Well, at least I have internet at my school. I am hoping to get internet at my apartment soon, but yahoo bb keeps giving me the run-around. I will recap the past couple days:
Wednesday: I woke up effing early (about 6:30), and went downstairs to meet the other Nara JETs and even some Shiga JETs. We took a bus to the Tokyo Station for the bullet train. We all bought breakfast and lunch at the station and brought it on board the train. The shinkansen was really cool! It goes like 200 KM! Fast! It only took us 2 1\2 hours to get from Tokyo to Kyoto. Once in Kyoto, we boarded the express train bound for Nara City. We walked our bags about 8 minutes uphill in unreal humidity to the Kencho (pref. govt office). We got to walk next to the park with all the deer! It was soooo coool! Once we arrived at the Kencho, we sat through 3 hours of orientation about Nara including train schedules, holidays, laws, etc.
O-Sensei picked me up in his brand-new minivan and took me to my new hometown. he introduced me to the school (kinda looks like a prison from the outside) and the Kocho Sensei (principal). The Principal took C (the other new ALT) and I out to dinner at a Yaki-niku! It was delicious and awkward because the Kocho Sensei only speaks Japanese and we only speak English. Good food, no conversation.
Over the next couple of days, O-sensei took me to a second hand store and I bought a washer, fridge, and microwave. We even went to the 100 yen store and I bought some plates and bowls. I am waiting for trhe trip to ikea to buy real furniture, but I do need a drawer and a bed. I've been sleeping on a futon, which is alright, but I want a bed soon.
The school lent me a bike so that's how I get around. When I buy groceries, I have to make sure they fit in the basket of my bike. I bike everywhere. I'm going to lose so much weight.
With rice fields close by and mountains painting the background, I am very happy with my placement. I live close to just about everything, either by bike or train.
Yahoo BB said they would install my internet on Sept. 4th. I don't know why it's going to take so long, but I got some major discounts so it's cool. I'll be getting a cell-phone soon too!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Last Day of Tokyo Orientation
Day 2 of Tokyo Orientation was uneventful, really. I woke up, had basically the same breakfast as yesterday (but this time there was au-gratin potatoes instead of french fries) and went straight to a ALT panel for an hour and a half. The panel was comprised of CLAIR, a Japanese teacher of English (JTE), and some current ALTs. They shared some funny stories and some boring ones. According to one ALT, Japanese students are very touchy and some grabbed her boobs and such. For guys, male students like to ram their fingers at the ALT's asshole and yell "Kancho!" I will forever be on my guard for the demon of sexual harassment.
After the panel, I ditched the next seminar and went with a bunch of people to get lunch and exchange money. I exchange my currency at the Japanese Post Office and got a fairly good rate. I still lost money, but the exchange rate ain't gettin' any better. It took me roughly 5 minutes to order a simple McDonalds meal. I got up to the counter, pointed at the meal I wanted, and said "Koko" ("this"). Well, apparently that wasn't enough for the poor lady and she heaped at least 8 questions at me. Someone told me later she probably asked what size, if I wanted the combo, if I wanted ice in the drink, etc. It was frustrating, so I've made it my first Japanese language goal to learn how to order food at restaurants.
After lunch, we had out prefectural meetings. Nara's Prefectural Advisor told us Nara JETs the procedures for getting the hell out of Tokyo and on the way to Nara. We will be waking up early (around 6:30AM) to get to the bus that takes us to the Shinkansen (bullet train). A 2 1/2 hour later, we have an 8 minute walk up hill to the Nara BoE where we will sit through a 3 hour orientation before leaving with our supervisors.
Tonight I'm going out with some current Nara JETs for dinner before passing the eff out.
I probably won't have internet when I arrive in Nara, so this blog may be empty for a while. Check back, I will update when I can.
After the panel, I ditched the next seminar and went with a bunch of people to get lunch and exchange money. I exchange my currency at the Japanese Post Office and got a fairly good rate. I still lost money, but the exchange rate ain't gettin' any better. It took me roughly 5 minutes to order a simple McDonalds meal. I got up to the counter, pointed at the meal I wanted, and said "Koko" ("this"). Well, apparently that wasn't enough for the poor lady and she heaped at least 8 questions at me. Someone told me later she probably asked what size, if I wanted the combo, if I wanted ice in the drink, etc. It was frustrating, so I've made it my first Japanese language goal to learn how to order food at restaurants.
After lunch, we had out prefectural meetings. Nara's Prefectural Advisor told us Nara JETs the procedures for getting the hell out of Tokyo and on the way to Nara. We will be waking up early (around 6:30AM) to get to the bus that takes us to the Shinkansen (bullet train). A 2 1/2 hour later, we have an 8 minute walk up hill to the Nara BoE where we will sit through a 3 hour orientation before leaving with our supervisors.
Tonight I'm going out with some current Nara JETs for dinner before passing the eff out.
I probably won't have internet when I arrive in Nara, so this blog may be empty for a while. Check back, I will update when I can.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Day 1 of TO
Yesterday was the first day of Tokyo Orientation! I went to bed the night before around 9 after getting back from dinner. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out. I woke up around 6:30 naturally...seriously, no alarm. I got lots of rest on what the Japanese call beds. According to my brother, it's really more like mats on a platform with sandbags for pillows. I went with my roommates to get breakfast, which was delicious. I learned my lesson again, bacon is very different in Japan. I ate mushy scrambled eggs, french fries, and some corn flakes.
After breakfast was the welcome ceremony. Basically, I sat for about 3 hours and listened to CLAIR, Japanese Dignitaries, and others mouth off about how important internationalization is to Japan. My ass hurt from sitting, but I got plenty of practice sitting from the 14 hour flight from Newark. Lunch of curry and rice...bleh...I think I accidentally ate at the vegetarian option table.
I attended the Pop culture seminar after lunch. It was a really cool little talk. Some ALTs and CIRs went over what is currently popular in Japan including game shows, comedies, dramas, foreign dramas (24! ^_^), video games, manga, music, etc. Apparently there is a j-pop band with 48 members!
I also went to the Food seminar, which was mostly a waste of time. I learned recipes that I'll never use among other things. I did learn however, that pre-made foods go on sale after 6:00PM and apparently taste just as good. I need to buy fruits when they are in season to save money as well.
After dinner, the Nara JETs got together and did some epic karaoke. I sang "Don't Stop me Now" by queen and joined in on many other songs. The karaoke place was a nomihoudai, which is all-you-can-drink for a flat rate. The Nara JETs are amazing, so this year should be fun. After karaoke, we hit a conbini for water and snacks. We chilled out in a circle at a courtyard of a large building until we all went inside for sleep. That was my Day 1.
Post comments, questions, or even email me if ya want.
After breakfast was the welcome ceremony. Basically, I sat for about 3 hours and listened to CLAIR, Japanese Dignitaries, and others mouth off about how important internationalization is to Japan. My ass hurt from sitting, but I got plenty of practice sitting from the 14 hour flight from Newark. Lunch of curry and rice...bleh...I think I accidentally ate at the vegetarian option table.
I attended the Pop culture seminar after lunch. It was a really cool little talk. Some ALTs and CIRs went over what is currently popular in Japan including game shows, comedies, dramas, foreign dramas (24! ^_^), video games, manga, music, etc. Apparently there is a j-pop band with 48 members!
I also went to the Food seminar, which was mostly a waste of time. I learned recipes that I'll never use among other things. I did learn however, that pre-made foods go on sale after 6:00PM and apparently taste just as good. I need to buy fruits when they are in season to save money as well.
After dinner, the Nara JETs got together and did some epic karaoke. I sang "Don't Stop me Now" by queen and joined in on many other songs. The karaoke place was a nomihoudai, which is all-you-can-drink for a flat rate. The Nara JETs are amazing, so this year should be fun. After karaoke, we hit a conbini for water and snacks. We chilled out in a circle at a courtyard of a large building until we all went inside for sleep. That was my Day 1.
Post comments, questions, or even email me if ya want.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Arrival
Hey! This is my first post actually being in Japan!
A bunch of other Miami JETs and I stayed up all night before out flight left Saturday morning. We ran out of things to talk about so we pretty much hit every piece of webjunk imaginable until it was time to leave the hotel.
The flight to Newark sucked....bad. There was no in flight entertainment, so we had to entertain ourselves. I didn't want to fall asleep until the flight to Tokyo so it was a constant battle to stay awake until then. The flight to Tokyo had some awesome perks. Each seat had a screen with on-demand. So we had a choice of hundreds of movies (some new releases too), tv programs, and even cheap little games like asteroids. The flight went alright. I got about 5 hours of sleep and the trip was 14 hours. Those last 4 hours drag on forever. Everyone on the plane was just counting down the miles...
Once we arrived in Tokyo, we waited probably 45 mins in customs, grabbed our bags, made our way through the airport to the buses. Narita Airport has free luggage carts, which is efffing convenient. There were JETs posted every 10 feet or so to guide us to the buses. Each one greeted us with a "Hello!" or "Welcome!" It was sweet and it made arriving in Japan feel real again.
A bunch of us Miami JETs and some Boston JETs had to wait around in the lobby of the Hotel while they cleaned our rooms. We collected out JET tote bags of stuff and a packet from the American embassy. One of the hotel clerks ripped my carry-on. It wasn't too big, but still kind of annoying. We were told that we have the night off and Tokyo Orientation would begin the next morning.
Miami JETs teamed up with some Canadian JETs and we all went out for Udon and Soba. I got a really gross one. Note to Self: Bacon soup with Udon is not as good as it sounds. We then hit up a combini (convenience store), grabbed some Chuhai (powerful lemon-flavored alcohol), and returned to the hotel. I hung out with a bunch of other JETs before going to sleep around 9PM.
Before I end the post, it's funny story time:
My roommates (4 of us because of the adjoining room) and I were all sitting around unpacking when we heard the noise, "Ding, Dong." We instantly perked up, looked around completely baffled. We started pulling open drawers, looking in the closet, and pressing buttons on the stuff in the bathroom. The sound repeated about every 1 minute or so. We finally agreed it was the clock between the beds making noise so we started pushing buttons on that too. Turns out, it was the doorbell to our hotel room. We all felt very stupid and apologized to the hotel clerk for taking so long to answer the door. We seriously heard a doorbell and checked the clock, bathroom, and drawers BEFORE we opened the door. We are gaijin.
Long Post, more to follow.
A bunch of other Miami JETs and I stayed up all night before out flight left Saturday morning. We ran out of things to talk about so we pretty much hit every piece of webjunk imaginable until it was time to leave the hotel.
The flight to Newark sucked....bad. There was no in flight entertainment, so we had to entertain ourselves. I didn't want to fall asleep until the flight to Tokyo so it was a constant battle to stay awake until then. The flight to Tokyo had some awesome perks. Each seat had a screen with on-demand. So we had a choice of hundreds of movies (some new releases too), tv programs, and even cheap little games like asteroids. The flight went alright. I got about 5 hours of sleep and the trip was 14 hours. Those last 4 hours drag on forever. Everyone on the plane was just counting down the miles...
Once we arrived in Tokyo, we waited probably 45 mins in customs, grabbed our bags, made our way through the airport to the buses. Narita Airport has free luggage carts, which is efffing convenient. There were JETs posted every 10 feet or so to guide us to the buses. Each one greeted us with a "Hello!" or "Welcome!" It was sweet and it made arriving in Japan feel real again.
A bunch of us Miami JETs and some Boston JETs had to wait around in the lobby of the Hotel while they cleaned our rooms. We collected out JET tote bags of stuff and a packet from the American embassy. One of the hotel clerks ripped my carry-on. It wasn't too big, but still kind of annoying. We were told that we have the night off and Tokyo Orientation would begin the next morning.
Miami JETs teamed up with some Canadian JETs and we all went out for Udon and Soba. I got a really gross one. Note to Self: Bacon soup with Udon is not as good as it sounds. We then hit up a combini (convenience store), grabbed some Chuhai (powerful lemon-flavored alcohol), and returned to the hotel. I hung out with a bunch of other JETs before going to sleep around 9PM.
Before I end the post, it's funny story time:
My roommates (4 of us because of the adjoining room) and I were all sitting around unpacking when we heard the noise, "Ding, Dong." We instantly perked up, looked around completely baffled. We started pulling open drawers, looking in the closet, and pressing buttons on the stuff in the bathroom. The sound repeated about every 1 minute or so. We finally agreed it was the clock between the beds making noise so we started pushing buttons on that too. Turns out, it was the doorbell to our hotel room. We all felt very stupid and apologized to the hotel clerk for taking so long to answer the door. We seriously heard a doorbell and checked the clock, bathroom, and drawers BEFORE we opened the door. We are gaijin.
Long Post, more to follow.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Time marches on...
This week has been amazing and quick. I ate lots of restaurant food with friends and said my goodbyes. I drank a couple Kamikaze shots; it seemed to fit the moment.
Today I went on a photo tour of my hometown. I got some pictures of the beach, museums, city hall, and even my home. I even snapped a few shots of Manatee County's mascot, Snooty the Manatee. He's the oldest manatee in captivity at 63 years old! I'm thinking about doing a video tour of my house tomorrow for my future students.
I am leaving for Miami tomorrow night so I don't have to worry about traffic on the way to the hotel. Friday is the Miami pre-departure orientation and farewell reception. It will include a Japanese lesson, Q&A, and other events. It is all taking place at the consul-general's residence.
I know this update was kind of lame, but there really isn't a whole lot going on until I leave.
Today I went on a photo tour of my hometown. I got some pictures of the beach, museums, city hall, and even my home. I even snapped a few shots of Manatee County's mascot, Snooty the Manatee. He's the oldest manatee in captivity at 63 years old! I'm thinking about doing a video tour of my house tomorrow for my future students.
I am leaving for Miami tomorrow night so I don't have to worry about traffic on the way to the hotel. Friday is the Miami pre-departure orientation and farewell reception. It will include a Japanese lesson, Q&A, and other events. It is all taking place at the consul-general's residence.
I know this update was kind of lame, but there really isn't a whole lot going on until I leave.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Another Update
Here are some of the few developments of the past couple days:
1. I got an email from a teacher at my school that confirmed everything B told me about the deposit and apartment. Hurray! B has agreed to let me set up my Japanese Bank account before transferring the money. That whole situation is hopefully, officially settled.
2. I bought a carry-on bag for Tokyo Orientation. It fits all the clothes I'll need for TO and I even managed to fit my PS3 as well. Now I can send both suitcases ahead to Nara at the airport and see them when I arrive. Both Nara PA's assured me that my bags will have arrived before I get to Nara or a day after.
3. I bought a bunch of comfort food to ship ahead of my arrival. Turns out, US customs won't let me send any food so that was a waste of time. I am still going to send a box with some trinkets, teaching supplies, and over-the-counter medications.
4. I did a practice packing recently and both of my bags are under weight! I am allotted 50 lbs, but mine weigh about 42 lbs after being filled.
That's all for now. 9 days 'til go time!
1. I got an email from a teacher at my school that confirmed everything B told me about the deposit and apartment. Hurray! B has agreed to let me set up my Japanese Bank account before transferring the money. That whole situation is hopefully, officially settled.
2. I bought a carry-on bag for Tokyo Orientation. It fits all the clothes I'll need for TO and I even managed to fit my PS3 as well. Now I can send both suitcases ahead to Nara at the airport and see them when I arrive. Both Nara PA's assured me that my bags will have arrived before I get to Nara or a day after.
3. I bought a bunch of comfort food to ship ahead of my arrival. Turns out, US customs won't let me send any food so that was a waste of time. I am still going to send a box with some trinkets, teaching supplies, and over-the-counter medications.
4. I did a practice packing recently and both of my bags are under weight! I am allotted 50 lbs, but mine weigh about 42 lbs after being filled.
That's all for now. 9 days 'til go time!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
My New Apartment
I finally received some pictures of my apartment in Nara! It has 1 bedroom, 1 sitting room, and kitchen. Enjoy the photos I have of my future home:
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