices my now sleeping student)
Jamie (head teacher): Wake up!!! (laughs)
Tarou: (Bobs his head)
Me: (Nudge his hand with the textbook)
Jamie: Wake up!!!
Jamie's students: Laughing
Me: (Nudge Tarou with textbook again)
Tarou: (Bolts upright) New York.
Me: (Smile sympathetically and explain trying to answer in full sentences again)
The rest of the lesson was more or less the same, ending with me wanting to jab my pen through my eye if only to stop myself from ringing Tarou's neck! Thank god these classes are only 40 minutes each!
I'm not sure why Tarou has the need to fall asleep in my class (this is the second time it's happened) because no one else seems to be *that* bored when I'm teaching them. At least this time he was on his own, the last time there was another student in the class, who was getting just as fed up with him as I was. Eventually I just gave up on him and continued the lesson with the other student. At least she was able to learn something in the end. I have to admit though, I was secretly happy that someone else could share my pain for that lesson.
So yeah, that was my day. Makes me look forward to my trip to Okinawa that much more! Only 6 more days!!!
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Picture Collage
I realize I've been slacking off with keeping my blog updated recently, but hopefully this collage will make up for it. I promise to make another entry soon!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Japan - Day 96
It's actually not all that tricky driving on the "opposite" side of the road. At least that's what I discovered last Wednesday after renting a car to get a better view of the city. (There's only so much you can see when you're restricted to the bus route). The car we rented was microscopic. It was a 3-cylinder Daihatsu "something-or-rather" that had a top speed of 140 km/hr. At least that's what the speedometer went up to. I couldn't get the thing to go any faster than 70 km/hr before the entire vehicle started to shake - and that was going downhill! Going up was another story - I'm surprised it actually made it up some of the hills we put it up against - but slowly it made it up (a la "Little Engine that Could). I don't think any of the Japanese noticed our incredible lack of power or speed due to the fact that the speed limit around is 50 km/hr! Even the highway-ish road is that low. In some areas it was down to 40 km/hr. Granted the terrain is hilly and windy (wind-y) but even up in Haliburton and on the way through the mountains to Banff the speed limit is at least 80 km/hr (I think...?) I guess they just error on the side of caution around here. Either that, or their cars aren't powerful enough to bother making a higher speed limit.
But yeah, as I was saying, driving on the left side of the road wasn't as difficult as I was anticipating. After the first few minutes it started to seem natural and there was really only one incident when our lives were in any sort of danger - and that was when Amy decided to drive :P Haha okay I kid, I kid. All in all I think it's something I could get used to. (Even distinguishing between the windshield wipers and the turn signal... eventually... maybe... Okay is there really a reason why *that* has to be opposite in the car???). The experience made me realize how much I miss having the freedom a car provides.
Last night I took yoga for the first time. That was an interesting experience as well. It was actually pretty fun. The instructor was so spunky it made the class pretty entertaining. Think Ms. J but under 5 feet and Asian - and spunky. Uh, okay, maybe not so much like Ms. J, but there was something about her that seemed familiar...? I'm pretty sure she was over exaggerating everything for mine and Amy's benefit. She knew a few words of English, like "recenter", "pose", and "stop", so she used those frequently. Kinda nice of her, making us feel less like outsiders.
There was another person in the class who could also speak English - we learned that the embarrassing way. Apparently she spent 5 years in Minnesota getting her Master's in Psychology. I can only imagine what she thinks of us now haha. Before class started we were trying to figure out what we were supposed to be doing... Whether or not we needed a mat and if we were supposed to be barefoot or not... One woman had her shoes on still and then the English-speaking girl came out with no shoes, so we were discussing this when she acknowledged that "no, I'm not wearing shoes - am I supposed to be?" At least we hadn't said anything bad! That wouldn't have been a good situation.
I guess a lesson is to be learned here - that we shouldn't assume that people don't understand us. Although most of the time, I'm pretty sure they actually don't.
In other exciting news, me and Amy have planned a trip for Okinawa! Those of you unfamiliar with the area need only know it's a tropical paradise that's located halfway between Japan and Taiwan :P We're going there for four days at the end of June. That happens to be Japan's rainy season, so everyone please keep your fingers crossed for good weather! ...After all the hoops we jumped through trying to get the days off I really hope we have prime sun tanning weather.
But yeah, as I was saying, driving on the left side of the road wasn't as difficult as I was anticipating. After the first few minutes it started to seem natural and there was really only one incident when our lives were in any sort of danger - and that was when Amy decided to drive :P Haha okay I kid, I kid. All in all I think it's something I could get used to. (Even distinguishing between the windshield wipers and the turn signal... eventually... maybe... Okay is there really a reason why *that* has to be opposite in the car???). The experience made me realize how much I miss having the freedom a car provides.
Last night I took yoga for the first time. That was an interesting experience as well. It was actually pretty fun. The instructor was so spunky it made the class pretty entertaining. Think Ms. J but under 5 feet and Asian - and spunky. Uh, okay, maybe not so much like Ms. J, but there was something about her that seemed familiar...? I'm pretty sure she was over exaggerating everything for mine and Amy's benefit. She knew a few words of English, like "recenter", "pose", and "stop", so she used those frequently. Kinda nice of her, making us feel less like outsiders.
There was another person in the class who could also speak English - we learned that the embarrassing way. Apparently she spent 5 years in Minnesota getting her Master's in Psychology. I can only imagine what she thinks of us now haha. Before class started we were trying to figure out what we were supposed to be doing... Whether or not we needed a mat and if we were supposed to be barefoot or not... One woman had her shoes on still and then the English-speaking girl came out with no shoes, so we were discussing this when she acknowledged that "no, I'm not wearing shoes - am I supposed to be?" At least we hadn't said anything bad! That wouldn't have been a good situation.
I guess a lesson is to be learned here - that we shouldn't assume that people don't understand us. Although most of the time, I'm pretty sure they actually don't.
In other exciting news, me and Amy have planned a trip for Okinawa! Those of you unfamiliar with the area need only know it's a tropical paradise that's located halfway between Japan and Taiwan :P We're going there for four days at the end of June. That happens to be Japan's rainy season, so everyone please keep your fingers crossed for good weather! ...After all the hoops we jumped through trying to get the days off I really hope we have prime sun tanning weather.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Japan - Day 85
Last week was Golden Week here in Japan; a week where many people get time off of work and school to enjoy a number of holidays. Unfortunately what this meant for us was - nothing. Well actually that's not entirely true - Amy and I did manage to get two days off together instead of just one, so we decided to head off to Hiroshima for a couple of days to get a wider perspective on Japan.
I can't say it was the most "uplifting" of vacations I've ever taken, but it was definitely a memorable experience. One of the places we visited was Peace Memorial Park. In memory of those who died after the "Little Boy" was dropped there in WWII. The park is centered around the Atomic Bomb Dome - one of few buildings that survived the blast - at least enough of it did to be recognizable. Despite is past tragedies Hiroshima has moved on and rebuilt and is now bustling full of tourists as many other Japanese cities are.
Actually, I was surprised at the amount of tourists/foreigners that there were in Hiroshima. I'd gotten so used to being an extreme minority here in Oita that the site of other gaijin really threw me for a loop. It was weird being able to eavesdrop on conversations and actually understand what people were saying! But I was torn - part of me was happy to not be constantly stared at by the locals, but the other part of me was jealous that they weren't. ...If that makes any sense.
On the second day of our trip we left Hiroshima for the nearby island of Itsukushima. More commonly referred to as "Miyajima" (meaning Shrine Island), Itsukushima is designated as one of "Japan's 3 Top Views" and home to the famous Itsukushima Shrine which was built out over the water about 500 years ago. During high tide it looks like the shrine and its torii (gate) are floating - unfortunately Amy and I got there when the tide was out and everything was just covered in mud. Nonetheless it was still pretty amazing. The landscape itself reminded me a lot of British Columbia (as I'm finding many Japanese cities do - Oita really reminds me of Vancouver actually). Miyajima is also home to hundreds of tame/wild deer. They're considered to be "divine messengers" of Itsukushima Shrine, but there's nothing all that divine about them. They're really quite annoying (in a cute, Bambi sort of way). All they do is follow people around and try to steal they're food. In that sense, they're more doglike than deerlike really.
Back at work and finally back to normal working hours - this past week went by fairly quickly (unlike this entry). Today on our day off we went to Kitahama Termasu in Beppu which is the only hotspring around where you're actually allowed to wear a bathing suit and then went and saw the movie "Babel." Despite not having the luxury of (English) subtitles, and not really understanding 3/4 of the dialogue I thought it was a really good movie! Considering it's all about miscommunication and language barriers I thought it was actually pretty fitting not being able to actually know what everyone was saying. I could pick up on some of the Spanish alright, but the Japanese and Arabic (I think it was Arabic - they were in Morocco...?) were totally lost on me. It was a really good story and I don't think I missed out on a whole lot of what happened. ...That being said, I think I'm still going to have to download it and watch it with English subtitles later, just because I'm the type that needs to know if I actually did miss anything important :P
Oh yeah, I almost forgot - I joined the local gym today too. We're starting to run out of TV shows to watch and need something else to occupy our time. It's a pretty decent gym - they have a pool, sauna, jacuzzi, plus an aerobics room, equipment room, and a number of tennis and racquetball courts too. When the temperatures start rising even higher in the summer that pool is going to seem pretty luxurious after work! (Even though we have to wear a shower cap - I won't get into that now though).
I can't say it was the most "uplifting" of vacations I've ever taken, but it was definitely a memorable experience. One of the places we visited was Peace Memorial Park. In memory of those who died after the "Little Boy" was dropped there in WWII. The park is centered around the Atomic Bomb Dome - one of few buildings that survived the blast - at least enough of it did to be recognizable. Despite is past tragedies Hiroshima has moved on and rebuilt and is now bustling full of tourists as many other Japanese cities are.
Actually, I was surprised at the amount of tourists/foreigners that there were in Hiroshima. I'd gotten so used to being an extreme minority here in Oita that the site of other gaijin really threw me for a loop. It was weird being able to eavesdrop on conversations and actually understand what people were saying! But I was torn - part of me was happy to not be constantly stared at by the locals, but the other part of me was jealous that they weren't. ...If that makes any sense.
On the second day of our trip we left Hiroshima for the nearby island of Itsukushima. More commonly referred to as "Miyajima" (meaning Shrine Island), Itsukushima is designated as one of "Japan's 3 Top Views" and home to the famous Itsukushima Shrine which was built out over the water about 500 years ago. During high tide it looks like the shrine and its torii (gate) are floating - unfortunately Amy and I got there when the tide was out and everything was just covered in mud. Nonetheless it was still pretty amazing. The landscape itself reminded me a lot of British Columbia (as I'm finding many Japanese cities do - Oita really reminds me of Vancouver actually). Miyajima is also home to hundreds of tame/wild deer. They're considered to be "divine messengers" of Itsukushima Shrine, but there's nothing all that divine about them. They're really quite annoying (in a cute, Bambi sort of way). All they do is follow people around and try to steal they're food. In that sense, they're more doglike than deerlike really.
Back at work and finally back to normal working hours - this past week went by fairly quickly (unlike this entry). Today on our day off we went to Kitahama Termasu in Beppu which is the only hotspring around where you're actually allowed to wear a bathing suit and then went and saw the movie "Babel." Despite not having the luxury of (English) subtitles, and not really understanding 3/4 of the dialogue I thought it was a really good movie! Considering it's all about miscommunication and language barriers I thought it was actually pretty fitting not being able to actually know what everyone was saying. I could pick up on some of the Spanish alright, but the Japanese and Arabic (I think it was Arabic - they were in Morocco...?) were totally lost on me. It was a really good story and I don't think I missed out on a whole lot of what happened. ...That being said, I think I'm still going to have to download it and watch it with English subtitles later, just because I'm the type that needs to know if I actually did miss anything important :P
Oh yeah, I almost forgot - I joined the local gym today too. We're starting to run out of TV shows to watch and need something else to occupy our time. It's a pretty decent gym - they have a pool, sauna, jacuzzi, plus an aerobics room, equipment room, and a number of tennis and racquetball courts too. When the temperatures start rising even higher in the summer that pool is going to seem pretty luxurious after work! (Even though we have to wear a shower cap - I won't get into that now though).
Friday, April 27, 2007
Japan - Day 72
Two and a half months into my stay in Japan and I've finally experienced my first earthquake!!! It wasn't that big - about a 5.1 on the Richter Scale. "Moderate" might be a better description.
(Note: According to Wikipedia an earthquake of this magnitude "can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. At most slight damage to well-designed buildings." Gotta love Wikipedia, it knows all LOL).
While this may be so, it wasn't exactly earth-shattering (no pun intended) by the time its effects reached the 215 or so kilometers to Oita. The only indicators of the quake here were that I was woken up to a vibrating bed and the light swaying above my head. To my disappointment, my students said that people outside probably didn't even feel anything. As bad as it sounds, I was secretly hoping for something a little more destructive - I'm not talking total annihilation or anything, but maybe a few rattling plates in the cupboard or something... Nonetheless it was a rather novel experience for me.
We got a new teacher this week who is, unfortunately, the walking stereotype of the "Arrogant American." (No offense to my American readers, you know I love all of you). But, not only is he rude but a racist as well... Always a fun guy to have around! Oh yeah, I suppose I should mention that he's also a bit of a stalker... He's invited himself over for dinner, and tonight he was practically waiting at our doorstep when Amy got home. (Who knows how long he'd been waiting there!) Kinda freaky. Not really in a "scary" sorta way, but more in an irritating, "what the hell are you doing here you annoying ass" sorta way. Truth be told I've been trying to be tolerant of him, and I realize that it's hard when you're in a new place to meet new people, but really, if you're trying to make new friends you probably shouldn't walk around uttering racial slurs. Just my humble opinion...
So next week is Golden Week here in Japan. Golden Week is a period which encompasses about 4 different days of public holidays and the cost to travel skyrockets about 400% (You think I'm joking...?) Most people still get time off of work or school, but not us here at Nova. Instead we get to work special holiday hours - which translates into starting work early :( Oh well, I guess the bright side is that we finish early too right...? (I'll just keep telling myself that as I'm dragging myself out of bed 3 hours earlier than usual). You ALL know I don't handle mornings very well... Anyway, moving on... Amy's second day off got switched around next week so now we have two days off at the same time and we've decided to take this opportunity to travel to Hiroshima. We also get to take the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to get there which is kinda exciting. I'm definitely looking forward to the trip as it marks the first time we've left the island of Kyushu since we've arrived in Japan.
(Note: According to Wikipedia an earthquake of this magnitude "can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. At most slight damage to well-designed buildings." Gotta love Wikipedia, it knows all LOL).
While this may be so, it wasn't exactly earth-shattering (no pun intended) by the time its effects reached the 215 or so kilometers to Oita. The only indicators of the quake here were that I was woken up to a vibrating bed and the light swaying above my head. To my disappointment, my students said that people outside probably didn't even feel anything. As bad as it sounds, I was secretly hoping for something a little more destructive - I'm not talking total annihilation or anything, but maybe a few rattling plates in the cupboard or something... Nonetheless it was a rather novel experience for me.
We got a new teacher this week who is, unfortunately, the walking stereotype of the "Arrogant American." (No offense to my American readers, you know I love all of you). But, not only is he rude but a racist as well... Always a fun guy to have around! Oh yeah, I suppose I should mention that he's also a bit of a stalker... He's invited himself over for dinner, and tonight he was practically waiting at our doorstep when Amy got home. (Who knows how long he'd been waiting there!) Kinda freaky. Not really in a "scary" sorta way, but more in an irritating, "what the hell are you doing here you annoying ass" sorta way. Truth be told I've been trying to be tolerant of him, and I realize that it's hard when you're in a new place to meet new people, but really, if you're trying to make new friends you probably shouldn't walk around uttering racial slurs. Just my humble opinion...
So next week is Golden Week here in Japan. Golden Week is a period which encompasses about 4 different days of public holidays and the cost to travel skyrockets about 400% (You think I'm joking...?) Most people still get time off of work or school, but not us here at Nova. Instead we get to work special holiday hours - which translates into starting work early :( Oh well, I guess the bright side is that we finish early too right...? (I'll just keep telling myself that as I'm dragging myself out of bed 3 hours earlier than usual). You ALL know I don't handle mornings very well... Anyway, moving on... Amy's second day off got switched around next week so now we have two days off at the same time and we've decided to take this opportunity to travel to Hiroshima. We also get to take the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to get there which is kinda exciting. I'm definitely looking forward to the trip as it marks the first time we've left the island of Kyushu since we've arrived in Japan.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Japan - Day 64
Another week (or so) has gone by but I don't really have anything exciting to report... I've been working lots and that's about it. On the plus side - I'm officially finished my probationary period - woohoo! LOL, now I can get paid my full amount. Bonus.
Today was mine and Amy's mutual day off, the day where we usually venture out and try to take in some of the local sights. Naturally, of course, it was raining. (If you look back over some of my pictures you'll notice the common theme of an umbrella in hand). We were originally going to take a cable car up the mountain in Beppu to get a nice overlook of the city, but judging by the amount of fog there was we decided not to waste our money. Instead, we decided to go see some of the hotsprings along the "Jigoku Meduri" or the "Hell Tour". These hotsprings, or "hellsprings" rather, are so hot that people are not allowed to go in the water - hence the "hell" aspect. The water temperature was between 90 and 98 degrees Celsius as far as I could understand, maybe hotter. But still pretty damn hot!
There are 8 of these Jigoku along the tour route but we only made it to two of them today. We decided to save some of the others for future entertainment. (And hopefully for a day without rain). Today we managed to see the Umi-Jigoku and the Yama-Jigoku. The water of the first one is a brilliant cobalt blue - difficult to see through all the steam though. The water's hot enough that they can hard-boil eggs in it. At the latter hellsrping isn't overly spectacular, but the site doubles as a mini-zoo. They have a hippo, an elephant, some monkeys and baboons, and a bunch of random birds. The brochure claimed that they also had "prancing lions" but we didn't see any. ...Much like how we didn't see any of the mystery sea otters at our trip to the aquarium last week.
...Last week Amy and I visited the local aquarium called Umitamago (don't judge us). We saw a lot of sea creatures native to this area in Japan. (Note to self: Do not go swimming in the ocean). As well as some seals, dolphins, and walruses. They claimed to have some sea otters which I was really excited about (they're so cute!!!) but we couldn't find any :( We tried asking one of the employees but that didn't really amount to much.
Anyway, the hellsprings were pretty cool to go see, and I think we'll go back to see some of the remaining six later on. They have one called the "Oniishi Shaven Head Hell" because it's a boiling mud bath where the bubbles look like the top of monks' heads, and another one called the "Blood Hell" because the clay of the pool makes the water look red... There was a mini red hellspring at the Umi-Jigoku site too. And there was one hotspring that people could actually use at the Umi-Jigoku site as well. It was a foot bath of sorts - so nice! The sign for it was kinda funny though - you'd think that in a touristy area they'd double check their English translations - apparently not. Instead of writing "foot bath" or something similar they called it "hot spring of a leg". Okay, maybe that's not amusing to all, but it's amusing to me nonetheless.
Alright, well since Thursday is the new Sunday I have another full week of work to look forward to starting tomorrow. I never thought I'd ever say I love Mondays, but I guess now I do.
Today was mine and Amy's mutual day off, the day where we usually venture out and try to take in some of the local sights. Naturally, of course, it was raining. (If you look back over some of my pictures you'll notice the common theme of an umbrella in hand). We were originally going to take a cable car up the mountain in Beppu to get a nice overlook of the city, but judging by the amount of fog there was we decided not to waste our money. Instead, we decided to go see some of the hotsprings along the "Jigoku Meduri" or the "Hell Tour". These hotsprings, or "hellsprings" rather, are so hot that people are not allowed to go in the water - hence the "hell" aspect. The water temperature was between 90 and 98 degrees Celsius as far as I could understand, maybe hotter. But still pretty damn hot!
There are 8 of these Jigoku along the tour route but we only made it to two of them today. We decided to save some of the others for future entertainment. (And hopefully for a day without rain). Today we managed to see the Umi-Jigoku and the Yama-Jigoku. The water of the first one is a brilliant cobalt blue - difficult to see through all the steam though. The water's hot enough that they can hard-boil eggs in it. At the latter hellsrping isn't overly spectacular, but the site doubles as a mini-zoo. They have a hippo, an elephant, some monkeys and baboons, and a bunch of random birds. The brochure claimed that they also had "prancing lions" but we didn't see any. ...Much like how we didn't see any of the mystery sea otters at our trip to the aquarium last week.
...Last week Amy and I visited the local aquarium called Umitamago (don't judge us). We saw a lot of sea creatures native to this area in Japan. (Note to self: Do not go swimming in the ocean). As well as some seals, dolphins, and walruses. They claimed to have some sea otters which I was really excited about (they're so cute!!!) but we couldn't find any :( We tried asking one of the employees but that didn't really amount to much.
Anyway, the hellsprings were pretty cool to go see, and I think we'll go back to see some of the remaining six later on. They have one called the "Oniishi Shaven Head Hell" because it's a boiling mud bath where the bubbles look like the top of monks' heads, and another one called the "Blood Hell" because the clay of the pool makes the water look red... There was a mini red hellspring at the Umi-Jigoku site too. And there was one hotspring that people could actually use at the Umi-Jigoku site as well. It was a foot bath of sorts - so nice! The sign for it was kinda funny though - you'd think that in a touristy area they'd double check their English translations - apparently not. Instead of writing "foot bath" or something similar they called it "hot spring of a leg". Okay, maybe that's not amusing to all, but it's amusing to me nonetheless.
Alright, well since Thursday is the new Sunday I have another full week of work to look forward to starting tomorrow. I never thought I'd ever say I love Mondays, but I guess now I do.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Japan - Day 53
Time seems to be flying by lately. I could've sworn I just wrote an entry a couple of days ago but apparently it was more like 9? How these things happen, I just don't know.
I guess it was a week ago now that Amy and I had dinner with our (former) Japanese instructor - I'd tell you his name but I can't remember. His last name translates to "Bath" in English - that's all I retained. Anyways, dinner was an interesting experience... We met him at his friend's restaurant (his "very famous" musician friend mind you - he's been on TV! NHK to be exact - the equivalent of TVO in Ontario, so yes, "very famous" in deed LOL). "Bath" had ordered all the food before we arrived (and we arrived 5 minutes early) so we were pummeled with plate after plate of yakitori (basically a kebob). It wasn't that the food was bad (although some of it was) it was just that a person can only eat so much meat in one sitting - By the end all I really felt like was a nice, crisp, green salad but that just wasn't in the cards. We kept telling him that we were full but he either A) didn't hear us, B) didn't care, or C) didn't understand. I'm guessing it's a combination of the three. For an English teacher, he really doesn't know a whole lot. By the end of dinner Amy and I were both feeling pretty queasy.
The food is only half the story though... In addition to having already ordered all our food, "Bath" had also already ordered a bottle of wine for the table. I hate wine and Amy didn't want red. So Amy ordered a glass (or three) of white wine while I suffered through the red. (I hate wine by the way, but I had no choice but to drink it - my request for water was ignored/denied). After the wine we were informed that we had to try shochu - a southern Japanese liquor made from sweet potatoes. Now I've heard of shochu before and knew better than to actually try any, but when I tried telling "Bath" that I wasn't up for it and that I'm not much of a drinker (a tiny white lie) he either A) didn't hear me, B) didn't care, or C) didn't understand. Again, I'm betting on the combination. He promised us that it was a very weak drink and so after a lot of pushing on his part (and the fact that he already ordered it) we agreed to try - thinking that it would just be a small shot. But no, it wasn't. It came in a large glass mixed with water. I took one small sip and knew I'd never be able to finish the entire thing. Amy powered through her's and by the end she was ready to fall off her chair (it was about 8:00 at this point haha).
One of the highlights of the dinner was when the restaurant owner decided to come out and play us some tunes. We were informed (repeatedly) just how lucky we were for this honor. In all honestly the guy was pretty decent, but it was pretty funny watching his facial expressions as he did some renditions of classic Beatles songs. The owner's son, (also "famous") was invited out to sing us some songs as well. He chose some Eric Clapton songs. These guys are hitting up Nova Scotia soon, so if you're ever on the East Coast and need some entertainment...
By about 8:30 we were ready to leave, we finally got the One-Armed Bandit to stop ordering more food - after he ordered some rice balls. After promising us they were seafood-free, out they came sprinkled with dried shrimp flakes - yum! (Note: sarcasm) Instead of making a clean get away, Amy managed to get us into a little bit of a situation... All night "Bath" kept asking us the same questions over and over (I think in part due to his limited vocabulary), but one of these questions was what do we like to drink? ...Getting bored of answering the same way again and again, Amy decided to switch things up a bit and said "tequila". This was a big mistake. "Bath" just so happened to know a nice little tequila bar around the corner and insisted on taking us there. I protested that I don't drink tequila and that it makes me sick but he either A) didn't hear me, B) didn't care, or C) didn't understand. I was getting a bit annoyed at this point, but since I had to see him again the following Tuesday for my Japanese lesson me and Amy decided we couldn't just ditch him on the way there (a very tempting idea though).
So we get to the tequila bar after running to keep up with the 70 year old man leading the way and we all get a round of shots. I was hoping I could fly under the radar and try and order a glass of water - but no such luck. To cut a long story short, after finishing the shot we finally were able to break free of the One-Armed Bandit and take the bus home. We were almost conned into letting him "drive us home in a taxi" - whatever that meant? I was confused on whether he meant he'd pay for our taxi, or that he'd drive us home. Either way it didn't matter, we both just wanted out of there. All the repetitive questions all night and the ignoring of our requests to stop with all the food and disgusting drinks! At least the night makes a good story...
Other than that outing the past week has been pretty low-key. On Tuesday I had my Japanese lesson - it was pretty redundant and boring. I don't I'll be returning... I don't think I'm really learning all that much and it'd probably be best to find a good tutor or a more professional class. By "professional" I just mean one that isn't run by a bunch of bored, retired, Japanese men who really just want to learn English.
Wednesday, Amy and I went to a small town about an hour and a half away called Yufuin. We'd heard good things about it from our students so we thought we'd give it a go... The town turned out to be a bit of a bust - it was super cold and windy (a repeat of Usuki) but with the added pleasure of rain (luckily not until the end). We decided to take a horse carriage ride around the town. It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time... About 3 minutes into the ride we clued in that it was one horse pulling a huge carriage with 14 people in it! We felt so bad for the horse! ...I was half tempted to ask the driver to stop so we could get off. I really couldn't enjoy myself because all I could think about was the poor horse... We did stop at a temple and a shrine which were kinda cool though. We didn't stick around to do much else in Yufuin. We had lunch at a yakiniku restaurant (Korean BBQ), and somehow managed to order what looked to be beef intestines of some kind... The menu was completely in Japanese but there were drawings of cows, chickens, and fish by the appropriate dishes. We thought we were ordering a regular beef dish, but apparently not! After seeing our disgusted faces the waitress let us reorder and we had some relatively normal beef - albeit more fat than meat... After that we caught the first train home. (And then almost forgot to get off at our stop - that would've been an interesting situation).
So that's pretty much all that's happened in the past little while... The Cherry Blossoms are out in full bloom now, so we've gone to see those and try and weasel our way into a hanami party to no avail. Hanami parties are literally "flower viewing" parties - and they are taken quite seriously! People take off work or school to go picnic under the trees... We even saw one party that had caterers! Now that's hardcore.
Sorry for the length, I hope I haven't bored you all to death ;)
I guess it was a week ago now that Amy and I had dinner with our (former) Japanese instructor - I'd tell you his name but I can't remember. His last name translates to "Bath" in English - that's all I retained. Anyways, dinner was an interesting experience... We met him at his friend's restaurant (his "very famous" musician friend mind you - he's been on TV! NHK to be exact - the equivalent of TVO in Ontario, so yes, "very famous" in deed LOL). "Bath" had ordered all the food before we arrived (and we arrived 5 minutes early) so we were pummeled with plate after plate of yakitori (basically a kebob). It wasn't that the food was bad (although some of it was) it was just that a person can only eat so much meat in one sitting - By the end all I really felt like was a nice, crisp, green salad but that just wasn't in the cards. We kept telling him that we were full but he either A) didn't hear us, B) didn't care, or C) didn't understand. I'm guessing it's a combination of the three. For an English teacher, he really doesn't know a whole lot. By the end of dinner Amy and I were both feeling pretty queasy.
The food is only half the story though... In addition to having already ordered all our food, "Bath" had also already ordered a bottle of wine for the table. I hate wine and Amy didn't want red. So Amy ordered a glass (or three) of white wine while I suffered through the red. (I hate wine by the way, but I had no choice but to drink it - my request for water was ignored/denied). After the wine we were informed that we had to try shochu - a southern Japanese liquor made from sweet potatoes. Now I've heard of shochu before and knew better than to actually try any, but when I tried telling "Bath" that I wasn't up for it and that I'm not much of a drinker (a tiny white lie) he either A) didn't hear me, B) didn't care, or C) didn't understand. Again, I'm betting on the combination. He promised us that it was a very weak drink and so after a lot of pushing on his part (and the fact that he already ordered it) we agreed to try - thinking that it would just be a small shot. But no, it wasn't. It came in a large glass mixed with water. I took one small sip and knew I'd never be able to finish the entire thing. Amy powered through her's and by the end she was ready to fall off her chair (it was about 8:00 at this point haha).
One of the highlights of the dinner was when the restaurant owner decided to come out and play us some tunes. We were informed (repeatedly) just how lucky we were for this honor. In all honestly the guy was pretty decent, but it was pretty funny watching his facial expressions as he did some renditions of classic Beatles songs. The owner's son, (also "famous") was invited out to sing us some songs as well. He chose some Eric Clapton songs. These guys are hitting up Nova Scotia soon, so if you're ever on the East Coast and need some entertainment...
By about 8:30 we were ready to leave, we finally got the One-Armed Bandit to stop ordering more food - after he ordered some rice balls. After promising us they were seafood-free, out they came sprinkled with dried shrimp flakes - yum! (Note: sarcasm) Instead of making a clean get away, Amy managed to get us into a little bit of a situation... All night "Bath" kept asking us the same questions over and over (I think in part due to his limited vocabulary), but one of these questions was what do we like to drink? ...Getting bored of answering the same way again and again, Amy decided to switch things up a bit and said "tequila". This was a big mistake. "Bath" just so happened to know a nice little tequila bar around the corner and insisted on taking us there. I protested that I don't drink tequila and that it makes me sick but he either A) didn't hear me, B) didn't care, or C) didn't understand. I was getting a bit annoyed at this point, but since I had to see him again the following Tuesday for my Japanese lesson me and Amy decided we couldn't just ditch him on the way there (a very tempting idea though).
So we get to the tequila bar after running to keep up with the 70 year old man leading the way and we all get a round of shots. I was hoping I could fly under the radar and try and order a glass of water - but no such luck. To cut a long story short, after finishing the shot we finally were able to break free of the One-Armed Bandit and take the bus home. We were almost conned into letting him "drive us home in a taxi" - whatever that meant? I was confused on whether he meant he'd pay for our taxi, or that he'd drive us home. Either way it didn't matter, we both just wanted out of there. All the repetitive questions all night and the ignoring of our requests to stop with all the food and disgusting drinks! At least the night makes a good story...
Other than that outing the past week has been pretty low-key. On Tuesday I had my Japanese lesson - it was pretty redundant and boring. I don't I'll be returning... I don't think I'm really learning all that much and it'd probably be best to find a good tutor or a more professional class. By "professional" I just mean one that isn't run by a bunch of bored, retired, Japanese men who really just want to learn English.
Wednesday, Amy and I went to a small town about an hour and a half away called Yufuin. We'd heard good things about it from our students so we thought we'd give it a go... The town turned out to be a bit of a bust - it was super cold and windy (a repeat of Usuki) but with the added pleasure of rain (luckily not until the end). We decided to take a horse carriage ride around the town. It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time... About 3 minutes into the ride we clued in that it was one horse pulling a huge carriage with 14 people in it! We felt so bad for the horse! ...I was half tempted to ask the driver to stop so we could get off. I really couldn't enjoy myself because all I could think about was the poor horse... We did stop at a temple and a shrine which were kinda cool though. We didn't stick around to do much else in Yufuin. We had lunch at a yakiniku restaurant (Korean BBQ), and somehow managed to order what looked to be beef intestines of some kind... The menu was completely in Japanese but there were drawings of cows, chickens, and fish by the appropriate dishes. We thought we were ordering a regular beef dish, but apparently not! After seeing our disgusted faces the waitress let us reorder and we had some relatively normal beef - albeit more fat than meat... After that we caught the first train home. (And then almost forgot to get off at our stop - that would've been an interesting situation).
So that's pretty much all that's happened in the past little while... The Cherry Blossoms are out in full bloom now, so we've gone to see those and try and weasel our way into a hanami party to no avail. Hanami parties are literally "flower viewing" parties - and they are taken quite seriously! People take off work or school to go picnic under the trees... We even saw one party that had caterers! Now that's hardcore.
Sorry for the length, I hope I haven't bored you all to death ;)
Friday, March 30, 2007
Japan - Day 44
So I'm pretty sure I've been here for 44 days - I'm already starting to lose count. Let's see... 6 weeks plus 2 days... So that's 42 + 2 = 44, so yeah I think that's right. Nothing like a little math to stimulate the brain :P
I didn't get up to anything overly exciting this week. On my first day off this week I woke up earlier than I normally do so I could go downtown to my Japanese lesson. I guess the saying "you get what you pay for" stands true... The lessons are free - anyone wanna take a stab at how much I'm learning? ;) Haha. I am picking up some things, but I think I might have to invest in some *proper* language classes or hire a tutor or something. The two times I've gone to the lessons I've had the same teacher - "The One-Armed Bandit" Amy likes to call him. He's probably around 70 years old, a retired English teacher (that's not saying much), and he also has one arm - he lost the other to Polio as a child I was told (both times I went). He's super nice, just not exactly the best teacher... He moves very quickly before I've really had a chance to remember what we've just gone over. Plus most of the time he likes to just sit and talk in English about what's going on. ...It feels more like I'm helping him with his English as opposed to the other way around.
Speaking of the One-Armed Bandit, Amy and I are having dinner with him this Saturday. In my class on Tuesday he said one of his friends who owns a restaurant is moving to Canada (Nova Scotia, to be more specific) in the summer and so he thought it'd be a good idea if we (and by "we" I mean "I", but I made sure to get Amy invited as well) went there for dinner so he could explain his menu in English to us. ...I guess as practice? And how can you say "no" to a poor, one-armed, 70-something year old man? You really can't.
After my lesson I wandered around downtown for a bit and looked in a few stores... I went into one of the local markets and stopped by the fish counter. Now I hate fish and wasn't actually considering buying anything but the fish just seemed so fascinating that I had to stop and look. There were so many different kinds - various sizes and shapes - it was really all quite interesting. At one point a women came up and started restocking the prawn supply. Now to say that these prawns were "fresh" is an understatement - as soon as she moved her hand away from them they literally started to try and crawl away! I'm not even exaggerating. I was pretty drawn aback - talk about getting to know your food before you eat it! That was a little too much for me. After witnessing the prawns try to run for safety I carefully started to inspect the other fish nearby to see if any of them were gasping for their last breaths. Thankfully they were all quite dead. After that I was done with the market.
Yesterday, on my second day off I got to sleep in :) I enjoy my sleep. Amy and I didn't have any plans aside from going to see a movie. Wednesdays are "Ladies' Day" in Japan, so movies are only 1000 yen, normally they're 1800 yen at the theatre by where we work. We went and saw "The Holiday" even though we'd both already seen it back in Canada before we left. I haven't seen a movie at the theatre in over 6 weeks so I didn't really care. I used to see at least one movie a week, so I was really starting to go through withdrawal. "Babel" is coming out here in three weeks or so, so I'm hoping to see it when it gets here. I know I could just download it, but I think I'll save it for the big-screen. I'm already downloading "300" because I don't want to wait until June when it's going to start playing here.
The movie experience here in Japan is something to say the least. First off, when you go to buy your ticket you actually reserve a seat! We got seats H4 and H5. Kinda interesting. The theatre only seats about 120 people as well, so it's probably about half the size of a regular theatre back home. ...Maybe that's why they charge twice as much? As for the snack aspect, while it's much cheaper than in Canada, the selection is limited to pretty much just popcorn, french fries, donuts, and crepe sticks. No chocolate or candy - Kinda sad. You also can't get butter on your popcorn, the options are salt or caramel. The caramel turned out to be pretty decent at least. Oh yeah, the theatre also had a gift shop in it - very random.
It was back to work again today, and I have to say that the "weekend" (note: Tuesday and Wednesday for me) is never quite long enough! If only I had one more day... Just one. (Okay, or like 5 but whatever, nobody's counting).
Well that's all I have for now!
-Kotoni (how my name is spelled in Japanese)
I didn't get up to anything overly exciting this week. On my first day off this week I woke up earlier than I normally do so I could go downtown to my Japanese lesson. I guess the saying "you get what you pay for" stands true... The lessons are free - anyone wanna take a stab at how much I'm learning? ;) Haha. I am picking up some things, but I think I might have to invest in some *proper* language classes or hire a tutor or something. The two times I've gone to the lessons I've had the same teacher - "The One-Armed Bandit" Amy likes to call him. He's probably around 70 years old, a retired English teacher (that's not saying much), and he also has one arm - he lost the other to Polio as a child I was told (both times I went). He's super nice, just not exactly the best teacher... He moves very quickly before I've really had a chance to remember what we've just gone over. Plus most of the time he likes to just sit and talk in English about what's going on. ...It feels more like I'm helping him with his English as opposed to the other way around.
Speaking of the One-Armed Bandit, Amy and I are having dinner with him this Saturday. In my class on Tuesday he said one of his friends who owns a restaurant is moving to Canada (Nova Scotia, to be more specific) in the summer and so he thought it'd be a good idea if we (and by "we" I mean "I", but I made sure to get Amy invited as well) went there for dinner so he could explain his menu in English to us. ...I guess as practice? And how can you say "no" to a poor, one-armed, 70-something year old man? You really can't.
After my lesson I wandered around downtown for a bit and looked in a few stores... I went into one of the local markets and stopped by the fish counter. Now I hate fish and wasn't actually considering buying anything but the fish just seemed so fascinating that I had to stop and look. There were so many different kinds - various sizes and shapes - it was really all quite interesting. At one point a women came up and started restocking the prawn supply. Now to say that these prawns were "fresh" is an understatement - as soon as she moved her hand away from them they literally started to try and crawl away! I'm not even exaggerating. I was pretty drawn aback - talk about getting to know your food before you eat it! That was a little too much for me. After witnessing the prawns try to run for safety I carefully started to inspect the other fish nearby to see if any of them were gasping for their last breaths. Thankfully they were all quite dead. After that I was done with the market.
Yesterday, on my second day off I got to sleep in :) I enjoy my sleep. Amy and I didn't have any plans aside from going to see a movie. Wednesdays are "Ladies' Day" in Japan, so movies are only 1000 yen, normally they're 1800 yen at the theatre by where we work. We went and saw "The Holiday" even though we'd both already seen it back in Canada before we left. I haven't seen a movie at the theatre in over 6 weeks so I didn't really care. I used to see at least one movie a week, so I was really starting to go through withdrawal. "Babel" is coming out here in three weeks or so, so I'm hoping to see it when it gets here. I know I could just download it, but I think I'll save it for the big-screen. I'm already downloading "300" because I don't want to wait until June when it's going to start playing here.
The movie experience here in Japan is something to say the least. First off, when you go to buy your ticket you actually reserve a seat! We got seats H4 and H5. Kinda interesting. The theatre only seats about 120 people as well, so it's probably about half the size of a regular theatre back home. ...Maybe that's why they charge twice as much? As for the snack aspect, while it's much cheaper than in Canada, the selection is limited to pretty much just popcorn, french fries, donuts, and crepe sticks. No chocolate or candy - Kinda sad. You also can't get butter on your popcorn, the options are salt or caramel. The caramel turned out to be pretty decent at least. Oh yeah, the theatre also had a gift shop in it - very random.
It was back to work again today, and I have to say that the "weekend" (note: Tuesday and Wednesday for me) is never quite long enough! If only I had one more day... Just one. (Okay, or like 5 but whatever, nobody's counting).
Well that's all I have for now!
-Kotoni (how my name is spelled in Japanese)
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Japan - Day 41
Some of you may have heard about the "little" earthquake Japan experienced this morning - and by "little" I of course mean *big*. The earthquake measured a 6.9 on the Richter Scale which translates into: it caused some serious fucking damage. Luckily, (for me at least), the epicentre of the quake was in the Ishikawa prefecture which is about 225 miles northwest of Tokyo. (Oita is about 615 miles southwest of Tokyo). I hate to admit that I didn't even know there was an earthquake in Japan until I got home from work tonight and read it online. It's probably a safe bet that many of you probably heard about it long before I did - kinda sad really, you know, since I'm living in the country n' all... Maybe I should turn on the TV a bit more.
Moving on to lighter fare...
After having dinner at a small Tex-Mex restaurant downtown called The Rosewood Cafe, Amy and I finally made our way out to a few bars! ...I think we must've been inspired by our waitress/bartender/cook who was clearly a little more than "tipsy" LOL. Oh and by "tipsy" I of course mean *off her rocker.*
We had heard about a popular foreigner's bar called "PEI" from a fellow English teacher that we met in our Japanese class last Tuesday, so we set out to find it. Surprisingly we didn't have too much trouble locating "the Canadian Bar" as the Japanese have dubbed the place. When we got there the place was packed! We had to squirm our way in to a table at the very back of the bar. I think it was someone's birthday so there were a bunch of teachers from the same company there. (Not our's). Some of them were friendly but unfortunately most of them weren't interested in meeting any new faces. ...Perhaps because they had already downed 40 jell-o shooters before we arrived. I dunno, just a theory? We left after two drinks for a bar we passed on the way there called "OK! Kid" - a Western bar named after the 1980's movie "Young Guns".
At first it seemed really sketchy (and so we should've known from its name) because we were basically the only people there and we were convinced that the two people working were conspiring to rob us - it's a long story. Anyways right before we were about to leave more people starting coming in so we decided to stay for another drink.
...The people that came into OK! Kid were pretty interesting folk. One Japanese man maybe in his 60's and his girlfriend who looked to be about 30(?) came in. She was crazy - her voice was so high pitched and baby-like - you really had to have heard it to understand. They were pretty friendly though - and bought us a round :) After them, a large group of people came in but we didn't really get to talk to them - from the looks of it though they were pretty far gone. Another Japanese man came in and we (tried) talking to him for a while, as well as two (reject) basketball players. Okay, so I don't know for sure that they're "rejects" but I'm assuming if you come to Japan to play basketball then you're not good enough for the NBA. ...I could be wrong though?
The people who worked there turned out to be okay too, and I don't think they were out to get us anymore. The one girl was from Mexico and really friendly and the guy was from Nigeria - I think both are going to the university in Beppu. We might go hang out with the girl and her group of friends some time once their new semester starts in April so that might be cool.
Hmm... Is anything else new? Well I mentioned briefly above that we went to our first Japanese lesson on Tuesday. It went alright - but I don't think I retained any of the new words/phrases that I didn't know beforehand. They gave us/we bought a workbook with the alphabet and key words and phrases in it, but so far none of it has stuck. I don't think I'll be able to read any Japanese any time soon! ...I'm hoping I'll have survival Japanese sometime in the near future. ...I know I should go back again this Tuesday, but it's so early in the morning! I know I know - it's for the best. I'll probably be able to drag myself out of bed for it. ...It's just sad having to wake up earlier on my day off than during the rest of the week :(
Moving on to lighter fare...
After having dinner at a small Tex-Mex restaurant downtown called The Rosewood Cafe, Amy and I finally made our way out to a few bars! ...I think we must've been inspired by our waitress/bartender/cook who was clearly a little more than "tipsy" LOL. Oh and by "tipsy" I of course mean *off her rocker.*
We had heard about a popular foreigner's bar called "PEI" from a fellow English teacher that we met in our Japanese class last Tuesday, so we set out to find it. Surprisingly we didn't have too much trouble locating "the Canadian Bar" as the Japanese have dubbed the place. When we got there the place was packed! We had to squirm our way in to a table at the very back of the bar. I think it was someone's birthday so there were a bunch of teachers from the same company there. (Not our's). Some of them were friendly but unfortunately most of them weren't interested in meeting any new faces. ...Perhaps because they had already downed 40 jell-o shooters before we arrived. I dunno, just a theory? We left after two drinks for a bar we passed on the way there called "OK! Kid" - a Western bar named after the 1980's movie "Young Guns".
At first it seemed really sketchy (and so we should've known from its name) because we were basically the only people there and we were convinced that the two people working were conspiring to rob us - it's a long story. Anyways right before we were about to leave more people starting coming in so we decided to stay for another drink.
...The people that came into OK! Kid were pretty interesting folk. One Japanese man maybe in his 60's and his girlfriend who looked to be about 30(?) came in. She was crazy - her voice was so high pitched and baby-like - you really had to have heard it to understand. They were pretty friendly though - and bought us a round :) After them, a large group of people came in but we didn't really get to talk to them - from the looks of it though they were pretty far gone. Another Japanese man came in and we (tried) talking to him for a while, as well as two (reject) basketball players. Okay, so I don't know for sure that they're "rejects" but I'm assuming if you come to Japan to play basketball then you're not good enough for the NBA. ...I could be wrong though?
The people who worked there turned out to be okay too, and I don't think they were out to get us anymore. The one girl was from Mexico and really friendly and the guy was from Nigeria - I think both are going to the university in Beppu. We might go hang out with the girl and her group of friends some time once their new semester starts in April so that might be cool.
Hmm... Is anything else new? Well I mentioned briefly above that we went to our first Japanese lesson on Tuesday. It went alright - but I don't think I retained any of the new words/phrases that I didn't know beforehand. They gave us/we bought a workbook with the alphabet and key words and phrases in it, but so far none of it has stuck. I don't think I'll be able to read any Japanese any time soon! ...I'm hoping I'll have survival Japanese sometime in the near future. ...I know I should go back again this Tuesday, but it's so early in the morning! I know I know - it's for the best. I'll probably be able to drag myself out of bed for it. ...It's just sad having to wake up earlier on my day off than during the rest of the week :(
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Japan - Day 30
So today I bought myself a brand new shiny digital camera :) I haven't exactly figured out all its features yet - but I have been able to set it to the English menu. (Progress people, it's all the about the progress - slow baby steps here). I bought my new toy in Fukuoka where Amy and I decided to go on our day off this week. Fukuoka is the city which we were originally told we'd be living in - it's the biggest city on Kyushu with 1.4 million people or so. Definitely nothing compared to Tokyo! It's a nice, relaxing, 2 hour bus ride away. (Note: slight sarcasm). To be fair, the bus ride *there* wasn't so bad. It was actually fairly spacious. On the way back however, it was an entirely different story! The seats were so small, it made the 2 hours feel more like 12! Plus it was brutally hot! At least the bus is cheap ($40 roundtrip).
We were told that the Tenjin area of Fukuoka was an amazing shopping district - but I have to say, I was a little disappointed. Sure there were plenty of stores, but they didn't seem... "special". Haha. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but I guess just something different. Maybe we just weren't looking in the right area? ...After wandering around for a while we caught a bus and went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Yes we try to soak up as much Japanese culture as we can get here! ;) The Hard Rock Cafe in Fukuoka is pretty much the same as the one in Toronto, and Orlando, and probably every other one around the world. We both ordered steaks and a drink... It was definitely the most expensive meal I've had in a while! But I guess it was worth it - not having a BBQ n' all. The food was alright, but nothing spectacular. Amy pointed out that our tacos last week were probably better. (That's not to say that the steaks were horrible, just that the tacos were pretty damn good! LOL).
I don't have anything else lined up for this week aside from going back to work tomorrow. Next week I might try to get to a language class on Tuesday morning but other than that I don't have anything planned for my days off... I'm sure something will come up though - maybe a trip further south down the island might be in order? I remember reading about a Venice-like gondola area somewhere around here...? I'll keep you posted!
For the record; I haven't figured out how/if I can post any pictures on this site or not. I'll keep working on it though. I might end up having to post them elsewhere...?
We were told that the Tenjin area of Fukuoka was an amazing shopping district - but I have to say, I was a little disappointed. Sure there were plenty of stores, but they didn't seem... "special". Haha. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but I guess just something different. Maybe we just weren't looking in the right area? ...After wandering around for a while we caught a bus and went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Yes we try to soak up as much Japanese culture as we can get here! ;) The Hard Rock Cafe in Fukuoka is pretty much the same as the one in Toronto, and Orlando, and probably every other one around the world. We both ordered steaks and a drink... It was definitely the most expensive meal I've had in a while! But I guess it was worth it - not having a BBQ n' all. The food was alright, but nothing spectacular. Amy pointed out that our tacos last week were probably better. (That's not to say that the steaks were horrible, just that the tacos were pretty damn good! LOL).
I don't have anything else lined up for this week aside from going back to work tomorrow. Next week I might try to get to a language class on Tuesday morning but other than that I don't have anything planned for my days off... I'm sure something will come up though - maybe a trip further south down the island might be in order? I remember reading about a Venice-like gondola area somewhere around here...? I'll keep you posted!
For the record; I haven't figured out how/if I can post any pictures on this site or not. I'll keep working on it though. I might end up having to post them elsewhere...?
Friday, March 9, 2007
Japan - Day 24
Two updates in one week - pretty impressive. Usually I'm not on the internet long enough to get around to typing out my insane monologues. You should all consider yourself lucky haha.
First off on our day off in Usuki we found ourselves searching for a place to eat lunch. It was around 1:30 and almost all of the restaurants were already closed until dinner time. We ended up getting pretty desperate and agreed to just go into the next restaurant that was open. We finally found one and stepped inside to find ourselves in a three-tabled dining room with a row of extra seating at the bar. We grabbed ourselves a seat at the bar (so we could actually sit on chairs) and low and behold they had English menus! But after that is when things started to go downhill... The food was horrible so say the least - Amy was given some shrimp fully intact - that is to say eyeballs and all! After seeing that neither of us had much of an appetite left. My meal wasn't as bad as Amy's - I ordered some tempura and double checked with the server (who was actually a very friendly, and luckily very understanding, middle-aged women) that it was just vegetable. She assured me that yes, it was in fact vegetable (or "begitible" as the menu read) tempura. When my meal came there were *some* vegetables but it was mostly miscellaneous seafood, and not being in my, ahem, usual adventurous mood, I didn't feel like wading through and determining which seafood was edible to my Western palate. I ate a few pieces of the recognizable vegetables that I saw - eggplant, squash, and sweet potato and then left the rest. Yes, I felt bad for wasting so much food, but trust me it was for the best!
So Usuki turned out to be... Well... How to put this...? It made Oita look like a bustling metropolis! It was pretty "quaint" to say it nicely. Not a whole lot happening around there. The historical district was pretty cool - we saw lots of traditional style homes and a huge old cemetery. It was more of what I actually expected Japan to look like. (I'll try to get some pictures uploaded at some point in the next few days). I'm not sure if we're going to be cursed now for walking around and taking pictures in the cemetery but I'm sure Buddha is a forgiving god...? Maybe? And besides, we're gaijin (foreigners) so it's not like we knew any better. (I'm not sure how long that excuse is going to work for).
Also in Usuki we went and saw some stone Buddhas that were carved into/out of (?) the mountain-side. They were pretty amazing! Hundreds of years old and still in generally decent condition! (Again I'll see what I can do about some pictures). Not that the pictures will do them any justice, something like that just has to be seen in person. The stone Buddhas aren't unique to Usuki though, I hear there are similar sites elsewhere around Japan.We didn't get around to going to the limestone caves on Tuesday and I'm not sure I would've wanted to go then anyways. It was absolutely freezing! I'm pretty sure it was the coldest day we've had here so far, and it was insanely windy! I swear I almost got knocked off my feet more than once (and no I hadn't been drinking any sake!). Maybe we'll head back to Usuki to visit the caves another day, but I'm not sure having to endure Usuki for a whole day would be bearable a second time - yes it was that bad. Let me rephrase: Seeing and experiencing the town once was good enough to last a lifetime. ...Maybe we'll try to find some limestone caves elsewhere ;)
Today we lucked out and found a taco kit at the grocery store. For the modest price of $6.75 (or so) we had the most delicious meal I could've ever imagined. No, I never thought I'd be saying that about tacos haha. In all seriousness the food I've had here (with the odd exception or two) hasn't been all that bad. But to have something as "normal" as we did tonight just made me realize how different things are here. The fact that Japan is different than Canada is obviously a given, and it's not actually a bad thing, I think it's just that until tonight I didn't realize how different things are. Foodwise, it's especially difficult not having a proper oven or a microwave - there are only so many things I know how to make on a two-burner stove. I know I know, having any kind of epiphany out of tacos is pretty amusing. Prepare for more in the future. (I can only imagine what would happen if I got my hands on some perogies haha).
Oh yeah, so the other night we made spaghetti (again another normal meal) and we decided to have garlic bread to go along with it. When I asked the guy at the grocery store if there was any garlic bread he kindly walked me across the entire length of the store to the garlic. Not exactly what I wanted but I thanked him anyways and assumed that they didn't actually have garlic bread. So I found some garlic butter and bought a baguette. Back at home we tried to toast the bread in our "oven". And by oven, of course I mean the 2"x6"x8" fire death trap below our two burners. This "oven" is also heated by gas, and we managed to set the garlic bread on fire. I'm pretty sure it was only in there for a minute or two, but that was enough to burn all four slices to a crisp! I don't think I'll be using that device ever again! Luckily we have a toaster oven that's not gas-powered. (Just on a side note: I think I'm obsessing over these so-called "normal" meals just because up until recently all we've been making at home was stir-fries).
Alright well that's all the news I have for now. I'll see what I can do about those pictures later!
First off on our day off in Usuki we found ourselves searching for a place to eat lunch. It was around 1:30 and almost all of the restaurants were already closed until dinner time. We ended up getting pretty desperate and agreed to just go into the next restaurant that was open. We finally found one and stepped inside to find ourselves in a three-tabled dining room with a row of extra seating at the bar. We grabbed ourselves a seat at the bar (so we could actually sit on chairs) and low and behold they had English menus! But after that is when things started to go downhill... The food was horrible so say the least - Amy was given some shrimp fully intact - that is to say eyeballs and all! After seeing that neither of us had much of an appetite left. My meal wasn't as bad as Amy's - I ordered some tempura and double checked with the server (who was actually a very friendly, and luckily very understanding, middle-aged women) that it was just vegetable. She assured me that yes, it was in fact vegetable (or "begitible" as the menu read) tempura. When my meal came there were *some* vegetables but it was mostly miscellaneous seafood, and not being in my, ahem, usual adventurous mood, I didn't feel like wading through and determining which seafood was edible to my Western palate. I ate a few pieces of the recognizable vegetables that I saw - eggplant, squash, and sweet potato and then left the rest. Yes, I felt bad for wasting so much food, but trust me it was for the best!
So Usuki turned out to be... Well... How to put this...? It made Oita look like a bustling metropolis! It was pretty "quaint" to say it nicely. Not a whole lot happening around there. The historical district was pretty cool - we saw lots of traditional style homes and a huge old cemetery. It was more of what I actually expected Japan to look like. (I'll try to get some pictures uploaded at some point in the next few days). I'm not sure if we're going to be cursed now for walking around and taking pictures in the cemetery but I'm sure Buddha is a forgiving god...? Maybe? And besides, we're gaijin (foreigners) so it's not like we knew any better. (I'm not sure how long that excuse is going to work for).
Also in Usuki we went and saw some stone Buddhas that were carved into/out of (?) the mountain-side. They were pretty amazing! Hundreds of years old and still in generally decent condition! (Again I'll see what I can do about some pictures). Not that the pictures will do them any justice, something like that just has to be seen in person. The stone Buddhas aren't unique to Usuki though, I hear there are similar sites elsewhere around Japan.We didn't get around to going to the limestone caves on Tuesday and I'm not sure I would've wanted to go then anyways. It was absolutely freezing! I'm pretty sure it was the coldest day we've had here so far, and it was insanely windy! I swear I almost got knocked off my feet more than once (and no I hadn't been drinking any sake!). Maybe we'll head back to Usuki to visit the caves another day, but I'm not sure having to endure Usuki for a whole day would be bearable a second time - yes it was that bad. Let me rephrase: Seeing and experiencing the town once was good enough to last a lifetime. ...Maybe we'll try to find some limestone caves elsewhere ;)
Today we lucked out and found a taco kit at the grocery store. For the modest price of $6.75 (or so) we had the most delicious meal I could've ever imagined. No, I never thought I'd be saying that about tacos haha. In all seriousness the food I've had here (with the odd exception or two) hasn't been all that bad. But to have something as "normal" as we did tonight just made me realize how different things are here. The fact that Japan is different than Canada is obviously a given, and it's not actually a bad thing, I think it's just that until tonight I didn't realize how different things are. Foodwise, it's especially difficult not having a proper oven or a microwave - there are only so many things I know how to make on a two-burner stove. I know I know, having any kind of epiphany out of tacos is pretty amusing. Prepare for more in the future. (I can only imagine what would happen if I got my hands on some perogies haha).
Oh yeah, so the other night we made spaghetti (again another normal meal) and we decided to have garlic bread to go along with it. When I asked the guy at the grocery store if there was any garlic bread he kindly walked me across the entire length of the store to the garlic. Not exactly what I wanted but I thanked him anyways and assumed that they didn't actually have garlic bread. So I found some garlic butter and bought a baguette. Back at home we tried to toast the bread in our "oven". And by oven, of course I mean the 2"x6"x8" fire death trap below our two burners. This "oven" is also heated by gas, and we managed to set the garlic bread on fire. I'm pretty sure it was only in there for a minute or two, but that was enough to burn all four slices to a crisp! I don't think I'll be using that device ever again! Luckily we have a toaster oven that's not gas-powered. (Just on a side note: I think I'm obsessing over these so-called "normal" meals just because up until recently all we've been making at home was stir-fries).
Alright well that's all the news I have for now. I'll see what I can do about those pictures later!
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Japan - Day 21
I'm still alive in case anyone is still keeping track... I know you've all been anxiously awaiting my latest update with baited breath (or something like that).
Wow so 3 weeks! I have to say, I'm already beginning to lose count of how many days I've been here... Time seems to run together and I'm having trouble remembering what day it is (or which way is up for that matter).
Anyways...
I'm pleased to announce that tomorrow I have a day off! I'm pretty excited! Amy and I are heading into Usuki to see the limestone caves and the stone Buddha statues that the city is famous for. (I use the term "famous" loosely). There's also supposed to be a bamboo field and a nine-storey pagoda so that'll be cool to see. I have to remember to charge my camera before I go to bed tonight (not that it will hold a charge for the whole day tomorrow anyway - but a girl can try).
Since my last update I've accumulated almost 30 hours of overtime at work (most still to be served mind you). I guess Nova is pretty hurtin' for teachers here in ye ol' Oita. Now that I've had some time to grow accustomed to the job I have to say that I still don't mind it all that much. It is a bit tedious and repetitive but it's pretty straightforward and not overly stressful. Most of the students try hard and it's nice that there are only 4 in a class (not that you could fit any more into the "classroom"). Most times there are only 2 students and sometimes even only one! Those one-on-one lessons are definitely the most challenging. Having two or four is the best because you can have them remember the new vocabulary by playing role-playing activities - definitely a setback when there's only one of them...
The kids classes are... well... also pretty straightforward (since the lesson plans are already pre-made), but as anything involving young children go - sometimes things are easier said than done... Overall I'd say the children listen well enough and do all the activities, but there's always one or two that like to be annoying and bratty. When that happens there's not a whole lot you can do aside from, well, ignoring them haha. Kicking them out of the room isn't really an option... But I guess one or two devil-children out of a possible eight isn't too bad (knock on wood). I definitely prefer the adult lessons though.
Is anything else new? Not really. It's been a while so you'd think there would be...? Tomorrow I can finally go and pick up my Alien Registration Card, here's hoping that doesn't take up the whole day! I guess I've just been working a lot, and going out to dinner sometimes... I usually don't get home from work until 10:00 so there's really not a lot to do then (especially since the last bus into or out of downtown is at 9:30 or so...) I need to get into a bigger city where there's more going on!!!
In a few weeks the Cherry Blossom festivals will begin so maybe that will bring some more excitement. People gather in the parks to look at the sakura (Cherry Blossoms) and to eat and drink. ...One of the rare occasions where it's okay to eat/drink outside here - most days you'd just get glared at or even yelled at (as we learned the hard way).
Alright well now I have to go find my camera so I can plug it in.
Otsukairesama dess!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Japan - Day 12
So I've had limited access to the internet over the past little while - my much loved pirated wireless signal decided to up and disappear. I'm now all settled in at my new apartment in Oita and have officially been an English teacher for 2 days!
Oita's alright, minus the scary right-wing fascist types that drive around in their big, white, Japanese flag adorned vans with tinted windows who yell their anti-foreigner manifestos over a loud speaker... Although I've seen/heard them I haven't had a run-in with them yet (thankfully) but they've been known to pull up beside foreigners and start yelling at them! ...So aside from that whole scene the town's alright. (I think those guys can been found in any city across Japan, so it's not just limited to where I am). But I do have the feeling that this area of Japan is much akin to the Southern US or parts of Alberta...
Anyway, so yeah, I'm adjusting well to my new living arrangements here in Oita. My new (temporary roommate) is pretty cool, she's moving out at the end of the month though. She's been super-helpful so far in showing me the lay of the land so to speak. ...Filling me and Amy in on all the secret rules of life in Japan and at Nova that people generally fail to mention. I'm especially getting used to *not* sleeping on a single three-inch futon mattress on a hardwood floor - think a la camping. I now have three futon mattresses piled up and it's actually quite comfortable or at least tolerable. I also now have a tatami-mat floor in my room so that softens things up as well.
The day before I left Kitakyushu I went out with Lucy to celebrate the end of our training. We went to a local bar and were just going to point to random things on the menu and hope we'd end up with something edible. Luckily one of the bar/wait staff spoke English and he helped us choose some drinks and appetizer. His name was Jun-ji and he was pretty cool and his English was excellent (he lived in Vancouver for a year so I'm sure that helped). He also had a mullet - and suprisingly enough pulled it off quite nicely haha. Mullets seem to be all the rage for Japanese males, it's kind of frightening actually...
On Wednesday we ended up at a kareoke bar - we were the only foreigners in the place. When we first walked in I thought they were gonna turn us away, but the owner-lady turned out to be really friendly, and with the use of our phrase books we were able to communicate somewhat... I even sang a song! (First time for everything). You know, the song "Michelle" by The Beatles seems a lot faster when I sing it in my head LOL. I also got my first Japanese gift! There was an old man in the bar (one of like 3 other patrons) and after he found out I was leaving for Oita the next day he ran out and came back a few minutes later with a sashimi platter for me. It was so sweet! It turns out he owned a sushi restaurant nearby according to the owner of the kareoke bar (who's name escapes me at the moment).
So this has been a week of firsts for me - Japanese gifts, kareoke, becoming a teacher... I also tried some eel sushi (along side the tuna and salmon, which I've tried before). Not to mention the cheesecake (which I would normally avoid) and some red wine (again, which I would normally avoid).
I haven't been in Japan two weeks yet but already I can see why people love it so much. It's not exactly as beautiful as people often speculate, but the people, the culture, and the whole atmosphere in general are just so warm and friendly. ...You know apart from the scary van guys.
Oita's alright, minus the scary right-wing fascist types that drive around in their big, white, Japanese flag adorned vans with tinted windows who yell their anti-foreigner manifestos over a loud speaker... Although I've seen/heard them I haven't had a run-in with them yet (thankfully) but they've been known to pull up beside foreigners and start yelling at them! ...So aside from that whole scene the town's alright. (I think those guys can been found in any city across Japan, so it's not just limited to where I am). But I do have the feeling that this area of Japan is much akin to the Southern US or parts of Alberta...
Anyway, so yeah, I'm adjusting well to my new living arrangements here in Oita. My new (temporary roommate) is pretty cool, she's moving out at the end of the month though. She's been super-helpful so far in showing me the lay of the land so to speak. ...Filling me and Amy in on all the secret rules of life in Japan and at Nova that people generally fail to mention. I'm especially getting used to *not* sleeping on a single three-inch futon mattress on a hardwood floor - think a la camping. I now have three futon mattresses piled up and it's actually quite comfortable or at least tolerable. I also now have a tatami-mat floor in my room so that softens things up as well.
The day before I left Kitakyushu I went out with Lucy to celebrate the end of our training. We went to a local bar and were just going to point to random things on the menu and hope we'd end up with something edible. Luckily one of the bar/wait staff spoke English and he helped us choose some drinks and appetizer. His name was Jun-ji and he was pretty cool and his English was excellent (he lived in Vancouver for a year so I'm sure that helped). He also had a mullet - and suprisingly enough pulled it off quite nicely haha. Mullets seem to be all the rage for Japanese males, it's kind of frightening actually...
On Wednesday we ended up at a kareoke bar - we were the only foreigners in the place. When we first walked in I thought they were gonna turn us away, but the owner-lady turned out to be really friendly, and with the use of our phrase books we were able to communicate somewhat... I even sang a song! (First time for everything). You know, the song "Michelle" by The Beatles seems a lot faster when I sing it in my head LOL. I also got my first Japanese gift! There was an old man in the bar (one of like 3 other patrons) and after he found out I was leaving for Oita the next day he ran out and came back a few minutes later with a sashimi platter for me. It was so sweet! It turns out he owned a sushi restaurant nearby according to the owner of the kareoke bar (who's name escapes me at the moment).
So this has been a week of firsts for me - Japanese gifts, kareoke, becoming a teacher... I also tried some eel sushi (along side the tuna and salmon, which I've tried before). Not to mention the cheesecake (which I would normally avoid) and some red wine (again, which I would normally avoid).
I haven't been in Japan two weeks yet but already I can see why people love it so much. It's not exactly as beautiful as people often speculate, but the people, the culture, and the whole atmosphere in general are just so warm and friendly. ...You know apart from the scary van guys.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Japan - Day 6
Over the past few days I've come to learn that the Japanese are obsessed with their cardos! They have them for everything! And if you don't have them then you're screwed! Well not really, but they certainly seem to make life much easier. In Oita on the weekend I went to City Hall to apply for my Alien Registration Card (AKA my "gaijin card") which will allow me to open a bank account, join a gym, get a movie rental membership, etc., and more importantly - buy a cell phone. I was told that if I asked for a temporary Certificate of Alien Registration it would tide me over until my actual card was available (March 5). This however was a lie! Well it allowed me to open up my bank account but it most certainly did nothing to help me buy a cell phone! Amy and I probably wasted close to three hours on Saturday trying to convince various retailers to sell us a phone, but we kept being rejected by the smiling shop girls because we didn't have our cardos. No cardo = no phone :( At least they were nice about it. (They truly were) And what's 2 more weeks without any form of communication? Alright so there's a slight chance I *may* be over-exaggerating a bit here, I mean I do have the luxury of accessing my (hijacked) wireless internet connection, but still - I want a phone!
Anyway... (That's my angry rant of the week)
Oita turned out to be a lot better than I was expecting. ...From the looks on peoples' faces here when I told them I was placed in Oita you'd think I was going to end up living in, well, No Man's Land. Oita's actually not that isolated, but maybe by Japanese standards...? It's a fair bit smaller than Kitakyushu but it's pretty spread out and there's still almost a million people in the city-proper I've discovered. The population of 400,000 people I was told about earlier is just in the downtown area... Compared to where I am now things are a bit pricier but not horribly so. For example, here a 1.5L of Coke is about $1.59 but there it's like $1.90 or something.
[On a side note - when I said earlier that prices in Japan seemed fairly normal, I still maintain that statement for most things, but there are food items that are crazy expensive - i.e. a single cantaloupe costs 3500 yen!!! Yes that translates into $35!!! It's a good thing I don't like cantaloupe to begin with, I won't have to worry about any weird/random cravings for it! Apples are also expensive here ranging between $3 and $6 *each!* ...Mind you they're absolutely HUGE apples - think almost grapefruit-sized.]
But yeah, I think Oita will turn out to be okay. At least for a while anyway. There are only 4 or 5 teachers at our branch, so if things turn out to be more desolate than my initial experience has led on, then I may ask for a transfer to a larger city... At least Oita will be a good stepping-stone into Japanese life and culture. One thing I learned in Oita this weekend was how to take a Japanese bus... The system is really different than back home, but I actually think it's a lot better! You enter by the back/middle entrance and either slide your basu cardo (bus pass/*card*) into a card reader or take a ticket with the stop number you got on at from a machine. At the front of the bus there's a board which shows a bunch of stop numbers with different fare prices underneath. At your stop you either slide your card through another card reader at the front of the bus and the fare is deducted automatically, or you put your ticket and designated fare into a box by the driver. Oh yeah, and there are also change machines on the bus which are super-convenient!
On Saturday Amy and I ventured out to Beppu, the neighboring touristy city. Beppu is famous for all its onsen (hot springs) and hell springs (too hot to swim in, but nice to look at). We didn't go to any this weekend but did go to Mount Takasaki to the monkey reserve. There are some 1,200 Japanese Macaques living in their "natural" habitat there, and for 500 yen ($5.00) you can go up and walk around. The monkeys were actually quite cute, at least the babies were. The adult males on the other hand were actually sort of scary! (Especially when they were fighting... Which they did a lot)
Back in Kitakyushu today Lucy and I started our first day of training. I was really nervous this morning and thought I might turn out to be a horrible teacher and they'd send me home! Luckily that wasn't the case and they really ease you in to the whole situation. We started out with some paperwork (naturally) and then went over the textbook a little bit. ...Everything is pretty much done for you, even the lesson plans, so it's actually pretty simple and straightforward. We taught three lessons today to actual students. Well not full lessons, but sections of lessons along with other teachers. Tomorrow we're going to do two on our own, which seems kind of scary, but I'm sure it'll end up okay. The classes are super small with a maximum for 4 students each (8 if it's a kids class). Today I had two classes that were single students and one which had two... I'm not sure how common that actually is.
[On another side note - Lucy and I found our rotating sushi bar today :) I was quite adventurous I'd say and tried some salmon and tuna sushi! I also tried some corn sushi (yes, I am a wild one) and some california rolls (which had some omelet in them as well). The chef came out and starting talking to us (not that we could understand what he was saying... I think we were taking too long deciding what to choose next haha). After he left, he came back a few minutes later with some grilled salmon sushi on the house.]
Okay so it appears that I've written yet another novel of an entry so I guess I'll wrap things up now. I hope you've all enjoyed reading :) (And if you're still reading this I guess I didn't bored you too much haha)
Konbanwa (meaning "good evening") ...That's as close to "good night" as I know right now.
Anyway... (That's my angry rant of the week)
Oita turned out to be a lot better than I was expecting. ...From the looks on peoples' faces here when I told them I was placed in Oita you'd think I was going to end up living in, well, No Man's Land. Oita's actually not that isolated, but maybe by Japanese standards...? It's a fair bit smaller than Kitakyushu but it's pretty spread out and there's still almost a million people in the city-proper I've discovered. The population of 400,000 people I was told about earlier is just in the downtown area... Compared to where I am now things are a bit pricier but not horribly so. For example, here a 1.5L of Coke is about $1.59 but there it's like $1.90 or something.
[On a side note - when I said earlier that prices in Japan seemed fairly normal, I still maintain that statement for most things, but there are food items that are crazy expensive - i.e. a single cantaloupe costs 3500 yen!!! Yes that translates into $35!!! It's a good thing I don't like cantaloupe to begin with, I won't have to worry about any weird/random cravings for it! Apples are also expensive here ranging between $3 and $6 *each!* ...Mind you they're absolutely HUGE apples - think almost grapefruit-sized.]
But yeah, I think Oita will turn out to be okay. At least for a while anyway. There are only 4 or 5 teachers at our branch, so if things turn out to be more desolate than my initial experience has led on, then I may ask for a transfer to a larger city... At least Oita will be a good stepping-stone into Japanese life and culture. One thing I learned in Oita this weekend was how to take a Japanese bus... The system is really different than back home, but I actually think it's a lot better! You enter by the back/middle entrance and either slide your basu cardo (bus pass/*card*) into a card reader or take a ticket with the stop number you got on at from a machine. At the front of the bus there's a board which shows a bunch of stop numbers with different fare prices underneath. At your stop you either slide your card through another card reader at the front of the bus and the fare is deducted automatically, or you put your ticket and designated fare into a box by the driver. Oh yeah, and there are also change machines on the bus which are super-convenient!
On Saturday Amy and I ventured out to Beppu, the neighboring touristy city. Beppu is famous for all its onsen (hot springs) and hell springs (too hot to swim in, but nice to look at). We didn't go to any this weekend but did go to Mount Takasaki to the monkey reserve. There are some 1,200 Japanese Macaques living in their "natural" habitat there, and for 500 yen ($5.00) you can go up and walk around. The monkeys were actually quite cute, at least the babies were. The adult males on the other hand were actually sort of scary! (Especially when they were fighting... Which they did a lot)
Back in Kitakyushu today Lucy and I started our first day of training. I was really nervous this morning and thought I might turn out to be a horrible teacher and they'd send me home! Luckily that wasn't the case and they really ease you in to the whole situation. We started out with some paperwork (naturally) and then went over the textbook a little bit. ...Everything is pretty much done for you, even the lesson plans, so it's actually pretty simple and straightforward. We taught three lessons today to actual students. Well not full lessons, but sections of lessons along with other teachers. Tomorrow we're going to do two on our own, which seems kind of scary, but I'm sure it'll end up okay. The classes are super small with a maximum for 4 students each (8 if it's a kids class). Today I had two classes that were single students and one which had two... I'm not sure how common that actually is.
[On another side note - Lucy and I found our rotating sushi bar today :) I was quite adventurous I'd say and tried some salmon and tuna sushi! I also tried some corn sushi (yes, I am a wild one) and some california rolls (which had some omelet in them as well). The chef came out and starting talking to us (not that we could understand what he was saying... I think we were taking too long deciding what to choose next haha). After he left, he came back a few minutes later with some grilled salmon sushi on the house.]
Okay so it appears that I've written yet another novel of an entry so I guess I'll wrap things up now. I hope you've all enjoyed reading :) (And if you're still reading this I guess I didn't bored you too much haha)
Konbanwa (meaning "good evening") ...That's as close to "good night" as I know right now.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Japan - Day 3
It's bright and early on a Friday morning here in Kitakyushu. For some reason since coming to Japan I've lost my ability to sleep in! Damn time change! I suppose being an early riser isn't such a bad thing...? (I can't believe I just said that!)
Not too too much has happened in the past few days but there have been some adventures. I'm glad to report that my luggage arrived safe and sound yesterday morning. It was carried up by a fragile old man, and I felt bad, but he wouldn't let me take them from him until they was inside. They have excellent customer service here. Everyone is super-friendly all the time! (I wonder if there are anti-depressants in the water haha)
What else? Oh yeah my roommate Lucy arrived about 8:00PM on Wednesday and unlike myself, she was fully escorted to the apartment by another local teacher! I'm still proud of myself for finding this place on my own though haha! One sonic express train, monorail, and a short walk later... Lucy is pretty cool, she's 25 and from Brighton, England. I have to admit - I can't always understand what she saying to me, but I think I get the gist :P
Yesterday Lucy and I ventured into the city and wandered around for a while. We were on a mission to find a restaurant that had a rotating sushi bar but our luck fell short. We ended up settling on some noodle/soup shop in a food court. I'm not sure if it's *all* the foodcourts here or just the one we ended up in, but it's a different kind of experience. Most of the restaurants had a vending machine of sorts outside where you put in your money and I *think* made your order. I think from there you take a ticket up to the counter and they make your food. Luckily the shop we went to was much more simplistic and we just ordered at the counter. And by "order" I mean pointing to a picture of the food we wanted. I had soup with two pieces of shrimp tempura in it. It wasn't too bad actually aside from the fact that the tempura batter retained a lot of heat from the broth and I burnt my mouth a few times.
While in the city we also found a pet store and decided to take a look inside. Aside from the smell it appeared to be a fairly run-of-the-mill pet store. The smell, we discovered, wasn't due to lack of cleanliness, but from the two tamarin monkeys they had for sale. They were very cute! But oh so stinky! The puppies they had there were also adorable, but insanely expensive!!! The cheapest dog I saw was a black lab for 80,000 yen, or approximately $800 Canadian. But the smaller dogs like the chihuahuas ranged from 130,000 to over 300,000 yen! ($1300 - $3000) And the cats they had went for about the same prices! Not exactly as much as the chihuahuas, but still over $1000. They must have been purebread? Still crazy!
Aside from the animals things in Japan aren't as expensive as I was told they'd be. We went grocery shopping yesterday and everything seemed relatively cheap. Coke was about $1.58 for a 1.5L bottle, and steak was about $9.50 for two (not sure the weight). We were also able to find most of the same things we you get back here - Hagen Daaz ice cream, Doritos, etc. (Couldn't find any "normal" brands of chips, but they did have them) One thing that struck me as odd was that rice was kinda pricey! $8.80 for a 2kg bag??? It must have been some specialty rice or something...
So far my journey into Japan hasn't been overly difficult or daunting. No one really speaks English and most of the signs are in Japanese but it's still easy enough to navigate around the city and to find what you're looking for. So far no huge surprises. This afternoon I'm off to Oita to visit Amy and to get acquainted with my future new home town... The train leaves at 12:29 and I best not be late! They leave EXACTLY according to schedule! I might actually learn to be punctual while I'm here :)
Not too too much has happened in the past few days but there have been some adventures. I'm glad to report that my luggage arrived safe and sound yesterday morning. It was carried up by a fragile old man, and I felt bad, but he wouldn't let me take them from him until they was inside. They have excellent customer service here. Everyone is super-friendly all the time! (I wonder if there are anti-depressants in the water haha)
What else? Oh yeah my roommate Lucy arrived about 8:00PM on Wednesday and unlike myself, she was fully escorted to the apartment by another local teacher! I'm still proud of myself for finding this place on my own though haha! One sonic express train, monorail, and a short walk later... Lucy is pretty cool, she's 25 and from Brighton, England. I have to admit - I can't always understand what she saying to me, but I think I get the gist :P
Yesterday Lucy and I ventured into the city and wandered around for a while. We were on a mission to find a restaurant that had a rotating sushi bar but our luck fell short. We ended up settling on some noodle/soup shop in a food court. I'm not sure if it's *all* the foodcourts here or just the one we ended up in, but it's a different kind of experience. Most of the restaurants had a vending machine of sorts outside where you put in your money and I *think* made your order. I think from there you take a ticket up to the counter and they make your food. Luckily the shop we went to was much more simplistic and we just ordered at the counter. And by "order" I mean pointing to a picture of the food we wanted. I had soup with two pieces of shrimp tempura in it. It wasn't too bad actually aside from the fact that the tempura batter retained a lot of heat from the broth and I burnt my mouth a few times.
While in the city we also found a pet store and decided to take a look inside. Aside from the smell it appeared to be a fairly run-of-the-mill pet store. The smell, we discovered, wasn't due to lack of cleanliness, but from the two tamarin monkeys they had for sale. They were very cute! But oh so stinky! The puppies they had there were also adorable, but insanely expensive!!! The cheapest dog I saw was a black lab for 80,000 yen, or approximately $800 Canadian. But the smaller dogs like the chihuahuas ranged from 130,000 to over 300,000 yen! ($1300 - $3000) And the cats they had went for about the same prices! Not exactly as much as the chihuahuas, but still over $1000. They must have been purebread? Still crazy!
Aside from the animals things in Japan aren't as expensive as I was told they'd be. We went grocery shopping yesterday and everything seemed relatively cheap. Coke was about $1.58 for a 1.5L bottle, and steak was about $9.50 for two (not sure the weight). We were also able to find most of the same things we you get back here - Hagen Daaz ice cream, Doritos, etc. (Couldn't find any "normal" brands of chips, but they did have them) One thing that struck me as odd was that rice was kinda pricey! $8.80 for a 2kg bag??? It must have been some specialty rice or something...
So far my journey into Japan hasn't been overly difficult or daunting. No one really speaks English and most of the signs are in Japanese but it's still easy enough to navigate around the city and to find what you're looking for. So far no huge surprises. This afternoon I'm off to Oita to visit Amy and to get acquainted with my future new home town... The train leaves at 12:29 and I best not be late! They leave EXACTLY according to schedule! I might actually learn to be punctual while I'm here :)
Japan - Day 1
Well after almost 24 hours of continuous travel Amy and I arrived in Japan last night wihtout too many bangs and bruises - we even managed to find our hotel in Fukuoka without too many complications (even though the cab driver didn't speak a word of English).
Note: If you ever visit Japan and need to take a cab, have your destination address written in Japanese otherwise you probably won't get to where you want to go!
So this morning we dragged our luggage (the bags we didn't ship from the airport) a few blocks to the subway to try and find our way downtown to pick up our arrival packages and apartment keys from the Nova office... Anyone who knows us won't be surprised to hear that we ended up walking in the entirely direction away from Nova and only about half an hour later did we finally manged to find two guys who helped us find the building. ...This detour wouldn't have been so bad had we not still been carrying all our bags! I've never been more in need of a massage in all my life!!!
Skip forward a few hours and Amy and I have gone our separate ways. She's in Oita on the mid-north-eastern coast of Kyushu and I'm in my temporary location in Kitakyushu which is about 120 km north-east of her. My roommate has yet to make an appearance but on the brightside my futon and bedding was delivered about an hour ago :)
...My luggage from the airport however is another story. As luck would have it they attempted to deliver it before I arrived here and I was left with what I can only assume to be a missed-delivery slip in my mailbox (I *assume* because it's entirely in Japanese). My attempt to call them to locate my bags was a miserable failure because the time on my payphone call ran out before the women on the other end could find someone who spoke English... I'll try again tomorrow during the day when I can hopefully find someone to help me.
It's about 7:00 PM here right now and I'm all alone in Japan and wondering what to do for dinner (that's 5:00 AM for those of you back in Ontario). I noitced a pizza place around the corner earlier during my attempt at using the payphone so that might be a good option, other than that I'm surrounded by car dealerships and parts stores - good times haha. There's a bunch of anime (minus English subtitles) on TV so that might turn out to be my only form of entertainment for the next little while... Right now there's a cheerleading pig and fox... I have no idea what's going on? Oh yeah and there's an Afro-Samurai look-alike who has gold teeth... yeah...
Alright well I dunno if anybody is actually still reading this, but if you are I'm more entertaining than I thought haha. I'll make another post in a few days with an update on my plights in Japan. I still have to figure out how to open a bank account, get a cellphone, and register with the city for my alien registration card. Oh yeah and locate my luggage and get it re-delivered!
Sayonara :)
Note: If you ever visit Japan and need to take a cab, have your destination address written in Japanese otherwise you probably won't get to where you want to go!
So this morning we dragged our luggage (the bags we didn't ship from the airport) a few blocks to the subway to try and find our way downtown to pick up our arrival packages and apartment keys from the Nova office... Anyone who knows us won't be surprised to hear that we ended up walking in the entirely direction away from Nova and only about half an hour later did we finally manged to find two guys who helped us find the building. ...This detour wouldn't have been so bad had we not still been carrying all our bags! I've never been more in need of a massage in all my life!!!
Skip forward a few hours and Amy and I have gone our separate ways. She's in Oita on the mid-north-eastern coast of Kyushu and I'm in my temporary location in Kitakyushu which is about 120 km north-east of her. My roommate has yet to make an appearance but on the brightside my futon and bedding was delivered about an hour ago :)
...My luggage from the airport however is another story. As luck would have it they attempted to deliver it before I arrived here and I was left with what I can only assume to be a missed-delivery slip in my mailbox (I *assume* because it's entirely in Japanese). My attempt to call them to locate my bags was a miserable failure because the time on my payphone call ran out before the women on the other end could find someone who spoke English... I'll try again tomorrow during the day when I can hopefully find someone to help me.
It's about 7:00 PM here right now and I'm all alone in Japan and wondering what to do for dinner (that's 5:00 AM for those of you back in Ontario). I noitced a pizza place around the corner earlier during my attempt at using the payphone so that might be a good option, other than that I'm surrounded by car dealerships and parts stores - good times haha. There's a bunch of anime (minus English subtitles) on TV so that might turn out to be my only form of entertainment for the next little while... Right now there's a cheerleading pig and fox... I have no idea what's going on? Oh yeah and there's an Afro-Samurai look-alike who has gold teeth... yeah...
Alright well I dunno if anybody is actually still reading this, but if you are I'm more entertaining than I thought haha. I'll make another post in a few days with an update on my plights in Japan. I still have to figure out how to open a bank account, get a cellphone, and register with the city for my alien registration card. Oh yeah and locate my luggage and get it re-delivered!
Sayonara :)
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