This past Saturday on the 15th there was a Niikawa Jet’s days. I suggested to my peers that we should have a hangout day with all the Jets that were on my side of the prefecture. I wanted to have fun in my area and not have to travel 40 minutes by train to get to anything. Well the idea hit the ground running and others planned the day. It was a beach and pizza day. It was rather fun must I say. I got to get to know people a bit more, hangout on a beach and ‘attempt’ to become an ok Frisbee thrower (Ultimate Frisbee btw) After the beach we headed to Pizza Jambori ( which hands down is claimed the best Pizza shop in the entire prefecture) and we all ordered pizza. Deciding that the good times shouldn’t end, I invited half the crew back to my place for cards and drinks. That was great fun as well, and it kinda felt like I “broke in” my apartment since I had people over.

Monday the 18th thru the 20th I was at a English camp for upper Elementary school children. I was a bit nervous because of the leadership responsibilities I had to undergo, but everything ended up going rather well. I came up with a workshop for the kids to do, and it turned out soo much better then I could have imagined. I taught the kids how to make mini dream catchers. I had never made them before and only had a few Youtube tutorials to help me figure things out. Needless to say that even though my first time making one was with the kids it turned out nicely. Other then that we had sports day, came up with skits based on our teams category (Fall) so we naturally did Halloween skits. The kids were too adorable. They made their own masks and costumes, and this act alone reinforced that Japanese children are ridiculously talented… I’ve come to conclusion that Japanese kids aren’t “smarter” their simply made to do more and thus are a head of the curve. There were a few other groups at the camp and one was a university girls softball team, which oddly took a great interest in me. They used their best English to talk to me and couldn’t stop telling me how “amazing” I was. I told them about the sports I played back in school and other things and they just thought that was the coolest thing. Also their attempt to use slang was quite hilarious but wonderful all at the same time. I’ve experienced a few firsts while at this camp as well. A community shower( though I went after hours and showered alone lol) and squat toilets. Now whoever invented the squat toilet was not a wise man, nor do I think he liked women much. It is truly a life changing experience when your are confronted with the problem that you might “miss” your target as a female… eeto moving on!!! XD
After the kids were in bed however my boss and other coworkers were together in a kind of after hours enkai wearing pajamas and drinking and eating snacks. Its interesting that you’re basically encourage to drink in Japan lol. Nevertheless I learned more about my coworkers and them me. By the second night of this I was told by my boss that “I was an extremely talented girl and I’m lucky to be able to do all the things I can do.” Let’s just say I felt all kinds of flattered…when things like that come from your boss it truly as a impact. Also because I drink a 20oz bottle of strong sake, chu-hi, and a beer (Kirin) all in one setting I’ve been dubbed a “strong drinker” and the envy of all my coworkers because I’ve never experienced a hangover…not even after my “Ireland excursion” (some of you know about that XD!). I was even asked how I managed that, and the best thing I could tell them was “I don’t know I guess I’m lucky” XD. Camp ended yesterday evening and despite having 7am-3pm days for the days I was at camp I didn’t sleep when I returned home. I proceeded to clean my whole apartment, did a load of laundry, and watched a few movies.

Today I woke up to a few more new things. I had children’s center this morning and I drove my car on my own for the first time. It’s very… interesting to drive in Japan, but I like the mobility it gives me. Second I have internet! I still won’t be on all the time, but I should be able to post more regularly and not once every week.

K…. that’s about it for now. There are pictures from camp and from my increasingly better cooking skills( pajaun,rice fillet chicken, breakfast, etc..!!)and few more useful links for those curious about the workings here in moon country.

Heya

OOOOOk, backing up a couple days there has been several things going on with me. On the 6th of August there was a welcome Beer Garden party for everyone in group A and group B who had arrived in Japan. It took place in Toyama-shi, and there were a considerable amount of JETs there. I grabbed this clear drink that you add flavor to and became whatever flavored alcohol you like. I’m starting to get a slight liking for Kirin beer. It could be that EVERYONE drinks it , and I’m use to it being served or/and I’ve just grown to like it. I was sitting with a girl I had met at my first Orientation in New York and she was wearing an awfully low-cut tank top. Needless to say we JETs weren’t the only ones at the beer garden. There were rows of Japanese business man clearly at an enkai (party). So they were having lots of fun talking to her, and then slid comments over to me and this other girl that we were all pretty. We were asked about our jobs and where in America we were from. It was pretty interesting. On top of that, whenever there was a kanpai ( cheers) for either the JETs or the business man the other group would kanpai right along with them. Needless to say it was fun. Random Asian men wanting to take pictures with us and doing weird dances for what reason I’m not sure >.> Alcohol is a hell of a drug…

After the beer garden and a bit of bowling where this one guy named Trevor insisting on humping everyone. Thankfully we JETs are a pretty awesome group of people and no one found it offensive. Most just thought it was funny until it was them being humped : ) After that was done and over with a group of us headed off to this hip-hop bar one of the ALTs (assistant language teacher) mentioned and ended up there for a while. It was small but they played really good music and it all wasn’t hip-hop. We danced till about 11pm and me, Lawrence( kinda my next door neighbor) and Rosa( across the parking lot from my home) hurried to the train station to catch the train back to Kurobe only to find that we missed our last train. After that point we kinda stood around aimlessly for a bit and then returned back to the club where we met back up with people and continued dancing. Around 1am we changed venues to this club/bar called Penny Black. Also another great place for music and we all danced until about 3:30 am in the morning. I had a marvelous time and I think I probably sweated off a few pounds from the sheer activity. Finally however we caught the 4:30am train back to Kurobe and collapsed in our beds around 6am.

The 7th which was a Saturday I believe, I was thinking that I’d better rest up from the previous nights events, but with small coxing I decided to go to the Tatemon Festival (The Tatemon Festival (たてもん祭) held on the 7th and 8th of August is the most flamboyant of the city's festivals. Activities include fireworks and the pulling of seven giant floats called Tatemons along the sea coast to Suwa Shrine (諏訪神社). Tatemons are 15 m tall and weigh 5 tons. They sport approximately 90 lanterns, and resemble triangular sails of ships or piles of offerings in shape. This festival was held in Hawaii as part of the Honolulu Festival in both 2001. ), though we didn’t leave to late. We didn’t see the fireworks but we mainly wanted to see the big boat like floats that they’d be pulling around. I went in Yuukata(a Japanese garment, a casual summer kimono usually made of cotton. ) and attended with Rosa, Yuki (Jack’s girl friend) Brain, Rie and Shino all with the exception of Rosa I played poker with about a week before. We walked quite a ways to get to the festival but it was pretty fun. After that I went to one bar with the whole group where I got a soda, and then me, Rosa, Brain and Rie met up (after I went home and changed into some jeans and a t-shirt) at this club called MoMo’s which was in the old kinda 40’s style décor. I had good food and a few drinks and we all enjoyed eachothers company. It was funny though that Brian and Rie both said that they thought I was 26 or 27 because of the mature air I carry ( they are 29 and 35) and Rosa seemed younger then my actual age even though she’s 32. I found this complimenting, and I do enjoy hanging out with others that are older than I and perhaps have a bit more “life experience” to share with me. Nevertheless we headed home around 2am and I hit the sack.

Sunday the 9th was a clean your apartment day (though it can use cleaning again >.> ) and try to relax. Watched a ton of movies and finished the 7th Harry Potter book. Let me just say that book was good, but damn you J.K Rowling. I’ve never seen such a killing spree of so many WONDERFUL characters in my days. So mad at her for that, but grateful for the world she gave me. I’m totally a Pot-Head and I don’t care who knows it. Though now I need to find another book to fill up some time. Any suggestions???

Monday the 10th was the beginning of Toyama Orientation and because of my finish the 7th book craziness the day before I didn’t sleep so I dealt with this Orientation that lasted from 9:00 till 4:30pm on zero rest. It was good seeing everyone though, and I got to know one of my teachers from Koshino Jr. High a bit better. I don’t think I did much once I got home, but grabbed something to eat and then relaxed till Tuesday which was Orientation just with the Niikawa region JETs. It lasted about 4 hours or so and then we all went to this Indian Restaurant which was fantastic. We all ordered seconds of things and had a blast talking with each other. Towards the end I had a pretty violent allergic reaction to something and I have yet to figure out what it could’ve been. Hopefully it won’t present itself again. By the time this day was over we returned home around 8 something or so. The 12th which is the last day of Toyama Orientation we all went to the midway point of Mt. Tateyama and some climbed to the top. I was going to but my physical state was not the best at the time. My ankles were pretty week and I just wasn’t up to it. So I kinda floated around and ate my lunch that I made for myself in a Bento given to me as a present. I waited for the others to came back, and in truth I didn’t feel like I missed much The mountain will be there and if I want I’ll just head there with a group of friends later in the year and climb it then. We all chatted and then returned back to Toyama where me, Lawrence and Rosa headed back to Kurobe and returned home a little after 6pm. I however returned home to see my car parked in the driveway. Pretty exciting, and I’m getting the Key’s from Yoko-san in the morning. Not quite sure what’s in store for tomorrow but I hope it’s something light. I think I’m a bit physically worn out. ^^;;;

There is more to say but nothing very interesting. Today the 14th I’ve been working on teaching worksheets and powerpoint presentation for my classes, as well as trying to figure out what I’m doing for summer camp.

Anyway, I’ll talk to you laterz!!!

Update.. yea lol >.>

Whoa… it’s been a whirlwind of a last few days, but at the same not to bad at all. I’m in Toyama, Japan in the city of Kurobe. I’m wishing I could have written some things down before now, but with lack of internet what can you do?!

My first day after I touched down all the Toyama JETs were met with signs and banners at baggage claim with our names on them. We headed off to our separate group of people and were off towards our apartment, but not before being treated to a rather nice sushi lunch. Me, another JET who happened to be in my same apartment complex and four other board of education members ate happily and ended lunch with Mango ice-cream. After that we were brought to our apartments. T’was very exciting to have my OWN place. It was bigger than I thought which was another plus!. Didn’t get to spend long looking it over though.. since there was a Niikawa welcoming party the same night!

So I ended up going to this welcome party which was quite fun. Found out that almost everyone was just as big of a nerd as me ( Harry Potheads, DnD, Anime, Manga, Lord of the Rings, Hereos, and the list goes on!) Needless to say I was QUITE tired by the time I got home and went to bed shortly after a failed attempt to unpack all my belongings and put them away the same night.

The next two days were full with errands and official orders. During these two days I applied for my gaijin-card, received my hanko (personal stamp/seal) , opened up a bank account, applied for internet to be set up in my home, went car shopping, got a keitai (cell phone) which I was super excited about! (yay! Japanese Iphone!!!.. >.> yea I know.. splurge much, but ooo soo good!! The IPhone is one sexy beast!). Anyway.. <.< …. Yes umm, right, so let’s see what else. I’ve gone grocery shopping twice (but cost below $45 bucks so not so bad).

After those first two days the next two were rather uneventful. Just kinda spent the days in my apartment doing random things, and thinking about what I’d have to do next as far as my schedule goes. Saturday August 1st I went into Toyama city for a festival for fireworks which was quite nice. After that we all went to a new JET party and everyone I hadn’t seen since we arrived to Toyama was there. So needless to say we exchanged cell numbers and complained how retarded hot we were.

*Break away from timeline*

It’s F’in hot in Kurobe. Not so much the heat but the humidity is quite catastrophic. Perhaps it’s good for the whole “Anita lose weight” idea but I would like to keep a few electrolytes in my body. Ya know.. survival and all…

*And were back..**

So yea let’s see…after that I managed to get home and went to sleep relatively soon after. Sunday was a rather quiet day once again and right before I was going to sit down and do (or atleast attempt) to try and make lesson plans and study Katakana (cause my Japanese sucks fish hooks) another ALT stopped by and invited me out for dinner. I was happy to get out of the house so I abandoned the former for the later, and we took a nice walk to the restaurant. The restaurant is called Green Tea and the food was WONDERFUL!, and now that I know it’s there AND in walking distance I’ll more then likely with become a regular. It was fun hanging out with her (Rosaria) and we found out a lot about each other and it looks like we are going to become close. Pending travel plans have already been discussed between us, but I won’t say where. I’ll let that be a surprise!

And the 3rd was my first official working day. I went to a children’s center where the only thing I did was watch kids play and play with some kids a bit. I have noticed that the boy children are very dominant over their area. I know if it was back home the girls would have knocked a tooth loose over something like that but different cultures different rules I guess. Car purchasing will actually occur tomorrow, and from that point I need to get things ready for my workshops at summer camp in a week or two as well as try to visit and work at all my schools. I know I’m going to get SOOOO lost. If driving on the right side and on the left lane isn’t enough I have to find my way around. -____- wish me luck!

Continued… to next day….

*side note: didn’t get the car.. next week -__-

I visited the three schools I’ll be teaching and introduced myself to the staff room members at each school. It was quite nerve racking, but I got through it. One Japanese English teacher even told me she was impressed with my Japanese. I told her I knew very little, and honestly it was rather basic, but perhaps I said it with enough accuracy and fluency she was impressed. So at least I know at once school I have a good start ^_^

Random things:
Today the 4th is the first day of sun and no rain. Which was nice, and I rode my bike to a few places (exhausted) but let’s just say I almost had a few spills. It’s been a VERY long time since I’ve been on a bike. Though the forecast is looking like rain the rest of the week. It’s seriously Brittan’s bastard child here when it come to the rainy season. However it will be over soon enough.

I honestly eat everything I hate here. I eat things that still move, have never seen anything resembling a flame or contain 12 different herbs, and thus is brown from the sheer level of organic-ness. Thankfully here or there I get things that appeal to my tastes, but I figured it’s all for the best. The less I eat at meals and the healthier I eat the better it is for me.

Started a workout routine: walk about 2-3 miles 3 times a week and go to the gym once a week. I have an enthusiastic (thin ironically enough) workout buddy and it makes the process easier in general. So wish me luck on that endeavor.
For everyone’s knowledge there is like every flavor Pocky here. I’ve never been huge on pocky and I’m willing to try a few new flavors since I’m here. I am also willing to bring some home with me next year for anyone who wants an exotic flavor box of pocky. There is a picture that shows some of the kinds of pocky, and the sheer amount of it all.

That and for some reason I bought like four pairs of chopsticks at the 100yen store (a bit ridiculous I know).

Umm I think that’s it this time… there are pictures (Tokyo Orientation (one of me and Alden whom happened to wear the same colors ^_^) Welcome parties, Festivals, Rosea Pocky (in that order) and more). Enjoy!!