Lost in Translation

There's a store here in the city called Don Quixote. To say it bluntly, it is basically an absolute assault on people's 5 senses. You go into the store and it just overwhelmes you with the noise of store clerks greeting you and of random different videos playing on 10 separate TVs. Products of every kind (including furniture, costumes, electronics, party goods, sanitary products, expensive bags, and etc) line the entire store space. Each shelf is filled from floor to ceiling. It's stuffy, it's confusing and it's slightly appalling. I've been there twice and have not successful exited without getting a headache either time.

Ah, let me get to the point of this post. So, in Japanese, there is a script (one of three) called Katakana. Katakana is used when writing out foreign words. So, "Don Quixote" in katakana would be donkihote.

During lunch today, the tea lady brought up Don Quixote in her conversation with the social science teacher. Surprisingly, he was unfamiliar with the store. When he heard the name, he asked if the "donki" part of "donkihote" meant the same thing as "donkey."

Take Two

Another earthquake just happened here. Second one today. This one lasted pretty long. I stood by the doorway and saw the bookshelf shake. Scary.
My nerves are a bit shaken...no pun intended. I'm ok though. Have my emergency bag ready to go.

31-year old Japanese females

I don't know why, but I've gotten to know many 31-year old Japanese females during my short time here. I don't do it on purpose, it's just that almost every Japanese girl I meet happens to be 31...and all single. They're not 30, not 32, they're all 31. It's a mystery to me.

Inevitably, because of their view of their age and marital status, the conversation always veer towards the topic of guys. In each of my initial conversations with them, they always tell me that they don't have a boyfriend. I dutifully nod in response to hearing that. Honestly, there's not much else that I can do aside from nod.

And then the conversation somehow turns to me...albeit unwillingly on my part. Each one of them would say, "So, do you have a boyfriend?" And when my reply's a "no," they always give me a sympathetic nod.

One of them even asked me, "Why not?" one time. At that point, the conversation just turned awkward. I wasn't sure how to tell her that for me, at this current point in time in my life, I feel ok about not having a boyfriend. It's not like I'm trying to reach the nirvana of spinsterhood, but is singledom really that undesirable? Am I really that weird for enjoying my own space and time?

Anyway, my most recent encounter with a 31 Japanese female is my tutor. She is also 31 and single and she keeps asking me whether I like any of my guy friends that she's met.

I will admit that all this talk has made me feel somewhat insecure about my single status. I guess it's kind of like in elementary school when every girl had a scrunchie and I'm still using a rubber band to hold my hair up.

Earthquake

There was an earthquake at 6:47am this morning. I was getting dressed for work when the doors to my closet started to rattle. I stopped for 5 seconds hoping that the minor tremble would be the end of it. And then the bigger one rolled in.

The whole thing only lasted for about 10 seconds total, but it totally freaked me out.

I kept looking at the news online when I got to school, but it took a while to find it. I guess it wasn't such a big deal because other teachers didn't even mention it.

Coming from California, this is nothing new, but it's still kinda scary since people keep saying that the city/ country is "overdue" for a big one...then again, that's what people have said about California as well. None of this provides any comfort.

Japan is Seasonal

I realized that people who live in places with dramatical climate changes are usually ones who can't bear the weather changing in any form.

When I first arrived, people kept complaining about the heat and saying "atsui" (hot) all the time. When fall rolled around, people were still not satisfied. One teacher was surprised to find out that I walked to school on a random fall day. I responded by smiling and saying that the weather was great. Then she corrected me to say that the weather is not so great. I saw maybe two clouds in the sky.

Now, it's winter. The word has turned to samui (cold). It's been snowing pretty hard on and off for the past week. They pump up the kerosene heater in the staffroom so it's toasty in there with toxic fumes.

Considering all the complaints I've heard about this cold weather being unbearable, there is one thing that I really don't understand.
School girls are walking around the snow with skirts on while I'm bundled in my puffy jacket, beanie, and scarf and rubber boots! Mind you, many of their skirts are a good 6 inches above their knee!

I just don't get it.

Hajimete

Today was my first time in an onsen (Japanese-style spa). We had the day off from school because it's Labour Thanksgiving Day in Japan. Unfortunately, aside from combining two holidays into one, they don't celebrate it the same way we do. There are no elaborate meals being made all around the country. What a shame.

I decided to take a day trip to the nearby town that's famous for its onsens. I went there mainly to visit and eat with my school nurse and her twins who live there. She's been one of the nicest people to me in school and I just wanted to do something that didn't involve 10 other foreigners for a change.

My friend who teaches at that onsen town graciously came with me. Our original plan was to hike/sightsee, lunch, and then onsen. He would go into the men's and I the women's.

After eating lunch and spending a couple hours playing with her hyperactive 9-year old sons, my school nurse offered to drive us and go with us to the onsen. Hmm...on one hand, it is cool to have a Japanese guide, but on the other hand, it's kinda weird seeing your colleague naked.

I agreed nonetheless- I didn't really know how to say no.

I thought everything was a-ok until we entered the onsen. One son followed my friend to the men's...and so where did the other one go? Yes, he went in with US, right into the women's onsen.

I won't lie, it was a tad awkward. But overall, it was a cool experience and I'm quite relaxed now.

Thanksgiving Chaos

Happy Thanksgiving...albeit a day late!!!
Thanks for keeping up with my crazy rants and all your emails and love. I am thankful for you.

Alright, so Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day of thanks...giving, right? The point is to eat and enjoy each others' company. So why can there be so much confusion over when and what we are supposed to do?

Allow me to explain.

The English teachers here organized a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday...then it was changed to Sunday, and now...less than 20 hours before it's supposed to happen, it's changed back to Saturday. Hmm....and this is supposed to be a pot-luck.

There goes my elaborate plan to bake a 50 lbs turkey (currently being shipped from America) in my toaster oven. Ok, just kidding.

Anyway, I'm just slightly annoyed especially because I found out two days ago that one of the main organizers changed the party from Saturday to Sunday because there's a possibility that her crush won't be able to make it on Saturday. Puh-lease. Can't believed that she would inconvenience 70 people for that one person. And it's not even at her house!!!

Must breathe...; )

Brrr....it's getting cold

I have been obsessed with knee-high boots for as long as I can remember. I don't know what it is, but I've always like the jockey-style boots that I see people wear. It's so...cool, for the lack of a better word.

Unfortunately, I have ginormous calves. They are short, muscular and fatty all rolled into one. I've come to accept my calves. I don't shy away from wearing skirts just because my calves are big. In a way, I've come embraced them the way they are.

The only thing that sucks is that I can't fit into any of the knee-high boots because the circumference of my calves are so huge. When I lived in CA, it was ok. I was mostly sacrificing not being able to sport that one style.

But man, I'm getting so frustrated! It's getting cold in Japan and I want, I mean NEED, these knee high boots to keep me warm.

It's really sad that shoes in this country are mostly made of really poor quality and they aren't cheap.

So, I was forced to solve my own problem.

After about 3 hours of research online (because even the "extended calves boots" wouldn't fit me, I made a purchase. A pair of boots will be shipped to my US address and then one of my lovely family members will ship it over.

I think it was more than I've ever spent on a pair of shoes. The fit is also still uncertain at this point...but I'm glad they're coming!!!!

This time last year

They're already playing Christmas tunes in all the stores already. It's hard because Thanksgiving is not celebrated in this country, so once the not-so-important Halloween decorations come down, they go straight to Christmas.

Hearing the Christmas songs makes me think of home.

At this time last year, I was still trying to put together my essay for JET. Thinking of that reminds me of the end of December last year. The very day I received my "receipt of application" confirmation in the mail from JET was the same day I found out that I will be an auntie.

It was a bittersweet moment. On one hand, it was the first step of a long process for a different life, but on the other hand, the same life was going to be changed for the better. Johnathan Coulton's song "You Ruined Everything" kept playing in my mind.

Anyway, it just feels like time is flying.

Vendors at School

I don't know how it all works, but there are vendors who come into school to sell things. The range of items baffles me a bit.
We regularly see the "stationary man" who's always smiling and bowing at everyone. He's in charge of school supplies needed for classes.
On other days, there's the Yakult yogurt lady who comes in to sell soft drinks after school. Unfortunately, the last time she came in, 90% of the teachers were in a staff meeting. Her visit seemed wasted, but she still stood there for a while hoping for business to come while chatting with the tea lady.
Then, two days ago, a lady came with the most random assortment of goods. Her wheely cart of goods included tea, dried foods...and body-slimming ladies underwear!!!
The funniest thing was that two of the female teachers actually went up to this lady in the middle of the staffroom and discussed the product's effectiveness! The lady even unwrapped a package of the underwear to convince the teacher that it's of good quality.
I couldn't keep a straight face when I saw all of this, so I had to hurry to my desk and acted like I was laughing at something else. It's a shame because I would like to know if she had made a sale.

Japanese school staffrooms still baffle me. =)

Things I Miss

I miss waking up to NPR.
I miss Friday mornings when I hear StoryCorps.
I miss being touched by the stories of people around me.
I miss being slightly informed about what's going on around the world.
I miss being able to communicate with people around me.
I miss volunteering and feeling like I'm making a difference in the community.
But mostly, I think I miss seeing your faces and hearing your voices.

Chased by a dog

This past week was probably the worst of my stay in Japan.

I walked into school on Monday not fully prepared for first period and the class bombed. I confused some poor kid when I tried to get him to do an activity and didn't explain it well. It was at that point that my JTE said to me, "You're weird. You're confusing them."

I was a bit upset that instead of trying to help, he decided to criticize. But in the end, it was my fault for not preparing enough for the class.

The rest of the week at school only improved slightly. The classes ended up being mediocre. I started to question my role in the school and whether or not it's actually making a difference. Maybe it's just homesickness kicking in, but I'm not sure.

The highlight of the week ended up being the grand opening of a supermarket 5 minutes walking distance from my house named Super Big. Ahh...the comforts of food. Nothing can beat that.

Saturday ended up being like another typical weekend with some interesting revelations, but to officially finish off an entire bad week, I was chased by a dog when I was wandering around a quiet neighborhood close to the supermarket. At first, I thought the dog was tied up and ignored the barks. Then 2 seconds later, I saw the dog charging at me at full speed. Being the intelligent person, I ran- fast! I haven't ran that fast in a long time. Getting chased by a dog is always a good way to end the week, right?


*Sigh*, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this coming week will be better.

My Future

I just had a lengthy coversation with two fellow English teachers about what it's like to travel to Vietnam. This conversation included a brief Vietnamese lesson (which I failed miserably at) and a few warnings about how you should cross the street and bargain with vendors. My friend will be spending two weeks there during winter break and his tales of Vietnam reminded me so much of China.

Everyday for the past month, I have been having these internal battles with myself about my plans for the next year. JET has already distributed the recontracting paperwork for us, but they're not due until the beginning of February. Therefore, my plan is to think about it and not decide until the last second possible, in true Louise fashion.

Just the other day, I realized that although I loved my former job, this current one is offering me many opportunities in life experiences and in cultural exchanges that were not available before.
Life in Japan is good, but it's also safe. It makes me happy, but not exactly enthused. I think I should just take the leap like many former students and head to China.

A fine, fine line

There's a fine line between being helpful and falling into stereotypes.

In the staffroom of every school in Japan, there is a designated "Tea Lady." Her main job, in appearance, is to serve tea to everyone in the staffroom and to all visiting guests. One of her other duties include serving school lunch to the staff.

She seems to be the person who is in charge of fairly menial tasks, but I also heard from other teachers that this person controls a lot more than meets the eye. I have yet to figure out what else she does, but I believe them.

Our tea lady, Hitomi-san, is a funny and clever lady. She talks to our principal like he's an old pal of hers...something that few people can do.

So, for the past week and a half, Hitomi-san has been away on vacation for her honeymoon. All of a sudden, all the female teachers in the staffroom are expected to fill in her duties. The English teacher, the special edu teacher and even the school nurse were asked to serve tea in the morning! On top of that, I was asked to help the janitor serve school lunch!!

I have no problem serving school lunch, but it bothered me slightly that while I helped serve school lunch, all the male teachers sat there waiting for lunch to be served and brought to their desks.
I thought that my "gaijin" (foreignor) status would give me an excuse to not be stuck in these situations or even help people realize (what I would consider) the sexist nature of all this...but perhaps not. Zannen!

Anything for a laugh

Ever since my arrival in Japan, I've been debating whether or not I actually like teaching.
I think I've always been afraid of letting others be in control my emotions...and teaching is exactly that.

The highs and lows of my days are determined by the students I teach. When they understand the lesson or enjoy an activity, I am rewarded by smiling faces. Other days, no matter how much or little preparation I've gone through, the lesson bombs and I'm left with blank faces or students falling asleep in class.

I understand that there are many factors that affect how a student responds in class, but it's just scary to realize that they have so much power over me.

Today, in my second grade class, I gave a weather report with a paper TV around my head. I realized that I'd do anything for a laugh. How sad. =)

My First International Visitor

My brother is coming to visit in November! Yaaaaay!!
When are you coming?

On Being Popular

As you probably know, I've never been the coolest kid in school...which is why it's a bit weird for me to be liked by all the popular kids in school right now. I feel like I'm part of the in crowd where even the leader of the 3rd grade class is vying for my attention.

I'm not sure if I truly feel comfortable in this situation. A part of me is happy that any student is willing to test their English on me. Another part of me feels as though that if I hang out or give most of my attention to these popular kids, I'm reinforcing or recreating this vicious cycle of cool kids getting everything.

I'm babbling, I know. I just see so much potential in some of the students even though they may be really quiet, somewhat socially awkward, or not as "cool" as others would like. Perhaps they remind me of me.

Lessons

I realized that many of my assignments at work is teaching me more about what I thought I knew. I shall explain.

Two days ago, the second grade social studies teacher came up to me and asked me if I could write about my favorite book during junior high school for some of the students. Of course I agreed. I spend a couple of minutes racking my brain trying to figure out what books we actually read aside from the Houghton Mifflin reader or R.L. Stine in my own spare time.

Then, it came to my mind. The horrible images of the Holocaust documentaries, Schindler's List, and the Diary of Anne Frank came rushing in.

I decided to write about The Diary of Anne Frank as the most memorable book during junior high school. I had two objectives. One, I wanted to teach the students a little bit about world history (though I have no idea what they already know) and two, I guess I wanted to see what kind of reaction I will get from the school for writing about such a sensitive subject.

However, as I attempted to explain the complicated history of the Holocaust in simple English, I realized that there's still a lot that I do not know.

Despite all the documentaries and visiting numerous museums dedicated to the Holocaust in Europe, I really don't know why the Jews were singled out. I know that other groups were persecuted too, but what made the Jews so distinct that millions of people were executed.

I am looking online to find the answers, but the cruelty of it all still leaves certain questions unanswered.

History of Chocolate

How was I to know that a KitKat bar can carry so much weight?

Last week, with the 3-3 class, I did an activity where I needed two volunteers. At the end of the activity, each of the volunteers were given a KitKat bar each.

News spread quickly and soon enough, the students from the other classes were expecting candy bars. By the second time, I was kindly warned that other teachers at school might not appreciate me passing out candy to the students. Of course, I stopped after that.

All that meant certain students did not get any chocolate from me after helping out. I think one in particular was slightly disappointed.

When I saw him during passing period, he said, "Give me chocolate." What I thought was a cry for sweets turned out to be something much more loaded.

My JTE started cracking up before she explained the reason. She told me that after WWII, a lot of American soldiers were in Japan and many of them passed out chocolate to kids. Therefore, "Give me chocolate." was one of the first English phrases that the kids in Japan learned.

I felt horrible after that mostly because that one action of giving out chocolate broke certain school rules and it reminded certain others of the fragile relationship and complicated history between Japan and America.

It's pretty crazy. I don't think I'll look at a KitKat bar the same way again.

Wake Me Up When September Ends

For once, I was ready to head home for a quiet night.

Then, my friend called and asked me to lend him 140 Yen. I was slightly bothered, of course, especially when my subway ride to meet him will cost at least 240 Yen. I was about to cuss him out jokingly, but then I remembered the time he helped me out when the ATM failed me at 7pm.

This friend of mine lost his wallet on his way to volunteering for the International Festival last week. It's been about 5 days and there's still no word regarding the wallet's whereabouts. I am slightly afraid for him.

Earlier this month, he lost his phone and a stranger returned it. So, he's keeping his faith alive. This is Japan after all. I think he also told me that he accidentally dropped his keys into the river but recovered it somehow.

I keep teasing him about his carelessness. Then, during dinner, he dropped the bomb. It was the mother of all unfortunate events. He had been planning to go to Vietnam during winter break to see his grandma for a long time. Two weeks ago, just one hour after he had purchased his ticket for Vietnam, he received a call from his brother telling him that his grandma passed away.

When I heard this news tonight, I wanted to cry for him. Poor guy. The world hasn't been very kind to him this month. Let's wake him up when September ends.

japan vs. china

On Saturday, our school had the Culture Festival. It was an eye-opening experience.

A Culture Fest in Japan is almost like a combination of a talent show and an open house at school. I think its intention is to show the friends and family what the students have achieved in the past couple of months.

The only difference, however, is the level of involvement by all parties. Generally, I wouldn't expect the students to be running the show and emceeing the whole day, but it happened. Also, I wouldn't really expect the teachers to be so involved with the performances either. There were generally-serious teachers (male and female, mind you) dressed up in school girl uniforms pretending to be Sailor Moon. Now that's pretty cool.

Ah, so let me get the story that is behind the title of this posting.
At the crafts fair section of the Culture Festival, a teacher came up to me and asked me if I knew what japan (with a lower case J) meant. He specifically told me it's not the country. He even wrote it out for further clarification.

I told him that no such word exists in English...but, apparently it means lacquer ware. He explained it to me and used china (with a lower case C) for comparison. I looked it up in my electronic dictionary and lo and behold, it was true.

You live and you learn.

Gone with the Wind

I think my lack of Japanese skills is shielding me from exposing my ignorance in American culture and certain aspects of an "intellectual's" knowledge.

Today, the second grade teachers bought me katsudon for lunch to officially welcome me into their section of the office.

It turns out that the second grade chief was an International Relations major in school and knows a lot about post WWII relations. Through the Japanese-speaking English teacher, he asked me who my favorite authors were. I couldn't come up with an answer that would easily satisfy him. The first "typical" answer that came to mind was Jane Austen, but she wasn't American and it was hard to admit that I liked classical chick lit at this early of a stage.

The next thing that came to mind was Chinese Lessons by John Pomfret. But my mind wandered off and just said that I'm in to non-fiction and that I was currently reading Peter Hessler's River Town. The explanation didn't go too well.

He then went on to say that he liked Hemingway's stories, Catcher in the Rye, as well as Gone with the Wind. I have little idea of the plots for the latter two stories, but I have read "A Farewell to Arms" and I cannot say that I remember much from it.

He also asked me about the Three Kingdoms of China. I knew what he was talking about, but the conversation ended there. He even wrote it in kanji hoping that I would be as excited as he was, but I disappointed him (and myself) greatly when I couldn't read two of the three characters he wrote.

To top it off, after lunch, he asked me if I knew Durkheim and Irike? Because of the difference in pronunciation, it already took me a while to figure out he was referring to Durkheim, but then I still can't figure out who this Irike person is. He must be famous.

Sigh. I feel like a loser who needs to go back to school. Although, I must say, after this afternoon's experience, I'm already on Wiki looking up Gone With the Wind. It's pretty interesting!

Indoor Shoes

I don't really understand the concept of "indoor shoes." Everyday, when I get to school, I have to change into my indoor shoes. These, simply stated, are shoes that have not been worn outside and are meant for indoor use. A few kinds of buildings, mostly schools, require them.

Mine are canvas slip-ons that I bought at "The Mall." They turned out to be shoes that elementary school students are required to wear, but nobody seemed to care. At least, they haven't said anything.

Every morning, upon arrival to school, I go through this routine of taking off my business-appropriate shoes that I purposely brought from the US and then I ungracefully wedge my feet into those growingly odor full shoes. How do people do it with such ease?

I manage to wear these shoes all day and as you may know, wearing any shoes without socks can take its toll on you. I have more and more blisters by the day.

My problem of the indoor shoes also stem from the fact that they usually don't match 99.9% of my outfits (also something I planned very carefully before leaving). The first day at school, another new teacher had a full on suit, but she was wearing tennis shoes. What's the point in that?

My last concern stems from this. Technically, these are "indoor shoes," but for some reason, they are permissible on the soccer/baseball field at school! I guess as long as it's on school ground, then everything is okay. What makes the school grounds so sacred? I have yet to find out the answer to that question.

Priceless Lessons

School lunch is 268 Yen perday. The stuff is not very exciting. I've had hotdog, mini fried fish, pork cutlet with cheese, caramel potatoes(!) and other unidentifiable objects. All lunches come with a soup of random boiled vegetables.

I always finish the entire thing so I don't have to waste, but honestly, I wouldn't miss it if they never offer school lunches again.

Oddly enough, I find lunch time one of the most enjoyable times of the day. I sit with 2-5 school teachers/ staff at a given time at the lunch table and they talk to me. It's mostly in Japanese, but they attempt to teach me names of that day's food, ask me about America, and other things.

They call this time "Japanese showers" beause it's non-stop Japanese and apologize to me because I can't understand. What they don't know is that these so-called showers are actually the best motivation for me to learn Japanese. And because of that, I long for the next day when lunch rolls around.

-------------
I know this is lame, but I just had to add this! =)

A bus ride: 150 Yen
Sandwich at the conbini: 230 Yen
School lunch: 268 Yen
Japanese Showers: Priceless

There are some things that money can't buy. For everything else, there's Mastercard.

A ride home

"The typhoon is rolling in," warned the teachers in the staff room. It was almost 5pm and I stayed late today trying to finish preparing for the elementary school activities tomorrow. A few of them were worried that I'd have to walk back in the pouring rain.

The school nurse came up to me and offered me a ride home. Her sons stay with their grandmother after school and the house is close to my apartment.

As she led me to her car, I instinctively ran to the right side of the car. "In Japan, you sit on this side," she joked as she pointed to the seat on the left.

She picked up her twins who seemed very excited to see me and then drove me home. On the way home was a string of Japanese sentences I didn't understand.

It was a very simple act of kindness on her part, but for me, it meant a lot. I think it's moments like today's (or when kocho-sensei taught me how to make onigiri, and kyoto-sensei offered to help me at a moment's notice) that I'll remember for a long time.

Homac

Today, I went into Homac (Home Amenity Center) and bought furniture. As I left, after ordering a loveseat, a microwave and a desk (all to be delivered on Saturday), I felt a sense of satisfaction. One- because I feel like my apartment will start to look and feel like home. Two- because it was all at a fairly reasonable price with a mere 525 Yen of a delivery charge (for everything!). And three-I am now an independent woman because I just bought furniture in a foreign country all on my own.

I very quickly realized that the latter feeling is somewhat...misguided. I went to the service counter not really knowing enough Japanese to communicate what I had wanted to accomplish and boom, there they were ready to help. The Homac employee listened as best she could, looked at my crumpled ad, let me lead her to the back of the store for the desks, and even apologized for not knowing enough English to help me. I know it's a vast generalization, but it feels as though that it's only in Japan will they be that kind and forgiving to foreigners.

In America, they'll probably eat you alive or ignore you completely.

If that same situation happened in America, meaning if I were an immigrant trying to buy furniture without knowing any English, I think I would've walked out of the door empty handed and discouraged.

Perhaps I'm not as "cool" and independent as I thought. Bummer.

Oktoberfest

For this entire week, Sendai is having its very own Oktoberfest.
Who else can manage to have Oktoberfest in August? Admit it, no one.

First day teaching

I did my self-introduction to two sets of "first grade" junior high students (the equivalent of 6th grade) and it was so much fun!
I taught them how to shake hands and give a high five. When I asked them to exchange greetings with one another, many of them froze when the next person in line was a member of the opposite sex. I almost forgot the awkwardness of adolescence.
It's true. Boys still have cooties through their teens.

There was this one student in the 1st class that surprised me a bit. Before class officially started, she came up to me and introduced herself in English and told me she really liked English. She was really friendly and talkative and seem to be the one who would always participate. When class started, she put her head down signifying that she wasn't going to participate when it was time to do an activity! I can't quite figure all this out.

Wesley's 1 month

Today is Wesley's one month birthday. He will have his first official party with all friends and family gathering at Restaurant Peony. I miss him. I hate missing out on things like this.

I am content

I bought flowers today and I am happy. =)

Survivor

Oh my god!

I just saw a video clip on Yahoo's front page. The next season of Survivor will be in China!! I want to go.

No, I do not want to be in the wilderness with a group of Americans trying to compete for a million dollars. I just want to be there. Of course, the million dollar doesn't hurt.

Did I veer off the path that I was supposed to take by being in Japan? Crap...

Payday in Yen

Ah, only the second official day at work in the school and then it was payday. Life has been very kind to me.

Since the direct deposit for my salary has not been activated yet, I received an envelop full of cash (money!) from Miyakoshi-san, the school's accountant! It's crazy. I've never carried around this much cash in my life and never have I felt so safe with it.

Don't worry, I'll stash it in the bank.

To celebrate this momentous occasion of being paid in Yen for the first time, I invited a bunch of JETs over for a small dinner party.

The guestlist included a bunch of JETs and also Kaleb's friend. I think I got a bit carried away when inviting all these people cause my rice cooker only allowed 4 cups of rice to be cooked at a given time. Of course, the guys did not have enough to eat.

All in all, it was nice to have a night with a tummy warming food!

First Day at School

Today was my first full day at the junior high. I'm glad I didn't get too lost hiking up the hill.

The day started out with a meeting in the staff room. Of course, I didn't understand 99.9% of what was said, but I tried to look engaged anyway. The meeting, I believe, consisted of the principal encouraging everyone to work harder and also to welcome me onto the team. I had to make a 2 minute spiel about myself to the staff in Japanese and that was slightly terrifying.

Throughout the day, I wished that I had learned more Japanese before arriving. I think I have a pretty funny group of colleagues who like to joke around...now I just need to know what they're saying.

Everything has its place

In Japan, everything has its place. I sat of the floor for about 4 hours trying to figure out what garbage is supposed to go into what bin. Sadly enough, although I have separated them somewhat correctly ( I think), I still haven’t figured out where I need to buy the "appropriate" garbage bags for each type of garbage…and also where to set out the garbage. Why is everything so complicated?

Communications

8/13/07

I boldly went into Yodobashi Camera, a gigantic electronics store by the Sendai train station, by myself on Saturday to open up a cell phone. As many of you know, I don’t really talk much on the phone. I rarely make calls to chat and I always seem to miss the calls when people are trying to locate me. I don’t do it on purpose. It just happens.
So, why did I feel the need to have a cell phone in Japan? A place where I know literally nobody? Perhaps it’s the need to feel included. It’s a need to feel like I’m part of the JET group (the only people I really know so far) and be asked to join into activities. All kids hate being the last one to be picked for a team. Perhaps, I’m just that kid.
What pisses me off is that in order to satisfy this insecurity of mine and to connect with others, I am now spending close to 40 bucks a month on cell phone charges. This includes the 2560 yen that I’m paying for the handset (basically, the phone), the 980 yen for the “White Plan” offered by Softbank (a cell phone company), and miscellaneous charges when you call outside of the network or outside of certain hours.
Is that a price I’m willing to pay for being connected to the modern world? I’m not so sure, but I signed up!

Everywhere I go, Cameron Diaz’s face is plastered all over the walls. She is the poster girl for Softbank. She looks out at me as if she’s taunting me with a new, up-to-date phone. America sells. The ultimate pisser-offer is when I found out today that you can actually get a phone for nothing. 0 yen. Nada. No 2650 yen monthly charge for the “handset.” Where were our helpers when we needed them the most? If I had that, I wouldn’t feel as gypped. Maybe I wouldn’t even be insecure.Alright, enough complaining.

One thing makes me super happy though…I’m getting free wireless access right now in my apartment!!! Hahah…hope this lasts.

Arrival

8/9
Today was my second day in my apartment. I live in an apartment called Fragrance in a district in the northern part of the city. Isn’t the name lovely?
However, it’s very much like a sauna in here. The main windows face the west side and the heat is unrelenting throughout the day.
It is 8:35pm right now and I just came back from a trip to what will now be my favorite place 7-11. I bought myself a quick dinner of omurice (an omelet filled with rice on the inside and two flavors of sauce poured on top). It’s pretty good. They even heat it up in its original plastic packaging for you at 7-11. Hahaha…
On my way back to Fragrance, I met my neighbor to the right. As I walked by her house, I nodded and said, “Konbanwa.” She replied and slowly followed me to the steps. She asked me something I didn’t understand, so I gave her the I-have-no-idea-what -you’re-saying look. She didn’t seem to mind or understand, because she kept asking me another question…or maybe it was the same question.
Then, I said, “Gomenasai, I don’t speak Japanese.” I think she thought that was a signal for her to keep talking. For the next 5 minutes (literally), she jabbered away in Japanese, occasionally pointing at my apartment (at which I nodded and said yes). She spoke a million words per minute and I could not help but laugh hysterically. Maybe she thought I was crazy, but she laughed with me nonetheless.
Andrew, a fourth year ALT in the city once told me he had visited Katie’s (my predecessor) apartment and he spoke of a strange neighbor…maybe it was her? =)