Some good news! Orie Umemura (fondly known as Ume or "Plum" in English) is coming to stay with me one weekend in March! I first met Ume when she came to stay with my family in Kaleden in 1994 as part of an exchange. I'm so glad that we've kept in touch over all these years-- having a Japanese friend is a serious status symbol for foriegners here (at least it seemes that way to me) since it's so difficult to find someone who wants to be your friend-- and you're not allowed to hang out with your students. One instructor told me that one of his students said she saw him when he was on vacation in another city. Instructor: "Oh? You saw me? Why didn't you say hello?" Student: "I was hiding." Instructor: "Really! Where were you hiding?" Student: "Behind a big garbage can." Obviously it's made very clear to our students when they sign up that friendships are not allowed. Too bad!
One other piece of fun news-- I'm going to an Onsen (hot spring)!! Monday after work Norm from Big Brothers and his girlfriend Waka are coming to pick me up for an evening soak at some hotspring... I'm so excited! Part of the invite has to do with the fact that Waka is 'big' for a Japanese girl-- meaning she's taller and bustier than most. So she loves going to Onsens with foriengers because it means that people stare less at her. What the heck-- I'm beginning to get used to being stared at. I hadn't really noticed it before, because all the staring is very under-cover and polite as possible. But now that I've sharpened up my peripheral vision, I've realized that I really am an object of some interest! And it gives me some degree of power... all I need to do is say "Konichiwa!" to a young Japanese man and he is reduced to fits of girlish giggles. How cute!
Thursday, February 23, 2006
I found my first cockroach last night! I am still upset about it-- I'm not usually bothered all that much by insects, but cockroaches just have such a sordid reputation. I was happily moving furniture about in my apartment, trying to get everything tidy and *just so* when I picked up one of my potted plants to try it out in a different location. As I lifted the pot, a small piece of dirt fell out of the bottom. I did a double-take-- "did that piece of dirt just move?" I got closer for a better look, and the dirt started to scuttle!! I grabbed the nearest thing at hand, hestitated for half a second (I hate killing bugs) and crushed the poor little bugger to death with a cork coaster, all the while steadily going "eeeeeeee!eeeeeeee!". I threw the coaster and the roach corpse away promptly (into the "burnable" garbage of course... I've almost got this garbage system figured out). I then proceded to wash, vacuum and disinfect all the surfaces in the living room. Roaches! Yuck!
Work is good, and I've had a couple more kids classes, and so am getting the hang of things. I've heard some real horror stories... in one branch a few years ago, they gave a bunch of kids classes to this guy who couldn't STAND children. He had the kids classes for about 6 months before leaving for another job. This is unusual, because usually instructors rotate children's classes every three months. A new instructor came in to teach the kids with the usual drills (Instructor: It's a jacket. What is it?" Kids: "It's a jacket.") He quickly found the kids had learned a unique way of responding.
Instructor: "It's a cat. What is it?"
Kids (in chorus): "It's a cat, you damn kids!"
Misunderstanding due to language barriers is a common problem. If the students in an adult class don't understand a word or phrase, it must be explained using English only. This means that I do a lot of pantomime, a lot of drawing, and a lot of hmmming and ummmming. Have you ever tried to explain "I owe you one"? Or-- here's my favorite so far-- "tricky"? "Tricky" is very tricky to explain! Some of the students are very fun though, and can get very creative with their English. One guy, Toshihide, is so enthusiastic that he just burbles away with the first thing that comes to his lips: "I yesterday boss want not so long angry! It's a feeling. I can't explain! Boss pizza when taste so good to have it! Ha ha ha! It's a good enjoy time." He's so much fun! I much prefer those with messy verbal diarreah to those who just sit and stare... It's a conversation school! I can understand when a student is shy and needs time to warm up to me and the lesson. That's fine, and I can cope. It's when I see the same student over and over and they don't seem to be getting anywhere... oh well. I've only just begun!
Tonight Maz is going to come over and we're going to read tarot cards and drink red wine and watch some episodes of "Lost". I can't wait! English on my television! I'm still enjoying Japanese TV though... there seem to be an awful lot of shows about food. And every single one features EXTREME CLOSE UPS of the food. The tiniest detail of fat sizzling on the Kobe beef... the wee-est particle of spice in the shining golden curry. Also, there seems to be a lot of focus on meeting your food before you eat it. I saw one episode where the food-adventurers went to an ostrich farm. The adventurers had on one-piece jumpsuits-- one guy in blue, one guy in red, and the girl in white. They stand around, feeding the ostriches and trying to pet them. Then Red Guy decides to try to ride an ostrich... he gets about 2 feet before being kicked off. White Girl squeals. Then she tries, but it's half-hearted, with much squealing; the ostrich gets away before she gets near it. Blue Guy manages to grab one and leap on, and rides for about three yards before going ass-over-teakettle on the ground. When he gets up, there is a large smear of ostrich dung on his lower lip, looking like a Hitler moustache. Everyone has a good laugh, then they head inside to eat some nice fresh ostrich meat. Funny, isn't it? I kind of like the idea of being honest about where your food comes from. Apparently at aquariums, children press their noses against the glass saying "Oishiiiii..." ("Delicious...")!
Work is good, and I've had a couple more kids classes, and so am getting the hang of things. I've heard some real horror stories... in one branch a few years ago, they gave a bunch of kids classes to this guy who couldn't STAND children. He had the kids classes for about 6 months before leaving for another job. This is unusual, because usually instructors rotate children's classes every three months. A new instructor came in to teach the kids with the usual drills (Instructor: It's a jacket. What is it?" Kids: "It's a jacket.") He quickly found the kids had learned a unique way of responding.
Instructor: "It's a cat. What is it?"
Kids (in chorus): "It's a cat, you damn kids!"
Misunderstanding due to language barriers is a common problem. If the students in an adult class don't understand a word or phrase, it must be explained using English only. This means that I do a lot of pantomime, a lot of drawing, and a lot of hmmming and ummmming. Have you ever tried to explain "I owe you one"? Or-- here's my favorite so far-- "tricky"? "Tricky" is very tricky to explain! Some of the students are very fun though, and can get very creative with their English. One guy, Toshihide, is so enthusiastic that he just burbles away with the first thing that comes to his lips: "I yesterday boss want not so long angry! It's a feeling. I can't explain! Boss pizza when taste so good to have it! Ha ha ha! It's a good enjoy time." He's so much fun! I much prefer those with messy verbal diarreah to those who just sit and stare... It's a conversation school! I can understand when a student is shy and needs time to warm up to me and the lesson. That's fine, and I can cope. It's when I see the same student over and over and they don't seem to be getting anywhere... oh well. I've only just begun!
Tonight Maz is going to come over and we're going to read tarot cards and drink red wine and watch some episodes of "Lost". I can't wait! English on my television! I'm still enjoying Japanese TV though... there seem to be an awful lot of shows about food. And every single one features EXTREME CLOSE UPS of the food. The tiniest detail of fat sizzling on the Kobe beef... the wee-est particle of spice in the shining golden curry. Also, there seems to be a lot of focus on meeting your food before you eat it. I saw one episode where the food-adventurers went to an ostrich farm. The adventurers had on one-piece jumpsuits-- one guy in blue, one guy in red, and the girl in white. They stand around, feeding the ostriches and trying to pet them. Then Red Guy decides to try to ride an ostrich... he gets about 2 feet before being kicked off. White Girl squeals. Then she tries, but it's half-hearted, with much squealing; the ostrich gets away before she gets near it. Blue Guy manages to grab one and leap on, and rides for about three yards before going ass-over-teakettle on the ground. When he gets up, there is a large smear of ostrich dung on his lower lip, looking like a Hitler moustache. Everyone has a good laugh, then they head inside to eat some nice fresh ostrich meat. Funny, isn't it? I kind of like the idea of being honest about where your food comes from. Apparently at aquariums, children press their noses against the glass saying "Oishiiiii..." ("Delicious...")!
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Climbed Mt. Bizan today. I was restless and lonely last night and was (almost) wishing for room-mates... it's no wonder I talk the ear off of my co-workers whenever I see them. I'm so used to having someone to come home to (even if it's just a dog), and someone to get a hug from if I need one! I decided that if I wanted to start getting better sleeps, I needed to start getting more exersize-- as much as I am one my bike, there really aren't any hills, and it's all far too easy. SO I woke up and rolled out of bed, hung some more wash on the line, and rolled on out to the base of the tropical mountain. I wasn't sure where the paths began, so I biked along for a bit until I saw a shinto shrine at the base-- it looked interesting, so I hopped off my bike, parked, and walked up to it. It's a dazzling sunny day today, bright and windy and full of the salt tang of the sea, and the wind whipped through the trees that surronded the shrine. I washed my hands at the purification site, poked around the deserted shrine for a moment, then found a path that went up; so up I went. I quickly encountered two middle aged gentlemen on their way up the mountain-- they were using their walking staffs to poke at two trees that had completely grown into and through one another, and encouraged me to come closer so that I could see too. Quite amazing! I can only speak about 30 words of Japanese (and most of them have to do with understanding, not understanding, and food) and the shorter of the two fellows could only say a few words of English, but by mutual consent, I was invited to join the hiking party. The taller of the two fellows found a stick that he fashioned into my own walking pole, and we walked up together, I asking them questions that they couldn't understand, and they telling me things that I couldn't understand. Luckily the few words that the shorter fellow knew were useful ones; "more," "up,""go,""river,""higher." I learned the name of a beautiful flowering bush, "tabaki" (I remember because it sounds like how a red-neck might say 'tobacco') and I collected interesting seed pods and rocks and pinecones until my pockets became laden. Everything is very lush and green, with an amazing array of fig trees and bamboo and various ferns and fungi.
The view was astounding at the top-- I could see all the winding rivers, the ocean, the far-off little islands, the famous bridge that connects Shikoku to the mainland. Tokushima is much larger than I had come to believe... there's got to be an art gallery somewhere in this city! At the very top there was an array of buldings, which surprised me at first until I remembered that you can ride a cable-car to the top of the mountain. There was even another shrine at the top, and the taller fellow helped me to pray at it, as I couldn't quite remember the order of things-- it's: 1) Toss the Money 2) Rattle the Rope to Ring the Bell 3) Clap Twice 4) Bow and Pray. The three of us went into the viewing room and had a rest and a good look at the view, and as we were leaving I met a little calico kitten at the top of the mountain, which broke my heart. She meowed and rubbed up against me and I wanted very much to take her with me, but Tall Guy signalled that it was time to go; I have to comfort myself with the fact that most outdoor cats are communal, and that I always see people stopping their bicycles to empty cans of cat food onto little plates on every other corner. Someone's bound to feed her.
On the way down, Tall Guy gave me his good bamboo walking stick to use, and Short Guy kept asking questions and trying to communicate-- it was very cool, and I believe I must have seemed very like on of the communal cats to them-- a welcome novelty, even if she's not something you can take home! At the bottom, I bowed and thanked them very much and went back to my bicycle. I was ravenous and headed towards the Shin Machi (Shopping Arcade) because I remembered Jon saying something about there being a McDonald's there... and I'd heared about something called an Ebi-Burger.
Now, I've had a few outstanding McDonald's expierences that will stay with me forever. In 1985 Mom took me and Sandy to a new McDonald's they had built near the upcoming Expo '86 site in Vancouver, and I had my first McFish Fillet; it came in a blue styrofoam box, and it was the first non-Happy meal of my young life. It was dreamy.
Next: World Youth Day in Denver Colorado, July 1993. McDonald's was the official supplier of food to the hordes of Catholic Youth (hmmm- is there a conspiracy between McDonald's and the Vatican?) and each of us was issued two food tickets per day-- brunch and dinner. We were camped in Cherry Creek State Park (no cherries, no creek, just a lot of dusty scrub, really) along with 17,000 others. I volunteered to go get dinner for myself and a couple of others in my group. I made my way to the McDonald's outpost, handed over my tickets, and was issued a bag full of cheesburgers, plain-- just cheese, buns and meat. As I started back, I quickly found myself lost, and was terrified, staring at the sea of people that stretched for what seemed like miles. Luckily I eventually recognized a fellow, and explained my situation-- he led me back to my Youth Group. I sat down, handed round the burgers, and finally bit into mine-- heaven! Now whenever I'm in the States, I make a point to order at least one plain cheesburger; it's just not the same in Canada.
And now, today, February 17th 2006, I have had another timeless McDonald's moment burned into my being forever. The Ebi-Burger. Oh, sweet Ebi-Burger, all of your shrimpy goodness has made a mark on my heart! A delicious shrimp patty, cooked just right so the shrimp is still sweet and juicy, fries that taste hot and crisp and salty- just like at home, and a cup of fizzy sweet grape Fanta, fresh from the soda fountain... suffice it to say I'm having a great day. Who knew McDonald's had such power!?
Back to work tomorrow-- hopefully no kid's classes until monday. Talk at you later...
The view was astounding at the top-- I could see all the winding rivers, the ocean, the far-off little islands, the famous bridge that connects Shikoku to the mainland. Tokushima is much larger than I had come to believe... there's got to be an art gallery somewhere in this city! At the very top there was an array of buldings, which surprised me at first until I remembered that you can ride a cable-car to the top of the mountain. There was even another shrine at the top, and the taller fellow helped me to pray at it, as I couldn't quite remember the order of things-- it's: 1) Toss the Money 2) Rattle the Rope to Ring the Bell 3) Clap Twice 4) Bow and Pray. The three of us went into the viewing room and had a rest and a good look at the view, and as we were leaving I met a little calico kitten at the top of the mountain, which broke my heart. She meowed and rubbed up against me and I wanted very much to take her with me, but Tall Guy signalled that it was time to go; I have to comfort myself with the fact that most outdoor cats are communal, and that I always see people stopping their bicycles to empty cans of cat food onto little plates on every other corner. Someone's bound to feed her.
On the way down, Tall Guy gave me his good bamboo walking stick to use, and Short Guy kept asking questions and trying to communicate-- it was very cool, and I believe I must have seemed very like on of the communal cats to them-- a welcome novelty, even if she's not something you can take home! At the bottom, I bowed and thanked them very much and went back to my bicycle. I was ravenous and headed towards the Shin Machi (Shopping Arcade) because I remembered Jon saying something about there being a McDonald's there... and I'd heared about something called an Ebi-Burger.
Now, I've had a few outstanding McDonald's expierences that will stay with me forever. In 1985 Mom took me and Sandy to a new McDonald's they had built near the upcoming Expo '86 site in Vancouver, and I had my first McFish Fillet; it came in a blue styrofoam box, and it was the first non-Happy meal of my young life. It was dreamy.
Next: World Youth Day in Denver Colorado, July 1993. McDonald's was the official supplier of food to the hordes of Catholic Youth (hmmm- is there a conspiracy between McDonald's and the Vatican?) and each of us was issued two food tickets per day-- brunch and dinner. We were camped in Cherry Creek State Park (no cherries, no creek, just a lot of dusty scrub, really) along with 17,000 others. I volunteered to go get dinner for myself and a couple of others in my group. I made my way to the McDonald's outpost, handed over my tickets, and was issued a bag full of cheesburgers, plain-- just cheese, buns and meat. As I started back, I quickly found myself lost, and was terrified, staring at the sea of people that stretched for what seemed like miles. Luckily I eventually recognized a fellow, and explained my situation-- he led me back to my Youth Group. I sat down, handed round the burgers, and finally bit into mine-- heaven! Now whenever I'm in the States, I make a point to order at least one plain cheesburger; it's just not the same in Canada.
And now, today, February 17th 2006, I have had another timeless McDonald's moment burned into my being forever. The Ebi-Burger. Oh, sweet Ebi-Burger, all of your shrimpy goodness has made a mark on my heart! A delicious shrimp patty, cooked just right so the shrimp is still sweet and juicy, fries that taste hot and crisp and salty- just like at home, and a cup of fizzy sweet grape Fanta, fresh from the soda fountain... suffice it to say I'm having a great day. Who knew McDonald's had such power!?
Back to work tomorrow-- hopefully no kid's classes until monday. Talk at you later...
One more thing before I go! (OK, maybe two...) Valentine's day in Japan is a day on which women give men gifts. It's like, Honor The Man With Your Love And Other Presents day (We can call it HTMWYLAOP day). Which may make some of you think "Allll RIGHT!!" and make others of you feel cheated. Which is why there is White Day on March 14th, on which men give women gifts. Way to stretch the holidays out, eh? For those who prefer a more traditional Valentine's day in which the couple honors each other-- that's what Christmas is for. Seriously.
The other thing was-- on every toilet handle, there are two symbols. One for 'BIG' and one for 'little'. You push the handle in one direction or the other depending on the size of your deposit. How funny is that? Maybe it's a good idea, ecologically speaking... but that's what the expression, "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down" is for.
Have to go before I break the bank on inernet fees...
The other thing was-- on every toilet handle, there are two symbols. One for 'BIG' and one for 'little'. You push the handle in one direction or the other depending on the size of your deposit. How funny is that? Maybe it's a good idea, ecologically speaking... but that's what the expression, "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down" is for.
Have to go before I break the bank on inernet fees...
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Back at Topia, the international centre. Thanks goodness for a regular (well-- regular to me) keyboard and a sober mind. Things have been cookin', and it's hard to believe that I've only been in Japan for three weeks and a day.
My very first kid's class was a dream. A well-ordered line up of seven 6-8 year old girls trooped into my class and got their homework out for me to check. We played several games, and they remembered how to say all of the English words I was teaching them: "Shorts, Jacket, Sneakers, Pants, T-Shirt, Cap". Flash cards were handed back neatly with a softly spoken "here you are." I couldn't believe how lovely and smooth it all was... then my second kid's class happened. It was a nightmare. Little boys grabbing their crothes and yelling "PANTS! Wa-HA-HA-HA!" (at least they remembered how to say "Pants"). Jumping on the couches. Colouring the carpet with their pencils. Shoving, pushing, generally ignoring me. By the end of the 40 minutes (thank GOD it was only 40 minutes) I was a wreck. My two adult lessons following were a mess-- I was so shaken up I brought in the wrong textbooks to class and had trouble focusing on the students. If only I was allowed to speak Japanese in class! I would say, "You are shaming your family with your behaivor. Please be respectful." (or something similarly dignified and embarassing for them to hear) . However, it being an English immersion class, all I can do is cross my forearms (the Japanese way to say "Stop","No","Wrong" or "Not Allowed") and say firmly-- "NO! OK? NO!"
It's pretty stupid.
Life has been interesting-- I'm now a recognized face at Big Brothers and the staff always get folks to move along the counter to make room for me, as it's my preferred place to sit. Sitting at the counter, you can talk with Norm, who's been running Big Brothers with another dude since 1995. If I need anything-- information, reccomendations, peanut butter-- Norm's the guy to ask. He's an incredible hulk of a guy, 6'5", with a wicked dirty sense of humor and a fabulous brownie recipe. He speaks fluent Japanese, and has a penchant for Onsens (hot springs)-- I think he and his girlfriend are trying to write a travel guide based solely on where all the best Onsens are. I was in there today with Jon (my co-worker from Idaho) and the conversation ranged from Japanese love-hotels to what Letterman had to say about the Vice President shooting that other fellow whilst quail-hunting (it was the first I'd heard of it). After lunch, Jon and I went to Tokushima Central Park to look for the massive spiders that Jon keeps talking about-- but it's been raining heavily lately, and all we could find were bits of web.
Tokushima Central Park is my latest discovery, and currently my greatest joy. The park circles around the base of a jungly hill that used to be the site of Tokushima Castle, so there is still the moat on one side, and the river on the other. Each part of the base-park is differest from the next-- deep shadowy wild ponds with long-legged white birds foraging in the shallows, stoic looking rock gardens, a pretty waterfall gushing into a wide shallow pool, golden with algae... It's a dream just to coast on my bike round and round. There are some interesting sculptures in the gardens too, and of course many cultured trees looking like the greenery from The Mario Brothers games on the old Nintendo system. I can already imagine the park in the summer, drenched in wet heat and the buzzing whirr of cicadas...
As for now, it's still wet and cold. I wish that I had a dryer-- last night when I went to play card's at Shona and Denise's place, I ended up hanging my pants over a chair and wearing a pair of Shona's "trackies" (sweat pants)... they were dry by the time I left for my place, but wet again when I got there, and still damp this morning. The washing machine in my place is still an evil little machine and continues to make my laundry dirtier than when it went in-- it also makes horrific noises that continually surprise me into thinking someone is trying to break in. The one good thing about the appliances in my place is the heated toilet seat. Ahh, I feel relaxed even as I think about it... heated toilet seat. Nothing like coming home, soggy and chilled froom tooling around on the bike, and sitting down on that blessed warm ring. I'm a sucker for small pleasures!
I was out again at Ingrid's International karaoke bar on tuesday night-- another goodbye party for Shona (and she'll have another on Saturday- I tell you, these Aussies like to party!) I dressed up in a black dress and fish-net stockings and heels, and put flowers in my hair, painted my mouth bright red, and rode my bike through to the Shin Machi (Night District). It was fun to watch the heads spin, as most of us foriegn girls here do all of our living in jeans (unless of course we're going to work; but then we look like Mormons). I got a chance to talk with Ingrid as it was quiet (aside from the cauterwailing of us five Nova employees and the one Japanese patron of the bar) and found her to be a fascinating lady. She's a gorgeous little Philipino lady, and she's been in Tokushima for 13 years. When I asked why she came, she wouldn't explain as it was "a long story," and the question made her look wary and a little sad. However, she speaks 5 languages, is very engaging, and has a knack for remembering everyone's name and what they like to drink. The perfect hostess. Her bar is THE place for the international community of Tokushima to unwind. That night I was hit on for the first time by a Japanese fellow-- the only one in the bar. He was round and bald as the Buddah, and works as a cook in a restaurant; he wants to open his own Italian restaurant. Funnily enough, his name is Katsu, which means 'deep fried' in Japanese. His overtures consisted of the following-- keep in mind that he spoke absolutely deadpan, with no trace of emotion:
Katsu: "I have seen you many times."
Endrene: "Really? I don't think so, I've only been in Tokushima for 3 weeks!"
Katsu: "You are kawaii." ('kawaii is 'cute')
Endrene: "Oh, no. I don't think so!" (which is the appropriate response in Japan-- apparently it's very rude to agree with a compliment. If someone says your sister is pretty, you have to say, "Oh no. She's such a dog".)
Katsu: "Yes. Vey kawaii. I tell no lie."
Endrene: "Oh... well..."
Katsu: "I will see you again. I want to open my own restaurant. I work very much."
Anyway, it was kind of fun and funny. I didn't make any plans to see him again or anything, which is completely for the best. Besides, I think he's got me mixed up with the only other busty blonde chick in Tokushima. I think she's an American, working at one of the other English schools.
That's all for today. See you next time, Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!
My very first kid's class was a dream. A well-ordered line up of seven 6-8 year old girls trooped into my class and got their homework out for me to check. We played several games, and they remembered how to say all of the English words I was teaching them: "Shorts, Jacket, Sneakers, Pants, T-Shirt, Cap". Flash cards were handed back neatly with a softly spoken "here you are." I couldn't believe how lovely and smooth it all was... then my second kid's class happened. It was a nightmare. Little boys grabbing their crothes and yelling "PANTS! Wa-HA-HA-HA!" (at least they remembered how to say "Pants"). Jumping on the couches. Colouring the carpet with their pencils. Shoving, pushing, generally ignoring me. By the end of the 40 minutes (thank GOD it was only 40 minutes) I was a wreck. My two adult lessons following were a mess-- I was so shaken up I brought in the wrong textbooks to class and had trouble focusing on the students. If only I was allowed to speak Japanese in class! I would say, "You are shaming your family with your behaivor. Please be respectful." (or something similarly dignified and embarassing for them to hear) . However, it being an English immersion class, all I can do is cross my forearms (the Japanese way to say "Stop","No","Wrong" or "Not Allowed") and say firmly-- "NO! OK? NO!"
It's pretty stupid.
Life has been interesting-- I'm now a recognized face at Big Brothers and the staff always get folks to move along the counter to make room for me, as it's my preferred place to sit. Sitting at the counter, you can talk with Norm, who's been running Big Brothers with another dude since 1995. If I need anything-- information, reccomendations, peanut butter-- Norm's the guy to ask. He's an incredible hulk of a guy, 6'5", with a wicked dirty sense of humor and a fabulous brownie recipe. He speaks fluent Japanese, and has a penchant for Onsens (hot springs)-- I think he and his girlfriend are trying to write a travel guide based solely on where all the best Onsens are. I was in there today with Jon (my co-worker from Idaho) and the conversation ranged from Japanese love-hotels to what Letterman had to say about the Vice President shooting that other fellow whilst quail-hunting (it was the first I'd heard of it). After lunch, Jon and I went to Tokushima Central Park to look for the massive spiders that Jon keeps talking about-- but it's been raining heavily lately, and all we could find were bits of web.
Tokushima Central Park is my latest discovery, and currently my greatest joy. The park circles around the base of a jungly hill that used to be the site of Tokushima Castle, so there is still the moat on one side, and the river on the other. Each part of the base-park is differest from the next-- deep shadowy wild ponds with long-legged white birds foraging in the shallows, stoic looking rock gardens, a pretty waterfall gushing into a wide shallow pool, golden with algae... It's a dream just to coast on my bike round and round. There are some interesting sculptures in the gardens too, and of course many cultured trees looking like the greenery from The Mario Brothers games on the old Nintendo system. I can already imagine the park in the summer, drenched in wet heat and the buzzing whirr of cicadas...
As for now, it's still wet and cold. I wish that I had a dryer-- last night when I went to play card's at Shona and Denise's place, I ended up hanging my pants over a chair and wearing a pair of Shona's "trackies" (sweat pants)... they were dry by the time I left for my place, but wet again when I got there, and still damp this morning. The washing machine in my place is still an evil little machine and continues to make my laundry dirtier than when it went in-- it also makes horrific noises that continually surprise me into thinking someone is trying to break in. The one good thing about the appliances in my place is the heated toilet seat. Ahh, I feel relaxed even as I think about it... heated toilet seat. Nothing like coming home, soggy and chilled froom tooling around on the bike, and sitting down on that blessed warm ring. I'm a sucker for small pleasures!
I was out again at Ingrid's International karaoke bar on tuesday night-- another goodbye party for Shona (and she'll have another on Saturday- I tell you, these Aussies like to party!) I dressed up in a black dress and fish-net stockings and heels, and put flowers in my hair, painted my mouth bright red, and rode my bike through to the Shin Machi (Night District). It was fun to watch the heads spin, as most of us foriegn girls here do all of our living in jeans (unless of course we're going to work; but then we look like Mormons). I got a chance to talk with Ingrid as it was quiet (aside from the cauterwailing of us five Nova employees and the one Japanese patron of the bar) and found her to be a fascinating lady. She's a gorgeous little Philipino lady, and she's been in Tokushima for 13 years. When I asked why she came, she wouldn't explain as it was "a long story," and the question made her look wary and a little sad. However, she speaks 5 languages, is very engaging, and has a knack for remembering everyone's name and what they like to drink. The perfect hostess. Her bar is THE place for the international community of Tokushima to unwind. That night I was hit on for the first time by a Japanese fellow-- the only one in the bar. He was round and bald as the Buddah, and works as a cook in a restaurant; he wants to open his own Italian restaurant. Funnily enough, his name is Katsu, which means 'deep fried' in Japanese. His overtures consisted of the following-- keep in mind that he spoke absolutely deadpan, with no trace of emotion:
Katsu: "I have seen you many times."
Endrene: "Really? I don't think so, I've only been in Tokushima for 3 weeks!"
Katsu: "You are kawaii." ('kawaii is 'cute')
Endrene: "Oh, no. I don't think so!" (which is the appropriate response in Japan-- apparently it's very rude to agree with a compliment. If someone says your sister is pretty, you have to say, "Oh no. She's such a dog".)
Katsu: "Yes. Vey kawaii. I tell no lie."
Endrene: "Oh... well..."
Katsu: "I will see you again. I want to open my own restaurant. I work very much."
Anyway, it was kind of fun and funny. I didn't make any plans to see him again or anything, which is completely for the best. Besides, I think he's got me mixed up with the only other busty blonde chick in Tokushima. I think she's an American, working at one of the other English schools.
That's all for today. See you next time, Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Hey dudes. I\m curentlly in a bar in the night district of Tokushima, listening to my coworkers play a drinking game based on Superhero nicknames and the sound of Leonard Cohen (of all people) smoking away on the stereo. It@s called for reasons currently unkown to me and this is my 1st time typing on a Japanese keyboard, so I apologize if it:s awful. Today at work it was interesting as usual, and I had my share of good and uncomfortably awful classes. Tomorrow is my 1st day teaching kids, so I;m slightly nervous, but tonight was (and is) the goodbye/welcome party (goodbye Shona and Alex, hello me) party, so mostly right now I;m a little inebriated and dreading the bike ride home. All my coworkers are awesome, and I mostly like the bike ride to work, although today I ask * PLEASE SARAH, WILL YOU SEND MY BIKE HELMET, I THINK IT:s IN THE BARN ON THE HANDLEBARS OF MY ONE-SPEED because today it was raining and snowing and sleeting and I have never had such a piss-awful bike ride in my life. I was rear^ended by a school-girl on the big bridge and I was freezing and cussing and blowing all over the place. Next, on the busy road past the bridge, I tried to pass a woman pushing her scooter along the side of the road, slipped and up-unded my bike, luckily jumping off to the SIDE of the road as my bike flipped and punched a hole in my plastic umbrella (which was stolen from my bike sometime while I was at work)^^ at any rate, I was pumped full of adrenelaine by the time I showed up for class. Any way, it had stopped snowing by the time I hit Tokushima proper after work, and was only threatened by the gentle pitter^patter of the bird ^droppings from the myriad of birdies parked along the wires above the road on the ride home. They were CUTE until I could hear the 'pi^ta^pata-pita' of poop on the pavement. OK, so that:s it for tonight. I need a real keyboard$$!
Friday, February 10, 2006
A beautiful sunny windy day here in Tokushima-- I started the day by sleeping in for a disgustingly long time, which was truly a great pleasure. Then to work I went; washing windows, washing bedding and hanging it on the line, beating the hell out of my futon, washing dishes and the like. I bought a new cell phone a few days ago and so talked to Corrin for a bit, and my grandparents, and Sarah-- then my new phone went dead... just when I was getting all the latest 'Survivor' news. That show is like crack I tell you! And it sounds like this season they've spiced it up with innumerable twists and turns. Oh well. I'll have to satisfy myself with some of Japan's great shows, such as "The XL Files" -- it follows a fat guy who travels from one four-star eatery to the next, exclaiming "Maru!" (I think it means 'tasty' or something) as he samples the fresh sashimi or a 9000 yen piece of Kobe beef. Sometime's he'll bring along another fat guy, maybe a sumo wrestler. Sometimes I'll just flip channels, looking for the funny commercials-- my current favorite starts with a view of two teenagers from the back, sitting side-by-side very close at a desk. You assume they are studying. They are making little proclamations of happiness as they lean against each other. All of a sudden, the camera switches to a front view, and you can see that they both have a finger lodged firmly up a nostril, and they are happy because the nostril cream they are using feels s-o-o-o-o good!
I got back from Matsuyama yesterday-- I was there for just wednesday and thursday, doing my Kid's Class training and a help-shift teaching adults. It was an OK trip, but to be honest, I'm getting a little tired of being shipped from place to place. It's enough to be faced with all the new rules and regulations of a new job-- never mind the new language, new food, new friends... it's all a little tiring. Which is probably why I don't regret having a good lay-in this morning!
After cleaning, I rode my bike through the bright and shining streets to the city office to pick up my Gaijin card, which I got without any hassle. As I sat down in the waiting area to tuck it safely into my wallet the blonde fellow who was napping in front of me suddenly turned around and exclaimed, "You're not Japanese!" Uh, yeah. Surprise... Anyway, his name was Kristian, and he's a German working as a chemist at the University of Shikoku here in town. He's been here for a year, and still hasn't learned any Japanese, which is probably why he was so pleased to spot another blonde. We had a bit of a chat, and as I left I started to realize why I'm not much of a head-turner here in Tokushima-- foreigners are everywhere! For such a 'small' city, it's very metropolitan. About the only people who get exited when they spot a gaijin are other gaijin!
Anyway, I'm off to grocery shop, and maybe have a bit of a ride through Tokushima Central Park-- supposedly there's a castle in there, but it must be very small, because you certainly can't see it from the edges of the park. Until next time, keep well, have fun...
I got back from Matsuyama yesterday-- I was there for just wednesday and thursday, doing my Kid's Class training and a help-shift teaching adults. It was an OK trip, but to be honest, I'm getting a little tired of being shipped from place to place. It's enough to be faced with all the new rules and regulations of a new job-- never mind the new language, new food, new friends... it's all a little tiring. Which is probably why I don't regret having a good lay-in this morning!
After cleaning, I rode my bike through the bright and shining streets to the city office to pick up my Gaijin card, which I got without any hassle. As I sat down in the waiting area to tuck it safely into my wallet the blonde fellow who was napping in front of me suddenly turned around and exclaimed, "You're not Japanese!" Uh, yeah. Surprise... Anyway, his name was Kristian, and he's a German working as a chemist at the University of Shikoku here in town. He's been here for a year, and still hasn't learned any Japanese, which is probably why he was so pleased to spot another blonde. We had a bit of a chat, and as I left I started to realize why I'm not much of a head-turner here in Tokushima-- foreigners are everywhere! For such a 'small' city, it's very metropolitan. About the only people who get exited when they spot a gaijin are other gaijin!
Anyway, I'm off to grocery shop, and maybe have a bit of a ride through Tokushima Central Park-- supposedly there's a castle in there, but it must be very small, because you certainly can't see it from the edges of the park. Until next time, keep well, have fun...
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Here I am, back in Tokushima! I just arrived from Himeiji about 45 minutes ago. That's where I ended up doing my training, which now seems like a blur. Hard to believe they can teach you everything you need to know about being a dynamite Nova instructor in 3 freakin' days. Suffice it to say I'm a little wiped out right now.
My adventure began on the 30th-- I followed Shona and Maz's (to-be coworkers of mine) instructions and parked my bike in an alley near the train station where it wouldn't be impounded and arrived at the train station early. Maz had said, "Now this may sound stupid, but Don't Miss The Train". And I was like, "Doi." It didn't look difficult-- I knew where I was heading to, and I knew which platform to stand at, and I knew what time the train was arriving.
I missed the train.
Turns out that I didn't know what time the train was arriving; what I had was the time for the train's departure. So I sat down and had a good cry about it for a few minutes before I decided that I was ruining my makeup and my air of professionalism, and that maybe I had better go find out what I should do. It turned out that the next train came about an hour later, so I would be able to arrive in Okayama just in time to get to Orientation. I caught the next train without any trouble and admired the scenery that flashed by-- glimpses of villages and orange trees with ripened fruit falling off of the branches, dry rice paddies and bustling cities with narrow streets and garbage in the ditches and waterways, the misty ocean and serene looking little islands fading off into the gray distance. I made my train change in Takayama without difficulty and pulled into Okayama with about 20 minutes to spare. "How joyous," I thought. I was feeling quite satisfied... and then came disorientation part two. I got completely lost in the train station trying to find the correct exit, well aware that to get out of the station, you must relinquish the ticket you used to get there. Once you have done that, you can not get back into the station, even if it's just to walk through and find the right exit. Freaked out and overwhelmed, I wandered about sobbing audibly through the crowds of cuirous looking people. At that point I was having difficulty calming myself down enough to ask for directions, so I must have presented a pretty pathetic sight. Or maybe romantic-- there's no better love story than one that ends badly in Japan, so maybe everyone thought that I was crying over my lost love, and they wanted to leave me alone so they could enjoy the fantasy. Anyway.
I managed to find my way out of the station, and because it was raining, I had an opportunity to open Kelaine's Umbrella of Mystery. I tell you, that umbrella could not have been necessary at a better time--- all over the black umbrella, Kelaine had drawn stars and written in gold. It was some lovely prose about how Endrene the adventurer was going to soak up all the sights and sounds of a magical new place (and maybe see a unicorn too). It renewed my confidence a little, enough so that I felt I could go on. *Thanks, Kelaine!*
I made it to Orientation (hah! 'Orientation' they call it) and was only about 5 minutes late. Late enough to make the Aussie in charge of the orienatation a little disgusted with me. Luckily, about 10 minutes after I arrived, a ditzy chick from Louisianna showed up, exclaiming, "Oh mercy! I had no earthly idea how to get here!" and any animosity I had previously been experiencing was deferred. Orientation itself was marginally useful-- mostly it was a check-in to make sure we knew who to call if we got into trouble and a review of company policy. There were about eight of us, and only one person that I'd met before-- the guy in the brown suit with the bad breath. His name is James. After we'd all been filled up with rules and policies and instructions, we were let go to find our seperate ways to OJT (On the Job Training). James suggested going to a (can't remember the name-- I'll put it in later) Japanese style pub. By that point, a beer sounded like a really great idea, so I followed along. Seven of us went, and I had a really enjoyable meal of okanamayaki (like a little pizza-ish pie of egg, cabbage, mayonaise, squid and fish-flakes) while the Louisianna chick babbled on and on about how strange and different and weird everything is. Uh, yeah. Surprise, you're in Japan!
Despite his persistant halitosis, James turned out to be quite nice and helpful, and came with three of us to the train station to make sure that we went to the correct platforms. I got to ride the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Himeiji-- an 83 km jouney that took about twenty minutes. It's no wonder that when someone gets hit by one of these trains they are vapourized. It was dark, so I couldn't see much, but I kind of had the sensation of riding a really boring roller coaster. I also accidentally sat in a smoking car (everyone smokes EVERYWHERE here) so I was glad that the trip was over quickly. Again, getting off the train I got a little turned around in the station, but quickly righted myself and actually came out the correct exit-- my hotel in plain view. What a relief!
I stayed at the Toyoko hotel, which was very nice. The front desk staff were all youngish women in pretty pink uniforms. When I checked in, I was given a little welcome package in a pink plastic sack. It contained two seperately packaged Q-tips, a shoe-polishing sponge preloaded with black shoe polish and a small plastic bag marked SANITARY BAG. It was kind of funny, but hey! I'm in Japan! The room was teeny-tiny, smaller than my dorm room. I had a nice firm bed and a pair of pajamas laid out for me, with instructions on how to use the Pants Press located under my bed. (I tried to use it on one of my blouses, but it was a failure.) I set the phone to ring to wake me up early, because I didn't start training until 1 pm and I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to find Nova and look around, because I had heard that Himeiji has the oldest (and best) castle in Japan.
The next morning I headed down to the lobby in time for the free breakfast-- nigiri (flavoured rice blocks) and miso soup. It was awesome-- there isn't a better breakfast than soup, as far as I'm concerned. It was the same breakfast all 4 mornings, and I didn't tire of it. I then headed off for Nova-- again, a little difficulty finding the passageway that takes one over the train station (no ticket needed) but once I found it, all was well. The Himeiji Nova is located in a giant shopping corridor-- it's like a 6-block street covered with a roof. It's mostly jammed with pedestrians and bicyclists, but the occaisional service vehicle came driving through to deliver supplies. Once I found Nova I decided to shop for a while, as I didn't have the energy or enthusiasm neccesary for sightseeing. I spent a considerable amount of time in the "Leg Fashion" store -- you should see the variety of stockings and socks they have here-- and in a kid's clothing store. I was looking at the shirts with mangled English on them. Some didn't male sense at all. My favorite was a little boy's shirt that read, "I AM NOT RECYCLE TRASH! Think Ecology!".
Training ended up being pretty fun, in retrospect, although I did have a few rough patches where I felt like it was all just happening too quickly. I was being trained by a nice Aussie named Grant who has been in Japan for -- 8 years? The other trainee was this cute little blond fellow with enormous lips and shiny blue eyes, named Lawrence. He was from somewhere in England, and had an accent I had difficulty deciphering. At any rate, he was fun to learn with, and we had a good time at the lunch breaks deciding what to have. The first day it was curry (our pick) the next day it was stuff from the bakery (his pick-- he managed to get a chocolate thing while I unluckily chose a curry donut-- too much curry) and yesterday it was tempura and sweet bean-paste pastries (my pick). The poor guy bit into the bean-paste bun and I almost choked on mine when I saw his big red lips trying to keep it in his mouth-- they just kept working and working while he started to look more and more worried-- he finally went and spat it out. It was hilarious! Anyway, more for me-- I LOVE it.
Classes have anywhere from one to four students, although it's usually 2 or 3. Each class is 40 minutes long, with a 15 minute interval between each class, with a maximum of five classes being taught in a row. The instruction manual is relatively simple, and each lesson is themed appropriately for the learning level of the student; for example, a low-level student might get a lesson themed on Simple Greetings or Do You Like Rice, while a more advanced student might get Dealing With Angry People or Talking About The Future. It all became pretty simple once I got the hang of it, although I'm still not 100% great at keeping my instructions simple enough to understand for the lower level students. It's a total immersion system, so there's no use of Japanese allowed, even if I know I could explain it in one word. My fist day at Kitajima (the other Tokushima school) is tomorrow. Anyway, I feel confident enough about it all to not be too worried-- although I still do have to find out how to get there.
My second morning in Himeiji I got up extra early and made my way up to the castle grounds, although I couldn't figure out how to get in to the castle. I ended up walking around the enormous property, stopping to take pictures here and there, and eventually came across an entry gate for the castle and the castle gardens-- by that time I wasn't really interested in going into the castle-- I was enjoying the fresh air and the rainy scenery, so I decided to pay to see the gardens instead. They were mind-blowingly beautiful-- I can't even begin to imagine how lovely they are when the greenery is in full blast or when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. I wandered about in the kind of stupor that only comes from an excess of beauty-- my senses were very nearly overfilled with the sense of rich peace and the sounds and smells of the earth and the water. Each garden is walled off from the other, and I visited about five. I didn't ever have to share the gardens with another person, the wet weather probably causing most people to head indoors to the castle instead. It was my great fortune. In one garden I found a tea-house-- a friendly sign in English welcomed me in to enjoy a traditional tea ceremony. I hesitantly slid open the door and was welcomed by a friendly hostess who spoke very good English. She took my 500 yen and gave me diagrammatical directions on how to perform the cermony. Once I was seated in the tatami room, I was waited on by women in kimono. The first brought me a pink sweet in the shape of a blossom, sort of a bean-paste thing, half the size of my palm. Once I had used correct deccorum and eaten it up (yum), my tea was brought by another woman. Both times the ladies sat by me to attend to me and (I am sure) make certain that I was doing it right. The tea-lady was very friendly and helpful, but by the end of that bit I was so nervous, I can't quite remember what the tea tasted like. I then sat and soaked up the peace a little more-- up until the time I left, I was the only customer in the tea-house.
I then headed back to the indoor mall. I had forgotten to bring any foundation make-up with me to training, and so decided to go to one of the cossmetics stores I had seen, and see whether I could find some. I walked into the Shiseido store and was immediately waited on by two women. Neither one spoke much English, and my Japanese level is still below that of a normal two-year old, so there was much gesturing and face-making involved. The younger of the two took me to a counter in the store (which was beautiful, I might add) and proceeded to start up this high-tech computer thingie. She used a sort of laser pen device to scan the skin on my cheek, and then the skin on my neck. A graph-type image then came up, showing the two skin-tones, and where they intersected. She then put in my age (there was some confusion when I thought that she was asking for the day of my birth and she wanted the year-- she typed in 1911, and we all had a good laugh) and then she bustled off to get the correct foundations and powders. Before I knew it, I had a complete makover, lipstick, eyeshadow and blush included. I didn't buy everything, but I did leave with more than I had intended on getting (and with less yen in my pocket). It was so worth it, though; just the experience itself was priceless. Not to mention I was watching carefully as she did my eyeshadow, so I picked up a couple of good tricks.
Last night was my final evening in Himeiji, and it also happened to be the birhtday of Liesl, one of the Nova staff. Lawrence and I got to come along for the party, which was in an upscale Japanese-- bar? Pub? VERY upscale anyway. The entrance was made to look as though you were walking along a winding midnight path of shiny black stepping stones among smooth white river-rocks-- the screens surrounding the path were black with pin-points of light shining through like stars. Everyone got their own cupboard for his or her shoes, and we were directed upstairs to our own room. A 12 foot table was in the centre, at ground-level, and we all sat around it on cushions printed with white rabbits dashing through an autumn sky. I talked with everyone I could-- there were so many fascinating people with such a variety of stories. I probably spent the most time speaking with a woman who was originally from Ireland, but had moved to California, met and married John (a Nova instructor) and then come to Japan to teach English at the University of Himeiji. Much drinking and terrible karaoke ensued. I went to the washroom at one point-- all dark hard wood and polished black stone-- and bumped into Liesl, who encouraged me to try out the 'bottom wash' button on the fancy toilet. Once explained to me, it didn't look so frightening and I decided to give it a shot. I almost broke the mirrors in the washroom with my shreiking laughter-- the hot stream of 'cleansing water' tickled so much I couldn't contain myself. Once the "off" button had been pressed, I had my choice of colourful scented toilet paper-- one printed with pink lipstick kisses, and the other printed with blue stars and a playboy bunny figure silouette sitting on a swing suspended by the moon. I emerged from my stall feeling very decadent, if a little ridiculous. Poor Liesl was stuck on her toilet, as the "off" button in that particular stall didn't work... all in all, it was the best time I've had in a ladies washroom in ages.
Anyway, suffice it to say, I had a great time. I still have so much to do before work begins tomorrow-- for starters, make sure my bike is still in the alley-- so I had best get off this computer. Thanks, everybody, for reading and emailing me, and I'll be in touch soon...
Love
Endrene
My adventure began on the 30th-- I followed Shona and Maz's (to-be coworkers of mine) instructions and parked my bike in an alley near the train station where it wouldn't be impounded and arrived at the train station early. Maz had said, "Now this may sound stupid, but Don't Miss The Train". And I was like, "Doi." It didn't look difficult-- I knew where I was heading to, and I knew which platform to stand at, and I knew what time the train was arriving.
I missed the train.
Turns out that I didn't know what time the train was arriving; what I had was the time for the train's departure. So I sat down and had a good cry about it for a few minutes before I decided that I was ruining my makeup and my air of professionalism, and that maybe I had better go find out what I should do. It turned out that the next train came about an hour later, so I would be able to arrive in Okayama just in time to get to Orientation. I caught the next train without any trouble and admired the scenery that flashed by-- glimpses of villages and orange trees with ripened fruit falling off of the branches, dry rice paddies and bustling cities with narrow streets and garbage in the ditches and waterways, the misty ocean and serene looking little islands fading off into the gray distance. I made my train change in Takayama without difficulty and pulled into Okayama with about 20 minutes to spare. "How joyous," I thought. I was feeling quite satisfied... and then came disorientation part two. I got completely lost in the train station trying to find the correct exit, well aware that to get out of the station, you must relinquish the ticket you used to get there. Once you have done that, you can not get back into the station, even if it's just to walk through and find the right exit. Freaked out and overwhelmed, I wandered about sobbing audibly through the crowds of cuirous looking people. At that point I was having difficulty calming myself down enough to ask for directions, so I must have presented a pretty pathetic sight. Or maybe romantic-- there's no better love story than one that ends badly in Japan, so maybe everyone thought that I was crying over my lost love, and they wanted to leave me alone so they could enjoy the fantasy. Anyway.
I managed to find my way out of the station, and because it was raining, I had an opportunity to open Kelaine's Umbrella of Mystery. I tell you, that umbrella could not have been necessary at a better time--- all over the black umbrella, Kelaine had drawn stars and written in gold. It was some lovely prose about how Endrene the adventurer was going to soak up all the sights and sounds of a magical new place (and maybe see a unicorn too). It renewed my confidence a little, enough so that I felt I could go on. *Thanks, Kelaine!*
I made it to Orientation (hah! 'Orientation' they call it) and was only about 5 minutes late. Late enough to make the Aussie in charge of the orienatation a little disgusted with me. Luckily, about 10 minutes after I arrived, a ditzy chick from Louisianna showed up, exclaiming, "Oh mercy! I had no earthly idea how to get here!" and any animosity I had previously been experiencing was deferred. Orientation itself was marginally useful-- mostly it was a check-in to make sure we knew who to call if we got into trouble and a review of company policy. There were about eight of us, and only one person that I'd met before-- the guy in the brown suit with the bad breath. His name is James. After we'd all been filled up with rules and policies and instructions, we were let go to find our seperate ways to OJT (On the Job Training). James suggested going to a (can't remember the name-- I'll put it in later) Japanese style pub. By that point, a beer sounded like a really great idea, so I followed along. Seven of us went, and I had a really enjoyable meal of okanamayaki (like a little pizza-ish pie of egg, cabbage, mayonaise, squid and fish-flakes) while the Louisianna chick babbled on and on about how strange and different and weird everything is. Uh, yeah. Surprise, you're in Japan!
Despite his persistant halitosis, James turned out to be quite nice and helpful, and came with three of us to the train station to make sure that we went to the correct platforms. I got to ride the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Himeiji-- an 83 km jouney that took about twenty minutes. It's no wonder that when someone gets hit by one of these trains they are vapourized. It was dark, so I couldn't see much, but I kind of had the sensation of riding a really boring roller coaster. I also accidentally sat in a smoking car (everyone smokes EVERYWHERE here) so I was glad that the trip was over quickly. Again, getting off the train I got a little turned around in the station, but quickly righted myself and actually came out the correct exit-- my hotel in plain view. What a relief!
I stayed at the Toyoko hotel, which was very nice. The front desk staff were all youngish women in pretty pink uniforms. When I checked in, I was given a little welcome package in a pink plastic sack. It contained two seperately packaged Q-tips, a shoe-polishing sponge preloaded with black shoe polish and a small plastic bag marked SANITARY BAG. It was kind of funny, but hey! I'm in Japan! The room was teeny-tiny, smaller than my dorm room. I had a nice firm bed and a pair of pajamas laid out for me, with instructions on how to use the Pants Press located under my bed. (I tried to use it on one of my blouses, but it was a failure.) I set the phone to ring to wake me up early, because I didn't start training until 1 pm and I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to find Nova and look around, because I had heard that Himeiji has the oldest (and best) castle in Japan.
The next morning I headed down to the lobby in time for the free breakfast-- nigiri (flavoured rice blocks) and miso soup. It was awesome-- there isn't a better breakfast than soup, as far as I'm concerned. It was the same breakfast all 4 mornings, and I didn't tire of it. I then headed off for Nova-- again, a little difficulty finding the passageway that takes one over the train station (no ticket needed) but once I found it, all was well. The Himeiji Nova is located in a giant shopping corridor-- it's like a 6-block street covered with a roof. It's mostly jammed with pedestrians and bicyclists, but the occaisional service vehicle came driving through to deliver supplies. Once I found Nova I decided to shop for a while, as I didn't have the energy or enthusiasm neccesary for sightseeing. I spent a considerable amount of time in the "Leg Fashion" store -- you should see the variety of stockings and socks they have here-- and in a kid's clothing store. I was looking at the shirts with mangled English on them. Some didn't male sense at all. My favorite was a little boy's shirt that read, "I AM NOT RECYCLE TRASH! Think Ecology!".
Training ended up being pretty fun, in retrospect, although I did have a few rough patches where I felt like it was all just happening too quickly. I was being trained by a nice Aussie named Grant who has been in Japan for -- 8 years? The other trainee was this cute little blond fellow with enormous lips and shiny blue eyes, named Lawrence. He was from somewhere in England, and had an accent I had difficulty deciphering. At any rate, he was fun to learn with, and we had a good time at the lunch breaks deciding what to have. The first day it was curry (our pick) the next day it was stuff from the bakery (his pick-- he managed to get a chocolate thing while I unluckily chose a curry donut-- too much curry) and yesterday it was tempura and sweet bean-paste pastries (my pick). The poor guy bit into the bean-paste bun and I almost choked on mine when I saw his big red lips trying to keep it in his mouth-- they just kept working and working while he started to look more and more worried-- he finally went and spat it out. It was hilarious! Anyway, more for me-- I LOVE it.
Classes have anywhere from one to four students, although it's usually 2 or 3. Each class is 40 minutes long, with a 15 minute interval between each class, with a maximum of five classes being taught in a row. The instruction manual is relatively simple, and each lesson is themed appropriately for the learning level of the student; for example, a low-level student might get a lesson themed on Simple Greetings or Do You Like Rice, while a more advanced student might get Dealing With Angry People or Talking About The Future. It all became pretty simple once I got the hang of it, although I'm still not 100% great at keeping my instructions simple enough to understand for the lower level students. It's a total immersion system, so there's no use of Japanese allowed, even if I know I could explain it in one word. My fist day at Kitajima (the other Tokushima school) is tomorrow. Anyway, I feel confident enough about it all to not be too worried-- although I still do have to find out how to get there.
My second morning in Himeiji I got up extra early and made my way up to the castle grounds, although I couldn't figure out how to get in to the castle. I ended up walking around the enormous property, stopping to take pictures here and there, and eventually came across an entry gate for the castle and the castle gardens-- by that time I wasn't really interested in going into the castle-- I was enjoying the fresh air and the rainy scenery, so I decided to pay to see the gardens instead. They were mind-blowingly beautiful-- I can't even begin to imagine how lovely they are when the greenery is in full blast or when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. I wandered about in the kind of stupor that only comes from an excess of beauty-- my senses were very nearly overfilled with the sense of rich peace and the sounds and smells of the earth and the water. Each garden is walled off from the other, and I visited about five. I didn't ever have to share the gardens with another person, the wet weather probably causing most people to head indoors to the castle instead. It was my great fortune. In one garden I found a tea-house-- a friendly sign in English welcomed me in to enjoy a traditional tea ceremony. I hesitantly slid open the door and was welcomed by a friendly hostess who spoke very good English. She took my 500 yen and gave me diagrammatical directions on how to perform the cermony. Once I was seated in the tatami room, I was waited on by women in kimono. The first brought me a pink sweet in the shape of a blossom, sort of a bean-paste thing, half the size of my palm. Once I had used correct deccorum and eaten it up (yum), my tea was brought by another woman. Both times the ladies sat by me to attend to me and (I am sure) make certain that I was doing it right. The tea-lady was very friendly and helpful, but by the end of that bit I was so nervous, I can't quite remember what the tea tasted like. I then sat and soaked up the peace a little more-- up until the time I left, I was the only customer in the tea-house.
I then headed back to the indoor mall. I had forgotten to bring any foundation make-up with me to training, and so decided to go to one of the cossmetics stores I had seen, and see whether I could find some. I walked into the Shiseido store and was immediately waited on by two women. Neither one spoke much English, and my Japanese level is still below that of a normal two-year old, so there was much gesturing and face-making involved. The younger of the two took me to a counter in the store (which was beautiful, I might add) and proceeded to start up this high-tech computer thingie. She used a sort of laser pen device to scan the skin on my cheek, and then the skin on my neck. A graph-type image then came up, showing the two skin-tones, and where they intersected. She then put in my age (there was some confusion when I thought that she was asking for the day of my birth and she wanted the year-- she typed in 1911, and we all had a good laugh) and then she bustled off to get the correct foundations and powders. Before I knew it, I had a complete makover, lipstick, eyeshadow and blush included. I didn't buy everything, but I did leave with more than I had intended on getting (and with less yen in my pocket). It was so worth it, though; just the experience itself was priceless. Not to mention I was watching carefully as she did my eyeshadow, so I picked up a couple of good tricks.
Last night was my final evening in Himeiji, and it also happened to be the birhtday of Liesl, one of the Nova staff. Lawrence and I got to come along for the party, which was in an upscale Japanese-- bar? Pub? VERY upscale anyway. The entrance was made to look as though you were walking along a winding midnight path of shiny black stepping stones among smooth white river-rocks-- the screens surrounding the path were black with pin-points of light shining through like stars. Everyone got their own cupboard for his or her shoes, and we were directed upstairs to our own room. A 12 foot table was in the centre, at ground-level, and we all sat around it on cushions printed with white rabbits dashing through an autumn sky. I talked with everyone I could-- there were so many fascinating people with such a variety of stories. I probably spent the most time speaking with a woman who was originally from Ireland, but had moved to California, met and married John (a Nova instructor) and then come to Japan to teach English at the University of Himeiji. Much drinking and terrible karaoke ensued. I went to the washroom at one point-- all dark hard wood and polished black stone-- and bumped into Liesl, who encouraged me to try out the 'bottom wash' button on the fancy toilet. Once explained to me, it didn't look so frightening and I decided to give it a shot. I almost broke the mirrors in the washroom with my shreiking laughter-- the hot stream of 'cleansing water' tickled so much I couldn't contain myself. Once the "off" button had been pressed, I had my choice of colourful scented toilet paper-- one printed with pink lipstick kisses, and the other printed with blue stars and a playboy bunny figure silouette sitting on a swing suspended by the moon. I emerged from my stall feeling very decadent, if a little ridiculous. Poor Liesl was stuck on her toilet, as the "off" button in that particular stall didn't work... all in all, it was the best time I've had in a ladies washroom in ages.
Anyway, suffice it to say, I had a great time. I still have so much to do before work begins tomorrow-- for starters, make sure my bike is still in the alley-- so I had best get off this computer. Thanks, everybody, for reading and emailing me, and I'll be in touch soon...
Love
Endrene
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