First Real Week Done

Hello, hello! Well, I think things could only get better since my last post, and so far that has definitely been the case. This past week I was busy working with a full course-schedule now that Megan is gone. Half of my classes are kids, and they are definitely the more challenging ones. Mostly because kids don:t always behave and most of them don:t really want to learn and are instead forced to go to English school by their parents. I think I:m getting the hang of it though. The better you know the kids, the more you learn what works for each class. You gotta trick them into learning sometimes.

The adult classes are a breeze in comparison and most of my students are really awesome. I especially like my high-level discussion classes where I basically just talk about an article or issues in Japan with high-level speakers for 50 minutes. It:s very interesting and I feel like I end up learning as much from them as they do from me!

I also had fun this weekend and am getting out of my lonely slump a bit. Friday was a national holiday in Japan and in honor of the previous day being Thanksgiving in America, I met some friends in Chiba for a pretty awesome all-you-can-eat buffet. Even though grilled meats were the specialty, I did well grilling squid and eating tako-yaki and udon and other Dawn-friendly fare. There was even a waffle machine! Afterwards we all went to an izakaya (Japanese style bar) in Chiba city and played a raucous game of Kings Cup. Only we were all too full from the huge dinner to be able to drink much.

Sunday I went to the last KUIS rugby game of the season. It was an emotional event. Kanda didn:t win, but they played well. Afterwards we all (myself included as a "graduated" player) took our picture together on the pitch and there was a ceremony for the graduating seniors. There was a lot of crying and speech-giving, ending with throwing the seniors in the air. People take the club really seriously and I understand why. Practicing with that team was one of the most rewarding experiences of my time abroad and a huge event in my life. Later, we all met at an izakaya and ate and drank a lot. The already somewhat heavy atmosphere was significantly weighted with the news that a player from their opposing team that day who had been injured during the match and taken away in an ambulance ended up dying in the hospital.

I ended up staying out pretty late with all the ruggers but getting back to my place by around 1:30am at least. Which means I left around 11:30 since I live so far! But since we started drinking at 6, that was a lot of time together.

Today I met my friend Tessa, who was in IES with me when I studied abroad. We went to the new IES center in Shin-Urayasu and caught up with our old advisor Shin-san. He:s awesome and it was so great to see him again. We:ve promised to get together with him soon to get a drink with the other IES people in Tokyo. Afterwards, Tessa and I went to the Hub (sweet English-style bar chain in Japan) to catch up and have some drinks and dinner (yay fish & chips).

Now my eyes are starting to blur because I:ve been in this Internet cafe too long! Miss everyone and hope this post finds you well. :)

In the Trough

Gather round!! It's story time from Japan! This one's pretty good, folks:

Last night was Megan's goodbye party and my welcome party. Tons of students came and we had a great time eating yummy food, chatting, and drinking. At the end of the night I caught the last train back to my station, Obukuro, and was walking home when I realized-- I had left my apartment key in the office. I kinda panicked and had no idea what to do. I went back to the ｓｔａｔｉｏｎ to check and see if there was another train going back to Kita Koshigaya, where I figured I could check with blind hope to see if the office wasn't locked for some reason. But no trains back to Kita Koshi. So I set out on foot, walking down the train tracks for a solid 45 minutes from Obukuro station to Kita Koshigaya station. No more trains were running, so I wasn't too worried about walking on the tracks, though it did prove to be tricky at times and I got a little nervous when the tracks turned into an overpass, high above and quite far away from any real land. Eventually I got there, and sure enough, the office was all-kinds-of locked. So, I saw no other option than to spend the night in none other than my trusty neighborhood net cafe. Rented a booth and got a few hours of collective zzz's in the recline-y chair. There was even complementary disposable toothbrushes and toothpaste in the bathroom!

I Ｌｅｆｔ around 10 the next morning because I figured nothing would be open on a Sunday before then anyway. AEON was still deserted and on lock down, so I picked up my phone that I had done all the paperwork for the previous day, but not had time to come back and activate. Too bad it was brand new and sans any of my co-worker's numbers. I ended up hanging around Kita Koshigaya, calling and checking the Aeon office with avid frequency, until 3:30pm when I finally ran into my co-workers going in to the building. I had been wearing the same clothes (complete with tights, ugh) for almost 40 hours along with my contact lenses at that point and was feeling pretty bedraggled, helpless, and alone. My co-workers felt really bad for me and I just felt like an idiot. I got my keys headed back home to shower and collapse.

And I will never forget my key again.

The End.

Hard at Work

Here I am reporting from my local internet cafe once again. This time, from my own laptop, complete with apostrophe key. :) These past few days have pretty much felt like all work and no play for me. I suppose that's good for my first week. I have been mostly observing but and transitioning into teaching. Wednesday a taught a kids class of about 11 year olds. Let me tell, you, that might be the most annoying age. It was two girls, one of them refused to talk until her smart-ass friend got there who proceeded to make fun of just about everything I said. Megan says they are just like that, but they'll warm up to me. Yesterday I taught an advanced level class of adults that I think went really well. Today, I am teaching a tiny 2-3 year-old class and then an advanced beginner adult class. Tomorrow, I'm teaching EVERYTHING. 6 classes. It's gonna be intense, but I think I need it to really learn. I will be doing that everyday starting next week.

I have pictures of my apartment! I will try to load them now. I also plan to go back and add some pics to my previous entries. I plan on getting my cell phone today, but lord knows when I'll have internet at my place. Probably not for at least a month. Despite the fact that Japan is so technologically advanced in most areas, hooking up internet to a new residence is an extremely timely procedure with quite a wait list.

It's taking some getting used to living on my own for the first time. It's very peaceful and relaxing in some ways, but I have to admit I'm pretty restless and a little bit lonely. I think the fact that I currently have no connection with the outside world makes it much worse. I get home after a long day to my empty apartment with no phone and no internet and have nothing to do but organize things, listen to music, and go to bed. I know having a phone and internet will improve things drastically, but right now it's pretty dull. Next week I'm also hoping to get a gym membership. There's a new place right by my work that I'm going to check out (but I figure it's much better to have one of my Japanese co-workers come along, lest I sign up for something really dumb or basically make an ass of myself).

This internet place is also right by my work, so I'm able to come before or after work very easily. It's 24 hours and pretty pimp, playing jazz music with a free soda, coffee, and tea drink bar. With my own keyboard it's pretty nice and shouldn't be so bad for while I wait for my own internet.

Saturday is Megan's (the teacher I am replacing) sayonara party, which should be fun and break up the monotony a little. I hope everyone back home is doing well~!

First Day of Work

I don;t have internet in my apartment yet so I am in a net cafe next door to where I work and using a Japanese keyboard with no apparent apostrophe key-- so bear with me. Yesterday was CRAZY BUSY! The manager of my school met me at the station and took me all over to register for my gaijin card, open a bank account, get gas going at my apartment, go to my school, etc. I was pooped! And Mondays are supposed to be my off days! My apartment is really nice and clean as well. Not humongous like I thought, but definitely a good size as far as Japan goes and plenty of space for one person! I kinda live out in the country, but only a 20 min. train ride from the heart of Tokyo. I am a close walk to the train station and there:s a supermarket right at my stop which is great!

I met everyone at my work including the foriegn teachers today. Everyone is super nice and I think they like me. :) Megan, who is the teacher I am replacing､ is really awesome and helpful and I observed all of her classes today. Jason is who I:ll be working with and he also seems really nice and willing to help me out. I would love to write more, but this keyboard is driving me crazy. I should be coming back here tomorrow with my OWN computer. :) Thanks for your comments. I miss you Luca!! Thanks for reading!!!

oh, and BTdubs-- rugby in a huge stadium is AWESOME. Waseda rules.

AEON Drone #15689234 Reporting For Duty

I finished training! All done! We did our final lessons on Friday and I got my official name tag and Aeon pin and everything. I am going to my school and moving into my apartment tomorrow. Thankfully, I will be observing for a little while before I really start teaching. I wouldn't feel so confident teaching 4 lessons on Tuesday already, but hopefully I will get there soon.

Last night I went to the KUIS R.F.C. (Kanda University of Int'l Studies Rugby Football Club) 20th Anniversary party/ banquet. I got to see all the old players and managers that I hadn't seen in almost 2 years. It was also congratulating the coach, Mr. Ichinose, who has been with the club for 20 years. It was pretty swank! All the guys were in suits and we had a nice place reserved and catered with an open bar and everything. I couldn't understand too much, but it was really awesome. My friends were making fun of me because I have forgotten so much Japanese! It was funny. Afterwards about 15-20 of us went to a Japanese style bar (izakaya) and had some drinks and chatted. It was really great.

Now, I am going to meet Mariko, one of the managers of the rugby team when I played, to watch a college rugby game in Tokyo. Teikyo University vs. Waseda-- the best collegiate rugby team in Japan from what I understand. It's going to be in a huge stadium and everything! I need to get going! It takes forever to get there.

Miss everyone.

Schedule & Apartment

So, I got my schedule and my apartment assignment sheet at the end of training yesterday. Bad news:

I work Tues-Sat. until 9 everyday but Saturday which is until 8.

Good News:

I don't start until 11 or 12 most days and my apartment is HUGE!!

The average size of a Tokyo apartment (or at least the ones that Aeon finds) is 6 tatami mats (that's how they measure room size here). I'm not sure what it's the equivalent to. But, my room is 15 tatami mats!! It was the biggest one in my whole training group. And I have a loft, a big closet, and a balcony! I'm pretty darn pleased about all that. It is "Western style" so, I will have wooden floors or something instead of tatami. Still, I will be sleeping on a Japanese style futon and stuff unless I want to invest in a bed. But I've been sleeping well on a futon this whole week at training and find them quite comfortable, so I don't think I'll need to.

Quick entry, just wanted to report that. Otherwise, training is going fine and I've been getting to know my training group better. Today we taught our first lesson to Japanese students that came to the training center and I think I did pretty well! I just need to not say "you guys" so much. ('great job, you guys!' etc.) We teach another lesson to Japanese students tomorrow.

I'm still waking up insanely early and need to get over that since my work days aren't going to start until 11 and go until 9pm. Oh, and I'll be teaching a lot of little kids. I have two classes of 3-year-olds. Which means I'll be singing dumb songs a lot like the "Hello Song" and the "Weather Song" which we practiced today... complete with choreography...uck. I also have a fair amount of higher level classes with adults and advanced students, so I'm really all over the place.

That's all for now. Off to bed so I can wake up way too early again.

First Day and Night (in the Redlight District!)

I am really back. And it's pretty amazing. Everything was fine at the airport. An AEON representative named Ian met me along with another girl who had gotten in a little earlier named Katy. Both were super nice and I shipped my bags to my branch school and just took my carry-on with me for my orientation week. Unfortunately, I forgot to transfer some liquid stuff I needed for the week from my checked bag to my carry-on first in all the hubbub at the airport... ahh well. Some snags are inevitable.

The train ride from Narita airport to Omiya was about 2 hours long with a short taxi ride after. It was simply amazing because we took the Keisei line halfway there, which is the very same line I rode everyday on my way into school and back last year. We stopped at all the same stops I used to switch trains at and even passed my old, ghetto station that I lived near, Horikiri Shobuen. I was kinda freaking out and nostalgic, trying to explain to Katy sitting next to me why. This is her first time in Japan and she seems really nice and cool! We ended up rooming together at the training center in Omiya along with another girl named Megan.

Yesterday was our first day of training. It didn't start until 9:30, but everyone woke up pretty early on account of the jet-lag. We all put on our suits and headed downstairs to the big room with tables where we will be spending the majority of the next week. It seems kind of silly that we're required to dress professionally and here we are in our suits and stockings... and slippers. Since everything is indoors here at the training center we are still just wearing our indoor slippers along with our professional gear because outdoor footwear isn't permitted in the building, as is true with most buildings in Japan that aren't exclusively business. So I guess I didn't need to take up all that room in my bag with two pairs of professional footwear!

Training was fine. It went until 6 and was mostly introductory stuff and we were introduced to our lesson that we have to plan and teach on Tuesday. The funnest part of the day for me was the "Japanese lesson." It was predominantly to show us what it felt like to take a lesson exclusively in a foreign language, since that is what we will be doing for our students. I am pretty used to it though having taken a lot of classes conducted entirely in Japanese in school. Most of the other Aeon people though(there are 10 of us total in this training group), clearly were not used to it. The Japanese trainer, Katsu, taught us a very simple lesson on ordering food using the different number counter for objects. I probably learned this in high school in my remedial Japanese classes, but it was still nice practice even if I was a bit bored. There is only one other person in my training group who appears to speak ANY Japanese though! Most of the others were pretty lost and probably don't remember any of the words they learned today. It was kind f surprising to me that so many of them would want to come here and work without any knowledge of the language. But I'm sure they will still have a great experience and you don't really need any Japanese for the job.

Anywho, after training was over at 6 I tried to take a quick nap but was too excited. Why was I excited, you ask? Because I was going out to Shinjuku, the grand mecca of craziness in downtown Tokyo, to meet my friends from when I studied abroad. I ended up just getting ready and going kind of early since I couldn't sleep, figuring I needed to grab something to eat on the way and that I'd more than likely get lost in Shinjuku station. Because I don't believe there's been a single time I've been to Shinjuku station and not gotten lost...

Walking through Omiya to get to the station (about a 25 minute walk), I realized how crazy it is that it's considered this far-out little town in Saitama. It's high-rises, crowded streets, and neon lights near the train station would still put downtown Indy (when throwing a Colts Superbowl party) to shame. I was lucky enough to get a rapid train straight to Shinjuku that only stopped twice in between. It was still about a 40 minute train ride, but that's not bad at all. I got off in Shinjuku station , went out the South exit and was immediately taken by the bright lights and swarming crowds of Shinjuku. The amount of people there at all hours of the day is simply breathtaking. And then, whaddyaknow?! I got lost in the station trying to find the East exit where I was supposed to meet Stephen, Allen, and Tomohiro. It took me at least 25 or 30 minutes to get to it, even though I was looking at maps of the station the whole time. I just ate a little shrimp salad I bought at some shop in the station for dinner once I was finally near where I needed to be.

Stephen showed up first and we hugged and screamed like crazy gaijin in the streets when we reunited after so long. Stephen was working in Osaka for NOVA before they went bankrupt and now he has to go back to the states after only being here a few months. Allen came also, who was also a good friend here when I studied abroad and their friend Tomohiro who was an International student at PSU who I met there twice for our IES reunions. He is CRAZY and really fun. Plus, it always helps to have a native around. He figured out what route I needed to take to get back on the last train to Omiya! :)

We also met up with our friend Rachel, who's birthday it was and who also was a Spring 06' IESer. It was really great to all be reunited like that. In 2-chome, no less.

So, all the boys had their heart set on going to "Arty Farty," the famous gay bar in Shinjuku 2-chome (also known as Kabukicho or the red-light district), which was a favorite past time of ours in our IES days. It was the club's 20th anniversary party or something which meant it would be crazy and, unfortunately, that they were charging a bigger cover than usual. But it included 2 drinks! We danced like crazy, sweaty fools to Madonna, Beyonce, and other gay-favorite stereotypes. There was even a drag queen contest starting right before I left!

They were planning on staying out the whole night and taking the first train back in the morning. I was not keen on this since I had only just arrived in Japan the previous night and was going on about 7 hours of sleep for the past 48 hours. Plus, whenever I go there with them they end up pairing off with other clubbers one by one as the night goes on and I'm stuck dancing alone in the gay bar at 3:30am wondering where my friends went.

So, I stuck to my original plan and caught the last train back with the help of Tomo's friend, Kaori. I had to take a very different route back and she pointed me in the right direction. I got back to the training house exhausted but exhilarated at around 1:30 or so and went straight to bed, not bothering to wash the dried sweat off first. Come to think of it, I still haven't done that... Better end it here. Miss you all!!

And it's good to be back.

In the Air...

Yes, I've decided to attempt a blog again. No, I don't know if this one will last any longer than my first month in Japan, and, no-- I don't think anyone will actually read this. But if you happen to be doing so right now, fantastic! Welcome to the log of my second journey to Nippon and my adventures therein. This trip is vastly different than my first in the Spring of 2006 in a few ways, which I will list with convenient, organizational bullet points:

-I am no longer a student and will therefore not be attending university or taking Japanese classes (though I need them).
-I have a real-life-salary-paying-full-time-job this time around and probably won't have as many opportunities to dick around and miss the last train.
-I have to pay my own bills.
-I kiiiiinda know what to expect... but if I've learned anything it's that I still know very little about this crazy and surprise-filled nation of Japan.
-I will be staying longer than a year without return to my motherland, UHMERICA.
-I will be wearing a suit most of the time.

That about sums up all I can think of right now. Speaking of right now, I'm currently en route to Japan somewhere over Alaska. According to the screen in front of me, altitude is 34,000 feet and it is -74 degrees Fahrenheit outside. brrrr. I still have about 7 and a half hours left of my 13.5 hour flight. We were delayed out of Chicago by about an hour and a half. This worries me a bit because we are supposed to be arriving in Japan no later than 4pm (Friday, Nov. 2) local time and my flight as originally scheduled was coming in after that around 4:25. I was told this was okay, but now we aren't predicted to arrive until 5:40 pm or so. So, I will be rolling in last undoubtedly creating a stellar first impression to the Aeon representative meeting me there. I realize the delay isn't my fault, I just hope it doesn't cause any unforeseen complications.

After going through immigration and customs, getting my bags, and meeting the Aeon person, I have a 2 hour trip to Omiya, where I will be spending the next week in training. Omiya is about 20 or 30 minutes outside of Tokyo, and from what I hear, not much to boast about. I don't know if I'll have internet there or not, so I'm not even sure when I'll be able to post this. Or how, for that matter... but these are insignificant details which I'm sure I will work out promptly!

I should probably mention that I'm super excited to be in Japan again. I've been waiting for this for a long time and the more I think about it, the more excited I get... I'm not even IN Japan yet and get a load of all the neat things I've seen (bullet points again, I think?!):

-"Air Force 2," Which Dick Cheney arrived in Indianapolis in this morning, delaying my plane from landing.
-A really long, disco-like moving walkway treadmill deal in O'Hare that I'm pretty positive is where the video for Fiest's "My Moon, My Man" video was shot.
- Beautiful snow covered mountains under a pink sky in Alaska.
-The Sea of Okhotsk. Which we are currently flying over and I never even knew existed until today.

I also made friends with a young couple in the airport and got to use my "conversational" Japanese for the first time in a while. It was atrocious. I really hope it comes back to me quickly. I accidentally said I had an older brother instead of an older sister (ani vs. ane). I realized my mistake but decided to just roll with it. Sorry, Beth. The young woman replied "I bet he's really cute!" I simply replied "not at all."

If you are reading this, I probably already miss you a ton.



**ADDED NOTE: As I set up this blog from the training center, it is only available for set up in Japanese! I guess this means I will have a Japanese blog with a Japanese URL from here on out. Appropriate, I suppose :) but tricky...