Busy Busy Busy

OK!!! Let's continue...

September 5th:

Today was Koshino's and Takase's sports day. My plan was to go to Koshino's sports day in the morning and in the afternoon travel to Takase to watch the remainder of their sports events. Well as luck turned out I ended up waking up two hours later then I was supposed to. I blame this half on the fact my alarm didn't go off and the other half on being out the night before and thusly being rather exhausted. Nevertheless I made it to Koshino and sat outside with both the principle and the PTA leader who spoke pretty good English. So I talked with him briefly then focused on watching the sporting events. I only manged to see a couple races before it was time for lunch. I hadn't planned on being at Koshino during lunch so I had nothing to eat. I was ok with this simply based off the fact that I normally don't eat shortly after I wake up. However one of the teachers, whom I think is rather nice and friendly asked if I wanted to share. Well I declined but she insisted. However by “share” she meant give me her entire bento and she snag some food off a friend. I felt pretty bad about that, but she said it was just fine. I'll have to do something nice for her in the future. After lunch I went back outside to see the cheering competition that the kids had. The cheer competitions are very serious. Red against white with hand painted banners on each side of the field. I have to admit that I liked the Red teams cheering part of sports day better. The cheer competition is basically a 6 minute show case of how great their respective cheers are. To display their ability to act as one, have leadership, and to prove that they are the best team. If I remember correctly the cheer competition was won by the red team. Nevertheless I couldn't stay at Koshino, and drove with all speed to Takase to watch the rest of the competition. There I met with the principle and Enrique( a fellow JET) and we watched the rest of the competition. My favorite event at this school was the wrestling event. One boy climbs on the back of two others. They meet up in the middle and try to knock the opposing teams top member off. The boys who were on the others shoulders worn karate/judo jackets. It was truly original and a bit dangerous. I'm positive even if we had sports day the boys at our schools would not be able to do this type of event. Nevertheless I ended my day there around 3 in the afternoon, and headed home.

Around two hours later I was picked up by the vice-principle of Takase to go to my first enkai. This enkai was to be held at an onsen place not too far away from where I live. I got there and was greeted by a nice women who pointed to where I wold be sitting. It was along the same row as the Principle and it had my name on a label. Each person had their own personal table with food decoratively placed on fancy plates and bowls. Every two people had their own full bottle of beer which was quite nice. Once the opening speech was over we ate. Granted the food was questionable at times, I made the best of it. Although I'm not big on beer I find that if I don't like the taste of a particular food, beer gets rid of the taste rather fast. Along side of beer there was sake offered. I find it funny that I was the first one to ask for sake out of a room of Japanese people, however me being the sole drinker of sake didn't last. ^ ^ After a while of this I noticed that people leaving their seats with a bottle in and and walking around sitting in front of others tables. They would pour them a drink and engage in conversation. I was approached by several people and I spoke to them as best I could. Enrique helped a little with translation. Finally I got up and walked around. I ended up going to those who knew at least a little English. It was enlightening and all together fun. After this I was slightly forced to sing one karaoke song that went horribly considering I didn't know the words XD. When it was time to leave most of us ended up heading to another small spot to get drinks. This was even more relaxed because I talked with people about anime, what they like, where we've been in the world, all the while drinking and laughing. They were very nice and I enjoyed their company. They even paid for the cable car ride home for me. I was also told that I was going to get and Miyasaki present from one of my fellow co-workers but we will see if he remembers. I would remind him but somehow I think that would be rude ^ ^;; .

Sunday September 6th:
Thankfully nothing exciting happened today. I was more then happy to do a little bit of nothing. I watched some anime and attempted to clean my apartment. It's a bit messy.

September 7th(Monday):

Monday back at Chuo Elementary school. To be honest this day is a bit of a blur. I know I had a good time with the kids and I do remember giving my self introduction to one of my classes again. The major issue with this was the fact that apparently some kid who normally doesn't participate in class participated in my class, and then proceeded to ask me in all seriousness “how I wanted to die” >.> Now.. this is a strange question to say the least... he's going to be one of -those- kids. However I feel like I should come up with an answer for him.. see how that goes. * smirk * I also believe we practiced flag and country names. Well after work I got home and I honestly couldn't tell you what happened after that. ^_^

September 8th(Tuesday):

Today I was late for work by 20 minutes. I was very tired from the night before (don't know why) and my alarm once again neglected to wake me. Nevertheless I apologized profusely and I think the principle even till today is kinda off about it. Not because he's mad but because I was so apologetic. Despite this I had pretty good classes. I like the kids at Koshino so that helps. Once I got home if I remember correctly I laid down. It was rather rainy . I was told about a deal on PS3's and made it happen. For the life of me I don:t remember what day I went to the bank and roamed through Kurobe on an electronics binge but I know I officially have a PS3 120gig as of today. I bought Heavenly Sword for it, and although I like it I find it a bit difficult to play based off the simple fact that the games functions are all in Japanese, but the dialogue in game play is all in English. It's nice having a PS3 and being capable to afford one without worry even though the price has dropped. I look forward to buying BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, and purchasing Bayonetta when that comes out. However I might wait till it comes out in the US and have one shipped here. We shall see.

September 9th (Wednesday) :

Today I was back at Chuo Elementary school, and now that my self introduction classes were over we focused on learning numbers. I reviewed the numbers with the class first ( 1-20) and then we played the seven steps game. It's a song you sing. It goes like:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10

8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

You sing the numbers out once, and then the trick is to take away a number and replace that with an action. So if I were to take away the number 4 then that number would be replaced like so: 1 2 3 *clap * 5 6 7. Well to make it fun and interesting for the kids I made a lot of funny noises and actions for them to do every time we replaced a number. The kids had an absolute ball. Although I learned the basics of this song from an orientation group, I added my own charm to it, and the teachers said they've never seen anything like it, and that they enjoyed it immensely. I quite enjoyed it myself because the kids were so happy. I also did my first lunch speech today. Lunch speech is when I come up with a short comment about anything I want and tell the children over the intercom. My JTE (Japanese teacher of English) translates after every few lines. I made a question box as well and I really hope there are a lot of questions for me. That way I know the kids are interested and that they want to get to know me better. Teaching 3rd and 4th grades are rather tiring. I do most of the teaching in Chuo so it takes even more energy out of me. I don't direct as much in the Jr high schools, I definitely just do more assisting with the occasional lead in a speaking activity.

Once I returned home from work I got a call from Lawrence telling me that we were going to meet Jack for sushi. Though as tired as I am I try not to miss the opportunity to go someplace new or with friends. So we end up at this sushi place in Uozu (the next town over) and had sushi. I stayed away from most things, but took a picture or two of things I would never eat. I mostly had tuna sushi which is their version of tuna fish with seaweed, rice and corn. It was quite tasty. We lingered their for awhile all the while chatting with this friend of a friend that was staying in Jacks place. Shes a nice girl and is here in Japan on vacation. Leaving the sushi bar however there was invitation to go to the onsen. I declined and stayed at home. Outside of being tired I still haven't settled with the idea of onsens quite yet. Perhaps one day soon.

September 10th (Thursday) :

Back at Takase and once again I didn't have classes. It's weird because as it's looking I'm never going to teach there. XD There wasn't even a computer for me to work on, so I basically drew in my sketchbook the whole time. I had some success but nothing I think is all that great. Around one or so I tried to walk around because it was becoming epically hard for me to stay awake. So I ended up taking my phone and going outside on one of the balconies. It was very sunny and the school grounds are rather pretty so I snapped a few shots of that. I also took this opportunity to sit on the balcony floor under some nearby shade and just reseted there. I think I faded in and out of sleep for nearly and half an hour. It was a perfect place to catch a nap but I wouldn't want to get caught. So after that rather reflective/relaxing/anime moment I went back inside and was oddly refreshed for most of the remainder of the day. At the end of the day I did stay for a little past the time I'm suppose to, to watch badminton practice. Some of those kids were good, and would have given my badminton team in high school a run for their money... and I'm sure they'd win most of the money. They practice more technique then we ever did and they practice longer as well.



Getting home I managed to get up enough will to begin power cleaning my apartment. I mean bleach for days kinda power clean. Granted I managed to finish the bathroom and the kitchen, the living room is little to be desired. I would have finished more if I wasn't invited out to Okinomiyaki with Jack and the crew again. I went of course and we all had fun talking and making our own okinomiyaki at the table grills. We ofcourse talked about potential game nights ( DnD, magic, Video games etc) and other excursions/ trips we should all go on. After that place we stopped at another place around the corner for drinks. It was a cute Japanese/Moroccan styled place. Ironically the owner of the store was the same women who did the belly dancing at the outdoor music show the past week. Very small town XD It was simple taking and light drinks. No one could afford to get tipsy or wanted to for that matter. Just all around good company. Once that was over I made it home and talked with mother dearest for a bit. Then to bed I went!!!

First Week of School ^^

Lets see.. my first official week of school started last Tuesday on the 1st of September. I went to Koshino Jr. High school. I gave an introduction speech in front of the school in retarded four year old Japanese and then was ready to start the day. I only had two classes because the kids were preparing themselves for the sports day activities that coming Saturday. I had a absolutely wonderful time during these two classes. We played the true and false game with money. This game was my introduction speech as all the questions were about me. Much like back home I tend to be fond of the boys over the girls. They are more open to mess up if they say the English words wrong and they are quite funny. The girls are sweet and mostly very quite. There are a few that have some real spunk and I must say I enjoy that. Other then my two classes that day I spent most of my time watching them practice out on the field. The Japanese are truly serious about Sports day. The kind of work and discipline and thought that goes into the preparation of sports day is amazing. Also the kids come up with the majority of the things they were doing during the cheer competition and such so the responsibility level is high. Nevertheless, the day went so well that on my way home I was on cloud nine. The weather contributed to my mood since it was quite sunny and everything seemed to glow a brighter color then usual. I even took pictures of random rice fields and house on my way back home because I was so happy. Went I got home I wanted to go out and celebrate my first day but everyone was quite sleep. So I decided to take a nap and ended up sleeping clear to the next day of work.

Wednesday 2nd:
Today I went to Chuo Elementary school. I had four or five classes. A few of the kids recognized me from the children centers I had went to during their summer vacation. Needless to say I got fairly tackled. Well not in hugs but more like random clings to my hands and arms. I'm not sure that the Japanese really hug each other all that much. Needless to say that this day was rather enjoyable as well. I had power point presentations for the kids and they were all quite impressed that me, a foreigner and a black one at that could like video games, anime and so on. Japanese children are so ridiculously cute that I must stick with my theory that they are genetically engineered to look cute, otherwise it would simply not be fair. During my lunch break some of the girls came into the office and gave me a origami flower with a ornate panda sticker in the middle and told me it was a present for me. They then asked the principle and the Japanese English teacher I work with if they could take me and play. Of course I agreed and we spent some time making random origami objects. Needless to say I was rather genki myself and rode home planning once again to celebrate my first days at work. I ended up going out with Rosa to this “steak” restaurant for a hardy meal. However I am forced to say that although the meal was good, there is no such thing as real beef in Japan. I LIVE in the country and I've never seen a cow. >.> After dinner we headed back home.

Thursday 3rd:
This was Takase Jr. High school, and I had no classes whatsoever. I haven't met any of my students at Takase because they were all practicing for their sports day as well. However I gave the principle his Italian tie I bought as omiyage(gift) and he put it on immediately. It seems he really like it, and it looked really nice on him at that. Later on in the day he invited me down to his office to get to know me better. Toshi( the English teacher I work with for that school) came with me as the mediator/translator for the both of us. Let me say that it must be nice to be a principle in Japan. That office was flippin dank. I mean plush leather furniture and large windows, plaques and carpet, and cherry wood items and furniture. I was like “whoa....” He served us dango(japanese sweet), and coffee while we talked. He seems to be a really nice guy and it was nice that he went through the trouble to get to know me. I have to say that though I had a nice day, it was damned hard to stay awake when I had nothing to do for around 8 hours. I went home and honestly I don't remember what I did when I got home so I'll skip that.

Friday 4th:
I return to Koshino, but like Takase Jr. High they were preparing for sports day so all classes were canceled so they could practice and prepare. For most of th day at school, I just went around saying hi to the students and watching them practice. One thing is for sure however... I could never do what these kids do. No wonder most of these kids are in shape... if they weren't they'd never make it through their PE classes. If America did half the things these kids did in PE the weight problem would drop significantly. Come on America... hop on it! So once again another good day at work. Friday didn't come to an end after work however. Me, Rosa, Lawrence and several other coworkers including my boss Fujita-san all met up at this nice Karaoke bar around 7pm to welcome a new ALT. This was one hell of a party. I walked in and paid my 2000yen and then got paid for my summer camp help. Then we went into the room and had a whole bunch of snacks and alcohol. MY boss and Yoko also brought a special jug of sake with them that was an rather high in alcohol content. They said it was strong and that they wanted me to try it because I had mentioned before that I could take strong liquor. When I took some of it and didn't bat an eye, they were highly impressed. Since this was a karaoke bar, there was lots of singing to be had, and finally everyone got to hear me sing. My first song was rather shaky because I was hella nervous, but after three cans of something and everyone having a good time I loosened up and just sung songs. Let's just say went I sung Crazy by Gnarles Barkely they had a fit. From that moment on (My drunk boss) told me that he loved my singing and only wanted to hear more of my singing. -^_^- It was flattering but a little unnerving all at the same time. I received ridiculous amounts of praise throughout the night as I kept on singing other songs. On top of that my boss kept screaming out my name and other people gave that “OMFG where the hell have you been hiding this voice” look. It’s nice but I don’t want to be invited to too many karaoke parties. XD So towards the end of the night my bosses wife came in and well she was interesting >.> She got kinda drunk and hugged a lot of people. Then she came to me >_<;;;;; Well she hugged me waaaaay too much and waaaaay too tight and waaaaaay to long and she kissed my cheek about a dozen times and kinda landed a few dead on the lips. THANK GOD she was drunk cause I would have been pissed! XD MOVING ON….. I have ice-cream!!! which makes everything better. Finally it was time to go and I got home and for the most part passed straight out!

****Pics will come next post!!!

^^ More abouts stuffs >.> hehehe

So with any luck I’ll be able to post more in the future. Even though I have the internet (it isn’t the best) whenever I have a free moment I don’t feel up to writing. >_<;; Lame I know.
Anyway it’s been a week plus so let me try and fill the gaps in.

August 22nd(Saturday): Two friends from Takaoka, well one friend and her husband decided they wanted to pay me a visit. I went to go pick them up at the train station and we went straight to dinner a Pizza Jamborei. They were truly pleased with the food choice and thought it best to come visit me whenever they are free for good company and good food. After that I drove back to my place while the whole way complaining about how it isn’t the safest feeling to drive in Japan. When we arrived at my apartment Nicole’s husband plugged in the Xbox360 and we all began to play BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. The game itself is quite fun, and I had some decent skill in playing it while back home on the PS3, but all skill went out the window on the Xbox controller. It didn’t help that I hadn’t played it for over a month, so when I finally had my hands on it again I couldn’t remember any specials (not that I could have pulled it off on that controller in the first place >.> ) Other than that we spoke of our hobbies and how we can’t wait to start DnD, and watch anime together and swap music. They are a cool set of cats and I can’t wait to see them again.

August 26th(Wednesday): After a couple days of doing little to nothing I had children center again this morning, and as always the children were cute and once they warmed up were fun to play with. Later on that day my friend Rosa asked me if I wanted to go to a foot onsen with her. It was a why not kind os response and I went with her to Unazuki for the onsen. The water was unbelievably hot, but it did do wonders for my feet. Ironically enough we were in time for a festival that was taking place an hour after we had finished using the onsen. I was very excited and with a little persuasion I convinced her to stay for the festival. The festival if I’m correct was about the harvest, and for the life of me I can’t remember the name of this particular festival. In either case, there was dancing and singing. I bought a cool Japanese festival hat, which I’ll wear for fun one day XD. I even learned a bit of the dance during the “let’s try to teach the audience” part of the festival. It was quite fun, and I’m glad that even though the original trip itself was just for something to do, the latter part of it was truly a treat!

August 27th(Thursday):I had a planning session with one of my JTE (Japanese teachers of English) for my elementary school. The teacher I’m working with is very nice. After planning I ran a lot of errands, though there is some more things I need to take care of. I went to the bank, retrieved my gaijin card, handled my cell phone issues, and checked my mail (which I don’t do that often). I also drove around and tried to better acquaint myself with the area. Driving is hard enough in Japan without knowing where you’re going. However I returned home around 5pm only to turn around and hop in my friend’s car and ride to Jack’s house for a cookout. It was a nice cookout. It was an “American” cookout. Had the most meat I’ve had since I’ve been in Japan. Just plates of meat which we all split and shared (there were veggies too so there was ‘some’ balance XD). Funny thing about it was the fact that we were eating all this American style food with chopsticks. Good food, good company, but I was eaten alive by mosquitoes. I suppose that’s what I get for wearing a skirt for the first (and possibly the last) time in Japanese summer weather. After that we went inside for some poker. I didn’t win this time, lost 40 cents but I don’t consider that a huge loss ^^;;.

August 29th(Saturday): So here we go with anther English camp. This time I had to prepare or assist in teaching about Enviromental Issues and information on Sneek, a city in the Netherlands, The purpose of this Enlgish Camp was to train these 8 junior high school girls on what they should know and act while they take their one week trip to the Netherlands. Kurobe(city where we l live) and Sneek, Netherlands (pronounced sn-aek) are sister cities so this trip is basically for international/cultural exchange. This camp was just as fun as the pervious camp, though the kids here being around the ages of 14-16 were far more capable of understanding simple English. The first day we had workshops and the kids paired up in four groups and demonstrated the traditional Japanese culture activities they were planning on showing the students in the Netherlands. One was martial arts: Judo and Karate, next was tea ceremony, then Calligraphy and finally a poet based card game. The children also preformed two traditional Japanese dances which we were told to learn with them. They bought us paper fans and we did our best to learn the dance with them. It was quite fun, and I quite enjoyed learning how to use the brush for Calligraphy. The girl Reina who seemed to take quite a liking to me, demonstrated Calligraphy and told me that I had a natural awareness on how to write Kanji. Perhaps it’s the art background that helped me with that, but it was nice to hear that I was pretty good at it. Also the woman who taught the girls how to do the traditional Japanese dances told me that I danced them well. Well the first day being as full as it was, was quite exhausting, but much like the pervious camp, that night my boss had a “teachers meeting” after the kids were suppose to go to bed, and we all talked and drunk Chu-hi, beer, and Sake. A karaoke party had been set for the group for this upcoming Friday and my boss told me that he couldn’t wait to hear me sing. >___<;;; I swear it’s peoples life ambition to hear me sing here. It’s so weird!! XD.

August 30th( Sunday): Nevertheless the next day came around, I opted to sleep during breakfast and free time, and felt better for it. The second and last day was much like the first but in pushed in half the time. Dancing, and traditional activities, playing with traditional Japanese toys etc… When it was time to disband and leave the girl Reina stopped in suddenly and told me to come with her. She asked me for me email address because she wanted to talk to me again. Later on that day she sent me the cutest email telling me that she wanted to talk to me again and to sing karaoke with me (see the singing things again >.>). I got home around 3:45pm and had enough time to rest my feet for about an hour or so before changing clothes and heading out with Brian and Rie to this outdoor local music thing Kurobe was having. Getting to the area was a chore. Sooo many flipping steps. I literally thought I was going to die. I need to go to the gym ASAP cause that took too much work. Moving past that part though, we met up with Yuki and found a spot on the lawn to sit. They had kid pools full of alcohol and all you can eat items on the stage. It was relatively quite the first hour or so I was there. Some bands that weren’t really good, and a random group of Japanese people who came and pulled me over to their group cause I was sitting alone for a few while the others were getting drinks. They gave me beer and feed me something they fried on the grill. I’m not quite sure it was, and I’m sure that is for the better. If I had known I might not have been too keen on trying it. Well I rejoined my group and me, Yuki, and Lawrence went to that noodle slide thing where you catch the noodles that slide down the water shoot. I must be getting pretty good with joshin cause I caught a whole hell of a lot of noodles. After a while of sitting and listening to random bands, a group of fire dancers/ twirlers formed behind us. It was quite an exhilarating show to watch. Especially one guy who was particular skilled at twirling the flaming strings and looked really hot doing it (no pun intended). After that rather entertaining sight the crew went on stage where we spent the rest of the evening. Really cool songs dance by cute girls doing Japanese dance moves, but not para para to my knowledge. Then there was an Asian belly dancer who was pretty good, and looked flippin phenomenal. Anyone who look 27 at 40 deserves a prize, that and well damn Asian jeans. Perhaps I’ll acquire some stay young longer genes if I eat enough of their food. *crosses fingers* After dancing around with a bunch of random Asian people and getting my picture taken and told I was a great dancer and my ass slapped a couple a dozen times things quieted down and lots of talking with multiple people ensued. I talked to this group of boys my age (the only ones my age I’ve found XD) about boyfriend and girlfriends, things were into, and cup sizes. Let’s say that was a fun yet awkward conversation. Then there was a guy who kept wanting me to get on his back so he could piggy back me. I don’t know if I said this before but he was really built.. I was quite surprised (nice surprise but surprise nonetheless). I also talked to this one guy who got the cooks to make me food cause I was hungry and thought I was the cutest thing on the planet. Got mine and my friend Lawrence’s numbers and hopefully this will lead to many a party and outings in the future. Nevertheless, after this it was finally time to get home. Believe it or not, despite all the hoopla we got home by one, and then I proceeded to get comfortable and sleep was right around the corner!!!! Ok that’s it for this post before it reached some two thousand words. Catch ya later loves!!!!!!!!!!

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!!

1st Day Full Report!

Ok let’s see... I’m tired as hell, but it’s a good tired. Thirteen hour straight plane ride to an two hour bus ride to Tokyo and then browsing around Shinjuku (Tokyo) from around 4:30pm till around 9pm. Magically enough there has been no culture shock, no feeling out of place ( on my part) rooming with a rather cool chick from NY and having a warm (removable shower head *wink) shower to top off the night.

I received about twenty pounds (Literally) of informational material and our schedules for the next two days of orientation. While walking around Tokyo after receiving our room assignments me and my room-mate went to find food. I ended up having (chicken, egg, and rice w/ miso soup and green tea).

After that we were on the hunt for sweets and I just so happened to run into a street performer known as Irie Yosuke ( "Phenomenon of the Earth" he so calls himself) who on a flute like instrument of some kind was playing Chrono Cross music. For those of us who understand the epicness and all around pleasantness which is Chrono Cross’s soundtrack will know how flippin awesome that is.

Shits and Giggles

There is manga in the 7-11 (enough said)

Went into a department store and looked at the lingerie. As I suspected, there was absolutely nothing in that entire department that would be able to fit my two friends. Though some things were cute and would be nice to wear, I find it far more amusing (and cost effective) that I simply have a bigger bust size then 95% of Japanese women.

You all know about the bend in knee pose by anime girls that signify shyness and intensely high levels of cuteness?? Well as an observation… that isn’t just in the cartoons. Most women here are naturally built that way... but to burst your bubble that isn’t called cute, it’s called being bold legged. For those who don’t know what that is, it is a: deformity marked by medial angulation of the leg in relation to the thigh, an outward bowing of the legs, giving the appearance of a bow.

Finally because we were on a desperate search for something sweet and cold, my room-mate and I found frozen tiramisu at the local KFC and had a sit down to eat up, and get out of the heat.

Here are a few photos of my first meal, my room-mate ( for Tokyo orientation) and Tokyo itself.