On the behearst of my parents I finally zipped to the nearest (and seemingly-only) internet-cum-manga cafe near my apartment to hopefully call home. Sadly the cafe only has internet and no webcams so text is the best way to go.
Anyway it`s Y300 for membership and Y378 per hour of internet surfing/manga reading. I guess before I get my internet connection, this is a cool place to hang around. Boy do I miss the internet!
Before this I was at the supermarket grabbing my cheapo dose of Y315 for 3 buns when my third earthquake experience took place. The supermarket shook strongly for 5 seconds then slowly for another 10 seconds. What`s the feeling like? It`s like blurry, as if you have just stepped off from the roller coaster. However it was a strong one as it was the first time i hear something drop onto the floor - a can. When it happened, I straightaway look at the 2 aunties near me and see what their reactions are - they were trying to decide whether to run.However the earthquake stopped so they carried on. I just pretended to be blur, saying `oh is that an earthquake?` in japanese and then stand with them and see what they will do.
Haha!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
160808 - post drinking
。。。A rather cheery good morning!
I sit on the musty sofa in my room. IV is sleeping in a corner. I look around the apartment and cannot imagine I am in Japan. It seems like nothing is really different. Language remains just as mysterious and the years of studying Japanese has helped in not making everyday life a totally alien concept but something that gets by with some reading and a lot of guesswork. Considering the complexity of human relations and character, I cannot detect so far a difference in how there might be a cultural chasm that separates one from the other. But perhaps that is the exact chasm that exists, that I continue to live in my own dream and merry-making while the external party treats me as nothing but a passing inconvenience that will flitter away after a while.
That makes me wonder if I am talking as if I am trying to become part of the group. To that, the answer is simple - it never will be. As such, there is nothing more than just to live my life to what I think I would like to achieve, and try having fun in the process.
Yesterday sounds like a mistake actually!
Oh well, we learn.
I sit on the musty sofa in my room. IV is sleeping in a corner. I look around the apartment and cannot imagine I am in Japan. It seems like nothing is really different. Language remains just as mysterious and the years of studying Japanese has helped in not making everyday life a totally alien concept but something that gets by with some reading and a lot of guesswork. Considering the complexity of human relations and character, I cannot detect so far a difference in how there might be a cultural chasm that separates one from the other. But perhaps that is the exact chasm that exists, that I continue to live in my own dream and merry-making while the external party treats me as nothing but a passing inconvenience that will flitter away after a while.
That makes me wonder if I am talking as if I am trying to become part of the group. To that, the answer is simple - it never will be. As such, there is nothing more than just to live my life to what I think I would like to achieve, and try having fun in the process.
Yesterday sounds like a mistake actually!
Oh well, we learn.
150808 - in an inebriated state
I am now close to an inebriated state after a shower and returning from my first izakaya trip where I bared most of the most deep-seated worries I have with my supervisor. While he was clever to state that most of his comments were from his past experiences, I think they are worth taking close to where I am starting from this semester. I have yet to teach in class by the way.
It was interesting how he indirectly point references to particular teachers, such as instead of X teacher, he goes, "The teacher who is in charge of Y club when I know very well what Y club is and who the corresponding teacher is.
A point I thought I would like to highlight is how he thinks I am not an easy-going person even though I have declared that in a previous email to him. That makes him worry actually, because he is concerned I might have set expectations which would not be fulfilled knowing the difficult combination in dynamics between the Japanese teacher and students whenever I step into class.
It was interesting how he indirectly point references to particular teachers, such as instead of X teacher, he goes, "The teacher who is in charge of Y club when I know very well what Y club is and who the corresponding teacher is.
A point I thought I would like to highlight is how he thinks I am not an easy-going person even though I have declared that in a previous email to him. That makes him worry actually, because he is concerned I might have set expectations which would not be fulfilled knowing the difficult combination in dynamics between the Japanese teacher and students whenever I step into class.
Friday, August 15, 2008
4th day in IBRK
It is National Day today! I actually do feel a little excited for the country actually, especially when I am far away from home. I had wanted to share my 'joy' with UD yesterday but never really got the chance to since we were always either shopping for my house accessories or discovering more subtle differences between our cultures.
Anyway, I finally cooked my first dinner today! I had a ham and cheese omelette and XX rice XX porridge. Don't laugh! Halfway through the rice-cooking process I opened up to check on progress and felt it was getting a little dry so I added half a cup of water only to realise I got porridge in the end. So it is 3-4 handfuls of rice with 1.5 cups of water to make 2 servings of 'porridge'. I made a couple of mistakes though, of which one is fatal! For one, I was so silly to get a plastic ladle and I only realised it was melted at the sides after dinner! I have a strong feeling some pieces of plastic are in me...
Bon voyage, humankind.
I remembered to heat the frying pan since it is the first time of use so as to get rid of the protective layer of oil - yay! However subsequently I didn't know how hot is hot and initially when I poured in the egg mixture, it popped, sizzled and I had to run for cover! HELP!!!
Looking forward to trying more combinations next time!
I just had a jelly-looking dessert that this french-looking bakery is selling this summer. It has this runny transparent jelly on the top with pieces of pomelo and berries. The bottom is a vanilla-flavoured jelly. Yummylicious! It costs Y300 though, which is around $3.80. Aiyo so ex, now to think about it! I also could not resist myself and bought a piece of "babaroa of mango" (mango cake-looking). Y360 - #4.30~! Oh gosh I will be penniless in no time!
Today was quite a fulfilling one, though a continuation of administrative work predominantly. After waking up in the morning at a bright 6am (nuts!), I was bored so I decided to start cleaning! I hope I didn't irritate the neighbours! I vacuumed the floor and especially the sofa which I inherited since it was really dusty and gross (will most probably have to pay a little). Now it looks much better, yay! After that, I took a shower and decided to find my way to KTT on Monday as my supervisor will be away on shyuchyo (business trip). Along the way, I found the one and only place which makes hankos and that was where mine came from as well. The cheapest, which was the one I got (UD!!!) costs only Y830 ($10) and the next one will start from Y2000 ($24). Anyone wants one? Anyway the 100-yen shops has pre-made ones, so if you don't mind being a Tanaka you can get a cheap hanko! I think it makes a great present from Japan.
After passing by the shop, I went past this fruits and vegetables stall which I decided to stop and get some fruits since the conversations would also be fun as well. It went rather well and I bought some bananas and grapes. We chatted quite a bit as well, though with some miscommunication at times as I did not really understand her words. I also passed by a shoe shop where I grabbed 2 sets of indoor slip-ons for school. That conversation was the most enjoyable - it covered a breadth of topics from the different ways English is spoken across the world and also Ibaraki dialect and how I am going to have to re-study what I have learnt for Japanese!
I am looking at my hands now and indeed the grocery lady was right - I am much tanner now thanks to the sun in Japan! Seriously, it doesn't feel like it is overexposed and burning, but the tan is obvious. I guess I need to take better care. Maybe I should get some sunblock tomorrow.
That was all for today I guess.
Yesterday was rather meaningful as well. UD fetched me to school on his car at 8.30am and left me at my desk while he went on to attend a workshop on this AED electrical system that the students will have to learn. After cleaning my table, a few teachers were very nice and approached me for conversation, and we had a good time because they have prior experience with Singapore as that was where the third years went last year for their school trip. This year will be Taiwan, which sounds exciting as well and I told UD that food is wonderful there (as well as adventurous). I really had nothing better to do after an hour or so, so I poked around in the pantry (nothing fun) and some guidebooks (which shows the school syllabus). They were from past years though, so I guess I should ask UD for the latest ones and hope he will pass them to me.
I really feel very fortunate that I came to Japan with some Japanese language background, as I could understand roughly what all the notices on the walls say and I could guess the rest with a smattering of Chinese. Anyway I finally gave up, left a note on my desk for UD saying I am walking around school and off I went.
The school consists of 2 main blocks: a classroom block where the teachers' office and library is and a technical block where the students will go for their specialisations in a particular technical field. As it was the summer vacation, the students who came were busy jamming in those rooms and how I wished I could join them, especially if I had better musical skills! Finally I headed to the library which UD is in charge of and he showed me on my first day on Thursday. There were a group of students doing some work when I went in and I could only murmur a little simple greeting that I am the new teacher. They were great - they could recall my predecessor and I left them at that. However one of the students was struggling with an English comprehension assignment which he needs to complete in order to apply to take a teaching course in English language at university. It is rather tough for Japanese in my opinion, so the group was rather clueless about the questions. After a while the librarian roped me in to help out and the other students left, except for the student who needs to finish his work. And so it was a mini-tutoring session of sorts, and it really made my day as it was the first time I have taught in Japan and the student was really receptive. It really is great when one is lucky to come across motivated students, yeah?
However UD came back from his workshop in an hour, so we told the student to work hard by himself and I offered him to look me up at the staff room on Monday. I then went out for lunch with UD, where he brought me to Coco's which is a family restaurant chain. The lunch was rather nice and similar in idea with Jack's Place though the ambience is closer to that of MacDonalds. We then went to grab a keitai (handphone), only to have an anal salesperson insisting I need to get my alien registration card before I can sign up. Sigh! I am looking at the P906i by Docomo, though sadly it cannot play MP3 and does not have a kanji dictionary! It is the cheapest model of the 5 megapixels series.
We then went to grab a bicycle, and I am now a proud owner of a red bicycle that set me back by Y16800 ($200!). That is so bloody expensive! But oh well...
At night was another adventure. Just as I was about to go out to explore the left side of town, a cricket flew in and I was scared out of my wits! I tried ways and means to get it to fly out but it just flies so fast and it was so alert that it jumps away when I get near to it. In the end, I was totally freaked out, jumping around the room and slashing the fly swatter wildly whenever it flies. I must been a sight, especially when I am on ground level without curtains over the windows. Anyway in the end I resorted to swat it, so its carcass is still lying in the trash bag while I wait for next week's rubbish clearance.
In the prefecture, there are only 2 segregations for trash 0 burnable and unburnable. The problem is, I am still unsure of what exactly is burnable so I hope no neighbour will be so extreme as to send me my wrongly-classified rubbish!
Alright I guess I better sleep since I wake up so late, goodnight!
Anyway, I finally cooked my first dinner today! I had a ham and cheese omelette and XX rice XX porridge. Don't laugh! Halfway through the rice-cooking process I opened up to check on progress and felt it was getting a little dry so I added half a cup of water only to realise I got porridge in the end. So it is 3-4 handfuls of rice with 1.5 cups of water to make 2 servings of 'porridge'. I made a couple of mistakes though, of which one is fatal! For one, I was so silly to get a plastic ladle and I only realised it was melted at the sides after dinner! I have a strong feeling some pieces of plastic are in me...
Bon voyage, humankind.
I remembered to heat the frying pan since it is the first time of use so as to get rid of the protective layer of oil - yay! However subsequently I didn't know how hot is hot and initially when I poured in the egg mixture, it popped, sizzled and I had to run for cover! HELP!!!
Looking forward to trying more combinations next time!
I just had a jelly-looking dessert that this french-looking bakery is selling this summer. It has this runny transparent jelly on the top with pieces of pomelo and berries. The bottom is a vanilla-flavoured jelly. Yummylicious! It costs Y300 though, which is around $3.80. Aiyo so ex, now to think about it! I also could not resist myself and bought a piece of "babaroa of mango" (mango cake-looking). Y360 - #4.30~! Oh gosh I will be penniless in no time!
Today was quite a fulfilling one, though a continuation of administrative work predominantly. After waking up in the morning at a bright 6am (nuts!), I was bored so I decided to start cleaning! I hope I didn't irritate the neighbours! I vacuumed the floor and especially the sofa which I inherited since it was really dusty and gross (will most probably have to pay a little). Now it looks much better, yay! After that, I took a shower and decided to find my way to KTT on Monday as my supervisor will be away on shyuchyo (business trip). Along the way, I found the one and only place which makes hankos and that was where mine came from as well. The cheapest, which was the one I got (UD!!!) costs only Y830 ($10) and the next one will start from Y2000 ($24). Anyone wants one? Anyway the 100-yen shops has pre-made ones, so if you don't mind being a Tanaka you can get a cheap hanko! I think it makes a great present from Japan.
After passing by the shop, I went past this fruits and vegetables stall which I decided to stop and get some fruits since the conversations would also be fun as well. It went rather well and I bought some bananas and grapes. We chatted quite a bit as well, though with some miscommunication at times as I did not really understand her words. I also passed by a shoe shop where I grabbed 2 sets of indoor slip-ons for school. That conversation was the most enjoyable - it covered a breadth of topics from the different ways English is spoken across the world and also Ibaraki dialect and how I am going to have to re-study what I have learnt for Japanese!
I am looking at my hands now and indeed the grocery lady was right - I am much tanner now thanks to the sun in Japan! Seriously, it doesn't feel like it is overexposed and burning, but the tan is obvious. I guess I need to take better care. Maybe I should get some sunblock tomorrow.
That was all for today I guess.
Yesterday was rather meaningful as well. UD fetched me to school on his car at 8.30am and left me at my desk while he went on to attend a workshop on this AED electrical system that the students will have to learn. After cleaning my table, a few teachers were very nice and approached me for conversation, and we had a good time because they have prior experience with Singapore as that was where the third years went last year for their school trip. This year will be Taiwan, which sounds exciting as well and I told UD that food is wonderful there (as well as adventurous). I really had nothing better to do after an hour or so, so I poked around in the pantry (nothing fun) and some guidebooks (which shows the school syllabus). They were from past years though, so I guess I should ask UD for the latest ones and hope he will pass them to me.
I really feel very fortunate that I came to Japan with some Japanese language background, as I could understand roughly what all the notices on the walls say and I could guess the rest with a smattering of Chinese. Anyway I finally gave up, left a note on my desk for UD saying I am walking around school and off I went.
The school consists of 2 main blocks: a classroom block where the teachers' office and library is and a technical block where the students will go for their specialisations in a particular technical field. As it was the summer vacation, the students who came were busy jamming in those rooms and how I wished I could join them, especially if I had better musical skills! Finally I headed to the library which UD is in charge of and he showed me on my first day on Thursday. There were a group of students doing some work when I went in and I could only murmur a little simple greeting that I am the new teacher. They were great - they could recall my predecessor and I left them at that. However one of the students was struggling with an English comprehension assignment which he needs to complete in order to apply to take a teaching course in English language at university. It is rather tough for Japanese in my opinion, so the group was rather clueless about the questions. After a while the librarian roped me in to help out and the other students left, except for the student who needs to finish his work. And so it was a mini-tutoring session of sorts, and it really made my day as it was the first time I have taught in Japan and the student was really receptive. It really is great when one is lucky to come across motivated students, yeah?
However UD came back from his workshop in an hour, so we told the student to work hard by himself and I offered him to look me up at the staff room on Monday. I then went out for lunch with UD, where he brought me to Coco's which is a family restaurant chain. The lunch was rather nice and similar in idea with Jack's Place though the ambience is closer to that of MacDonalds. We then went to grab a keitai (handphone), only to have an anal salesperson insisting I need to get my alien registration card before I can sign up. Sigh! I am looking at the P906i by Docomo, though sadly it cannot play MP3 and does not have a kanji dictionary! It is the cheapest model of the 5 megapixels series.
We then went to grab a bicycle, and I am now a proud owner of a red bicycle that set me back by Y16800 ($200!). That is so bloody expensive! But oh well...
At night was another adventure. Just as I was about to go out to explore the left side of town, a cricket flew in and I was scared out of my wits! I tried ways and means to get it to fly out but it just flies so fast and it was so alert that it jumps away when I get near to it. In the end, I was totally freaked out, jumping around the room and slashing the fly swatter wildly whenever it flies. I must been a sight, especially when I am on ground level without curtains over the windows. Anyway in the end I resorted to swat it, so its carcass is still lying in the trash bag while I wait for next week's rubbish clearance.
In the prefecture, there are only 2 segregations for trash 0 burnable and unburnable. The problem is, I am still unsure of what exactly is burnable so I hope no neighbour will be so extreme as to send me my wrongly-classified rubbish!
Alright I guess I better sleep since I wake up so late, goodnight!
First day in IBRK
It's now 12.10am Tokyo time and I am sitting in my new apartment trying to hunt for a mosquito. Yesterday has been terribly scary for me!
I first checked out of the hotel at 7.45am and boarded a chartered bus to my prefecture. It was really amazing by the way when we left TK and headed into Ibaraki - the scenery really changed drastically! Instead of tall skyscrapers that are characteristic of TK, the buildings melted away to rich green fields of rice. I was really amazed! Amongst these green fields are little quaint houses that tuck nicely between. Amazing!
Anyway after a 2 hour ride, we finally reached the prefecture of Ibaraki, Mito. While it was a simple ceremony we had to run through, I was totally freaked out and I kept a stern face which my supervisor UD subsequently commented that I looked too nervous when I need not be. Anyway the ceremony in retrospect was simple - first we stood in a row and as our names get called out one by one, our supervisors step out and fetch us to their seats. I felt panicky because I was trying really hard to point out who UD was. Anyway he's like this portly-looking person who is nice and genial! After we got 'collected' by our supervisors, we then had a few speeches, such as the Director of International Affairs and the Teachers' Consultant, our ultimate boss. Then we get called up one by one again to collect this letter of appointment that looks like a certificate. I'll post a picture up when I have the chance.
It was soon the end - just 30 minutes. I was totally freaked out. After that, we collected our luggage from the chartered bus which UD was so nice to help me carry. That was when I realised I did the first mistake, when I insisted that he should help me carry the lighter one. I thought it was so as the other participants had their supervisors carry the heavier, if not all, of their luggages and mine ended with a manageable one. Oh well!
UD was so kind to me. Subsequently, he brought me to this really mega mall which is as big as the Mid-Vally mall in KL I think. After walking around for a while, we (or I - he never makes decisions!) finally settled on a tonkatsu place which once again had my mouth dry (suspect it contains tons of MSG) which is still the case till now. We then continue to bum around the shopping mall for another 30 minutes, and he was right when we bumped into a third year student in KTT. He introduced me to the student who was very nice and bowed and I answered in Japanese. Sigh! I should have done that in English!
After that shopping episode, he brought me next to the city hall where I did my alien (aka foreigner) registration. That was a Japanese point there. After he told me I need Japanese portrait-size photographs, I thought I would be nice to offer the ones I took in SG. The bad thing was I made him wait under the sweltering hot sun while I opened up all my luggage at the car park of the city hall, ending with an embarrassing 'oh no I have misplaced it!'. He was rather casual about it, and suggested we drive around to hunt for a photograph booth. He even commented he already had that factored in! Anyway finally I took the photographs and did the processing. While it will take a few weeks to process and for the card to arrive at my doorstep, UD bought 2 temporary passes which he said were for the keitai and bank account set up. We didn't get to do them in the end because there was no time. That will be tomorrow's business.
Meanwhile he brought me to KTT where I was even more freaked out as I did not have my tie on (I took it off when UD took his off in the car after the ceremony at the city hall). The buildings were rather nice, just as in the pictures on the web site. In the end I met the kocho-sensei (vice-principal) and some people from other departments who following some third year students on a trip to Singapore last year. This year they are going to TP, which I commented is a great place to go for food. After a couple of "yoroshiku onegaishimasu"s and awkward pushing of spectacles as they were slipping off so easily due to the sweat thanks to the summer heat, UD showed me the school library which is under his purview and the school librarian as well. That went alright, though I was not really sure what I should be doing. Browse his collection? He told me it was a place I can go to during breaks so oh well!
After that we went to the English Communications Rooms which he said would be where I would be involved in - Oral Communication classes for second years. Alright. Oh he also showed me my desk which I will try to take a picture soon. I guess when I go tomorrow I should be more prepared and to ask him for a sitting arrangement of the office. Most of the teachers were not around due to school activities outside the campus, according to UD.
Finally we went to the new apartment, where there were some nice moments and yet some let downs in expectations. I think I must really learn how to manage them! The apartment is actually small, so on that count I was a little upset as it seemed rather big (or wide, according to UD), considering I was paying so much for it!
Anyway I thought I would try sleeping without the air-conditioner on as it is rather cooling, though I had 2 issues which really scared my wits out now and I am hence blogging instead of sleeping. Firstly is all my worldly possessions are with me and I did not know whether it is safe to leave my window wide open when I am staing on the first floor. Secondly is the onslaught of mosquitoes which I am trying to fight one right now and I was so shocked when one buzzed around my ear when I was trying to sleep. I think I am being very paranoid about it and I am starting to miss home and how comfortable it is to be able to sleep in a place where there are no such threats. I really want to hit myself for not insisting on a 2nd level!
Anyway before UD left, he passed me an old keitai of his which he has really prepared. Firstly the keitai does not contain a memory card. Secondly it only has one contact on the list - his number! I really marvel at his planning and I am really apologetic now whenever I think back and wonder about the hijacks in his plans whenever I tried to inject my own thoughts. He just goes "it's alright" when I apologise and I really am confused about what he means.
Sigh.
He is coming to pick me up at 10am tomorrow to head to the school to meet the rest of the staff and he told me he would tell kyoto-sensei that we had some things to settle. He thought I needed the rest after a whole day and I agree with him totally - look at me now at 12.43am! Sigh I am so going to be gone tomorrow.
I have yet to catch the mosquito, and I guess I will pull out my sleeping bag and snuggle in there to reduce surface area of the skin. I have also resigned to switching on the air-conditioner though it might be expensive!
Sigh.
Really paranoid!
I first checked out of the hotel at 7.45am and boarded a chartered bus to my prefecture. It was really amazing by the way when we left TK and headed into Ibaraki - the scenery really changed drastically! Instead of tall skyscrapers that are characteristic of TK, the buildings melted away to rich green fields of rice. I was really amazed! Amongst these green fields are little quaint houses that tuck nicely between. Amazing!
Anyway after a 2 hour ride, we finally reached the prefecture of Ibaraki, Mito. While it was a simple ceremony we had to run through, I was totally freaked out and I kept a stern face which my supervisor UD subsequently commented that I looked too nervous when I need not be. Anyway the ceremony in retrospect was simple - first we stood in a row and as our names get called out one by one, our supervisors step out and fetch us to their seats. I felt panicky because I was trying really hard to point out who UD was. Anyway he's like this portly-looking person who is nice and genial! After we got 'collected' by our supervisors, we then had a few speeches, such as the Director of International Affairs and the Teachers' Consultant, our ultimate boss. Then we get called up one by one again to collect this letter of appointment that looks like a certificate. I'll post a picture up when I have the chance.
It was soon the end - just 30 minutes. I was totally freaked out. After that, we collected our luggage from the chartered bus which UD was so nice to help me carry. That was when I realised I did the first mistake, when I insisted that he should help me carry the lighter one. I thought it was so as the other participants had their supervisors carry the heavier, if not all, of their luggages and mine ended with a manageable one. Oh well!
UD was so kind to me. Subsequently, he brought me to this really mega mall which is as big as the Mid-Vally mall in KL I think. After walking around for a while, we (or I - he never makes decisions!) finally settled on a tonkatsu place which once again had my mouth dry (suspect it contains tons of MSG) which is still the case till now. We then continue to bum around the shopping mall for another 30 minutes, and he was right when we bumped into a third year student in KTT. He introduced me to the student who was very nice and bowed and I answered in Japanese. Sigh! I should have done that in English!
After that shopping episode, he brought me next to the city hall where I did my alien (aka foreigner) registration. That was a Japanese point there. After he told me I need Japanese portrait-size photographs, I thought I would be nice to offer the ones I took in SG. The bad thing was I made him wait under the sweltering hot sun while I opened up all my luggage at the car park of the city hall, ending with an embarrassing 'oh no I have misplaced it!'. He was rather casual about it, and suggested we drive around to hunt for a photograph booth. He even commented he already had that factored in! Anyway finally I took the photographs and did the processing. While it will take a few weeks to process and for the card to arrive at my doorstep, UD bought 2 temporary passes which he said were for the keitai and bank account set up. We didn't get to do them in the end because there was no time. That will be tomorrow's business.
Meanwhile he brought me to KTT where I was even more freaked out as I did not have my tie on (I took it off when UD took his off in the car after the ceremony at the city hall). The buildings were rather nice, just as in the pictures on the web site. In the end I met the kocho-sensei (vice-principal) and some people from other departments who following some third year students on a trip to Singapore last year. This year they are going to TP, which I commented is a great place to go for food. After a couple of "yoroshiku onegaishimasu"s and awkward pushing of spectacles as they were slipping off so easily due to the sweat thanks to the summer heat, UD showed me the school library which is under his purview and the school librarian as well. That went alright, though I was not really sure what I should be doing. Browse his collection? He told me it was a place I can go to during breaks so oh well!
After that we went to the English Communications Rooms which he said would be where I would be involved in - Oral Communication classes for second years. Alright. Oh he also showed me my desk which I will try to take a picture soon. I guess when I go tomorrow I should be more prepared and to ask him for a sitting arrangement of the office. Most of the teachers were not around due to school activities outside the campus, according to UD.
Finally we went to the new apartment, where there were some nice moments and yet some let downs in expectations. I think I must really learn how to manage them! The apartment is actually small, so on that count I was a little upset as it seemed rather big (or wide, according to UD), considering I was paying so much for it!
Anyway I thought I would try sleeping without the air-conditioner on as it is rather cooling, though I had 2 issues which really scared my wits out now and I am hence blogging instead of sleeping. Firstly is all my worldly possessions are with me and I did not know whether it is safe to leave my window wide open when I am staing on the first floor. Secondly is the onslaught of mosquitoes which I am trying to fight one right now and I was so shocked when one buzzed around my ear when I was trying to sleep. I think I am being very paranoid about it and I am starting to miss home and how comfortable it is to be able to sleep in a place where there are no such threats. I really want to hit myself for not insisting on a 2nd level!
Anyway before UD left, he passed me an old keitai of his which he has really prepared. Firstly the keitai does not contain a memory card. Secondly it only has one contact on the list - his number! I really marvel at his planning and I am really apologetic now whenever I think back and wonder about the hijacks in his plans whenever I tried to inject my own thoughts. He just goes "it's alright" when I apologise and I really am confused about what he means.
Sigh.
He is coming to pick me up at 10am tomorrow to head to the school to meet the rest of the staff and he told me he would tell kyoto-sensei that we had some things to settle. He thought I needed the rest after a whole day and I agree with him totally - look at me now at 12.43am! Sigh I am so going to be gone tomorrow.
I have yet to catch the mosquito, and I guess I will pull out my sleeping bag and snuggle in there to reduce surface area of the skin. I have also resigned to switching on the air-conditioner though it might be expensive!
Sigh.
Really paranoid!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Tokyo Orientation - Days 0 and 1
I made the mistake of coming online once I reached the hotel on Day 0. I was so tired out by the flight and especially the subsequent 2-hours bus journey to the hotel that I was really agitated when I disembarked. It didn't help that I could not get a bit of peace and quiet throughout the bus trip as the JETs there were overly friendly and was actively engaging the newbies in conversation. I had just wanted to come online to placate my mom by using Skype to tell her I have safely reached Tokyo and I ended up with ~10 conversation windows going concurrently when I was in the worst of moods. I was bad to have showered that bad mood with those 10 - I hope they can forgive me!
As you might already know, I'm currently at Keio Plaza Hotel and right smack in the middle of Shinjuku. As I was rather tired, I stumbled out with 2 other Singaporeans on the night of Day 0 to this ramen place that has lots of MSG. This took place before I went online and made everyone's mood bad (as above). Anyway the eatery is the kind where you pay through a vending machine, get a ticket which has your order and pass it to the counter where they will prepare for you. So my very first meal in Japan is a katsu-don-cum-soba-noodles. It was comical because I am utterly horrible at kanji so I cannot understand what I was ordering. Thank goodness for the plastic display samples!
Along the way I saw a 100-yen shop and it was really as what some of you have said - I can get everything?! I grabbed a cleanser and some drinking water from there before returning to the hotel room. I just realised that tap water is not drinkable in Japan?
Then on to Day 1. Today I was very naughty. After a horrible breakfast by the hotel, we had an opening ceremony where I finally wore my suit (but avoided the pants which I felt would be better for Wednesday when I meet my supervisor). It was quite boring actually, and I was quite visible about my emotions. So un-Japanese! I felt I could get away because people all around me were like predominantly Americans and such. After that we had an opening speech which, while the speaker was humorous, confirmed the impression that the information that we get will be useful on a general level and it
will only be useful if we finally realise how they apply. As such the prefectural sessions would have been better as they will provide information that is immediately applicable. Anyway so after that was lunch (equally horrid - I have no idea what kind of vegetarian meat I was stuffing into my mouth) and I ran out to check on the price of the Canon Ixy 820is at Yodobashi. Immediately after stepping out of the hotel, the summer heat trapped by the concrete buildings hit me. Argh! Also were the sounds of the cicadas - I am finally in Japan! However I did not really anything strange... I think it might be cultural numbness. I can get simple ideas across in Japanese when I want to, and thanks to the friendly salespersons I don't have a need to express complicated sentences so far.
Meanwhile about the price of the camera - it was a little steep: Y31, 800 (S$400)! Crestfallen I went back to the hotel to attend
another talk. After the talk it was a series of workshops which I decided was not worth the while and ended up heading to the big Kinokuniya in Shinjuku with some other JETs - 6 stories! We also headed to Shiodome for this matcha ice-cream that was delicious, though it was like 6 stations away! That was also my first railway experience in Japan, though I was too tired by then to appreciate. ET, my ex-colleague who passed me a Suica card, came in good use. After returning, we dropped by Yodobashi and I was shocked - the camera was in promotion and it now retails at Y28, 000 (S$350)! I grabbed it on the spot
though I regretted getting the memory card from there rather than SLS as it was expensive (4gb Sandisk SDHC for Y4480 (S$57)). Nevertheless... wow!
By the way I am concerned I might have burnt a bridge with my prefectural JETs, people who are also teaching in the same prefecture. What happened was they asked around for attendance to dinner tonight outside and initially I said yes. However after the camera-buying episode in the afternoon, I became too tired and in the end went downstairs and told them I would like to rest instead. I don't think they will make an issue out of it, though it means I have missed a wonderful opportunity
to network and make more friends. But that makes me consider again whether are they friends or are they acquaintances I can know better so that life might be easier subsequently. I guess only time will tell if I can click with them on a more personal level.
Okay this is mightily embarrassing, but I am very tired and I didn't had dinner, so I had to rely on my mum's Milo. However the room doesn't come with teaspoons (!) and I can't get to room service! I resorted to stirring the Milo with a hotel plastic toothbrush instead. I hope the toothbrush didn't melt in the Milo!
Tomorrow's another whole series of talks which I think might actually be useful(!) Meanwhile, I am very happy I got my camera and I shall post new shots soon. Whatever shots that appear on previous days can only be those of my wonderful friends. :)
As you might already know, I'm currently at Keio Plaza Hotel and right smack in the middle of Shinjuku. As I was rather tired, I stumbled out with 2 other Singaporeans on the night of Day 0 to this ramen place that has lots of MSG. This took place before I went online and made everyone's mood bad (as above). Anyway the eatery is the kind where you pay through a vending machine, get a ticket which has your order and pass it to the counter where they will prepare for you. So my very first meal in Japan is a katsu-don-cum-soba-noodles. It was comical because I am utterly horrible at kanji so I cannot understand what I was ordering. Thank goodness for the plastic display samples!
Along the way I saw a 100-yen shop and it was really as what some of you have said - I can get everything?! I grabbed a cleanser and some drinking water from there before returning to the hotel room. I just realised that tap water is not drinkable in Japan?
Then on to Day 1. Today I was very naughty. After a horrible breakfast by the hotel, we had an opening ceremony where I finally wore my suit (but avoided the pants which I felt would be better for Wednesday when I meet my supervisor). It was quite boring actually, and I was quite visible about my emotions. So un-Japanese! I felt I could get away because people all around me were like predominantly Americans and such. After that we had an opening speech which, while the speaker was humorous, confirmed the impression that the information that we get will be useful on a general level and it
will only be useful if we finally realise how they apply. As such the prefectural sessions would have been better as they will provide information that is immediately applicable. Anyway so after that was lunch (equally horrid - I have no idea what kind of vegetarian meat I was stuffing into my mouth) and I ran out to check on the price of the Canon Ixy 820is at Yodobashi. Immediately after stepping out of the hotel, the summer heat trapped by the concrete buildings hit me. Argh! Also were the sounds of the cicadas - I am finally in Japan! However I did not really anything strange... I think it might be cultural numbness. I can get simple ideas across in Japanese when I want to, and thanks to the friendly salespersons I don't have a need to express complicated sentences so far.
Meanwhile about the price of the camera - it was a little steep: Y31, 800 (S$400)! Crestfallen I went back to the hotel to attend
another talk. After the talk it was a series of workshops which I decided was not worth the while and ended up heading to the big Kinokuniya in Shinjuku with some other JETs - 6 stories! We also headed to Shiodome for this matcha ice-cream that was delicious, though it was like 6 stations away! That was also my first railway experience in Japan, though I was too tired by then to appreciate. ET, my ex-colleague who passed me a Suica card, came in good use. After returning, we dropped by Yodobashi and I was shocked - the camera was in promotion and it now retails at Y28, 000 (S$350)! I grabbed it on the spot
though I regretted getting the memory card from there rather than SLS as it was expensive (4gb Sandisk SDHC for Y4480 (S$57)). Nevertheless... wow!
By the way I am concerned I might have burnt a bridge with my prefectural JETs, people who are also teaching in the same prefecture. What happened was they asked around for attendance to dinner tonight outside and initially I said yes. However after the camera-buying episode in the afternoon, I became too tired and in the end went downstairs and told them I would like to rest instead. I don't think they will make an issue out of it, though it means I have missed a wonderful opportunity
to network and make more friends. But that makes me consider again whether are they friends or are they acquaintances I can know better so that life might be easier subsequently. I guess only time will tell if I can click with them on a more personal level.
Okay this is mightily embarrassing, but I am very tired and I didn't had dinner, so I had to rely on my mum's Milo. However the room doesn't come with teaspoons (!) and I can't get to room service! I resorted to stirring the Milo with a hotel plastic toothbrush instead. I hope the toothbrush didn't melt in the Milo!
Tomorrow's another whole series of talks which I think might actually be useful(!) Meanwhile, I am very happy I got my camera and I shall post new shots soon. Whatever shots that appear on previous days can only be those of my wonderful friends. :)
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