Well, it's a bit late, but Merry Christmas everyone.
It's been a while since I've updated this blog, no doubt owing to the normality creeping into my life in Japan. In the month and a half that I've remained absent from this blog, a few things have happened.
First, I have put in my papers to recontract for another year. It's hard to believe that 1/3 of my first year here is already finished. While I know a few people that are going back after this year, for me and many other JETs, 1 year is far too short. There's a general consensus that after your first year, you finally start getting the hang of the job.
What else? Winter. I'll say it now, winter sucks here. It's been unseasonably mild here this year, but that still doesn't mean it's not cold. Mostly, it's the lack of insulation in my apartment. While I've managed to take some steps, including foam-tape to stop drafts (or is that draughts...), bubble wrap on the windows (yes, this is an insulating material), it doesn't change the fact that underneath the bamboo tatami mats that cover the floor is bare concrete. This is a heat-sink par excellence, and regardless of what I do, my apartment is back to only a few degrees above outside ambient in about 20 minutes.
So my best friend right now is my kerosene fan heater. While my AC unit does have a heater function, it's just not enough to heat the room. The kerosene heater on the other hand warms the room nicely, and quickly. After all, it's using a fan to blow air over an open kerosene gas flame.
It's not without it's down side though. As this is a new model, there's virtually no kerosene odor--just at the start and end, where some kerosene residue is left over. However, it does leech oxygen out of the air, meaning that once an hour, I need to open a window or one of my sliding doors to recycle the air. Also, kerosene is relatively expensive. At about $14 for 18 litres, in the end it ends up being more expensive than if I was running my AC unit. While mileage varies, 1 18-litre gas container generally lasts me about a week.
School, of course is great as always. While it took a while, my students are really warming up to me. It's odd, cause I'm always waving at someone at school. While my students now that I speak Japanese, I only really use it with my 2nd and 3rd years, and then usually only outside of class.
While school was fairly busy, especially during the exam period, my last week there was deadly boring. Of course, the 18th marked the official end of the term, but the kids still have class, until the 28th. While it's only in the morning, it still means that winter holidays for them is only about 6 days long. How does this affect me? It doesn't. I don't have classes scheduled during this time, but I still have to go into work, unless I take vacation time (which I have). No lessons, nothing that needs planning. Filling a chair for 8 hours a day with out any work duties is BORING. While the 19th was a hectic and long day planning and executing the English club Christmas party, the rest of the time was filled with creative writing, reading, solitaire on my laptop, defragging my laptop, and drinking many cups of coffee. Personally, I can't wait to get back in January.
Well, that's about it for me for now. So to all my friends and family, Merry Christmas and I wish you all the best in the New Year.
12/26/2006
11/05/2006
Happy 20th Genkai
Last week was a very long for me, and my overall health took a beating. Of course, I didn't help it any by eating basically crap all week, but it truly was pretty busy.
The beginning of the week started with a weekend of long shopping days, due to my dad's arrival and subsequent departure. While it was fun to spend time with the family, it was a pretty tiring affair. But I got to show my dad my apartment here, and we visited the school and met a few of my teachers. It was pretty fun.
The 31st was of course Halloween, and so I spent most of the day giving out candy, and wrapped it up with the ESS Halloween party. Fun times, but hauling candy and my costume (I did a whole Jason thing from Friday the 13th) was tough work.
The next day was business as usual, and Thursday marked the beginning of a long 3 days. Thursday afternoon was devoted to a rehearsal of the 20th anniversary ceremony for Genkai H.S. Lots of standing and bowing, though the assembly was capped by a special guest speaker, an Olympic Judo champ and Japanese hero, Toshihiko Koga. His speech was inspirational, if a bit on the long side. Friday, which was a national holiday, was in fact a workday for me, with a dress rehearsal and an afternoon of prep work for the ceremony. Saturday, we were at school at 8am for the real deal.
To the credit of all involved, the ceremony went off without a hitch, and the kids really showed their stuff. Many of the diginitaries were impressed by how well manner the kids were. Afterwards, the teachers and other various guests were bussed to nearby Hakozaki, part of what might as well be considered the Greater Fukuoka-city Area. At a swanky looking hotel, we had our reception/enkai. More speeches, made all the better with good food and nomi-houdai beer and spirits (that's all-you-can-drink). I was buzzed by 2pm, and I remained in this state for the next 12 hours.
The enkai ended at around 4pm, and I headed home. By then, I was completely exhausted, but I still had a dinner at the neighbours' apartment, and a karaoke session to go. I almost fell asleep at home, but made it to the neighbour's apartment. There, a nabe (hot pot) dinner, more drinking courtesy of my ALT friend Jon, and by 10:30 or so we were off to karaoke. There, we were met by more ALTs, and a 3 hour drinking, singing, laughing and dancing party ensued. It was fun as all hell, but left my throat raw.
So now it's Sunday evening. Somewhere between yesterday and today, I caught a cold, so I've felt kinda miserable all day. I slept almost all of today (with 2 brief excursions, for food and meds), and luckily, I get tomorrow off for the Friday we had to work last week.
Catching a cold sucks. Nevertheless, A Very Happy 20th Genkai H.S.
The beginning of the week started with a weekend of long shopping days, due to my dad's arrival and subsequent departure. While it was fun to spend time with the family, it was a pretty tiring affair. But I got to show my dad my apartment here, and we visited the school and met a few of my teachers. It was pretty fun.
The 31st was of course Halloween, and so I spent most of the day giving out candy, and wrapped it up with the ESS Halloween party. Fun times, but hauling candy and my costume (I did a whole Jason thing from Friday the 13th) was tough work.
The next day was business as usual, and Thursday marked the beginning of a long 3 days. Thursday afternoon was devoted to a rehearsal of the 20th anniversary ceremony for Genkai H.S. Lots of standing and bowing, though the assembly was capped by a special guest speaker, an Olympic Judo champ and Japanese hero, Toshihiko Koga. His speech was inspirational, if a bit on the long side. Friday, which was a national holiday, was in fact a workday for me, with a dress rehearsal and an afternoon of prep work for the ceremony. Saturday, we were at school at 8am for the real deal.
To the credit of all involved, the ceremony went off without a hitch, and the kids really showed their stuff. Many of the diginitaries were impressed by how well manner the kids were. Afterwards, the teachers and other various guests were bussed to nearby Hakozaki, part of what might as well be considered the Greater Fukuoka-city Area. At a swanky looking hotel, we had our reception/enkai. More speeches, made all the better with good food and nomi-houdai beer and spirits (that's all-you-can-drink). I was buzzed by 2pm, and I remained in this state for the next 12 hours.
The enkai ended at around 4pm, and I headed home. By then, I was completely exhausted, but I still had a dinner at the neighbours' apartment, and a karaoke session to go. I almost fell asleep at home, but made it to the neighbour's apartment. There, a nabe (hot pot) dinner, more drinking courtesy of my ALT friend Jon, and by 10:30 or so we were off to karaoke. There, we were met by more ALTs, and a 3 hour drinking, singing, laughing and dancing party ensued. It was fun as all hell, but left my throat raw.
So now it's Sunday evening. Somewhere between yesterday and today, I caught a cold, so I've felt kinda miserable all day. I slept almost all of today (with 2 brief excursions, for food and meds), and luckily, I get tomorrow off for the Friday we had to work last week.
Catching a cold sucks. Nevertheless, A Very Happy 20th Genkai H.S.
10/25/2006
Where are we now: a 3rd-month review.
Don your thinking caps and put on your reading bi-focals boys and girls; this post will be long and wordy.
As the title says, I'm writing this as a sort of 3-month review of my life in Japan so far, from personal to professional (yikes, did I just say that?). What prompted this? Well, at least 2 things, the first being an email sent by my good friend Christ (haha, no, I'm not Christian), inquiring as to my health and well-being the wake of the recent earthquake that hit Japan. Of course, that email was the first I had heard of this earthquake, but that point aside, I was asked when my next post would be. It occured to me that a) people, perhaps people in Canada, perhaps people in Canada that I know, actually read this, and b) I really haven't been keeping this blog as up-to-date as I should, a disservice to those people mentioned in a).
Ahh yes, I mentioned a second thing. Well, that is an issue that has yet to be resolved, and I am not in a position to disclose the details thereof. In fact, it really is an ears-only matter, so this is the last you will probably hear of it on this blog.
So on to the review. First, lets examine the personal. Those who know me know that I am a person who rarely, if ever, makes enemies. It's a point of personal pride, I think. So I'm happy to report that this is still the case here. I've made some good friends, some good aquaintances, and my social (if not my sex life...haha, so what else is new) life is alive and well. Ironically, I do more clubbing here than I did back in Toronto.
My home life is becoming pretty routine. I get back from school usually around 6:30 or so, with dinner and TV and movies and PC time all before I head off to bed (my real bed complete now with goose-down comforter) around midnight. I'm up at 7am, off to work at 7:50.
I find that I'm enjoying cooking, and really, living on my own. With the only real inconveniences being that I have to cook and do laundry, it's otherwise fairly close that what I was doing in TO. That said, I find new things about Japan, Japanese society, and the intersection with my own life/culture/upbringing etc. etc. everyday. Adventure truly does abound for me here.
So lets turn to professional life then. First and foremost is that I really, REALLY like working as an ALT. I can say that after 3 months, I'm starting to "get" the job. The formal teaching component truly is a smaller part of the job, while exposing the kids to foreign cultures, foreign language, and foreign ideas is truly the real purpose of my job. Today, I did a lesson on Halloween for one of my first-year classes. I'm not as vain as to believe that I was captivating, but enough of them were listening as to spawn a unprompted side discussion on that regrettable incident some years back involving the shooting death of a Japanese exchange student in Texas or somewhere, on Halloween. This in turn lead to a discussion on guns and gun violence, which in turn is the seed of a lesson further down the line. Opportunities abound for cultural exchange, if you are receptive enough to them.
The office environment is stable, I think. I chat up my neighbours, smile and bow my head to those I'm not too familiar with, and so overall I think the diagnosis is good. My supervisor is a great guy, albeit a busy one, and I think I've found something of a kindred spirit in my unofficial second supervisor. While it is probably too early to make this decision, I think a second year is definitely a go on my end. How that works out is course not truly up to me, but from all accounts it seems that should I desire it, a recontract isn't usually declined. That said, I'll not get overly excited or cocksure; I've been down that road before and almost got dumped on my ass.
I don't want to say that I'm getting into a routine, but that may be more and more the case. Lest you are lead to believe that this is a bad thing, let me say that some regularity in my life is a nice thing indeed. The important thing is that my job, this seemingly random collection of things that I do at work to "teach" kids, is ever changing and interesting. Of course, this is only a 3-month review. How will I feel in 6-months? In a year? In two? No one, least of all me, can say. But so far, thing are looking on the up and up.
As the title says, I'm writing this as a sort of 3-month review of my life in Japan so far, from personal to professional (yikes, did I just say that?). What prompted this? Well, at least 2 things, the first being an email sent by my good friend Christ (haha, no, I'm not Christian), inquiring as to my health and well-being the wake of the recent earthquake that hit Japan. Of course, that email was the first I had heard of this earthquake, but that point aside, I was asked when my next post would be. It occured to me that a) people, perhaps people in Canada, perhaps people in Canada that I know, actually read this, and b) I really haven't been keeping this blog as up-to-date as I should, a disservice to those people mentioned in a).
Ahh yes, I mentioned a second thing. Well, that is an issue that has yet to be resolved, and I am not in a position to disclose the details thereof. In fact, it really is an ears-only matter, so this is the last you will probably hear of it on this blog.
So on to the review. First, lets examine the personal. Those who know me know that I am a person who rarely, if ever, makes enemies. It's a point of personal pride, I think. So I'm happy to report that this is still the case here. I've made some good friends, some good aquaintances, and my social (if not my sex life...haha, so what else is new) life is alive and well. Ironically, I do more clubbing here than I did back in Toronto.
My home life is becoming pretty routine. I get back from school usually around 6:30 or so, with dinner and TV and movies and PC time all before I head off to bed (my real bed complete now with goose-down comforter) around midnight. I'm up at 7am, off to work at 7:50.
I find that I'm enjoying cooking, and really, living on my own. With the only real inconveniences being that I have to cook and do laundry, it's otherwise fairly close that what I was doing in TO. That said, I find new things about Japan, Japanese society, and the intersection with my own life/culture/upbringing etc. etc. everyday. Adventure truly does abound for me here.
So lets turn to professional life then. First and foremost is that I really, REALLY like working as an ALT. I can say that after 3 months, I'm starting to "get" the job. The formal teaching component truly is a smaller part of the job, while exposing the kids to foreign cultures, foreign language, and foreign ideas is truly the real purpose of my job. Today, I did a lesson on Halloween for one of my first-year classes. I'm not as vain as to believe that I was captivating, but enough of them were listening as to spawn a unprompted side discussion on that regrettable incident some years back involving the shooting death of a Japanese exchange student in Texas or somewhere, on Halloween. This in turn lead to a discussion on guns and gun violence, which in turn is the seed of a lesson further down the line. Opportunities abound for cultural exchange, if you are receptive enough to them.
The office environment is stable, I think. I chat up my neighbours, smile and bow my head to those I'm not too familiar with, and so overall I think the diagnosis is good. My supervisor is a great guy, albeit a busy one, and I think I've found something of a kindred spirit in my unofficial second supervisor. While it is probably too early to make this decision, I think a second year is definitely a go on my end. How that works out is course not truly up to me, but from all accounts it seems that should I desire it, a recontract isn't usually declined. That said, I'll not get overly excited or cocksure; I've been down that road before and almost got dumped on my ass.
I don't want to say that I'm getting into a routine, but that may be more and more the case. Lest you are lead to believe that this is a bad thing, let me say that some regularity in my life is a nice thing indeed. The important thing is that my job, this seemingly random collection of things that I do at work to "teach" kids, is ever changing and interesting. Of course, this is only a 3-month review. How will I feel in 6-months? In a year? In two? No one, least of all me, can say. But so far, thing are looking on the up and up.
9/27/2006
My ride, my whiskey, and my new bed...
Well, after an afternoon of fretting over the arrival of my new bed (and taking a 1/2 day vacation day to await its arrival), it's finally arrived.
Lets backtrack a bit.
Last Sunday, after an orgy of spending money on various household items, I went with one of the ALTs in my building to Canal City in Fukuoka. Not a city, but rather a shopping mall, it feels like some sort of underground city, even though it's all above-ground. Odd? Yes. Cool? Definitely.
I had originally intended to go get an Under Armour polo-shirt from Sports Authority, the resident American sporting goods chain in Canal City. But they had only size L (I take an XL usually, which is fine for UA, fine for the Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo, but for the most part no good elsewhere, where I need an XXL, or LLL), and I ended up getting a DriClime shirt from Marmot instead.
In Canal City, there's a store called Mujirushi, or "No-name". Basically, take Caban, give it Ikea prices, and you have Mujirushi. There I ended up my spending orgy by ordering a mattress for my bed frame.
Why spending orgy? The day before, I travelled to nearby Akama JR station to visit the SunLive (Sun live, as in "I live in Fukutsu", rather than "Mike Morikawa reporting live from Fukutsu"), where I picked up some housegoods, but more importantly a pair of pants and a shirt from the aforementioned Uniqlo, which set me back about $50, and a Northface jacket (with requisite woodland camo pattern) that set me back $180. The day before, I indulged my airsoft habit and purchased a Colt 1911 Government Gas BB gun. Bad Mike. BAD!
Well, back to the present, sitting on my desk is a bottle of Famous Grouse. I purchased this at the nearby discount liquor shop. Needless to say, I was immeasurably pleased to make this find. I have yet to actually drink it. I think I will save it for when it becomes colder...
And to complete this inversion of the order of topic presented in my title, my bike. I have been commuting around town for the most part on my bike, which I bought in my first week in Fukutsu. It's is a folding bike, so extremely useful when I make stupid and/or large purchases that I can't take home by bike. I call a cab, fold up the bike, and ride on home.
Of course, this convenience comes with a price. The wheels are smaller than even the mama-chari (bikes ridden primarily by housewives, though the reality is closer to like 90% of the bike-riding population of Japan), and so going fast require a lot more work. Though this bike has an astounding 6 speeds (for the record, that 2 to 6 times as many speeds that most bikes here have), even at it's highest gear speed I need to work something hard to get going.
Of course, if everything was downhill, or at least level, then things would be simple. But Japan, and it seems Fukutsu, is made out of small hills. So I have pretty much given up going to school on my bike for now. It's still too damned hot anyway. We'll see when it's cooler.
Well, that's it for today. Next time, a tour of Fukutsu...
Lets backtrack a bit.
Last Sunday, after an orgy of spending money on various household items, I went with one of the ALTs in my building to Canal City in Fukuoka. Not a city, but rather a shopping mall, it feels like some sort of underground city, even though it's all above-ground. Odd? Yes. Cool? Definitely.
I had originally intended to go get an Under Armour polo-shirt from Sports Authority, the resident American sporting goods chain in Canal City. But they had only size L (I take an XL usually, which is fine for UA, fine for the Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo, but for the most part no good elsewhere, where I need an XXL, or LLL), and I ended up getting a DriClime shirt from Marmot instead.
In Canal City, there's a store called Mujirushi, or "No-name". Basically, take Caban, give it Ikea prices, and you have Mujirushi. There I ended up my spending orgy by ordering a mattress for my bed frame.
Why spending orgy? The day before, I travelled to nearby Akama JR station to visit the SunLive (Sun live, as in "I live in Fukutsu", rather than "Mike Morikawa reporting live from Fukutsu"), where I picked up some housegoods, but more importantly a pair of pants and a shirt from the aforementioned Uniqlo, which set me back about $50, and a Northface jacket (with requisite woodland camo pattern) that set me back $180. The day before, I indulged my airsoft habit and purchased a Colt 1911 Government Gas BB gun. Bad Mike. BAD!
Well, back to the present, sitting on my desk is a bottle of Famous Grouse. I purchased this at the nearby discount liquor shop. Needless to say, I was immeasurably pleased to make this find. I have yet to actually drink it. I think I will save it for when it becomes colder...
And to complete this inversion of the order of topic presented in my title, my bike. I have been commuting around town for the most part on my bike, which I bought in my first week in Fukutsu. It's is a folding bike, so extremely useful when I make stupid and/or large purchases that I can't take home by bike. I call a cab, fold up the bike, and ride on home.
Of course, this convenience comes with a price. The wheels are smaller than even the mama-chari (bikes ridden primarily by housewives, though the reality is closer to like 90% of the bike-riding population of Japan), and so going fast require a lot more work. Though this bike has an astounding 6 speeds (for the record, that 2 to 6 times as many speeds that most bikes here have), even at it's highest gear speed I need to work something hard to get going.
Of course, if everything was downhill, or at least level, then things would be simple. But Japan, and it seems Fukutsu, is made out of small hills. So I have pretty much given up going to school on my bike for now. It's still too damned hot anyway. We'll see when it's cooler.
Well, that's it for today. Next time, a tour of Fukutsu...
9/23/2006
Mike vs. the Insects
One of the more fairly disgusting things in my life are bugs. In Canada, the bugs are pretty small and harmless...well, at least that ones that most people in the city have to deal with.
Japan, is a climatologically temperate country, but the humidty makes it feel all that more tropical. Places as far south as Miyazaki Prefecture might actually fall under the sub-tropical zone, and I'm sure Okinawa is a pretty close candidate for tropical.
So unlike the small bugs we have to deal with in Toronto, Japan's chitinous fauna are a lot larger. Let me narrate one story, my first real encounter:
One night on my third or so week in Japan, I was returning from my bath to have a cold beer and watch some television. As I navigated my darkened kitchen and reached the sliding door to the living room, I stepped on something lightly. I leapt back in surprise, and saw in the dim light emanating from the partially opened door a dark shape scurry away and under the fridge.
I knew then that I had stepped on a cockroach, and I knew it was much larger than I was used to. You see, the cockroaches here, I know from experience, are upwards from an inch long, and more frequently 2-3 inches, and can also fly.
I shuddered and closed the door, realizing that I would one day have to face that roach again...
That day came almost a week later. As I slid open the door, the light from the living room fell across the kitchen floor. There, framed in the fluorescent light that peeked over my shoulders was the cockroach. Though I had no proof that it was the very one I had stepped on, I somehow knew it must be so.
I stood stock still for a moment, wondering what I should do. I grabbed a nearby slipper and threw it, but my aim was off and it scrambled away. Next I grabbed a collapsable laundry pole, and attempted to squash it. I clipped it and took out a leg, but still it was alive. It scuttled away to a dark corner. I had been on my way to bathe, but just the thought of it crawling around my kitchen made me shudder. I had to kill it, and to do that I needed some cockroach spray.
I donned my jacket to go out, but when I opened the door I saw that it was raining much harder than I had thought, and going to the nearby convenience store would be impossible. I returned to my kitchen and looked in the cupboards, and was lucky enough to stumble across roach killer spray that my predecessor had left. I grabbed it, and my flashlight, and went in search of my foe. I checked the crack between the wall and gas range unit that I had seen it disappear into, but it was no longer there. I sprayed that area for good measure, and proceeded to look elsewhere. However, it was gone and I was about to concede a draw.
I went into the adjoining room, to see if it had somehow escaped there, but found nothing. As I stepped back into the kitchen, I heard a scritching sound by my head. I turned my to face it slowly, and not 10 inches from my me was the cockroach, hugging the wall.
I yelled in panic and leapt away. Scrambling for my cockroach spray, I spun around, took aim, and let it have it. As the toxin made contact, the roach fell to the floor with an audible clack and started to writhe. It was time for the finishing blow. I took aim once more and let out a long spray of poison. It's movements soon slowed, then stopped. It was dead.
I sighed in relief. The cockroach I had killed was about 2.5 inches long and black as night. It was my first encounter with Japan's "mega-fauna". There have been other incidents. In my storage shed, where I keep my bike, I killed 2 large, 4 inch spiders. There's a smaller one there now, but it looks a lot more deadly (the 2 spiders I killed we spindly and tarantula-like, where as this one has an altogether more venomous look to it).
I am at peace with the small spiders that live in my apartment. But soon may come the time that I bug bomb my place...
Japan, is a climatologically temperate country, but the humidty makes it feel all that more tropical. Places as far south as Miyazaki Prefecture might actually fall under the sub-tropical zone, and I'm sure Okinawa is a pretty close candidate for tropical.
So unlike the small bugs we have to deal with in Toronto, Japan's chitinous fauna are a lot larger. Let me narrate one story, my first real encounter:
One night on my third or so week in Japan, I was returning from my bath to have a cold beer and watch some television. As I navigated my darkened kitchen and reached the sliding door to the living room, I stepped on something lightly. I leapt back in surprise, and saw in the dim light emanating from the partially opened door a dark shape scurry away and under the fridge.
I knew then that I had stepped on a cockroach, and I knew it was much larger than I was used to. You see, the cockroaches here, I know from experience, are upwards from an inch long, and more frequently 2-3 inches, and can also fly.
I shuddered and closed the door, realizing that I would one day have to face that roach again...
That day came almost a week later. As I slid open the door, the light from the living room fell across the kitchen floor. There, framed in the fluorescent light that peeked over my shoulders was the cockroach. Though I had no proof that it was the very one I had stepped on, I somehow knew it must be so.
I stood stock still for a moment, wondering what I should do. I grabbed a nearby slipper and threw it, but my aim was off and it scrambled away. Next I grabbed a collapsable laundry pole, and attempted to squash it. I clipped it and took out a leg, but still it was alive. It scuttled away to a dark corner. I had been on my way to bathe, but just the thought of it crawling around my kitchen made me shudder. I had to kill it, and to do that I needed some cockroach spray.
I donned my jacket to go out, but when I opened the door I saw that it was raining much harder than I had thought, and going to the nearby convenience store would be impossible. I returned to my kitchen and looked in the cupboards, and was lucky enough to stumble across roach killer spray that my predecessor had left. I grabbed it, and my flashlight, and went in search of my foe. I checked the crack between the wall and gas range unit that I had seen it disappear into, but it was no longer there. I sprayed that area for good measure, and proceeded to look elsewhere. However, it was gone and I was about to concede a draw.
I went into the adjoining room, to see if it had somehow escaped there, but found nothing. As I stepped back into the kitchen, I heard a scritching sound by my head. I turned my to face it slowly, and not 10 inches from my me was the cockroach, hugging the wall.
I yelled in panic and leapt away. Scrambling for my cockroach spray, I spun around, took aim, and let it have it. As the toxin made contact, the roach fell to the floor with an audible clack and started to writhe. It was time for the finishing blow. I took aim once more and let out a long spray of poison. It's movements soon slowed, then stopped. It was dead.
I sighed in relief. The cockroach I had killed was about 2.5 inches long and black as night. It was my first encounter with Japan's "mega-fauna". There have been other incidents. In my storage shed, where I keep my bike, I killed 2 large, 4 inch spiders. There's a smaller one there now, but it looks a lot more deadly (the 2 spiders I killed we spindly and tarantula-like, where as this one has an altogether more venomous look to it).
I am at peace with the small spiders that live in my apartment. But soon may come the time that I bug bomb my place...
9/09/2006
Sports Day
What a crazy day it was.
September 9th marked the culmination of the students 2-week (or in some cases more) preparation of their annual taikusai, or sports day. In the dim recesses of my mind, I recall sports day from my elementary school time with some distaste. Never a good sports athlete, it was my time to try to hide and be inconspicuous.
While there was no doubt more than a few students who must have felt that way yesterday, I was nevertheless audience to an amazing spectacle.
Let me give you a little background first, on the Japanese education system. Unlike in Toronto, where I had attendence taken at Homeroom before hurrying off to my first class (when I went), here, the students remain in the same room (their homeroom) the whole day, and the teachers come to them.
I won't at this time get into the disadvantages this kind of system has on the overall growth and learning of children. However, there are some interesting advantages here that pertain to sports day.
The first is that the homeroom becomes the de facto social unit for many of the students. This is not to say that they don't fraternise with other classes--they do, and quite often. However, by remaining in a single classroom, surrounded by the same peers, taking the same classes, having the same teachers, all serves to reinforce the unity of the classroom. We, as social animals, tend I think to differentiate ourselves from others by examining our shared experiences. Points of commonality serve to unify a social group. This is what we are seeing here.
The end result is a greater feeling of class spirit, reinforced by the occasional rivalry between classes of the same grade.
There are other aspects at work here too. Attendance at school assemblies is mandatory and strictly enforced. Such events end with the singing of the school song. While there are no doubt students unaffected by such displays of group unity, it is nevertheless an almost overpowering force. I might venture that most of the students, regardless of their personal feelings, must feel the sense of being part of a larger whole when some 1100 voices are raised to sing the school song in unison. Even if I didn't understand what was happening, I think I might still feel it. Needless to say, I feel something stir in me at these times.
Add to this the format of the taikusai. A day long event, the kids are placed, by homeroom, into one of 4 colours, and the two weeks preceeding the actual event are filled with afternoons of sports practice. The combination of competition, group inclusion, and an already strongly bolstered school/homeroom spirit brings out the passion in many of the students, and most especially those in a leadership role.
Ok, enough of the essay. Lets get back to what's important. Sports day was truly a spectacle for me. There were 4 blocks: shiro, white; suou, orange; shinryoku, deep green; and noukon, navy blue. I was part of suou, and on the day I wore a bright, neon orange polo shirt that our the teachers of our block had bought (me included) for the occasion. We were highly conspicuous in our shirts, and during lunch some of the teachers commented that it looked like a suou convention in the staff room.
The day was filled with all sorts of events, from the mundane (yet exciting) foot races, to the more interesting games such as kibasen (4-man cavalry battles) and the senaka-watari (crossing the back). The most interesting by far was the block cheers, which featured both American-style cheerleading (girls), as well as Japanese-style cheerleading (boys), and panel show held by those in the block-stands. I managed to snap more than a few (crappy) pics with my phone camera, so I will only post the more interesting ones here.
I found myself getting well involved in the cheering, pounding the tables, crying out when my block won or lost an event, oohing and ahhing at the most excellent displays of tumbling or dancing.
The day ended without injury or major illness (though some kids did have to visit the infirmary), and though it had threatened to rain the entire day, with the exception of the unfortunate kids who didn't get to perform their school taiko-drums cheer, we had fair weather for all the events. Each performance and event was scored, and I am happy to say that suou came out on top with some 1200 or so points. There were some tears shed by the other teams, and some tears shed by suou. All in all, it was a really fun day.
There were some oddities, which as a person I wish I had captured on film, but as a teacher I refrained from doing. First was a guy wearing a horse head. He is a character of some internet notoriety, though for what I don't know. When I asked one of the younger teachers what it was, I was told that I should just ignore it. I got the feeling that he was a most unwelcome guest.
The other was two girls cosplaying Rei and Asuka from Evangelion. Rei was pretty cute, and Asuka...well she looked good from afar. I didn't snap a picture for fear of being branded one of those creepy fat anime-otakus you see at J-conventions and comikets. As well, I think it would have been inappropriate for me as a member of the school faculty to do so.
The day was capped by torrential rains, in which I got completely and thoroughly soaked helping the taiko team put away their drums (a real effort involving tarps, because taiko drums are forever ruined if they get wet). Afterwards, the teachers changed venues for our post-taikusai nomikai, or drinking party.
Nomikai is an all-you-can-drink party, which in this case lasted 2 hours. Held at a cool Chinese food joint, it rapidly degenerated into a loud drunk fest. I got to see many of my teachers drunk, and talked to a whole bunch whom I might never had otherwise. Alcohol is a fantastic social lubricant, and I was there drinking it up. I cannot say just how much I had to drink, as the glasses are small. However it is customary to fill other peoples glasses up when they are noticably not full, and there were many teachers who roamed the room with bottles of beer, randomly plunking down with people, filling their glasses, having a cheer, and then getting up and moving to the next group. I had great drunken chats with my principle, and many of my JTEs. Some of the older teachers were giving advice to the younger, and quite a few were laughing like mad at just about anything (me and my co-ALT included). In the end we gave a hearty banzai three times (my first banzai!!!). It was a truly memorable day.
September 9th marked the culmination of the students 2-week (or in some cases more) preparation of their annual taikusai, or sports day. In the dim recesses of my mind, I recall sports day from my elementary school time with some distaste. Never a good sports athlete, it was my time to try to hide and be inconspicuous.
While there was no doubt more than a few students who must have felt that way yesterday, I was nevertheless audience to an amazing spectacle.
Let me give you a little background first, on the Japanese education system. Unlike in Toronto, where I had attendence taken at Homeroom before hurrying off to my first class (when I went), here, the students remain in the same room (their homeroom) the whole day, and the teachers come to them.
I won't at this time get into the disadvantages this kind of system has on the overall growth and learning of children. However, there are some interesting advantages here that pertain to sports day.
The first is that the homeroom becomes the de facto social unit for many of the students. This is not to say that they don't fraternise with other classes--they do, and quite often. However, by remaining in a single classroom, surrounded by the same peers, taking the same classes, having the same teachers, all serves to reinforce the unity of the classroom. We, as social animals, tend I think to differentiate ourselves from others by examining our shared experiences. Points of commonality serve to unify a social group. This is what we are seeing here.
The end result is a greater feeling of class spirit, reinforced by the occasional rivalry between classes of the same grade.
There are other aspects at work here too. Attendance at school assemblies is mandatory and strictly enforced. Such events end with the singing of the school song. While there are no doubt students unaffected by such displays of group unity, it is nevertheless an almost overpowering force. I might venture that most of the students, regardless of their personal feelings, must feel the sense of being part of a larger whole when some 1100 voices are raised to sing the school song in unison. Even if I didn't understand what was happening, I think I might still feel it. Needless to say, I feel something stir in me at these times.
Add to this the format of the taikusai. A day long event, the kids are placed, by homeroom, into one of 4 colours, and the two weeks preceeding the actual event are filled with afternoons of sports practice. The combination of competition, group inclusion, and an already strongly bolstered school/homeroom spirit brings out the passion in many of the students, and most especially those in a leadership role.
Ok, enough of the essay. Lets get back to what's important. Sports day was truly a spectacle for me. There were 4 blocks: shiro, white; suou, orange; shinryoku, deep green; and noukon, navy blue. I was part of suou, and on the day I wore a bright, neon orange polo shirt that our the teachers of our block had bought (me included) for the occasion. We were highly conspicuous in our shirts, and during lunch some of the teachers commented that it looked like a suou convention in the staff room.
The day was filled with all sorts of events, from the mundane (yet exciting) foot races, to the more interesting games such as kibasen (4-man cavalry battles) and the senaka-watari (crossing the back). The most interesting by far was the block cheers, which featured both American-style cheerleading (girls), as well as Japanese-style cheerleading (boys), and panel show held by those in the block-stands. I managed to snap more than a few (crappy) pics with my phone camera, so I will only post the more interesting ones here.
I found myself getting well involved in the cheering, pounding the tables, crying out when my block won or lost an event, oohing and ahhing at the most excellent displays of tumbling or dancing.
The day ended without injury or major illness (though some kids did have to visit the infirmary), and though it had threatened to rain the entire day, with the exception of the unfortunate kids who didn't get to perform their school taiko-drums cheer, we had fair weather for all the events. Each performance and event was scored, and I am happy to say that suou came out on top with some 1200 or so points. There were some tears shed by the other teams, and some tears shed by suou. All in all, it was a really fun day.
There were some oddities, which as a person I wish I had captured on film, but as a teacher I refrained from doing. First was a guy wearing a horse head. He is a character of some internet notoriety, though for what I don't know. When I asked one of the younger teachers what it was, I was told that I should just ignore it. I got the feeling that he was a most unwelcome guest.
The other was two girls cosplaying Rei and Asuka from Evangelion. Rei was pretty cute, and Asuka...well she looked good from afar. I didn't snap a picture for fear of being branded one of those creepy fat anime-otakus you see at J-conventions and comikets. As well, I think it would have been inappropriate for me as a member of the school faculty to do so.
The day was capped by torrential rains, in which I got completely and thoroughly soaked helping the taiko team put away their drums (a real effort involving tarps, because taiko drums are forever ruined if they get wet). Afterwards, the teachers changed venues for our post-taikusai nomikai, or drinking party.
Nomikai is an all-you-can-drink party, which in this case lasted 2 hours. Held at a cool Chinese food joint, it rapidly degenerated into a loud drunk fest. I got to see many of my teachers drunk, and talked to a whole bunch whom I might never had otherwise. Alcohol is a fantastic social lubricant, and I was there drinking it up. I cannot say just how much I had to drink, as the glasses are small. However it is customary to fill other peoples glasses up when they are noticably not full, and there were many teachers who roamed the room with bottles of beer, randomly plunking down with people, filling their glasses, having a cheer, and then getting up and moving to the next group. I had great drunken chats with my principle, and many of my JTEs. Some of the older teachers were giving advice to the younger, and quite a few were laughing like mad at just about anything (me and my co-ALT included). In the end we gave a hearty banzai three times (my first banzai!!!). It was a truly memorable day.
9/05/2006
And the rest...
Before you read this, I would suggest to head down five or so posts, and read them from older to newer. This is the last in a series of posts showcasing my apartment in Japan, and in hindsight, I probably should have published this post first. Still, done is done, and I have no desire to do this all again.
Ah, we're nearing the end of my tour. Pictured last is my bedroom, closet, guestroom, and balcony. My bedroom is spartan, with my clothes rack, drying rack, bed, and mini-dresser. Comic books litter the floor near my bed, and the fan strategically placed in the threshold between bedroom and living room serves to increase the airflow in both rooms.
The guestroom, probably as large as my living room, currently pulls duty as my storage room. My luggage, as well as some random boxes, lay stacked in one corner. Near the sliding doors to the balcony is a laundry station, with detergent, fabric softener, and a rug-beating stick. The sliding doors to the balcony are ancient and effectively broken. It's a trial to get them open everytime I need to go out on the balcony, where my washing machine is.
Lastly is my balcony. It was quite a mess when I got here, with leaves and mud clogging the drainpipe (I didn't know that until after my balcony flooded with washing machine water). Still, a few minutes work and it was working like new. The railing, and especially the large laundry bar rung that hangs from the ceiling, are rusted to hell. I think that I might like to try to improve their condition, first by sanding, then with rust paint. But for now, they will remain as it.
Well, that's it. Welcome to my pad, and I hope this gave you a glimpse into what my home life is like in Japan. I am enjoying it immensely, and while I miss many things about home, I am truly glad to be here.
Next post: Pimp my Ride...
Ah, we're nearing the end of my tour. Pictured last is my bedroom, closet, guestroom, and balcony. My bedroom is spartan, with my clothes rack, drying rack, bed, and mini-dresser. Comic books litter the floor near my bed, and the fan strategically placed in the threshold between bedroom and living room serves to increase the airflow in both rooms.
The guestroom, probably as large as my living room, currently pulls duty as my storage room. My luggage, as well as some random boxes, lay stacked in one corner. Near the sliding doors to the balcony is a laundry station, with detergent, fabric softener, and a rug-beating stick. The sliding doors to the balcony are ancient and effectively broken. It's a trial to get them open everytime I need to go out on the balcony, where my washing machine is.
Lastly is my balcony. It was quite a mess when I got here, with leaves and mud clogging the drainpipe (I didn't know that until after my balcony flooded with washing machine water). Still, a few minutes work and it was working like new. The railing, and especially the large laundry bar rung that hangs from the ceiling, are rusted to hell. I think that I might like to try to improve their condition, first by sanding, then with rust paint. But for now, they will remain as it.
Well, that's it. Welcome to my pad, and I hope this gave you a glimpse into what my home life is like in Japan. I am enjoying it immensely, and while I miss many things about home, I am truly glad to be here.
Next post: Pimp my Ride...
Living room, entertainment complex, armoury...
From my kitchen, to the right, is my living room. It is where I spend most of my time, and was well furnished when I arrived. Table, couch (sorta), TV, shelves, computer desk, and (non-functional) phone.
In the time since I moved in, I've started adding my own touches. Most obvious is my M4A1 Carbine airsoft rifle. A gift to myself, a waste of money, both probably accurate descriptions of my latest frivolous expenditure, it's nevertheless something I think most people would have predicted I would buy. For those not in the know, airsoft guns like this are electrically power BB guns, which fire small white plastic BBs. Some stupid people have been in the news doing dumb things, so just like at home, I follow pretty strict protocols/handling rules with it.
The computer station is, sadly, very uncomfortable. The stool seems designed to cramp my back, and that combined with my lack of internet at home for the first few weeks has served to drastically decrease my time spent online. I doubt this will change much in the near future, and I can't really do much until I get a more comfortable computer chair.
I also have an iPod white PS2, which for the most part remains sadly dormant despite the money I paid for it, and a region-free DVD player, which gets occasional use.
Lastly, this is the room I have air conditioning in. It has kept me sane in the last days of a blistering hot and humid August.
In the time since I moved in, I've started adding my own touches. Most obvious is my M4A1 Carbine airsoft rifle. A gift to myself, a waste of money, both probably accurate descriptions of my latest frivolous expenditure, it's nevertheless something I think most people would have predicted I would buy. For those not in the know, airsoft guns like this are electrically power BB guns, which fire small white plastic BBs. Some stupid people have been in the news doing dumb things, so just like at home, I follow pretty strict protocols/handling rules with it.
The computer station is, sadly, very uncomfortable. The stool seems designed to cramp my back, and that combined with my lack of internet at home for the first few weeks has served to drastically decrease my time spent online. I doubt this will change much in the near future, and I can't really do much until I get a more comfortable computer chair.
I also have an iPod white PS2, which for the most part remains sadly dormant despite the money I paid for it, and a region-free DVD player, which gets occasional use.
Lastly, this is the room I have air conditioning in. It has kept me sane in the last days of a blistering hot and humid August.
Food, and other sundry items.
Next we visit my kitchen. This is one area I spent some time cleaning. It was, quite honestly, appallingly grimy. The microwave, which I thought had a teflon black interior, was actually standard grey. The gas range was covered in greasy residue, better now but far from perfect. The fridge was pretty good, and not too much work was involved in getting it ready for use, but I did have to give the floors a good wipe down.
I don't want to make it sound like it was some sort of disaster. There is a certain amount of my fastidiousness (at least when it comes to the kitchen) involved, and when it comes time for me to leave, I will no doubt vacant the apartment with the kitchen in similar state as I found it.
Pictured also were the contents of my fridge, as of about two hours ago. Visible are the various condiments (salad dressing, mayonnaise, mustard, tonkatsu sauce, ponzu sauce), Guiness and a can of W mix cocktail drink, an Asian pear, some kara-age chicken (dinner), some premade, uncooked hamburger (dinner tomorrow), water and tea.
I've been eating fairly well, I think. There is admittedly a high quantity of fried food, mostly because that is what is in the ready-made section of the grocery stores I go to. I try to balance that out with a lot of vegetables. My first few weeks was actual salad. Last week was mostly cabbage. Today was a failed beansprout...thing. Nasty, but I learned my lesson.
I don't want to make it sound like it was some sort of disaster. There is a certain amount of my fastidiousness (at least when it comes to the kitchen) involved, and when it comes time for me to leave, I will no doubt vacant the apartment with the kitchen in similar state as I found it.
Pictured also were the contents of my fridge, as of about two hours ago. Visible are the various condiments (salad dressing, mayonnaise, mustard, tonkatsu sauce, ponzu sauce), Guiness and a can of W mix cocktail drink, an Asian pear, some kara-age chicken (dinner), some premade, uncooked hamburger (dinner tomorrow), water and tea.
I've been eating fairly well, I think. There is admittedly a high quantity of fried food, mostly because that is what is in the ready-made section of the grocery stores I go to. I try to balance that out with a lot of vegetables. My first few weeks was actual salad. Last week was mostly cabbage. Today was a failed beansprout...thing. Nasty, but I learned my lesson.
Welcome to my pad
This next set of pics is a tour of my home. The first pic shows my door, complete with CDN sticker added by me. While my door opens smoothly, and given that it's made of metal, fairly lightly, my co-ALT upstairs has a door that she needs to slam into to open.
The door opens into my genkan, or threshold/reception area. The cubby to the left contains a few of my shoes. Just visible is my bath room (notice the separation in this normally compound word), opposite of which is my toilet, in a small room the size of a broom closet. In the small space between these small rooms is my bathroom sink, obviously made for post-war undernourished Japanese people. I'm not a tall person, but even I find it just low enough to be a pain.
For those who are interested (and/or coming to visit me), a few notes on bathing protocol. Japanese baths are small but deep. Imagine taking your own bath, dividing it in half and stacking the halves. This is a Japanese bath. The traditional way is to sit on a little plastic stool and lather up using a small plastic washbowl. I am lucky enough to have a ineffectual showerhead, which expedites my washing. The water is cold from the water supply, but heated via a gas water heater. Both the shower and the bath are heated by this water heater, but the shower, even at its highest setting, is only just hot, and the bath, which is traditionally left filled, takes about 20 minutes to heat. The bath, however, can become scaldingly hot, and the combination of depth and heat make it welcome after a long day.
Currently, my apartment is living it pink and Kitty-chan (Hello Kitty to you North American folk). It will remain so until next payday.
The door opens into my genkan, or threshold/reception area. The cubby to the left contains a few of my shoes. Just visible is my bath room (notice the separation in this normally compound word), opposite of which is my toilet, in a small room the size of a broom closet. In the small space between these small rooms is my bathroom sink, obviously made for post-war undernourished Japanese people. I'm not a tall person, but even I find it just low enough to be a pain.
For those who are interested (and/or coming to visit me), a few notes on bathing protocol. Japanese baths are small but deep. Imagine taking your own bath, dividing it in half and stacking the halves. This is a Japanese bath. The traditional way is to sit on a little plastic stool and lather up using a small plastic washbowl. I am lucky enough to have a ineffectual showerhead, which expedites my washing. The water is cold from the water supply, but heated via a gas water heater. Both the shower and the bath are heated by this water heater, but the shower, even at its highest setting, is only just hot, and the bath, which is traditionally left filled, takes about 20 minutes to heat. The bath, however, can become scaldingly hot, and the combination of depth and heat make it welcome after a long day.
Currently, my apartment is living it pink and Kitty-chan (Hello Kitty to you North American folk). It will remain so until next payday.
Mr Morikawa's Daily Life
It's been a fun few weeks, and it's about high time I got off my rear and give you guys a taste of it. With internet a relatively new thing in my apartment, and my lesson plans done for the week (and most of next), I finally have a few moments to update and inform.
What follows would make more sense as a single post. However, Blogger isn't really that great at handling pictures. I wanted some commentary for the multiple pictures I have, and if you happened to view my page in the hour or so between when I posted my last update and now after dinner, you would have seem my very poorly formatted post. But I've learned from my mistakes (a common occurence, especially at school), and without further ado, lets begin.
The first set of pics is my apartment block, as well as a reverse angle. Fukuma Kyoushokuin Juutaku, or Fukuma Teacher's Housing, is a fifty year old or so apartment block that is in many ways showing its age. The doors are rusty, the walls and ceilings stained. Few things work well, and almost everything has a layer of grime on it.
Still, given the rent I'm paying for it, the ameneties I do have, I can't really complain. Over the course of the last few weeks, it has really started to feel like home. Just last Sunday, there was a neighbourhood clean up, where I met the neighbours and did a bit of weeding. Tedious but surprisingly fun.
What follows would make more sense as a single post. However, Blogger isn't really that great at handling pictures. I wanted some commentary for the multiple pictures I have, and if you happened to view my page in the hour or so between when I posted my last update and now after dinner, you would have seem my very poorly formatted post. But I've learned from my mistakes (a common occurence, especially at school), and without further ado, lets begin.
The first set of pics is my apartment block, as well as a reverse angle. Fukuma Kyoushokuin Juutaku, or Fukuma Teacher's Housing, is a fifty year old or so apartment block that is in many ways showing its age. The doors are rusty, the walls and ceilings stained. Few things work well, and almost everything has a layer of grime on it.
Still, given the rent I'm paying for it, the ameneties I do have, I can't really complain. Over the course of the last few weeks, it has really started to feel like home. Just last Sunday, there was a neighbourhood clean up, where I met the neighbours and did a bit of weeding. Tedious but surprisingly fun.
9/01/2006
Internet @ home...at last!
YAY!!!! Internet at home! I can check my email at my leisure! Sure naughty websites as I please! Update my blog more often...but not tonight.
Because I am so very tired from biking to and from work every day. Time to hit the hay for me. I have an Japanese lesson, a doctor's appointment, and a new airsoft gun to buy tomorrow.
Because I am so very tired from biking to and from work every day. Time to hit the hay for me. I have an Japanese lesson, a doctor's appointment, and a new airsoft gun to buy tomorrow.
8/22/2006
Where are the pics? Where are the updates?
Surely, SURELY, things must have happened since my first few days at work. I mean, Interlude 2 was all about Typhoon 10 and my 1/2 day off.
And where the hell are the pics? Surely, as a foreigner in a not-so-foreign land, I must have snapped at least a few pics. Some of you after all saw me with a digital camera snapping Kodak moments.
So just what the hell is going on?
Well, here's the skinny. Some things just seem to take a lot longer in Japan. I still haven't gotten a mobile phone yet, nor gotten paid, nor have I got internet at home. On top of that, last week was the Obon festival where millions of Japanese people go to their hometowns to honour their ancestors. While it's not an official holiday, most people take a few days paid leave.
Last week was consequently very quiet in the office. With not much to do, I was able to sit at my desk and compose my blog entries. This week however is the week before school starts, and most of the students are actually here continuing to work on their summer extra-curricular activities, most of which seem to revolve around the upcoming sports meet.
I too have been busy at work, getting things ready for classes next week.
All this combines to make it hard for me to blog. But that doesn't explain the lack of pictures. Rest assured I have them, and when I get my internet at home, I'll be making a bunch of edits and new posts. So in the coming weeks (though, not this week), you can expect:
1) pictures
2) life in Japan
3) my school
4) what do I eat for dinner?
5) ????
6) profit!
Well, sayonara for now.
And where the hell are the pics? Surely, as a foreigner in a not-so-foreign land, I must have snapped at least a few pics. Some of you after all saw me with a digital camera snapping Kodak moments.
So just what the hell is going on?
Well, here's the skinny. Some things just seem to take a lot longer in Japan. I still haven't gotten a mobile phone yet, nor gotten paid, nor have I got internet at home. On top of that, last week was the Obon festival where millions of Japanese people go to their hometowns to honour their ancestors. While it's not an official holiday, most people take a few days paid leave.
Last week was consequently very quiet in the office. With not much to do, I was able to sit at my desk and compose my blog entries. This week however is the week before school starts, and most of the students are actually here continuing to work on their summer extra-curricular activities, most of which seem to revolve around the upcoming sports meet.
I too have been busy at work, getting things ready for classes next week.
All this combines to make it hard for me to blog. But that doesn't explain the lack of pictures. Rest assured I have them, and when I get my internet at home, I'll be making a bunch of edits and new posts. So in the coming weeks (though, not this week), you can expect:
1) pictures
2) life in Japan
3) my school
4) what do I eat for dinner?
5) ????
6) profit!
Well, sayonara for now.
8/17/2006
Interlude 2
Today, I was supposed to go to my Prefectural JET Orientation. Sadly, Typhoon Number 10 had other ideas, and early this morning I received a call from my school (my first official telephone call on my newly connected phone!) informing me that it had been cancelled.
Of course, that meant I needed to go into school.
I called a taxi-cab, and as I chatted up the driver, it turned out that he was the driver that often drove my predecessor to school. We talked for basically the entire trip, which ended up costing about ¥1200, or about $12. I leapt out of the cab after saying my thanks and dashed for the front door.
The sky is a light grey, and the rain that falls alternates in medium showers and heavy torrents. The only constant seems to be the wind, which shakes the trees outside the teachers’ office windows. At 9AM this morning, the Vice Principal announced to all that the reports said that around 3PM the storm in our area would peak. A-sensei, whom I got to chat with extensively when we were the only teachers in all day last Tuesday, said that he was going take a ½ day paid vacation to get home early, and suggest I might do the same.
So here I sit, having submitted my form that informs the school of my intent to take a ½ day off, leaving me with 19.5 more days this year. There is a form for everything here, from taking leave to taking business trips, and oddly enough many of these requests seem to be approved well after the fact. I guess this is not so strange in a society that treasures the collective over the individual. It is assumed, I think, that such things like vacation and leave will be taken at time that will be minimally disruptive to those around you, or will not interfere with your normal duties.
I also had to fill out the remainder of my business trip form, which I had filled out over a week ago, to explain that today’s JET Orientation was cancelled. Had it gone on as scheduled, I would have also had to write a report detailing what I did at the orientation.
Japan, it seems, is a country obsessed with bureaucracy. And like all bureaucracies, they move slowly. For my phone line, it took almost a week for a technician to toggle a switch and connect it. My Alien Registration card will end up having taking some 12 days to process, delaying my acquisition of a 3G phone. My internet, when I try to set it up, will take almost a week before a technician can come by. It’s an odd dichotomy in a society so advanced in many other aspects.
Ooh! Even if it’s coming out of my paid vacation days, I have a 2.5 day weekend!
Of course, that meant I needed to go into school.
I called a taxi-cab, and as I chatted up the driver, it turned out that he was the driver that often drove my predecessor to school. We talked for basically the entire trip, which ended up costing about ¥1200, or about $12. I leapt out of the cab after saying my thanks and dashed for the front door.
The sky is a light grey, and the rain that falls alternates in medium showers and heavy torrents. The only constant seems to be the wind, which shakes the trees outside the teachers’ office windows. At 9AM this morning, the Vice Principal announced to all that the reports said that around 3PM the storm in our area would peak. A-sensei, whom I got to chat with extensively when we were the only teachers in all day last Tuesday, said that he was going take a ½ day paid vacation to get home early, and suggest I might do the same.
So here I sit, having submitted my form that informs the school of my intent to take a ½ day off, leaving me with 19.5 more days this year. There is a form for everything here, from taking leave to taking business trips, and oddly enough many of these requests seem to be approved well after the fact. I guess this is not so strange in a society that treasures the collective over the individual. It is assumed, I think, that such things like vacation and leave will be taken at time that will be minimally disruptive to those around you, or will not interfere with your normal duties.
I also had to fill out the remainder of my business trip form, which I had filled out over a week ago, to explain that today’s JET Orientation was cancelled. Had it gone on as scheduled, I would have also had to write a report detailing what I did at the orientation.
Japan, it seems, is a country obsessed with bureaucracy. And like all bureaucracies, they move slowly. For my phone line, it took almost a week for a technician to toggle a switch and connect it. My Alien Registration card will end up having taking some 12 days to process, delaying my acquisition of a 3G phone. My internet, when I try to set it up, will take almost a week before a technician can come by. It’s an odd dichotomy in a society so advanced in many other aspects.
Ooh! Even if it’s coming out of my paid vacation days, I have a 2.5 day weekend!
Settling in
True to his word, F-sensei was in front of my apartment at 8 AM. Despite the tiredness I had felt the night before, I had not gotten much sleep. The heat and humidity which I had hardly noticed the night before, was oppressive and damp this morning. Sweat was starting to bead on my arms and forehead and nose.
We drove to school, with F-sensei explaining that this was the best route to take by bike. I paled at the thought. I hadn’t touched a bike in 15 years, let alone ridden one in a semi-urban environment. Before long we were at school.
The morning passed quickly, and by noon we were out again to get more of my life set up. A trip to the bank revealed that I could not create an account without my Alien Registration Card, or in lieu of the card a letter issued temporarily from City Hall. We headed to City Hall next, but by the time I had managed to get my letter issued, the bank had closed. My card, said the paper issued to me, would be ready on the 22nd. I glanced at my watch. It was the 10th.
The next item on the agenda was my keitai, or cell phone. The Vodaphone shop, just outside of the JR station, was small but heavily air conditioned. All manner of futuristic phone lined the walls, but my desire for one would not be sated there. Farcically enough, I needed a bank account and my Alien Registration Card to open an account with Vodaphone. It looked as if I would have to wait a while to enter 3G heaven.
With that, our day came to a close, and after returning to school to pick up our bags, F-sensei drove me home. I promised to practice diligently, a promise I ended up breaking due to the deflated tires on the bike my predecessor left me (and unused for the most part by her).
The next morning was again swelteringly hot, and I woke up extra early. I didn’t relish my trip to school; I was dealing with distances and time schedules unknown to me. Walking to the JR station, I bought my ticket and stared dumbly at the train schedule. The sign indicated a train was coming in a few minutes, and another one some 10 minutes later. As the train pulled into the station, I hovered nervously at the door, wondering if it was the right train. The direction was right, but I knew there was an express train that skipped the stop I needed to get off at. I got on and hoped for the best.
As the train pulled out of the station, I belatedly asked a fellow passenger if the train stopped at the next station. She dutifully informed me that it did not. Fighting a moment of panic, I could do nothing but get off at the next actual stop and make my way back, and hope that it wasn’t so far as to make me late for school. Luckily, the express train skipped only the station near my school, so I switched trains and made my way back in good time.
By the time I arrived at school, I was covered in a film of sweat, and it was a blessed relief to sit at my desk in the air conditioned staff room. Soon a few teachers showed, the majority off on paid holiday or off doing some sort of school duty. F-sensei sauntered in, and by mid-morning we were off again. We headed to Yoshizuka station, where I was to go next week to various JET functions. Under the threat of a convective thunderhead, we toured two buildings before grabbing a lunch of fried rice, dumplings, and ramen.
The afternoon was filled with a visit to a local medical clinic, where I was subjected to a battery of tests. It was a pleasant experience, and during my examination I was surprised to discover I was still running a fever, a fever which had gone unnoticed because of the heat, and that the medication offered for asthma treatment were virtually identical to the ones I had back home. My cold/asthma attack, which had all but faded, was treated with an almost bong-like nebulizer, and by the end of the almost 2 hours I was there, I had a bag full of new meds. It was the end of the day, and F-sensei drove me home. The past 3 days had been eventful, frustrating, enlightening, and nerve-wracking, but by the end of it I was starting to feel like I was settling into my new home.
We drove to school, with F-sensei explaining that this was the best route to take by bike. I paled at the thought. I hadn’t touched a bike in 15 years, let alone ridden one in a semi-urban environment. Before long we were at school.
The morning passed quickly, and by noon we were out again to get more of my life set up. A trip to the bank revealed that I could not create an account without my Alien Registration Card, or in lieu of the card a letter issued temporarily from City Hall. We headed to City Hall next, but by the time I had managed to get my letter issued, the bank had closed. My card, said the paper issued to me, would be ready on the 22nd. I glanced at my watch. It was the 10th.
The next item on the agenda was my keitai, or cell phone. The Vodaphone shop, just outside of the JR station, was small but heavily air conditioned. All manner of futuristic phone lined the walls, but my desire for one would not be sated there. Farcically enough, I needed a bank account and my Alien Registration Card to open an account with Vodaphone. It looked as if I would have to wait a while to enter 3G heaven.
With that, our day came to a close, and after returning to school to pick up our bags, F-sensei drove me home. I promised to practice diligently, a promise I ended up breaking due to the deflated tires on the bike my predecessor left me (and unused for the most part by her).
The next morning was again swelteringly hot, and I woke up extra early. I didn’t relish my trip to school; I was dealing with distances and time schedules unknown to me. Walking to the JR station, I bought my ticket and stared dumbly at the train schedule. The sign indicated a train was coming in a few minutes, and another one some 10 minutes later. As the train pulled into the station, I hovered nervously at the door, wondering if it was the right train. The direction was right, but I knew there was an express train that skipped the stop I needed to get off at. I got on and hoped for the best.
As the train pulled out of the station, I belatedly asked a fellow passenger if the train stopped at the next station. She dutifully informed me that it did not. Fighting a moment of panic, I could do nothing but get off at the next actual stop and make my way back, and hope that it wasn’t so far as to make me late for school. Luckily, the express train skipped only the station near my school, so I switched trains and made my way back in good time.
By the time I arrived at school, I was covered in a film of sweat, and it was a blessed relief to sit at my desk in the air conditioned staff room. Soon a few teachers showed, the majority off on paid holiday or off doing some sort of school duty. F-sensei sauntered in, and by mid-morning we were off again. We headed to Yoshizuka station, where I was to go next week to various JET functions. Under the threat of a convective thunderhead, we toured two buildings before grabbing a lunch of fried rice, dumplings, and ramen.
The afternoon was filled with a visit to a local medical clinic, where I was subjected to a battery of tests. It was a pleasant experience, and during my examination I was surprised to discover I was still running a fever, a fever which had gone unnoticed because of the heat, and that the medication offered for asthma treatment were virtually identical to the ones I had back home. My cold/asthma attack, which had all but faded, was treated with an almost bong-like nebulizer, and by the end of the almost 2 hours I was there, I had a bag full of new meds. It was the end of the day, and F-sensei drove me home. The past 3 days had been eventful, frustrating, enlightening, and nerve-wracking, but by the end of it I was starting to feel like I was settling into my new home.
8/16/2006
Interlude
I'm getting ahead of myself, but it's a fun diversion, I assure you.
For the most part, my route to school has been a brief 10 minute bike ride to the local JR (Japan Rail) station, followed by a 2 minute ride on the train to the next station over, followed by a 10 minute walk to school. Once it cools down a bit, I'll start biking to school and save myself the 3 bucks for a round trip on the train.
Except for today. In the recent local news is the latest typhoon to hit southern Japan, Typhoon #10 (tai-fuu 10-gou). It should pass by Satuday morning, but the leading edges of it hit Fukuoka Prefecture this morning. As I looked out the window, I noticed it was raining a bit. So donning my purpose bought raincoat, I trundled outside. As I started my walk (20 minutes), as I didn't really trust myself to a bike in the rain, I noticed that it was starting to rain harder. By the time I got to the local (different from the JR line) tracks, it was a torrential downpour.
Now, for the most part, I have never needed an umbrella. Toronto is nicely laid out so that unless you prize walking, you can wait out storms under bus shelters, and if you do get caught out in the rain, it's running between the bus and subway station, or car park etc. So, I figured, as a bold and rugged outdoorsman (yes, please roll your eyes now), I was going to be fine with just my raincoat.
Now I know why Japanese people all carry umbrellas.
I'll admit the top half of my body was relatively rain free. Of course, being under a raincoat meant that in the sweltering humidity, the top half of my body was soaked not by rain but by sweat. My legs and shoes were soaked through and through, and though the laptop backpack I bought comes with a rain cover, that didn't stop the rain from soaking the shoulder straps and moving through into the inside. As a result, many of the papers in my backpack got wet, and more alarmingly, my laptop got wet too. Here's hoping that in 24 hours or so when its dried out, it works fine.
By the time I got to the JR station, I was a miserable, sweaty, foggy-glassed, mussed hair, wet pants and shoes and socks ALT. I limped into the AM/PM Convenience store, bought the biggest terry cloth towel I could find, bought an umbrella, and proceeded to the platform. Infuriatingly, by the time I was done paying at the counter, the sun had come out to grace the fair people of Fukutsu. More infuriatingly, I was the only visibly wet dog there, and those around me were dressed as they always were for work. What a sight I must have looked.
I am convinced now that Japanese people have some sort of ability to phase out of reality slightly, so that what seems like a torrential downpour to me is only a light refreshing shower to them. I am mostly dry now, but I will sagefully call this my first lesson on the practicalities of living in Japan.
I may try to update again later today, as I will be out of the office tomorrow for a seminar, but if not, stay tuned for further adventures next week.
For the most part, my route to school has been a brief 10 minute bike ride to the local JR (Japan Rail) station, followed by a 2 minute ride on the train to the next station over, followed by a 10 minute walk to school. Once it cools down a bit, I'll start biking to school and save myself the 3 bucks for a round trip on the train.
Except for today. In the recent local news is the latest typhoon to hit southern Japan, Typhoon #10 (tai-fuu 10-gou). It should pass by Satuday morning, but the leading edges of it hit Fukuoka Prefecture this morning. As I looked out the window, I noticed it was raining a bit. So donning my purpose bought raincoat, I trundled outside. As I started my walk (20 minutes), as I didn't really trust myself to a bike in the rain, I noticed that it was starting to rain harder. By the time I got to the local (different from the JR line) tracks, it was a torrential downpour.
Now, for the most part, I have never needed an umbrella. Toronto is nicely laid out so that unless you prize walking, you can wait out storms under bus shelters, and if you do get caught out in the rain, it's running between the bus and subway station, or car park etc. So, I figured, as a bold and rugged outdoorsman (yes, please roll your eyes now), I was going to be fine with just my raincoat.
Now I know why Japanese people all carry umbrellas.
I'll admit the top half of my body was relatively rain free. Of course, being under a raincoat meant that in the sweltering humidity, the top half of my body was soaked not by rain but by sweat. My legs and shoes were soaked through and through, and though the laptop backpack I bought comes with a rain cover, that didn't stop the rain from soaking the shoulder straps and moving through into the inside. As a result, many of the papers in my backpack got wet, and more alarmingly, my laptop got wet too. Here's hoping that in 24 hours or so when its dried out, it works fine.
By the time I got to the JR station, I was a miserable, sweaty, foggy-glassed, mussed hair, wet pants and shoes and socks ALT. I limped into the AM/PM Convenience store, bought the biggest terry cloth towel I could find, bought an umbrella, and proceeded to the platform. Infuriatingly, by the time I was done paying at the counter, the sun had come out to grace the fair people of Fukutsu. More infuriatingly, I was the only visibly wet dog there, and those around me were dressed as they always were for work. What a sight I must have looked.
I am convinced now that Japanese people have some sort of ability to phase out of reality slightly, so that what seems like a torrential downpour to me is only a light refreshing shower to them. I am mostly dry now, but I will sagefully call this my first lesson on the practicalities of living in Japan.
I may try to update again later today, as I will be out of the office tomorrow for a seminar, but if not, stay tuned for further adventures next week.
8/15/2006
Arrival at Genkai
I was greeted at the airport by K-sensei. Super friendly, and with truly amazing English skills, we drove from Fukuoka International to the school. The 40 minute trip flew by—I was in a daze from my first meeting, and the conversation flowed almost seamlessly from English to Japanese and back.
We arrived at Genkai High School around 2 PM, and I was struck by how like and unlike a “normal” Japanese school this was. There was of course the standard metal gate, familiar to anyone who’s ever seen an anime or show that featured a Japanese school. But instead of the single edifice bisected by a central column with school clock, I encountered a squat U-shaped building surrounding a courtyard. To the left was a large gymnasium, set beside a large dusty field that encompassed both a general sports ground and baseball diamond.
K-sensei led me indoors, where I first met a few of the administrative staffers, and then it was off to meet the Principal, U-sensei. The Principal is a kindly looking man, with an easy smile and a genial demeanour. Yet I will not soon forget the words he said that resonated with me, and revealed to me the steel core that must lie at his centre: “We expect great things from you.” I felt an electric shock run through me with those words. I was truly in uncharted waters. My only guidance was the dim recollections of my own high school days, of little help in a country on the other side of the world, in an education system so radically different from my own. After my meeting, K-sensei led me upstairs to the teacher’s room and showed me desk.
I was still in my suit at this time, nattily dressed if a bit wrinkled looking. The heat was oppressive, but survivable, and soon enough my supervisor, F-sensei appeared. A youngish looking man, I was later genuinely surprised to find out he was over 40. Again, my Japanese confounded him. While some people had known that I could speak some level of Japanese, no one had realized just how well I spoke it. This seemed to be a sort of point of contention. I had the feeling that perhaps it was better if I stuck to English, as that was what was expected. It would take a few days before this feeling went away, and instead I begun to feel solace in speaking in English with my JTEs (Japanese Teacher of English). The ability to use English naturally with people who understand it makes me feel inordinately better. I recall an intense desire to speak English after just a week in Japan during my last visit, so being able to speak it at work serves as an immense stress relief.
Soon after, it was off to my new home. A short 10 minute drive from the school, it actually takes about 40 minutes by the combination of walking, biking, and train-riding that I do. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The apartment was a squat, ugly looking building, 4 floors with two units on each floor. The central staircase split the building in two, and as I climbed to the second story and my front door, I felt a keen sense of déjà vu. The building, built no doubt in the 60s, was starting to show its age. As I followed the gas company representative that had preceded our arrival to set things up for me, I was struck first by the oppressive heat, the first time I had truly felt it, and the dinginess of the place. There was a true sense of feeling that the place had been lived in many times before. In Tokyo, we had been treated to a polished, modern hotel that catered to Western visitors. Here, I was faced by the reality of a Japanese apartment, strangely familiar because it reminded me of my cousin’s home in Fukuoka City.
Having successfully gotten my gas affairs in order, F-sensei then took me to the local Home Wide, a large Walmart-like store that encompassed everything one might need for house and home. I bought a couple of bags worth of groceries, and soon we were on our way back. F-sensei treated me to dinner at a nice, off-the-road steak house. I’ll confess that by this time I was too tired and still suffering from my cold to make much conversation. After a dinner mostly free of any awkward silences, F-sensei drove me home. I of course had to come in the next day—I was already on the company clock and wasn’t getting paid to lounge about. F-sensei explained that he would pick me up tomorrow, but on Friday I would be traveling to school myself. I nodded my thanks, the gravity of his words unable to penetrate the fugue settling into my mind, and I went upstairs, quickly put away my groceries, set my clock and fell into a troubled JET-lagged sleep.
We arrived at Genkai High School around 2 PM, and I was struck by how like and unlike a “normal” Japanese school this was. There was of course the standard metal gate, familiar to anyone who’s ever seen an anime or show that featured a Japanese school. But instead of the single edifice bisected by a central column with school clock, I encountered a squat U-shaped building surrounding a courtyard. To the left was a large gymnasium, set beside a large dusty field that encompassed both a general sports ground and baseball diamond.
K-sensei led me indoors, where I first met a few of the administrative staffers, and then it was off to meet the Principal, U-sensei. The Principal is a kindly looking man, with an easy smile and a genial demeanour. Yet I will not soon forget the words he said that resonated with me, and revealed to me the steel core that must lie at his centre: “We expect great things from you.” I felt an electric shock run through me with those words. I was truly in uncharted waters. My only guidance was the dim recollections of my own high school days, of little help in a country on the other side of the world, in an education system so radically different from my own. After my meeting, K-sensei led me upstairs to the teacher’s room and showed me desk.
I was still in my suit at this time, nattily dressed if a bit wrinkled looking. The heat was oppressive, but survivable, and soon enough my supervisor, F-sensei appeared. A youngish looking man, I was later genuinely surprised to find out he was over 40. Again, my Japanese confounded him. While some people had known that I could speak some level of Japanese, no one had realized just how well I spoke it. This seemed to be a sort of point of contention. I had the feeling that perhaps it was better if I stuck to English, as that was what was expected. It would take a few days before this feeling went away, and instead I begun to feel solace in speaking in English with my JTEs (Japanese Teacher of English). The ability to use English naturally with people who understand it makes me feel inordinately better. I recall an intense desire to speak English after just a week in Japan during my last visit, so being able to speak it at work serves as an immense stress relief.
Soon after, it was off to my new home. A short 10 minute drive from the school, it actually takes about 40 minutes by the combination of walking, biking, and train-riding that I do. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The apartment was a squat, ugly looking building, 4 floors with two units on each floor. The central staircase split the building in two, and as I climbed to the second story and my front door, I felt a keen sense of déjà vu. The building, built no doubt in the 60s, was starting to show its age. As I followed the gas company representative that had preceded our arrival to set things up for me, I was struck first by the oppressive heat, the first time I had truly felt it, and the dinginess of the place. There was a true sense of feeling that the place had been lived in many times before. In Tokyo, we had been treated to a polished, modern hotel that catered to Western visitors. Here, I was faced by the reality of a Japanese apartment, strangely familiar because it reminded me of my cousin’s home in Fukuoka City.
Having successfully gotten my gas affairs in order, F-sensei then took me to the local Home Wide, a large Walmart-like store that encompassed everything one might need for house and home. I bought a couple of bags worth of groceries, and soon we were on our way back. F-sensei treated me to dinner at a nice, off-the-road steak house. I’ll confess that by this time I was too tired and still suffering from my cold to make much conversation. After a dinner mostly free of any awkward silences, F-sensei drove me home. I of course had to come in the next day—I was already on the company clock and wasn’t getting paid to lounge about. F-sensei explained that he would pick me up tomorrow, but on Friday I would be traveling to school myself. I nodded my thanks, the gravity of his words unable to penetrate the fugue settling into my mind, and I went upstairs, quickly put away my groceries, set my clock and fell into a troubled JET-lagged sleep.
Shinjuku!!
OK, not really so exciting as to warrant the double exclamation marks, especially in light of my asthma problems, but I didn’t let something as simple as a cold keep me down.
We arrived at the Keio Plaza Hotel, and were escorted by JET staffers to pick up our keys, orientation packages, and luggage. Inside our orientation packages were a variety of books and papers, all pertaining to JET life and the up and coming year. The room keys were electronic RF cards, and I kept mine in my wallet and just held up my wallet to the lock to gain room access. Neato.
I hauled all my bags up to my room on the 21st floor and was the first to arrive. I immediately took the bed closest to the window. Stupid, because I didn’t realize said bed was actually a fold-out couch. Oh well. My roomies ended up being people from Toronto, so that was a really nice touch. No having to make convo with a bunch of rowdy ass Americans.
My first order of business was a shower, and then me and one of my roomies went out for dinner. Our first dining experience in Japan? Royal Host. It’s a family restaurant kinda deal, but with it being in the heart of the Shinjuku hotel district, I guess they’re used to foreigners. After that, despite our tiredness, we decided to explore. Man what a good idea. For the first time since leaving Canada, I felt that I had arrived in a foreign country. Shinjuku at night is pretty cool, and we didn’t even manage to get to the really downtown portion of it. I think though we were in the night-life area, so we walked around generally making asses of ourselves as we gawked at things and spoke overly loud English for the benefit of the passers by. At one point, we were approached by a club greeter, asking if we were looking for a good time at the bar, probably complete with hookers. I brushed him off with a “naw I’m cool man.” The look on his face was priceless.
Before long however, exhaustion set in, and we decided (after a brief bout of being lost) to head back. We had, after all a full day tomorrow.
The next day was all conferences and seminars. Like a good little JET, I attended most of mine, with the brief excursions to the walk-in clinic and pharmacy to get my meds. The meds completely fucked me up, possibly because I hadn’t eaten all that much, but more probably because I was already jet lagged. So despite my ardent desires to go out and get fucked up that night, I ended up collapsing in my bed and sleeping most of the night. The only really exciting thing that happened was my trip to Yodobashi Camera, the electronics superstore, to buy my Canon Wordtank V35 Electronic Dictionary.
Next morning, yep more seminars. In the afternoon, we had our Prefectural meetings, a messy and disorganized affair where we learned of our flight plans, and the fact that virtually all of us were going to have to repack our stuff to get it under the 25 kg domestic flight checked + carry-on luggage limit. As panic and pandemonium set in, we were all wondering just what the fuck was going on. Thankfully, there was already a delivery service being set up for us, courtesy of the Keio Plaza Hotel and Kuroneko Yamato Delivery, so it was a simple thing to go and get a shipping box, toss in the stuff they gave you from the various seminars, plus some stinky worn clothes, tape it up and ship that shit. It cost me about ¥1700 (about $17 CND) to send my stuff, and even though they ended up not charging us for extra weight at the airport, I was glad not to have to carry an extra 15 kgs of crap with me.
The next day was an early morning, once again. We were supposed to assemble at 8:40 AM, but two people were late and got a pretty serious dressing down from the head of the Fukuoka BoE JET Programme Office that, I heard, almost left them in tears. Rough business in a country that values punctuality.
From there, a short jaunt to Haneda Airport. My companions were a couple of other kool kats I had met, all of course headed to Fukuoka. Michelle from Toronto, headed to Iizuka, Ben from West Virginia headed to either Oomuta or Kurume (I don’t remember), and Kousaku, a Nisei from Cali with a fairly similar story to my own, headed for Fukuoka City (the lucky bastard).
The flight, a JAL 777, was such a welcome relief from the crap that was NWA, and was brief. As we tracked the flight’s progress on our individual television screens, as we neared Fukuoka, as I we touched down, I was getting more and more nervous.
What was to await me here? How would I get along with my new teachers? Collecting my luggage, I walked out only to be greeted by a sea of placard holding people. My new life as an ALT had truly begun…
We arrived at the Keio Plaza Hotel, and were escorted by JET staffers to pick up our keys, orientation packages, and luggage. Inside our orientation packages were a variety of books and papers, all pertaining to JET life and the up and coming year. The room keys were electronic RF cards, and I kept mine in my wallet and just held up my wallet to the lock to gain room access. Neato.
I hauled all my bags up to my room on the 21st floor and was the first to arrive. I immediately took the bed closest to the window. Stupid, because I didn’t realize said bed was actually a fold-out couch. Oh well. My roomies ended up being people from Toronto, so that was a really nice touch. No having to make convo with a bunch of rowdy ass Americans.
My first order of business was a shower, and then me and one of my roomies went out for dinner. Our first dining experience in Japan? Royal Host. It’s a family restaurant kinda deal, but with it being in the heart of the Shinjuku hotel district, I guess they’re used to foreigners. After that, despite our tiredness, we decided to explore. Man what a good idea. For the first time since leaving Canada, I felt that I had arrived in a foreign country. Shinjuku at night is pretty cool, and we didn’t even manage to get to the really downtown portion of it. I think though we were in the night-life area, so we walked around generally making asses of ourselves as we gawked at things and spoke overly loud English for the benefit of the passers by. At one point, we were approached by a club greeter, asking if we were looking for a good time at the bar, probably complete with hookers. I brushed him off with a “naw I’m cool man.” The look on his face was priceless.
Before long however, exhaustion set in, and we decided (after a brief bout of being lost) to head back. We had, after all a full day tomorrow.
The next day was all conferences and seminars. Like a good little JET, I attended most of mine, with the brief excursions to the walk-in clinic and pharmacy to get my meds. The meds completely fucked me up, possibly because I hadn’t eaten all that much, but more probably because I was already jet lagged. So despite my ardent desires to go out and get fucked up that night, I ended up collapsing in my bed and sleeping most of the night. The only really exciting thing that happened was my trip to Yodobashi Camera, the electronics superstore, to buy my Canon Wordtank V35 Electronic Dictionary.
Next morning, yep more seminars. In the afternoon, we had our Prefectural meetings, a messy and disorganized affair where we learned of our flight plans, and the fact that virtually all of us were going to have to repack our stuff to get it under the 25 kg domestic flight checked + carry-on luggage limit. As panic and pandemonium set in, we were all wondering just what the fuck was going on. Thankfully, there was already a delivery service being set up for us, courtesy of the Keio Plaza Hotel and Kuroneko Yamato Delivery, so it was a simple thing to go and get a shipping box, toss in the stuff they gave you from the various seminars, plus some stinky worn clothes, tape it up and ship that shit. It cost me about ¥1700 (about $17 CND) to send my stuff, and even though they ended up not charging us for extra weight at the airport, I was glad not to have to carry an extra 15 kgs of crap with me.
The next day was an early morning, once again. We were supposed to assemble at 8:40 AM, but two people were late and got a pretty serious dressing down from the head of the Fukuoka BoE JET Programme Office that, I heard, almost left them in tears. Rough business in a country that values punctuality.
From there, a short jaunt to Haneda Airport. My companions were a couple of other kool kats I had met, all of course headed to Fukuoka. Michelle from Toronto, headed to Iizuka, Ben from West Virginia headed to either Oomuta or Kurume (I don’t remember), and Kousaku, a Nisei from Cali with a fairly similar story to my own, headed for Fukuoka City (the lucky bastard).
The flight, a JAL 777, was such a welcome relief from the crap that was NWA, and was brief. As we tracked the flight’s progress on our individual television screens, as we neared Fukuoka, as I we touched down, I was getting more and more nervous.
What was to await me here? How would I get along with my new teachers? Collecting my luggage, I walked out only to be greeted by a sea of placard holding people. My new life as an ALT had truly begun…
8/13/2006
Come fly the ghetto skies...
Ghetto airline. That’s the flight I took to Japan. It’s interesting, because I’ve flown to Japan a number of ways before. Of course the ones that stand out the most are my most recent—Air Canada/ANA flights through Vancouver to Osaka. Fair food, if a little cramped, but nothing to really complain about. In the dim recesses of my memory, I recall taking JAL, the king (queen?) of the crop way back when. Great food, pretty stewardesses, a comfortable way to cross the Pacific.
Then there was my JET flight to Japan. Now, I seem to recall hearing somewhere that Northwest Airlines was once primarily a carrier for soldiers moving to and from duty stations, or on leave visiting their families. I guess they never really made the transition into serving paying customers.
Ok, so I didn’t pay for my ticket. The Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education did though, and considering the cost associated with it ($2500 USD, compared to the almost $1000 less for the American Airlines flight), you figure that they’d treat you right. Apparently, that part of the training and operations manual got tossed out.
In Toronto, we managed to get to the taxi runway before being called back for being overloaded with baggage. How and why this was discovered at that point I will not know. I do know that this delayed our departure by an hour, and when we finally were in the air, it was for less time than we were waiting.
While Detroit airport was nice, we didn’t really have time to explore it. A few hours later we were being boarded for our long flight to Tokyo. The 747 was old and showing its age. I, being ever so lucky, was stuck in the middle seat of the left bank of seats, far to the rear of the plane. While this was uncomfortable, I had already mentally prepared myself for a long and tiring flight, so I wasn’t expecting too much out of it. In retrospect, knowing I had a cold, I should have just bought some cold medicine to knock myself out for the duration. At least then I could have been rested for Tokyo. However, at least I could look forward to knocking back a whiskey or two, right?
Guess again. While beer was being served, it was $5USD per can, and cans of Budweiser and Miller at that. While the juices and pops were free, half-way through the drink service they ran out of Ginger Ale, and the following morning they ran out of orange juice. For my first meal, I was offered chicken or beef. When I asked for chicken, the stewardess promptly informed me that they were out of chicken. Fan-fricken-tastic. I knew there was a reason why my BoE was paying so much for my flight.
At least the movie line up was not too bad. The first movie was the Antonio Banderas give hope to disadvantaged inner-city youth flick (filmed in Toronto). That was followed by Ice Age 2. Next up was the painfully hard to watch RV, with JoJo and Robin Williams. I cannot adequately describe the crappitude that this movie displayed, with it’s over-used clichés and formulaic narrative. It’s a testament to my boredom that I was able to watch it at all. Last was the Starbucks movie Akeelah and the Bee, which was surprisingly good.
By the time the last movie had ended, I was essentially used up in terms of my patience. My seat, which was broken, was always in a reclined position, which meant that for the times when the seats had to be in the upright position, I had to sit ramrod straight lest it being to slide back again. With a jet full of JETs headed off to new lives for the next year, everyone had generous amounts of carry-on luggage, so the space between my feet was occupied by my over-stuffed back-pack, preventing me from really being able to stretch out.
By the time I arrived in Tokyo, I was beaten and exhausted. My cold had managed to get worse by an order of magnitude, and I was still looking at an almost 2 hour ride into Shinjuku and the Keio Plaza Hotel. I had a seat bench to myself on the bus, which allowed me to simply shut down as we rode to the hotel. But as the buildings grew taller, and the streets more crowded, even I felt more and more excited.
Next stop: Keio Plaza Hotel and the Tokyo Post-Arrival Orientation...
(Also, I don't seem to be able to upload pics yet, so I'll do that when I get internet access at home.)
Then there was my JET flight to Japan. Now, I seem to recall hearing somewhere that Northwest Airlines was once primarily a carrier for soldiers moving to and from duty stations, or on leave visiting their families. I guess they never really made the transition into serving paying customers.
Ok, so I didn’t pay for my ticket. The Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education did though, and considering the cost associated with it ($2500 USD, compared to the almost $1000 less for the American Airlines flight), you figure that they’d treat you right. Apparently, that part of the training and operations manual got tossed out.
In Toronto, we managed to get to the taxi runway before being called back for being overloaded with baggage. How and why this was discovered at that point I will not know. I do know that this delayed our departure by an hour, and when we finally were in the air, it was for less time than we were waiting.
While Detroit airport was nice, we didn’t really have time to explore it. A few hours later we were being boarded for our long flight to Tokyo. The 747 was old and showing its age. I, being ever so lucky, was stuck in the middle seat of the left bank of seats, far to the rear of the plane. While this was uncomfortable, I had already mentally prepared myself for a long and tiring flight, so I wasn’t expecting too much out of it. In retrospect, knowing I had a cold, I should have just bought some cold medicine to knock myself out for the duration. At least then I could have been rested for Tokyo. However, at least I could look forward to knocking back a whiskey or two, right?
Guess again. While beer was being served, it was $5USD per can, and cans of Budweiser and Miller at that. While the juices and pops were free, half-way through the drink service they ran out of Ginger Ale, and the following morning they ran out of orange juice. For my first meal, I was offered chicken or beef. When I asked for chicken, the stewardess promptly informed me that they were out of chicken. Fan-fricken-tastic. I knew there was a reason why my BoE was paying so much for my flight.
At least the movie line up was not too bad. The first movie was the Antonio Banderas give hope to disadvantaged inner-city youth flick (filmed in Toronto). That was followed by Ice Age 2. Next up was the painfully hard to watch RV, with JoJo and Robin Williams. I cannot adequately describe the crappitude that this movie displayed, with it’s over-used clichés and formulaic narrative. It’s a testament to my boredom that I was able to watch it at all. Last was the Starbucks movie Akeelah and the Bee, which was surprisingly good.
By the time the last movie had ended, I was essentially used up in terms of my patience. My seat, which was broken, was always in a reclined position, which meant that for the times when the seats had to be in the upright position, I had to sit ramrod straight lest it being to slide back again. With a jet full of JETs headed off to new lives for the next year, everyone had generous amounts of carry-on luggage, so the space between my feet was occupied by my over-stuffed back-pack, preventing me from really being able to stretch out.
By the time I arrived in Tokyo, I was beaten and exhausted. My cold had managed to get worse by an order of magnitude, and I was still looking at an almost 2 hour ride into Shinjuku and the Keio Plaza Hotel. I had a seat bench to myself on the bus, which allowed me to simply shut down as we rode to the hotel. But as the buildings grew taller, and the streets more crowded, even I felt more and more excited.
Next stop: Keio Plaza Hotel and the Tokyo Post-Arrival Orientation...
(Also, I don't seem to be able to upload pics yet, so I'll do that when I get internet access at home.)
“Woah...” (Neo, The Matrix)
Well, what did I get myself into? As I write this, I have just finished dinner at home (some chicken kara-age, rice, and a big bowl of salad), the second night of eating a real home cooked (well, sort of, but more on that later) meal.
It has been a whirlwind of events, and sitting here, exhausted, I am in real danger of forgetting what happened to me over this last week. Memorable is not word enough to describe this last week, but then again, tired is not word enough to describe my energy levels.
So what happens next? I will not be wired until closer to the end of the month, but I will have time next week at school, when most of the teachers are away on business or vacation, to update my blog. Resisting the temptation to do a crazy mass update, I will instead give you a new update every day.
Stay tuned...
It has been a whirlwind of events, and sitting here, exhausted, I am in real danger of forgetting what happened to me over this last week. Memorable is not word enough to describe this last week, but then again, tired is not word enough to describe my energy levels.
So what happens next? I will not be wired until closer to the end of the month, but I will have time next week at school, when most of the teachers are away on business or vacation, to update my blog. Resisting the temptation to do a crazy mass update, I will instead give you a new update every day.
Stay tuned...
8/07/2006
Mucus and asthma and pills, oh my!
Well, I'm finally getting a chance to update my blog after a very tiring flight and first night in Japan, but, humble reader, you will not get a chance to hear about that today. I'll be sure to do a more thorough job in a few days though, once I get settled in my new apartment.
So I have hopefully piqued some interest in you with my entry title. As some of you may know, last Tuesday I caught a cold. Well, considering my track record at Canadian Tire, it's probably not too surprising that I started my JET life with a cold.
This cold decided to migrate with me across the Pacific via Northwest Airlines, the king of all ghetto airlines, and landed in Tokyo at approximately 3:40 pm local time. Like the body, mind, and spirit of the person the cold inhabited, the 13 hour flight, with it's pressurized cabin and recycled air, the cold became a lot worse for wear. So that night, I managed to get a few hours of sleep (after a fun night of exploring the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, where my hotel is), but over night my asthma started to kick in. By morning, I was wheezing, and my head was at that time composed of some 78.3% mucus, some of which was expelled during a hot shower.
By the time 8 am rolled around, I realized that letting nature run its course was not going to work out. The woman at the hotel store where they sell some drugs told me to try the medical walk-in clinic on the 30th floor. I followed this advice, and so started my very first, official life-in-Japan function.
Its funny. The walk-in clinic was for the most part no different than the ones I went to in Toronto. I got in, talked to the lady at the counter, filled out a medical history and why I wanted to see a doctor, waited, saw the doctor who gave me a presciption for some meds, and was on my merry way to my first official JET function.
There were some key differences though. First was the speed at which all this happened. I was in and out of there in about 40 minutes, though being there first thing in the morning probably had much to do which that. More importantly though, the staff there was nice and polite! A far cry from the almost surly staff you normally find at Toronto medical facilities.
I'm still pretty ill. Because I didn't have time to wait for the injections (I would have needed 2, set 40 minutes apart, and at the time I was in danger of being late to my first JET conference), the doctor gave me a prescription for a multitude of pills. After my conference, I headed out to a pharmacy. Because I don't yet have my national health insurance card, I was forced to pay in both cases 100% of the fee. I was expecting my wallet to be at least a hundred dollars lighter, but in the end everything only cost me about 30 bucks. Not bad at all, and when I do get my card and fax the clinic and pharmacy my info, they'll reimburse me for the insured costs.
Well, I'll end this entry with 2 pictures. The first is the clinic I went to, and the second the drug cocktail I have to take for the next 3 days. Fun times at Keio Plaza Hotel!
So I have hopefully piqued some interest in you with my entry title. As some of you may know, last Tuesday I caught a cold. Well, considering my track record at Canadian Tire, it's probably not too surprising that I started my JET life with a cold.
This cold decided to migrate with me across the Pacific via Northwest Airlines, the king of all ghetto airlines, and landed in Tokyo at approximately 3:40 pm local time. Like the body, mind, and spirit of the person the cold inhabited, the 13 hour flight, with it's pressurized cabin and recycled air, the cold became a lot worse for wear. So that night, I managed to get a few hours of sleep (after a fun night of exploring the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, where my hotel is), but over night my asthma started to kick in. By morning, I was wheezing, and my head was at that time composed of some 78.3% mucus, some of which was expelled during a hot shower.
By the time 8 am rolled around, I realized that letting nature run its course was not going to work out. The woman at the hotel store where they sell some drugs told me to try the medical walk-in clinic on the 30th floor. I followed this advice, and so started my very first, official life-in-Japan function.
Its funny. The walk-in clinic was for the most part no different than the ones I went to in Toronto. I got in, talked to the lady at the counter, filled out a medical history and why I wanted to see a doctor, waited, saw the doctor who gave me a presciption for some meds, and was on my merry way to my first official JET function.
There were some key differences though. First was the speed at which all this happened. I was in and out of there in about 40 minutes, though being there first thing in the morning probably had much to do which that. More importantly though, the staff there was nice and polite! A far cry from the almost surly staff you normally find at Toronto medical facilities.
I'm still pretty ill. Because I didn't have time to wait for the injections (I would have needed 2, set 40 minutes apart, and at the time I was in danger of being late to my first JET conference), the doctor gave me a prescription for a multitude of pills. After my conference, I headed out to a pharmacy. Because I don't yet have my national health insurance card, I was forced to pay in both cases 100% of the fee. I was expecting my wallet to be at least a hundred dollars lighter, but in the end everything only cost me about 30 bucks. Not bad at all, and when I do get my card and fax the clinic and pharmacy my info, they'll reimburse me for the insured costs.
Well, I'll end this entry with 2 pictures. The first is the clinic I went to, and the second the drug cocktail I have to take for the next 3 days. Fun times at Keio Plaza Hotel!
8/04/2006
Saying my goodbyes...
Well, it's come. In less than 10 hours, I will be on a plane headed to Detroit, and then to Japan. I think there was always a part of me that was convinced that I still had some more time--time to clean up my room, time to pack, time to get my affairs sorted, time to say my goodbyes. Yet here I stand at the threshold of what may indeed be a life altering adventure, the reality of what I am about to embark on ever-so-slowly starting to set in.
I look around my room, still in disarray, still filled with many of the relics of my life here. And yet there is a sense that it is no longer mine. Gone are the clothes that were piled up on the old and unused computer chair. Gone is the giant monitor and computer that once dominated my desk. The shelves that once held my treasures from childhood sit empty, their contents now dormant in grey or plastic storage boxes.
This strange sense of disconnection seems to have permeated my last night in Toronto. I gathered with some of my closest friends for a final dinner, and at times I felt a strange sense of separation from the conversations at the table, content instead to be a silent observer. I climbed the steps up to my front door, in a strange way no longer at home, knowing that my life was now packed in 2 suitcases, a knapsack, and a laptop bag.
It is the first time I have truly felt a sadness in my leaving for Japan. The time, I am sure, will fly by. And yet I will return to a Toronto, to a Canada, to a life here that's changed forever.
It's hard not to sound melodramatic, hard not to let this odd sense of melancholy twinge my writing, hard not to sound emo. I wasn't really sure how I felt tonight until my dog Dana poked her head into my room, and just looked at me with her big dark eyes. When I called her, she plodded over and lay down at my feet, content to let me scratch her back. It is not too much of a conceit to say that my puppy knew that I was leaving. I'll confess, dogs are a weakness of mine, and I am more greatly affected by them than I would care to admit.
Be good Dana-dog...
I look around my room, still in disarray, still filled with many of the relics of my life here. And yet there is a sense that it is no longer mine. Gone are the clothes that were piled up on the old and unused computer chair. Gone is the giant monitor and computer that once dominated my desk. The shelves that once held my treasures from childhood sit empty, their contents now dormant in grey or plastic storage boxes.
This strange sense of disconnection seems to have permeated my last night in Toronto. I gathered with some of my closest friends for a final dinner, and at times I felt a strange sense of separation from the conversations at the table, content instead to be a silent observer. I climbed the steps up to my front door, in a strange way no longer at home, knowing that my life was now packed in 2 suitcases, a knapsack, and a laptop bag.
It is the first time I have truly felt a sadness in my leaving for Japan. The time, I am sure, will fly by. And yet I will return to a Toronto, to a Canada, to a life here that's changed forever.
It's hard not to sound melodramatic, hard not to let this odd sense of melancholy twinge my writing, hard not to sound emo. I wasn't really sure how I felt tonight until my dog Dana poked her head into my room, and just looked at me with her big dark eyes. When I called her, she plodded over and lay down at my feet, content to let me scratch her back. It is not too much of a conceit to say that my puppy knew that I was leaving. I'll confess, dogs are a weakness of mine, and I am more greatly affected by them than I would care to admit.
Be good Dana-dog...
8/02/2006
F@cking Northwest Airlines
Two posts in one day! Good god the sky must be falling.
Ok, I'm going to rant now, and its really for no good reason because JETs from parts of the world that are not North America have only 20 kilograms in one suitcase alloted to them to pack their lives into to travel to Japan. Let it be known that Americans and Canadians get more than twice that, at 46 kilos and 2 suitcases. I have no right to bitch about not having enough luggage allowance, but that is exactly what I am going to do.
I have finally managed to do a trial packing run with my luggage, and despite my earlier confidence, I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH LUGGAGE ALLOWANCE. Sonnova...
There isn't really much more than I can say about it. I have one large suitcase, and one medium suitcase. The larger one is pretty loosely packed, and weighs some 23.8 kg. My medium suitcase is rammed to the gills, and as of now weighs 20.7 kg. I can in theory put more stuff into my medium, if I can somehow manage to find the space. It's looking pretty grim truth-be-told.
There is a sort of silver lining in these storm clouds of aggravation. My dad has volunteered to take some of my winter stuff to Japan with him when he travels there at the end of October, and then ship it to me from there, thanks to the far more generous allowance of Air Canada's Elite travellers program. Now, I just have to make sure I don't go overboard with winter stuff...
And to those travelling from places that are not Canada or the U.S., my condolences...
Ok, I'm going to rant now, and its really for no good reason because JETs from parts of the world that are not North America have only 20 kilograms in one suitcase alloted to them to pack their lives into to travel to Japan. Let it be known that Americans and Canadians get more than twice that, at 46 kilos and 2 suitcases. I have no right to bitch about not having enough luggage allowance, but that is exactly what I am going to do.
I have finally managed to do a trial packing run with my luggage, and despite my earlier confidence, I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH LUGGAGE ALLOWANCE. Sonnova...
There isn't really much more than I can say about it. I have one large suitcase, and one medium suitcase. The larger one is pretty loosely packed, and weighs some 23.8 kg. My medium suitcase is rammed to the gills, and as of now weighs 20.7 kg. I can in theory put more stuff into my medium, if I can somehow manage to find the space. It's looking pretty grim truth-be-told.
There is a sort of silver lining in these storm clouds of aggravation. My dad has volunteered to take some of my winter stuff to Japan with him when he travels there at the end of October, and then ship it to me from there, thanks to the far more generous allowance of Air Canada's Elite travellers program. Now, I just have to make sure I don't go overboard with winter stuff...
And to those travelling from places that are not Canada or the U.S., my condolences...
Counting the days...
Its hard to believe that in some 3 days time, I'll be on a plane headed back to Japan. The reality of it started to hit me, oddly, on the way to a family dinner, when I realized that it had turned to August somehow without me knowing. Of course, I blame my blissful month as an unemployed bum.
I've been lazy about updates, I know. In part, I have been legitimately busy with some last minute preparations. Not really a good reason, but I digress.
The truth of the matter is that most of what I've been doing in the last few weeks has been fairly routine. I spent a day at the CN Tower, a fun day revisiting an attraction I hadn't been to in over a decade, but ultimately pretty banal in execution. I bought luggage, gave Power of Attorney over my bank account to my mother, purchased gifts for my teachers and family, snapped pics of Toronto, et cetera et cetera ad nauseum infinitum. For just about every JET that travels to Japan, there are an equal number of blogs to catalogue their trials and tribulations.
No, I'm not going through a bout of self criticism with regards to my own blog. After all, it remains, as always, primarily a tool to give my friends a glimpse of what my life will be like in Japan. Its the mundane aspects of my last few weeks which has prevented me from posting anew.
I'll retract that last statement. Not everything has been mundane, and so I'll give you the skinny on the good stuff that's happened.
The best things by far have been the time I've got to spend with my friends. A wicked farewell party at my fav hang out Las Iguanas got me completely loaded. Beers, lemon drops, and heartburn inducing tex-mex all served to remind me just how much I'll miss everyone. Thank you Al Gore for inventing the internet--now I'll be able to keep in touch.
Just tonight I got to have a kick-ass dinner with the family. Baby back ribs, and a fully loaded baked potato. It's a meal I doubt I'll see for a long long while. My only regret was the collective realization amongst my family members, that we get together for such dinners far too little.
And perhaps finally, I've found out that my new co-ALT will also be from Toronto. A Chinese-Canadian girl, coming with Group C (i.e. end of August). Cool beans.
I've been lazy about updates, I know. In part, I have been legitimately busy with some last minute preparations. Not really a good reason, but I digress.
The truth of the matter is that most of what I've been doing in the last few weeks has been fairly routine. I spent a day at the CN Tower, a fun day revisiting an attraction I hadn't been to in over a decade, but ultimately pretty banal in execution. I bought luggage, gave Power of Attorney over my bank account to my mother, purchased gifts for my teachers and family, snapped pics of Toronto, et cetera et cetera ad nauseum infinitum. For just about every JET that travels to Japan, there are an equal number of blogs to catalogue their trials and tribulations.
No, I'm not going through a bout of self criticism with regards to my own blog. After all, it remains, as always, primarily a tool to give my friends a glimpse of what my life will be like in Japan. Its the mundane aspects of my last few weeks which has prevented me from posting anew.
I'll retract that last statement. Not everything has been mundane, and so I'll give you the skinny on the good stuff that's happened.
The best things by far have been the time I've got to spend with my friends. A wicked farewell party at my fav hang out Las Iguanas got me completely loaded. Beers, lemon drops, and heartburn inducing tex-mex all served to remind me just how much I'll miss everyone. Thank you Al Gore for inventing the internet--now I'll be able to keep in touch.
Just tonight I got to have a kick-ass dinner with the family. Baby back ribs, and a fully loaded baked potato. It's a meal I doubt I'll see for a long long while. My only regret was the collective realization amongst my family members, that we get together for such dinners far too little.
And perhaps finally, I've found out that my new co-ALT will also be from Toronto. A Chinese-Canadian girl, coming with Group C (i.e. end of August). Cool beans.
7/11/2006
Niagara Falls, and news from Japan
I'll admit it--I've been lazy about posting. I went to Niagara Falls last Friday, a trip that was both successful in intent and incredibly annoying in execution. Let me digress.Leaving at 9am, my dad and I arrived on time at around 11am, having spent 20 minutes or so at the Number 3 lock at Welland Canal, and about 10 minutes at Tim Horton's. All the attractions were comped to me, thanks to my dad's working as a consultant for Niagara Parks Commission, and so I did the whole Journey Behind the Falls and Maid of the Mist. In both cases, I managed to take some pretty iconic photos. Standard tourist fare, all in all.
In the sense that I managed to snap these pics, even on my sub-par 2 megapixel camera, my trip was a success. However, the rest of the day was a trial.
From 3-5:30, my time was spent waiting in the car while my dad conducted business. This was fine. I had my laptop, I had music, and I had a book. Honestly, in the lazy heat of southern Ontario, the time passed quickly and without incident. This is where things start to go awry.
The reason for such a long time spent, in the shadow a tree at the Chateau de Charmes vinyards, was that media tour (they take promotional videos) was late by an hour arriving, and when they did arrive, they had to be hand-held for the entire time there. While at the time I did not think much of the wait, little did I know it would be a mere taste of what was to come.
Leaving Niagara Falls, we got on to the QEW just in time for to smack into the ass end of a hellishly slow traffic jam. We covered the distance from Niagara to St. Cat, a trip which usually takes some 20 minutes, in about 3 hours. From about 6pm onwards until just before 9pm, in that almost 3 hours I swear I could have walked the distance we covered faster. About 9pm, we managed to get off the QEW and onto highway 81, a smaller but much faster route, by-passinged the blockage. Back on the QEW, we sped to Burlington where we stopped off for dinner at Jack Astor's, arriving back in Toronto at about 10:30pm, exhausted from our almost 5 hour journey home. If you were paying attention earlier, even at a moderate speed it normally takes about 90 minutes to get from Toronto to Niagara Falls.
Well, that out of the way, some more information from Japan. First, I just found out my co-ALT has dropped from the Programme. I'm surprised that people are doing so this late in the game, and it often makes me wonder why such things happen. While I'm sure a large number of people drop because they find better jobs, or are offered some other means to further their careers, I'm certain that some percentage at least drop out because they learn they are in a rural area, or simply freak out because they cannot handle the idea of moving to a foreign country for a year (or more).
Having said that, it makes me wonder what these people were thinking when they submitted their application. Did they expect to be in the big city, with every modern convenience easily at hand? A simple Google for JET blogs will have easily disabused anyone of that notion. The JET Programme is designed primarily to facilitate cultural exchange at a grass roots level, often introducing internationalisation to those who might not always get a chance to do so--kids in rural areas of Japan.
As well, as different as Japan is culturally (and in a very real sense I am a very poor candidate to sympathise with the plight of those who are dropping everything they are familiar with to teach in a country they hardly know the language of), it is still a modern nation with many aspects that are recognizably western. Even small towns will have McDonald's or some equivalent, and Starbucks are popping up everywhere. Internet and internet culture has flourished in the last decade, and having access to the world wide web means that you are never more than a click away from your friends and family. Of course people will still suffer from culture shock and home sickness, but the point of the JET Programme is also for it's participants to experience new things and new cultures.
Of course, this is not to imply that my co-ALT was one of those that freaked out and dropped. I don't know what the exact situation was, save that some lucky Portland alternate just got a chance to be upgraded. Congratulations are in order, because that is a feeling I am intimately acquainted with. And to my co-ALT who dropped, I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavours.
Ok, rant over.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I just recieved a FLOOD of emails from some students from Genkai H.S. I was floored by the emails, and it's made me even more hyped to get there. I spent an hour replying to them all, and I can't wait to try and match email to face. Hmm, I wonder if this email flood was part of a computer lab lesson my predecessor made up...
7/01/2006
6/29/2006
The Trinity of Misfortune
My mother has always told me that misfortunes come in threes. It’s a concept no doubt familiar to those of other Asian backgrounds, who see 3 an unlucky number. In Japan, 4 is the unlucky number because it is synonymous with the word "death" (shi), but the bad things always come in threes bit is still superstitious wisdom.
Even as I write this, I am sitting in a walk-in clinic, only three weeks since I was last here (of course, this will actually be published much later when I have access to the internet). Three weeks ago, I was treated here for a mild asthma attack, for which I was prescribed hideously expensive but fantastically effective medication.
That’s misfortune number one.
Of course, the second of these misfortunes was the violent collision between my head and a metal shelf, the specifics of which you can review in the post below. The removal of the 6 staples which sutured the wound is what brings me to the doctor’s office today.
Metal shelf 1, my head 0: that’s misfortune number two.
I have managed to avoid being somehow physically injured in the last week, and while I consider myself more of a man of science rather than mysticism, there is still some ingrained part of me that is on the lookout for potential misfortune number threes. To celebrate my last day at work, my coworkers and I will be going for drinks. In the grand scheme of things, it would really, really, suck if I was hit by a car coming home drunk from the party that was supposed to signal the end of my time at Canadian Tire for things bigger and better.
Cautionary advice or mystic paranoia? I'm going to hedge my bets and not tempt the trinity of misfortune.
6/23/2006
Head wounds bleed!
Not at all related to my upcoming time in Japan, but dramatic never the less.
A little background. At work (Canadian Tire), we have these stock carts. They are 2 metre tall open-faced cages, with a metal partition that divides the cart into top and bottom (effectively a shelf). The partition can be swung up to the back wall of the cage in order to accomodate tall objects, and the cage itself is wheeled to allow people to move stock from the warehouses below to the sales floor.
Normally, the partition is secured via a locking pin. I'm sure you can see where this is going. As I was collapsing an empty box of antifreeze and putting (albeit ungently) onto the cart, the metal partition, about 30 pounds of steel, slammed into my elbow and head. At first, I thought I just hit my head, but then I felt blood trickle down my face. I had instinctively grabbed my head, and when I felt the wetness, I pulled it away to find my hand covered in blood. My coworker Tony, grabbing tires, took one look at me and cried out "Holy shit!" I was promptly moved to the back area, where the store general manager Steve happened to be walking by. He is a man prone to bouts of excitability, so when he saw me, he moved into overdrive. Our HR manager John came down, along with my supervisor Mike, and soon the Service Bay manager Inaki had arrived on the scene. Starring at my bloody headwound was a total of 5 people. To his immense credit, Steve took charge and even had the sensibility to don the latex gloves that come with the first aid kit. A gauze and a large wad of paper towel was used to keep the pressure on, and I was driven to the hospital by John.
I went to the Women's College Hospital, mostly because it was the closest, but as well because it is the quickest. Within minutes I was being seen by the triage nurse, and though the wait to see the doctor seemed long, it was really no more than 30 minutes. All the while, the blood had clotted, but my head was stinging. My shoulder and elbow were hurting too, and by the time the doctor arrived in my examination room, the pain in head had receded to a dull ache.
A quick inspection, to assess if any other physical/muscular/perceptory damage had been incurred (none was), he looked at my head. It was a 2 inch long diagonal gash, quite standard. The treatment? Staples.
Staples. I've had stitches, but staples were a new thing. The doctor poked and prodded, cleaned and sanitised, and freezed my scalp before applying the staples. I, and probably many others, can rationalise and deal with pain if they can see what is going on. I was...more anxious than normal at the prospect of having my head stapled back together, but a few click-clacks later and it was done. By this time, the adrenaline had worn off, so I was pretty tired. John was gracious enough to drive me home.
If I consider my tenure at Canadian Tire, it's kinda hard not to think I was illness and accident prone. I started my time there suffering from pneumonia. A year later, I was treated at the hospital for an asthma attack. I fell through my patio staircase about 8 feet, and just 2 weeks ago had to see a doctor about my asthma. I injured my back foolishly stepping off a ladder, and now I've had a metal shelf slam into my head.
Head wounds, as the halo of blood, iodine, and saline solution I left on the pillow while my head was being stapled will attest, bleed.
A little background. At work (Canadian Tire), we have these stock carts. They are 2 metre tall open-faced cages, with a metal partition that divides the cart into top and bottom (effectively a shelf). The partition can be swung up to the back wall of the cage in order to accomodate tall objects, and the cage itself is wheeled to allow people to move stock from the warehouses below to the sales floor.
Normally, the partition is secured via a locking pin. I'm sure you can see where this is going. As I was collapsing an empty box of antifreeze and putting (albeit ungently) onto the cart, the metal partition, about 30 pounds of steel, slammed into my elbow and head. At first, I thought I just hit my head, but then I felt blood trickle down my face. I had instinctively grabbed my head, and when I felt the wetness, I pulled it away to find my hand covered in blood. My coworker Tony, grabbing tires, took one look at me and cried out "Holy shit!" I was promptly moved to the back area, where the store general manager Steve happened to be walking by. He is a man prone to bouts of excitability, so when he saw me, he moved into overdrive. Our HR manager John came down, along with my supervisor Mike, and soon the Service Bay manager Inaki had arrived on the scene. Starring at my bloody headwound was a total of 5 people. To his immense credit, Steve took charge and even had the sensibility to don the latex gloves that come with the first aid kit. A gauze and a large wad of paper towel was used to keep the pressure on, and I was driven to the hospital by John.
I went to the Women's College Hospital, mostly because it was the closest, but as well because it is the quickest. Within minutes I was being seen by the triage nurse, and though the wait to see the doctor seemed long, it was really no more than 30 minutes. All the while, the blood had clotted, but my head was stinging. My shoulder and elbow were hurting too, and by the time the doctor arrived in my examination room, the pain in head had receded to a dull ache.
A quick inspection, to assess if any other physical/muscular/perceptory damage had been incurred (none was), he looked at my head. It was a 2 inch long diagonal gash, quite standard. The treatment? Staples.
Staples. I've had stitches, but staples were a new thing. The doctor poked and prodded, cleaned and sanitised, and freezed my scalp before applying the staples. I, and probably many others, can rationalise and deal with pain if they can see what is going on. I was...more anxious than normal at the prospect of having my head stapled back together, but a few click-clacks later and it was done. By this time, the adrenaline had worn off, so I was pretty tired. John was gracious enough to drive me home.
If I consider my tenure at Canadian Tire, it's kinda hard not to think I was illness and accident prone. I started my time there suffering from pneumonia. A year later, I was treated at the hospital for an asthma attack. I fell through my patio staircase about 8 feet, and just 2 weeks ago had to see a doctor about my asthma. I injured my back foolishly stepping off a ladder, and now I've had a metal shelf slam into my head.
Head wounds, as the halo of blood, iodine, and saline solution I left on the pillow while my head was being stapled will attest, bleed.
6/21/2006
Halcyon days
In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of getting ready to live in Japan, I find myself actually pretty calm and relaxed. The realisation that I'm heading to Japan is really starting to settle in, and I've been in pretty much constant contact with my predecessor, who sounds really cool. It's a real shame that I probably won't get to meet her.
Some more specifics have come my way. Unlike what I had previously thought, Genkai is not an international highschool, but rather a mid-academic school that offers an international course. I'll be teaching about 10 hours per week (10 classes, I think), handling with my co-ALT all the English classes for first years, and doing the international courses for second and third year students. Apparently, most of my students will be girls, and most of the faculty is guys. Go figure.
I'll also be teaching about once a month handicapped elementary school kids, and fortunately for me, it looks like one of the teachers there will be in my apartment block. It will definitely be an interesting experience, as teaching is for the most part a wholy new experience to me, nevermind elementary school kids, handicapped or not.
My day at school will also be long, from 8:35 to 4:45 every day, and if I'm part of a club (I will be), another hour after that. Thank the gods for Crappy Tire and their ridiculous shifts for inuring me to 7:30am- 6:30pm days.
My total rent + utilities is looking to be about 40000 yen (about $400) per month, with some pretty hefty electricity use. My apartment block, 8 units, is occupied mostly by JETs, and is 2 minutes away from the beach, 2 minutes away from the local train station (which of course doesn't actually take me anywhere near my school >_>), and may or may not have an AC, depending on who's unit I take over. Rest assured if I don't, that will be one of the first things I buy.
That's it for now. Stay tuned for more info, and for the love of the gods leave some damned comments.
Oh, last thing. Apparently, this picture (or one like it) is circulating the staff room. These will be end of me one day...
Some more specifics have come my way. Unlike what I had previously thought, Genkai is not an international highschool, but rather a mid-academic school that offers an international course. I'll be teaching about 10 hours per week (10 classes, I think), handling with my co-ALT all the English classes for first years, and doing the international courses for second and third year students. Apparently, most of my students will be girls, and most of the faculty is guys. Go figure.
I'll also be teaching about once a month handicapped elementary school kids, and fortunately for me, it looks like one of the teachers there will be in my apartment block. It will definitely be an interesting experience, as teaching is for the most part a wholy new experience to me, nevermind elementary school kids, handicapped or not.
My day at school will also be long, from 8:35 to 4:45 every day, and if I'm part of a club (I will be), another hour after that. Thank the gods for Crappy Tire and their ridiculous shifts for inuring me to 7:30am- 6:30pm days.
My total rent + utilities is looking to be about 40000 yen (about $400) per month, with some pretty hefty electricity use. My apartment block, 8 units, is occupied mostly by JETs, and is 2 minutes away from the beach, 2 minutes away from the local train station (which of course doesn't actually take me anywhere near my school >_>), and may or may not have an AC, depending on who's unit I take over. Rest assured if I don't, that will be one of the first things I buy.
That's it for now. Stay tuned for more info, and for the love of the gods leave some damned comments.
Oh, last thing. Apparently, this picture (or one like it) is circulating the staff room. These will be end of me one day...
6/19/2006
Serendipity, and other acts of Fate
Big update, so grab some snacks and settle in for the long haul.
Lets start with the big news--I have found out where I am going! I recieved an email from my predecessor, and as soon as I read it I was brimming with questions.
So where am I going? Looks like Genkai International High School in Fukutsu-shi (Fukutsu City, but IIRC Fukutsu is an amalgamation of Fukuma and Tsuyazaki townships). A quick glance at their website reveals that it's got foreign students as well as Japanese, from places like the Philippines and Hungary (those were the two that stood out the most to me), and that it's a fairly new school, being built in Showa 61, or 1986. Actually, this little bit of information comes from my mother, who also provided me with the following information. Now this is where things start to get weird.
My mother's cousin, who is much closer to me in age (I believe she's just a couple of years older than me), is a Genkai graduate. My mother has friends some 15 minutes away, and my grandmother, whose pics you can see in posts from while I was in Japan in 2005, lives some 20 minutes away by car. The coincidences keep coming.
If the Fukuoka Prefectural website is to be believed, I'll be living in Fukuma, 1 train stop north of Koga-machi, where the school is actually located. Fukuma is basically a rural town right on the JR (Japan Rail) line. So I'm not more than a half-hour from Hakata Station, which is a 10 minute walk from my cousin's apartment block in Fukuoka City. Not only that, but my mother's cousin's home when she was growing up was in Fukuma.
I don't really want to waltz into any kind of schmaltzy exhortation on Fate and kismet and random acts of god or what have you, but if you've been reading my blog at all, you'll know what a life-changing epiphany my 2005 trip to basically this area was. I am well and truly blessed in my life, and I can say with 100 per cent surity that I am the most content, anxious, giddy, excited, et cetera et cetera I have even been in my life. So far this experience has been hit after hit. I can't wait to see what comes next.
OK, so lets go on to other news. Today was the last day of Toronto PDOT, or Pre-Departure Orientation and Training (or was that last "T" for Toronto). The fabulous folks at the JETAA (JET Alumni Association) and JAVA (JApan Visitors Association), working with the Japanese Consulate provided us with a wealth of information and tips about our up-coming life in Japan.
Saturday was an early start, and I only recognized a few faces from the General Information session 3 weeks earlier. Turns out there are about 80 or so JETs going from Toronto, I believe all ALTs, and so much of our conversations were based around where we were going, if we knew what level of schooling we would be teaching, and if we had been contacted by our predecessor yet. Unsurprisingly, we're a diverse group and we're heading to diverse locations around Japan.
The day was filled with interesting seminars which helped alleviate some of the anxiety we were feeling, and given the work that went into the 3-day orientation, it only confirms that Toronto JETs are among the most prepared JETs in the world. Day 2 was similar in nature to day 1, but seemed faster because we knew what to expect.
There were some physical good and bad points. Days 1 and 2 were held at the Japan Foundation, in the heart of downtown Toronto, so getting there, even at 9 in the morning on a weekend, was easily accomplished. There was lots of lunch options near by (both days were Asian cuisine), and for me at least, it was all too familiar a location. The bad parts were the weather, while beautiful, was pretty hot, and the fact that the main room didn't have any air conditioning, which made the fairly long day seem even longer.
Day 3 was a different animal altogether. Held at the JCCC (Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre), it was a day of mostly cultural exposure. Morning seminars on things like the tea ceremony, Japanese housing and education were informative, but the funnest part was the bon-odori or traditional dancing. I expected to be treated to a show of festival dances, but as it turns out, we were all participants. It was a little bit corny, but I think it really served to give some people their first real taste of Japan. The afternoon was a little more boring, but mainly because it was more centred on things like food, manners, and language, all topics which were more or less ingrained into me as a kid. Still, it was a great wrap up to a fantastic 3 days.
It's hard to believe that D-Day is a mere 6 weeks away.
Lets start with the big news--I have found out where I am going! I recieved an email from my predecessor, and as soon as I read it I was brimming with questions.
So where am I going? Looks like Genkai International High School in Fukutsu-shi (Fukutsu City, but IIRC Fukutsu is an amalgamation of Fukuma and Tsuyazaki townships). A quick glance at their website reveals that it's got foreign students as well as Japanese, from places like the Philippines and Hungary (those were the two that stood out the most to me), and that it's a fairly new school, being built in Showa 61, or 1986. Actually, this little bit of information comes from my mother, who also provided me with the following information. Now this is where things start to get weird.
My mother's cousin, who is much closer to me in age (I believe she's just a couple of years older than me), is a Genkai graduate. My mother has friends some 15 minutes away, and my grandmother, whose pics you can see in posts from while I was in Japan in 2005, lives some 20 minutes away by car. The coincidences keep coming.
If the Fukuoka Prefectural website is to be believed, I'll be living in Fukuma, 1 train stop north of Koga-machi, where the school is actually located. Fukuma is basically a rural town right on the JR (Japan Rail) line. So I'm not more than a half-hour from Hakata Station, which is a 10 minute walk from my cousin's apartment block in Fukuoka City. Not only that, but my mother's cousin's home when she was growing up was in Fukuma.
I don't really want to waltz into any kind of schmaltzy exhortation on Fate and kismet and random acts of god or what have you, but if you've been reading my blog at all, you'll know what a life-changing epiphany my 2005 trip to basically this area was. I am well and truly blessed in my life, and I can say with 100 per cent surity that I am the most content, anxious, giddy, excited, et cetera et cetera I have even been in my life. So far this experience has been hit after hit. I can't wait to see what comes next.
OK, so lets go on to other news. Today was the last day of Toronto PDOT, or Pre-Departure Orientation and Training (or was that last "T" for Toronto). The fabulous folks at the JETAA (JET Alumni Association) and JAVA (JApan Visitors Association), working with the Japanese Consulate provided us with a wealth of information and tips about our up-coming life in Japan.
Saturday was an early start, and I only recognized a few faces from the General Information session 3 weeks earlier. Turns out there are about 80 or so JETs going from Toronto, I believe all ALTs, and so much of our conversations were based around where we were going, if we knew what level of schooling we would be teaching, and if we had been contacted by our predecessor yet. Unsurprisingly, we're a diverse group and we're heading to diverse locations around Japan.
The day was filled with interesting seminars which helped alleviate some of the anxiety we were feeling, and given the work that went into the 3-day orientation, it only confirms that Toronto JETs are among the most prepared JETs in the world. Day 2 was similar in nature to day 1, but seemed faster because we knew what to expect.
There were some physical good and bad points. Days 1 and 2 were held at the Japan Foundation, in the heart of downtown Toronto, so getting there, even at 9 in the morning on a weekend, was easily accomplished. There was lots of lunch options near by (both days were Asian cuisine), and for me at least, it was all too familiar a location. The bad parts were the weather, while beautiful, was pretty hot, and the fact that the main room didn't have any air conditioning, which made the fairly long day seem even longer.
Day 3 was a different animal altogether. Held at the JCCC (Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre), it was a day of mostly cultural exposure. Morning seminars on things like the tea ceremony, Japanese housing and education were informative, but the funnest part was the bon-odori or traditional dancing. I expected to be treated to a show of festival dances, but as it turns out, we were all participants. It was a little bit corny, but I think it really served to give some people their first real taste of Japan. The afternoon was a little more boring, but mainly because it was more centred on things like food, manners, and language, all topics which were more or less ingrained into me as a kid. Still, it was a great wrap up to a fantastic 3 days.
It's hard to believe that D-Day is a mere 6 weeks away.
6/08/2006
Hindsight = 20/20
Unlike my real vision, hindsight is 20/20. So now that I've calmed down a bit, I'd like to reveal some more information that has come across my desk.
Well, virtual desk, as it came in the form of an email. Having jumped the gun and emailed the Fukuoka-ken PA, I soon realised that many of the questions I had were essentially answered on www.fukuokajet.com, a JET initiated forum and website for Fukuoka JETs. However the PA, whom I suspect is a fellow canuck, was gracious enough despite my newbishness to provide some clues to my placement.
First off, I am not in Fukuoka City. While my ardent hopes were dashed, I am far from upset. In fact, I'm pretty damned happy with the prospect of living in a completely new place. Hearing from the PA nudged me one-step closer into that "OMG I'm going to Japan" mindset. The only thing I know right now about where I might be placed is that it's in the middle of Fukuoka. I think that puts me about 30 minutes away from Fukuoka City by rail.
Some other things I've found out. I'm going to be placed in a highschool that actually has an English course (versus, I think just an English lesson as part of the regular school day), so I think I can rely on the fact that the students I'll be teaching will actually want to learn, the Holy Grail of all teachers. I'll also be team-teaching with a new ALT from the US. Oh the fun we'll have correcting our respective spellings :)
I should be contacted next week by my predecessor, and so I'll be able to provide some more details then.
Well, virtual desk, as it came in the form of an email. Having jumped the gun and emailed the Fukuoka-ken PA, I soon realised that many of the questions I had were essentially answered on www.fukuokajet.com, a JET initiated forum and website for Fukuoka JETs. However the PA, whom I suspect is a fellow canuck, was gracious enough despite my newbishness to provide some clues to my placement.
First off, I am not in Fukuoka City. While my ardent hopes were dashed, I am far from upset. In fact, I'm pretty damned happy with the prospect of living in a completely new place. Hearing from the PA nudged me one-step closer into that "OMG I'm going to Japan" mindset. The only thing I know right now about where I might be placed is that it's in the middle of Fukuoka. I think that puts me about 30 minutes away from Fukuoka City by rail.
Some other things I've found out. I'm going to be placed in a highschool that actually has an English course (versus, I think just an English lesson as part of the regular school day), so I think I can rely on the fact that the students I'll be teaching will actually want to learn, the Holy Grail of all teachers. I'll also be team-teaching with a new ALT from the US. Oh the fun we'll have correcting our respective spellings :)
I should be contacted next week by my predecessor, and so I'll be able to provide some more details then.
OMG OMG OMFG!!!
Holy crap! OK, this is a blitz blog update. I arrived home to find my official confirmation from my Contracting Organisation (CO) awaiting me. In a ritual shared my virtually all new JETs, I promptly ripped open the envelope and began leafing through the papers, in a desperate bid to find out where I was posted.
But first!
ITEM 1: The Address on the Envelope.
Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education
7-7 Higashi-Koen (East Park)
Hakata-ku (Hakata Ward)
Fukuoka-shi (Fukuoka City)
Ok, so that was heart-stopping moment one. But the rational side of my brain kicked in. Of course the Fukuoka Prefecture BoE is in Fukuoka City. Where else would it be? In the middle of no-where Fukuoka?
ITEM 2: Welcome Letter from my Prefectural Advisor (PA).
A senior JET, who is sort of a JET supervisor for all Fukuoka Pref. JETs. In this letter are a few choice statements. Among other things, reference to my placement as a Senior High-school (SHS) ALT. This means I'm going to be placed at a single high-school for the duration of my contract. Next is a description of Fukuoka City as the one of the best rated cities in Asia to live in, it's thriving international community, and most heart-stopping, that "[I will] quickly grow accustomed to [my] new life [there]."
Holy crap! Does this mean what I think it means? Am I going to be placed in my heart of hearts desire, Fukuoka City? The place where I spent hot dreamy summers, and one epiphany-granting winter? Words, inelegant things that they are, cannot hope to describe the feeling that are rushing through me at the moment.
ITEM 3: Sample Floor Plan of a Kyoshokuin Jutaku (Teacher's Apartment).
Scattered through-out the Prefecture, Teacher's Apartments are "cheap, spacious and available". At the risk of angering my readers, the listed rent is about 10,000 yen (c. $100.00) a month, with some variations from place to place. Square footage seems to be about 500-600 sqft.
Of course, Item 2 is the mainstay of my hopes, while Item 1 and 3 bring my back to reality. I find it very difficult not to get my hopes up, so for now, I will email my PA and see if I can wrangle some more information from her.
OMG OMG OMG...
But first!
ITEM 1: The Address on the Envelope.
Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education
7-7 Higashi-Koen (East Park)
Hakata-ku (Hakata Ward)
Fukuoka-shi (Fukuoka City)
Ok, so that was heart-stopping moment one. But the rational side of my brain kicked in. Of course the Fukuoka Prefecture BoE is in Fukuoka City. Where else would it be? In the middle of no-where Fukuoka?
ITEM 2: Welcome Letter from my Prefectural Advisor (PA).
A senior JET, who is sort of a JET supervisor for all Fukuoka Pref. JETs. In this letter are a few choice statements. Among other things, reference to my placement as a Senior High-school (SHS) ALT. This means I'm going to be placed at a single high-school for the duration of my contract. Next is a description of Fukuoka City as the one of the best rated cities in Asia to live in, it's thriving international community, and most heart-stopping, that "[I will] quickly grow accustomed to [my] new life [there]."
Holy crap! Does this mean what I think it means? Am I going to be placed in my heart of hearts desire, Fukuoka City? The place where I spent hot dreamy summers, and one epiphany-granting winter? Words, inelegant things that they are, cannot hope to describe the feeling that are rushing through me at the moment.
ITEM 3: Sample Floor Plan of a Kyoshokuin Jutaku (Teacher's Apartment).
Scattered through-out the Prefecture, Teacher's Apartments are "cheap, spacious and available". At the risk of angering my readers, the listed rent is about 10,000 yen (c. $100.00) a month, with some variations from place to place. Square footage seems to be about 500-600 sqft.
Of course, Item 2 is the mainstay of my hopes, while Item 1 and 3 bring my back to reality. I find it very difficult not to get my hopes up, so for now, I will email my PA and see if I can wrangle some more information from her.
OMG OMG OMG...
5/31/2006
It's official!
Last night I got word at the JET General Information Meeting, the news I have been waiting these past weeks for: placement. It's news I greet with great joy, a sense of relief, and a little bit of trepidation.
I'm headed to Fukuoka Prefecture.
So where is that? Fukuoka Prefecture lies on the the northern end of Kyushu, the southern most of the four main islands. It is, also the prefecture where my parents were born, and where many of my relatives live. The two major cities in Fukuoka Prefecture are Fukuoka City and Kitakyushu, and the Prefecture has a total population of just over 5 million (at least according to wiki). It's one of the larger prefectures, but with a relatively small population.
As I'm not yet assigned to any specific town or city, its most likely that I'm going to be a Prefectural ALT (PA). Things can go in a number of directions from there. It's possible that I might be assigned to a single senior highschool, joining them mid-way through the year (Japan's school year goes from April to March, and the kids will be away for summer vacation until September). Another option may be that I will be a sort of floating ALT, assigned to several junior highschools, and even elementary schools! In the coming weeks, I should be contacted with the specifics of my placement, my job, and where I will be living for the next year or so.
While I'm close to my relatives, it's doubtful I'll be assigned to Fukuoka City or Kitakyushu. This is both good and bad, I suppose. Good because my relatives aren't too close at hand, but close enough that if I really find myself in the shitter I can call on them. Bad because I'll more than likely lose the convenience that living in a major urban centre brings, like 24 hour taxis and a hospital with an emergency ward open at all times. I won't know of course what my exact situation will be, but I can't wait to find out.
In hindsight, I'm actually fairly lucky in getting word of my placement now. Some people may not get word until mid July, and with the few weeks it may take to get the formal letter of employment from their Contracting Organisation, they may not know where they're going until just before we're set to leave.
And here I was complaining about a few weeks!
I'm headed to Fukuoka Prefecture.
So where is that? Fukuoka Prefecture lies on the the northern end of Kyushu, the southern most of the four main islands. It is, also the prefecture where my parents were born, and where many of my relatives live. The two major cities in Fukuoka Prefecture are Fukuoka City and Kitakyushu, and the Prefecture has a total population of just over 5 million (at least according to wiki). It's one of the larger prefectures, but with a relatively small population.
As I'm not yet assigned to any specific town or city, its most likely that I'm going to be a Prefectural ALT (PA). Things can go in a number of directions from there. It's possible that I might be assigned to a single senior highschool, joining them mid-way through the year (Japan's school year goes from April to March, and the kids will be away for summer vacation until September). Another option may be that I will be a sort of floating ALT, assigned to several junior highschools, and even elementary schools! In the coming weeks, I should be contacted with the specifics of my placement, my job, and where I will be living for the next year or so.
While I'm close to my relatives, it's doubtful I'll be assigned to Fukuoka City or Kitakyushu. This is both good and bad, I suppose. Good because my relatives aren't too close at hand, but close enough that if I really find myself in the shitter I can call on them. Bad because I'll more than likely lose the convenience that living in a major urban centre brings, like 24 hour taxis and a hospital with an emergency ward open at all times. I won't know of course what my exact situation will be, but I can't wait to find out.
In hindsight, I'm actually fairly lucky in getting word of my placement now. Some people may not get word until mid July, and with the few weeks it may take to get the formal letter of employment from their Contracting Organisation, they may not know where they're going until just before we're set to leave.
And here I was complaining about a few weeks!
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