Happiness

The JET culture shock timeline.

I’m sure many of you are wondering if I feel homesick/culture shock. The JET Programme always emphasizes that everyone in one way or another will experience culture shock which goes in phases. I haven’t really followed their chart, but I think I have felt some homesickness since I’ve been here. For example, I feel really homesick when people back at home talk about the weather cooling down or it becoming fall because it is still a hot, sweaty, humid, hell-hole here. Of course I miss my friends, pets, boyfriend, and family too. For some reason, it’s the weather thing that really gets to me though. Also, I miss food from home. Other than that, I’ve been ok. It’s not like I’ve sunken into a stage two depression or anything like the chart suggests. In fact, I’ve been overall pretty happy and enjoying my time here so far. I still haven’t traveled much because money has been tight, but I plan to at least visit Hiroshima, Tokyo, Hokkaido, Kyoto, Nara and possibly Okinawa before the year is up. If I’m really lucky, maybe China or Korea. If I stay two years (which I’m planning on), I will most likely visit a neighboring country. Anyway, the point of this post is to write about the things I’m enjoying so far.

First, I have some good news. My friend from Ohio is coming to visit in less than two weeks! He’ll be the first person from America to come visit me! I couldn’t take work off, but we will still be able to enjoy the weekends and the evenings. I hoping he’ll be brave enough to explore downtown while I’m at work. Next, I got plane tickets to go home for two weeks during Christmas/New Year’s! I’m so excited to know that I am for sure going home!

Next, as I have mentioned, I’m anxiously waiting for it to become fall (my favorite season), and when people back home talk about it becoming fall, I get sad. So, this is how I have recently coped with it, and it helps: I have decorated my apartment for fall. I also have fall scented candles and fall foods like pumpkin soup, maple candies, and chai tea. Even though it’s disgusting outside, when I’m in my home, it feels so nice. Soon the weather will match my home, I hope. One thing that excites me is that Japan is supposed to have some of the most beautiful fall foliage. I want to look into some of the most famous places for fall foliage and then go there when the leaves change. On a somewhat related note, I wasn’t feeling that comfortable in my apartment so I made some adjustments. It’s amazing what a simple bit of rearranging can do (and by simple, I mean it took me hours lol). Highlighting the most important parts; I changed my desk into a kitchen table seeing as I never used the desk. I still need to buy one more chair, but it’s amazing how much more home-y it feels to have a kitchen table. Next I made the sitting/entertainment area cozier by dividing the living room in half and turning a bookshelf into an entertainment center. I don’t have a TV, but I set my laptop on the entertainment center, and it works out nicely. I rearranged the bedroom and made the bed more secluded in the corner. Last, I hung like 30 pictures on my wall above my bed. It looks great! Now my apartment feels like a haven…except for the unfixable tiny bathroom.

Rearranged.

Rearranged

 I thought I already wrote about this, but apparently I didn't. I got to see my Japanese friend who currently lives in Singapore. She was back visiting her family, and she decided to visit me too. We went to Spa World. It’s a multistory building with a pool/water park on one floor, an Asian themed hot springs on another floor, and European themed hot springs on another. This month, the women got the European floor and the men got the Asian. It alternates each month. First we swam in the pools and did a big water slide thing, and then we went to the hot springs. It’s becoming a tradition to go to onsen (hot springs) when we visit each other. At the onsen, I ran into two other JETs. It’s not exactly the place you would want to run into acquaintances seeing as you’re butt naked, but it was fine. I thought it was funny because my Japanese friend was like, “Hey! This is my country! How come you are running into people you know and not me?!” Haha! Even though it was a work night, my friend slept over and it was super fun!

My friend! After Spa World.

Another fun time was somewhat unexpected. It was a Saturday, and I had no plans. I really wanted to hang out with some friends, and I figured it wouldn't be a problem because it was Saturday, but it turned out that everyone had already made plans. I was faced with the choice of doing nothing or going out alone. Going out alone didn't seem that fun, but I remembered how I came to Japan last year by myself, and it was one of the most exciting and fun experiences of my life. With that initiative, I decided to go to the zoo. It was near Spa World so I knew the area pretty well after going there with my friend. The area is called Tennoji. It is famous for Tsutenkaku (an observation tower), kushi-katsu (fried things on skewers=delicious), and Billiken (a golden mascot thing that is supposed to give you good luck). Anyway, the zoo was really fun even though I was alone. I felt really content and it reminded me of when I traveled alone. I got so see some neat animals that are uncommon in American zoos such as lesser pandas (red pandas) and all sorts of Southeast Asian cats. Afterwords, I went to the famous kushi-katsu place and had delicious fried vegetables. I’ll admit that it would've been nice to have a friend with during dinner time, but since it had a bar for single eaters, I didn't feel weird. I even felt some satisfaction by going to a restaurant by myself and enjoying it.

Lesser Panda (Red Panda)!

Tennoji. I actually took this picture before when I went
with my friend.

Last weekend was really great, but before I go into that I want to mention something I forgot. My Fridays are actually not like the weekend for me because after I get home from work, I cook dinner, eat, and then go to a Japanese class for foreigners in the Shijonawate area. It’s at the Municipal Center, it’s run by volunteers so it’s free, and it’s an hour and a half. It’s actually the thing I mentioned in my last post where I met the lady at the Shinobugaoka Matsuri, and she was all hyper and wanted me to come to her class. This is the class lol. I just started going two weeks ago so I've only been there twice. Both times I literally sat there and spoke with a Japanese person for an hour and a half. Most people bring textbooks and study, but no one has really told me what to do. I prefer to just speak the whole time because that is what I want to improve the most with. I like going. Anyway, back to last weekend. On Saturday, I went to Round 1 (which is a multistory gaming/entertainment building). They have tons of arcade games, batting cages, roller skating rink, ping pong, darts, bowling, pool, and more! I went with a group of older JETs. I hadn't swung a baseball bat in so long, and I loved it! I got the high score on one of the arcade games too! After, we ate dinner at a really good Mexican restaurant (they actually have Mexican in Japan…I was misinformed. Apparently Osaka is one of the few places in Japan that you can actually get good Mexican) called Uncle Steve’s or Steven’s…can’t remember. They had super legit frozen margaritas. My only complaint about Mexican food here is that it’s not spicy enough, and there’s not enough cheese. However, the ingredients always taste really fresh. I've eaten at one other Mexican place that serves cheap burritos (I think it’s called El Zocalo’s). I liked it there too. After dinner, I met up with a different group of JETs (mostly new JETs) and we went bar hopping. We went to a place called Cinquencento first that serves drinks for 500 yen. Then we went to L&L (what does L&L stand for anyway?) which is a bar in America Town. I had actually gone there early one time to see a comedy show which was fun. It’s full of foreigners and Japanese people, and you can do hookah! So, of course I did some hookah and had the best sangria of my life there. The sangria was cinnamon-y! A few Japanese girls were at the table next to us celebrating one of their birthdays so we asked them to join us and we all drank and smoked hookah together. We plan to meet them again next weekend. I missed my last train along with a few others so we all crashed at Aimee's place (of the new JETs). Out of all the new JETs, I really seem to connect with Aimee. I was going to go to a big festival in Kishiwada the next day, but after not sleeping much, I chilled at home. It was a three day weekend though, so I went out on Monday which I will briefly describe next.

L & L.

On Monday, I went to a Mexican festival that had been going on all weekend at the Umeda Sky Building. I went with Aimee, and we ran into a few people we knew. Before that, we had sat down with two random Japanese men (seating was sparse) and began to have a conversation with them about booze and Japanese while watching the live Mexican performances. I was drinking a strong margarita at the time and one of the men came back after getting up with two shots of tequila. One for him and one for me…oh dear god. I had Aimee help me drink it. Needless to say, I felt pretty good. Not to mention that I got another margarita later, and Aimee got a free shot of tequila that we also shared lol. It was fun! We got to eat Mexican food again too haha!

Happily eating a quesadilla.

The point of this post is to let you all know that I am having a good time. Even though I miss home, I know that once I am done with JET, I will miss it too.

Let's Play Catch Up

Since so much has happened between my last post and now, I am going to highlight some random things that have stood out in lieu of describing everything that has happened in detail…and to be honest, I can’t remember everything anyway.

1.       Noon (and possibly 6pm) Song: One thing that I didn’t understand when I first came here was the loud music playing every day throughout the town from an unknown source. I noticed that every day around noon (and supposedly at 6pm…but I haven’t noticed yet), there was some weird orchestra music playing on loudspeakers wherever I went in my town. I asked Kris about it and apparently every town has its own song that they blast through speakers that are strategically placed throughout the town. I haven’t really noticed the speakers yet. It makes me laugh because when I hear it at home, there is this dog that starts barking like crazy at the music every day. The song is about one or two minutes long. This first impression I had was that I was in North Korea or some socialist country where they force feed you nationalistic songs that you are meant to enjoy. So now I think about that every time I hear it :/

2.       Rinku Town-Japanese Language Seminar: All the new JETs in Osaka had to go to a three day Japanese language seminar in Rinku Town (about an hour and a half away from where I live). It’s on the ocean and actually right next to Kansai International Airport. Although you go there to study Japanese, I think the main benefit from this experience is to meet and mingle with other JETs in your area. I really enjoyed the Japanese classes and Osaka orientation part, but I loved hanging out with everyone…and having a nice, spacious hotel room to myself with an ocean view. While I was there, I got to do many fun things with my new friends like going out to eat, walking to the beach, lighting fireworks, karaoke, bike riding, shopping, riding a Ferris wheel etc. There was an outlet mall that felt just like I was in America! Overall, a fantastic time! I wish I could have stayed longer!

View from my window in Rinku Town!

Singing the YMCA with my fellow Osaka JETs.

3.       Balabushka: I met a couple friends at a bar in America Town in downtown Osaka called Balabushka. Since it is in America Town, there were many foreigners there. It’s nice to know I’m not the only circus attraction in the area haha! We drank and played darts (the girls lost and had to buy drinks for the boys). It was a lot of fun!

4.       Shinobugaoka Matsuri: There was a two day festival in my town before school started. I stumbled upon it on my way to the grocery store. I had never been to a matsuri (festival) in Japan before! They are somewhat of a big thing here. I was very excited because I finally got to try “festival food.” Comparable to carnival food except Japanese. It was awesome! I tried candied fruit, yakisoba (stir fried noodles), and kara-age (fried chicken). There were tons of carnival-type games and live music. The live music was fun because I got to see a taiko (drum) performance in Japan for the first time, and there was a band that played music that you hear when you are in the local grocery store haha! Eventually, Mary and her friend came too. Together we played a game where you try to scoop as many goldfish as you can into a bucket using a thin, papery net. Also, while I was there, I ran into this very energetic woman in a yukata (traditional Japanese summer clothing). She told me she ran a Japanese conversation club for foreigners in the area, and she wanted me to come! It’s every Friday. I plan on going. She was very nice but overly affectionate. She kept holding my hand and dragging me around everywhere to meet a bunch of people in the club! It was fine, just weird.

The fish game.

Taiko.

5.       Starting Work!: There is just so much to say about work so I will abbreviate. First, I teach at Tawara Junior High School (and Elementary School sometimes) in Shijonawate. It is far away, but supposedly has the highest level students out of the 4 different junior high schools in my town. There are 4 English teachers that I work with. They are all very nice and very different from each other. As of now, I've only taught in a few classes, but I like it. I got to do an introduction lesson where I give a speech about myself using pictures and then quiz them after. The kids are really excited by me and always say I’m cute haha! It makes me feel happy. In my intro lesson, I tell them I have a boyfriend, and they all freak out! Some of them asked me to see pictures of him after school. I asked a group of girl students if they had boyfriends and they all pointed at one girl in the group who proceeded to become really shy and get mad at all her friends for betraying her lol! She ran away and then came back swinging lol! It was so funny! There are many differences between schools in the U.S. and Japan. For example, the teachers’ office, the classrooms, the lunches, the club activities, and the students. One thing I’d like to point out is how crazy hyper the students are! They get a 10 minute break between each class where they proceed to bounce off the walls screaming at the top of their lungs while tackling each other and injuring themselves! I couldn't believe it when I saw it! I thought Japanese students were supposed to be studious, calm, and mature. At least they still wear their cute little uniforms haha! During the swimming competition in the first week, a kid wrestled with a teacher and threw the teacher into the pool and it was perfectly funny and acceptable! I was like wtf?! Although, I thought it was funny too. One thing that is particularly hard about school though is not being on top of it. I’m the kind of person who is super organized and always has to know what’s going on. Since I can barely understand anything or read the kanji (Chinese characters) on the board, I never know what’s going on. Also, I might have mentioned that people seem to have this false impression that I am better at Japanese than I actually am, so everyone neglects to tell me anything. I will find myself sitting in an empty office only to have the vice-principle come in and tell me that there is a meeting in the auditorium that I should be at now…it sucks. I’m just always confused. I want to get better at Japanese sooo bad so I can at least do my job better. The JET before me was fluent in Japanese so they aren't used to having to explain things. I somehow need to make it clear that they should be telling me everything I need to know until I get better. On the other hand, while some people aren't that patient with me, many are…especially one teacher that I work with and ride the bus with every day. She doesn't speak English, only a few words, but she always tries to have conversations with me in Japanese. She knows I’m not that great, but I think she really wants to help, and I really appreciate it. When I don’t understand what she is saying, she is very patient and always tries to rephrase things. If I really don’t understand, I apologize, and she assures me that it is ok. She can tell I’m trying. She lives near me, and wants me to come visit her sometime.

My bus stop.

My elementary school.

My juniour high school.

6.       Chanting Guy: This isn’t that important or anything, but I’d like to mention that every morning on my way to work, I ride my bike to a close by elementary school where I park it. Then from there, I ride a bus to work. There is a house by the elementary school, and every time I get off my bike to park it, I am close to the windows of this house. At the same time every morning, there an old man inside with the window open who is chanting these weird noises. I assume he’s is praying. It’s just interesting to me because I have never heard anything like it. It intrigues me.

7.       My New Friend: Now I can’t say for sure that we will be close friends or anything, but I hung out with a new Japanese friend, Ken. The weird part is that I met him when I was in downtown Osaka with Mary. Ken and his friend came up to us and started questioning us like how it usually goes when foreign men come up to you. “Where are you from? Do you speak Japanese? What are you doing now? Do you want to go…?” Naturally I was weirded out because in America, when guys come up to you like that, it only means one thing. I am beginning to give Japanese men the benefit of the doubt however because the two times I have given in to spending time with “some guy I’ve met on the streets” in Japan, it has turned out to be fun and not creepy. I still will not be completely naïve though! Anyway, after meeting Ken, he gave me his contact info, and told me to tell him when I got a phone. Once I got a phone, I friended him on facebook, and from there, we started talking. I found out that he is a college student, the same age as me, and wanted to hang out with me some time. We decided to meet on a Saturday and go to a bar. He told me that we were going to a British pub called the HUB, and he thought I would like it because there are many foreigners there. I was so nervous when I met him because I didn’t think he spoke much English (we had been texting in Japanese). It turns out he is fantastic at English which is good and bad (because I want to practice Japanese)! He turned out to be very funny, and he taught me a lot about Japanese arranged marriages and whatnot…it was so strange and interesting! I also made him teach me a lot of Japanese bad words ;) The bar was very crowded, but it was fun! He was right, there were many foreigners there. I had a great time! I caught the last train home which was exciting because now I can say I caught the last train lol! Now I just need to be able to say I missed the last train and pulled an all nighter :P

The last thing I want to say is that on my way home from the bar, I had an anticipated Japanese experience. In Japan, it is common for people to fall asleep on the trains. Also, it is common for people to fall asleep with their head resting on their unknown neighbor's shoulder. I’ve always wanted to be the person who has someone fall asleep on their shoulder, and that night, it happened!! I felt like I was part of Japanese society lol…I always thought that people would be too afraid or repulsed to fall asleep on a foreigners shoulder! :D

My Feelings about Everything So Far

Well, I’ve been here 10 days. I still do not have phone or internet. For me, that is the hardest part. I think that if I were able to talk to people and see what my friends are doing, and hell, check the dang weather or play a game online, I’d feel a lot more content! Right now, although I don’t think I will always feel this way to this extent at least, I am pretty lonely. I’ve never been so disconnected from the world. Sure, it was nice to be on my own for a couple days so I could concentrate on getting settled in (though I admit, it would’ve been nice to speak to my boyfriend at least), but now I’m over it. I’ve been writing and sending letters to my friends and family. I don’t have some of my friends’ addresses though which sucks. Today I received a letter and card from my mom which was AWESOME! Man, I don’t know how people survived in the past with only being able to send letters. I can’t believe I was even born during a time where there was no internet...blows my mind! So anyway, long story short, I miss my friends, family, and boyfriend a lot, and I want to talk to them so bad!! I’m still waiting for my residence and insurance card so I can get a phone… I think that once I have those things, I will feel a million times better.

As for the good things, I love my little apartment. Sure, it’s not as comfortable as home, and I’m constantly worrying that I am running my electricity bill through the roof by running my air all the time, but it’s my own. I like having the freedom to decorate how I want (to some extent) and to do what I want. I like buying groceries and cooking…however, the boredom of not having internet has led me to eat all the time. I think that once I have internet and start work, I won’t be eating all the time. Another thing that makes me happy is the fact that I am living in Japan. It doesn’t really feel like I am, but when I say it out loud, it puts a smile on my face. I think it’s just the realization that I am accomplishing one of my life goals.

One of my first attempts at making Japanese food.

There were many strong thunderstorms in the summer. I
particularly like thunderstorms. I almost feel nostalgic and content
when I remember being cut off from humanity with only the
thunderstorms to keep me company. This was the sunset after a
large storm. It was humid, but the storm had cooled things down a bit.
I added this picture about a year after writing this blog post.

I also get excited when I think of the travel possibilities. I hope to see many parts of Japan and maybe South Korea or China by the time I’m done with this. I am very anxious to start work. I feel excited to start interacting with the kids. I am nervous about the work atmosphere, the language barrier, and getting along with my coworkers. I’m also afraid of making a fool of myself which I feel like I am constantly doing. However, if I feel like I am actually teaching the kids something, and they like me, I can handle all the other stuff. I am hoping I can find a place in town to practice the tea ceremony. If I can find something like that, then maybe I won’t feel like such an outsider or circus attraction. Plus, it would just be plain fun! I have been thinking about trying to go to some places where I can practice speaking Japanese with Japanese people. To be honest, the whole idea makes me so nervous and frightens me to death, and I am afraid that maybe I’m not even good enough to participate in something like that, but I know that’s what I need practice with. My goal is to not be a nervous hot mess when I speak Japanese by the time I’m done with JET. For example, yesterday when I was in downtown Osaka, I went to a Coldstone Creamery. The girl who took my order was very nice, and she talked to me while she made me my “Berry Berry Berry Good” ice cream lol. I was nervous, but things were going fine until she asked me something I didn't understand so I did what I always do when I don’t understand: nod my head and smile.  Turns out she asked me if it was my first time getting Coldstone ice cream. Obviously it wasn't. I understood what she had asked after I had already told her it was my first time. Then she asked me where I was from, and I told her America, but then I thought, “Crap, she’s going to think it’s weird that I’m an American who has never been to Coldstone.” So I just lied and said that I was American, but I have never been to a Coldstone so I didn’t look as stupid. She was all excited and thanked me for coming to Coldstone for the first time….sigh….

My first look at downtown Osaka.

Before I end this post about my feelings thus far, I would like to mention two things that I think are weird. First, I sent a postcard to my grandparents in an envelope, and I threw in a 5 yen coin because my grandma said she wanted one. A 5 yen coin is like a nickel. When I took it to the post office to mail it, they weighed it and were all confused and asked me if there was something other than a letter in the envelope. I told them there was a 5 yen coin. Then the clerk started getting frantic telling me that I couldn't send it to which I said in Japanese, “Is that so? Ok, sorry. It was a souvenir.” I began to open the card to take the coin out when he told me to wait a minute. He and the manager spent like 10 minutes making all these phone calls trying to figure out what to do. I kept saying sorry and that it was ok, but it turns out I could send it if I filled out a customs form…and I probably had to pay a little extra. I laughed to myself as I filled out the customs form when it asked, “How much is the value of the item worth?” and I wrote, “5 yen.” Haha! I kept thinking that in America, this would be no big deal. I really need to buy some stamps and learn how to mail things without going through the post office people. I haven’t noticed mailboxes, but then again, I haven’t really looked. Secondly, this happened to me last time I came to Japan too, but it seems like every time I go out somewhere (other than in my town), men always come up to me and try to talk to me. I don’t really understand what they want…it doesn't seem like they have sexual aims, but then again, who knows…I don’t trust strangers regardless. In any case, they are always men, and they always start off by asking, “Where are you from?” I’m usually too nice to just blow people off, so I’ll spend 15 minutes or so conversing with these random people. It’s always awkward because they can only speak a little English. I think most of the time these people just want to practice their English a little bit. In any case, it’s not that that big of a deal. The only thing is that I am getting sick of strangers coming up to me almost every time I go out and having weird/awkward conversations that always end with them asking if we can meet again and me saying no. Last time I was walking downtown, I heard someone (who by the sound of his voice was very nervous to talk to me) say, “sumimasen (Japanese for “Excuse me”).” Then he tried saying “excuse me” in English. I really was not in the mood to do the whole weird talking thing again so I pretended I didn't hear him and kept walking. I didn't see his face. Is it wrong that I feel so bad for doing this? Maybe he actually had a real question…I don’t know. Now I feel like maybe I gave him a bad impression of foreigners. Hopefully he just thinks I was French or something.

* This was the last post I had pre-written before getting internet. So much has happened recently (making friends, starting work, etc.), and I have a lot more to say so I will write some actual new blogs when I can. Working full time makes it hard because believe it or not, it takes forever to write these things! So, stay tuned !

About My Town: Shijonawate

Shijonawate is the red one.

Shijonawate is in Osaka Prefecture, northeast of Osaka City. It takes 30-45 mins to get downtown by train. The city itself is nice enough. My favorite thing about it is the backdrop of mountains/hills. The streets are narrow, and houses are very close together, like most cities in Japan. Everything I need is in walking distance: several supermarkets, a couple stores that sell everyday things, the train station, the post office, the bank, convenience stores, restaurants/bars, the hospital, a million places to get your hair cut, a pachinko place (kind of like a casino), and so on. Having a bicycle is nice but not even necessary. My BOE is actually more like a 10-15 min walk away, so having a bike is nice for that. There are two possible junior high schools I will teach at. It hasn't been decided which person, Mary (the other new JET) or I, will get which one. One is super close and the other is far away. I would have to take a bus to get to it so I kind of hope I get the closer one, but I will not complain either way.

Narrow streets.

Grocery store and convenience store.

 To expand out a little more, like I said, downtown Osaka is pretty close. There are a lot of things to do there like any major city. Last year when I came to Japan, I visited Osaka and went to the famous aquarium and giant Ferris wheel. I’m looking forward to going to a place in Osaka called “Spa World.” I think the name pretty much sums it up. Osaka Castle is a famous tourist sight which is about 25 mins away or so. I saw that the other day. It was neat. The closest station to me is actually called Shinobugaoka. Shijonawate station is one stop away from that. There are a lot of little places at the Shijonawate stop, including a McDonalds that I went to the other day. It was terrible, haha! The fries and Coke were good, but I got a chicken filet sandwich which was slimy, dark, and had gooey chicken skin underneath the fried part…needless to say, I didn't eat much of it. From my experience, the chicken at McDonalds is slimy and gross with the exception of this one seasonal sandwich called the “Chikin Tatsuta.” I hope that comes back. :/

Shinobugaoka Station.

Osaka Castle in video form.

Osaka Castle in picture form.

One of the major stops on my train line where you usually transfer at to go downtown is called Kyobashi. There is a lot of stuff to do there in itself! There is a large mall and lots of places to eat and drink. Kris took me to a place called Giraffe in Kyobashi, and we got a few drinks. It was a nice time. Even better of a time though was when later that night he took me to a bar in our town called White and Cigar. It’s a coffee shop during the day and a bar at night. Apparently that is Kris’ "place." He goes a few times a week and is good buds with the owner. I've never been to a bar that has felt more comfortable than White and Cigar. Kris told me that he learned how to speak Japanese better from going to this bar. I’d like to do the same, but as of now, I’m not comfortable going alone because my Japanese is not good enough to carry on a conversation. Kris did a lot of translating for me when we went. I hope to become good enough at Japanese to hang out there one day. I met a lot of cool Japanese people when I went. One thing that still surprises me is that when you are in a bar or restaurant, people start smoking. Then I remember it’s allowed. It’s just weird to me at first when people start smoking. Also, if I have had one culture shock moment so far, it is this: At the bar, the TV (it’s a big TV in a small place, but the volume was low/off because music was playing) was on an HBO type channel. While we were there, this movie came on, and it was very weird. It was mostly just weird tattooed/pierced S&M people having bondage sex…and ya, it was just playing on TV like no big deal, but I was like what the f*ck!? Despite that, it was a good time, and I had fun trying to converse with Japanese people and getting to know Kris a bit (he is an alcohol master lol…he can drink a ton of strong stuff and not even seem like he’s drank anything). I feel like such a clingy loser because I feel like I’m always bothering him. I kind of get the idea that he is taking me around and showing me things more so because he has to as my predecessor (and because he was told to by my Supervisor). Mary moved in the other day and I am just getting to meet her. We might hang out this weekend. She seems nice so far. She’s really good at Japanese because she studied abroad in Japan. I feel so dumb!! Anyway, hopefully we have some stuff in common.

White and Cigar is on the bottom floor, right side of this
complex.

About My Apartment

If you are Facebook friends with me, you can see pictures of my apartment and city in my “JET Programme” album, but I will describe them here too. My apartment is three stories and consists of two separate buildings in the shape of an “L.” Kris and the other new JET live in the other building, but it doesn't make a difference at all. The buildings are pretty much connected anyway. I am on the 3^rd floor which is good because that means there are less bugs (I've only seen one itty-bitty baby spider so far) and no one can see into my apartment from the streets. I think there are about 12 apartments of varying sizes in each building. Kris has the smallest (but his rent is cheaper), I have the middle sized one, and the other new JET has the biggest. However, we pay the same amount for rent which is weird. I think my apartment is a bit newer though. The apartment complex is a peach colored. There is an alcove built in to the building for storing bicycles…that’s where I keep mine. When you open my front door and step inside, you are in my entrance. All Japanese homes have an entrance. It's basically a place for you to take off your shoes because wearing shoes in a home is forbidden in Japan. The entrance is sunken an inch or two and is tiled with little grey stones. There is a shoe cabinet in my entrance made of dark wood. There is a light above the entry which had no fixture, only a bulb, so I bought a lantern to put over it.

When you step up out of the entryway, you are in the kitchen (all the walls are white in the apartment, by the way). The floor in the kitchen is this weird fake wood stuff that is really soft. I've never seen anything like it. I guess it’s practical for the kitchen though because if you drop something on the floor, it probably won’t break. Immediately to the left, there is a tiny bathroom. I’m happy I have a washlet though. A washlet is a fancy Japanese toilet that can do various things. Mine can spray your butt and front. You can adjust the pressure of the water, and there is an option that makes the water stream move back and forth. Also, my washlet has a fan that can air dry your bottom after spraying it. Best of all, there is a seat warmer! There is a little shelf above the toilet along with a light. The sink kind of hovers over the bath tub a little bit. The sink handles are also used for the shower. You can toggle between the sink and the shower by turning a knob. The water is very touchy. You can go from having ice cold water to very dangerous boiling water. Luckily, the shower-head is a hand held one so if the water starts getting too hot, you can take the shower head off the holder and spray it at the wall so you don’t get burned. It takes a while for the water to get back to a normal temperature once it starts getting too hot or too cold. Anyway, back to the kitchen. On the right is this cabinet/counter-top thing that my predecessor bought to provide more space for preparing meals and storing stuff. I store pretty much all the dishes, cups, Tupperware, etc. in it. On top I have the rice cooker, hot water machine, paper towels, and a container of cooking utensils. Also on the right, but tucked in to a little nook, I have my refrigerator, oven/microwave/grill (yes, it does all three), and a bucket with brooms and a mop in it. The left wall of this nook is actually a sliding door into the bedroom. All three rooms of my apartment have a large light on the ceiling with three settings: Bright, medium, and dim. The dim is very nice. The other settings use a fluorescent lightbulb while the dim is a small regular light bulb. On the left side of my kitchen, tucked into the wall, are my oven top (two gas burners and a little broiler which you have to turn on the gas to use), a very large sink, a little bit of counter space, cabinets above and below, and a fume hood above the stove.

Tiny bathroom.

Tiny Bathroom

Kitchen.

Kitchen

 Walking through the kitchen, you come to the living room. There are sliding doors, but I usually keep them open. There is a little step up into the living room. I have learned the hard way by stubbing my toe very badly. In my living room, to the left, there is a huge wardrobe chest with two drawers on the bottom. It’s kind of weird to have it in my living room, but I don't think it would fit nicely in the bedroom. Plus, my living room would look really empty if it wasn't in there. Also on the left, after the wardrobe, is the couch. It can fold down in to a bed, but it’s hard to sleep on because if you lay in the middle, it’s really uncomfortable. So, it’s pretty much pointless to fold it down. I slept on the couch for the first week until I got my bed. I tried the Japanese futon the first night and decided I liked the couch better. The couch is kind of weird. It’s black, but has this cream pad that you have to attach to it. To me it looks weird so I decided to put a brown fitted sheet over it, and I think it looks nicer. I have a blue throw blanket on it and a large pink seal-shaped pillow on it, lol! The floor in the living room is a light hardwood. It’s actually legit, unlike the kitchen. I bought a big rug to put at the foot of the couch to make the room more comfortable. It has a brown trim with tan and green polka dots. In the right far corner, I have a desk and chair with my computer, candle wax warmer, picture my boyfriend and I, and a plant on the desk. Above the desk is a cork-board with all sorts of stuff pinned to it. There is a black rimmed clock above my couch. There are sliding glass door out on to the veranda at the far end of the room. I have two sets of curtains over the doors. The curtains closer to the windows are white reflective ones and the one on the inside are cream with a floral pattern. Out on the veranda, I have a view of the mountains/hills and a lot of different buildings. There are bars with hangers and clips for pinning up my laundry. To the left is my washing machine. I bought a plant to put on my veranda because that’s what most people do in Japan, but it looks lonely right now. I will eventually buy some more. Also, my air-conditioning unit is on my veranda on the right side. I hung some straw curtains outside the bedroom windows to help keep it cooler inside and to block some light so it stays darker in the bedroom.

Washing machine on balcony.

View from the balcony.

Living room.

Off of the living room, on the right through sliding doors, is the bedroom. It is 6 tatami mats. Tatami is a traditional type of Japanese flooring made of woven straw. To the left are more sliding glass doors on to the veranda, but I have them blocked off by the bed because I see no use for them. There're two sets of curtains on the doors as well. The ones closer to the window are white UV blocking curtains, and the inside ones are orange…not my first choice of color, but they work. In the far left corner, close to the ceiling, is my air unit which also happens to be my heating unit in the winter. Along the sliding doors and under the air unit is my bed. It’s a single size bed (anything bigger would've cost a lot and taken up too much space in my opinion). I have a nice cream comforter with a brown and beige leaf pattern on it. Next to my bed is a small dresser with a book shelf on top. I keep books and other knickknacks on it like candles, Kleenex, decorations, etc. To the right of the dresser is a full-length mirror. The whole right wall of the bedroom is sliding doors. Two of which cover a large storage closet in which I keep stuff like my suitcases, vacuum cleaner, laundry stuff, futon (that I don’t use), blankets, and other things. The other door, as I mentioned before, goes into the kitchen. By the kitchen door, I have a small floor chair that is beneath an abstract picture I bought at the store. That basically sums it up.

Bedroom.

*I have done a lot of rearranging and have bought new things since I wrote this post. The apartment is set up  a lot different now, but it's fun to recall how I had everything organized when I first moved in.

Orientation

The JET Programme requires you to do a couple orientations with a few optional ones. Yes, they are useful but oh so boring! The only ones that are remotely fun are the ones that aren't required…of course. The first orientation thing I went to was over a weekend in Chicago. There, we had a teaching workshop and Q&A sessions. It was the first time I got to meet other JETs. The workshops were very useful. I suggest that if you go to these, write down and bring all of you questions because they will probably be answered which helps you a lot. It was nice to arrive to the hotel the day before leaving and actually know a good amount of people. Also, after the workshops, we went out for Japanese food and drinks.

The required pre-departure orientation at the Holiday Inn was very boring. The plus side was that my friend from college who is also a new JET (Anna) and I requested to share a room. So after all of the boring orientation stuff about how to take a plane to Japan, we got to hang out and go swimming in the pool.

The next day after that, you fly to Japan! It’s exciting, but the 14 hour plane ride is not. I didn't sleep (I can never sleep much on planes). I would suggest trying to sleep if you can. That way, when you actually arrive at the hotel in Japan, you can go out and do something fun rather than have a sleep deprivation head-ache and the feeling of being drugged when you actually aren't. The plus sides of my plane ride are that I got to sit by my friend because I traded places with someone else, The Avengers was showing on the plane, and I requested all vegetarian meals lol.

At O'hare airport before departure.

On the plane.

Gingerale fun.

We made it!

The following two days after arriving in Japan you have to do more orientation stuff. Like I said, they are useful, but mind-numbing. First of all, you have to wear business attire which is uncomfortable, attend many workshops with little time to yourself, and mingle awkwardly with a bunch of strangers. All the while in your head you are thinking, “OMG I’M IN JAPAN! I WANT TO GO OUT AND EXPLORE!” You eventually do get a little time to go out after all the meetings, but you are generally pretty jet-lagged and can’t stay up that late. I did learn that I would for sure be based in a junior high school and that I would be making elementary school visits and possibly doing conversation classes (which I don’t think will actually happen according to my predecessors). I also got to meet one of my predecessors at the orientation which was exciting for me.

Tokyo orientation.

The first night I went out, I got to meet up with a friend from college who was just finishing up with the JET Programme. So we, and two other friends (Anna and another new JET) went out and did プリクラ (Purikura: Japanese photo booths), ate donuts, explored, and so on. My friend who is finishing JET and I did karaoke after the other girls called it a night. We were planning on it being just the two of us, but when we were in line, a Swedish couple asked if we wanted to do it together. It was kind of awkward but fun and spontaneous. We sang a Japanese rock version of Pocahontas >_< …we thought it was going to be the original haha!

College friends reunited.

Purikura explanation.

Random karaoke.

The second night I went out. It was just Anna and I. We ate konbini (convenience store) food and shopped a little. I bought a couple gifts/postcards and a shirt for work. It was really fun! The Marui Young mall/store was particularly interesting because of all the crazy Japanese clothes. The strange thing about Tokyo orientation is that you never really feel like you are in Japan. Perhaps it’s because you are in a fancy western style hotel surrounded by a bunch of English speaking people. Even when I went out into the city, though, it still didn't seem like I was in Japan. If I've learned anything from my last trip, it’s that it never actually sinks in until you’re gone.

After orientation, you leave for your new home. The other Osaka JETs and I took the shinkansen (bullet train) to Shin-Osaka Station where we met our supervisors and then went to our Boards of Education from there. There were only eight Osaka JETs in Group A, but I've heard there are more in Groups B and C. The other new JET who will be living in my town (and same apartment building) is in Group B. I’m excited to meet her.

Riding on the shinkansen.

I was so nervous to meet my supervisor! I was in a full-on suit and everything. It turned out that it was less formal than I thought it’d be. My supervisor is nice and my predecessor Kris (who is doing a second year who also lives in the same apartment building as me) was there to greet me as well. He was the one I got to meet at orientation so it was nice to see a familiar face. The only difficult part was speaking to my supervisor. He can speak pretty good English, but he obviously prefers to speak in Japanese and encouraged me to speak in Japanese as much as possible. So it was pretty awkward and hard for me, and I found myself trying not to say anything. When we got to my BOE (Board of Education) we had to do all sorts of paperwork and housekeeping stuff. I had to introduce myself in Japanese to several people. I always feel so dumb when I try to speak in Japanese…I hope that changes.

After taking care of business at the BOE, I finally got to go to my new apartment and meet my actual predecessor. This is what I had been looking forward to the most. My predecessor was super nice and awesome! I’m lucky to have her (seeing as many people aren't so lucky). My immediate first impression about the apartment, which I will go into detail later, was that it was nice, clean, and had the smallest bathroom I have ever seen. I also felt overwhelmed a bit by all of the stuff I had to learn like how to use the microwave/grill/oven machine…yes, one machine does all three…leave it to Japan. I was surprised that my washing machine was outside on the balcony. I feel stupid now for not knowing that it would be at the time because it seems like I should have. Washing machines outside seems pretty normal in Japan seeing as you dry you laundry on the balcony anyway (people rarely have dryers in Japan).

To sum up the order of events following moving in to my apartment: I waited for the gas company to come and turn on my gas (water and electric were already good to go), I waited for the mailman to deliver the packages I had sent to myself (we arranged to have them delivered that night), Kris showed me around a bit and took me to get some groceries (my first meal in my apartment was some soba (buckwheat noodles) I picked up from the store), and then I unpacked for a really long time…pretty much until everything was organized and put away. I didn't have any mental breakdowns or anything like they say can usually happen on your first night. To be honest, I felt (and maybe still do) a strange numbness like I’m not really here in Japan doing the JET Programme.

The following few days after I moved in consisted of me buying stuff for the apartment, going to the BOE to do more paperwork, setting up a bank account and other stuff like that, getting my second suitcase and unpacking that, going to a furniture store with my supervisor and buying a bed (which by the way, as I’m writing this now, I still don’t have my bed yet. It will be delivered tomorrow, and I’m so excited!!), having Kris show me how to take the train, exploring the town on my own by bike, and basically just getting settled in.

Pre-Departure Feelings and Preparation

I’m writing about this after the fact since I've been so busy up until now and without internet, but in any case, I want to explain how I felt before leaving and what I did to prepare. Looking back, I wish I would have relaxed more and spent more time with my friends and family before leaving. Of course I had to work a lot to make money, but when it came to my free time, I wish I would have spent it more leisurely. I was so busy trying to prepare for leaving and doing random tasks that now seem pointless. I guess the plus side is that everything was in perfect order for me to move to Japan (except for my Japanese studies…I probably could have worked on that more).

I made sure to see all my friends and family at least once (and in some cases, multiple times) before leaving. I think the hardest part about moving to another country is leaving the ones you love behind. I’m so happy I got to see my boyfriend before leaving! Although it will be difficult, I think we will be able to make it through our time apart. In addition to my boyfriend (and family), it was very hard to say goodbye to my dogs and cat! I wish I would've spent a whole day just cuddling with them haha! It’s hard to believe that I won’t see them for at least six months…I hope they remember me when I come home to visit!

Before I move on to the good feelings before leaving for Japan, there is one other thing that I was dreading…the heat. About a year ago, I visited Japan for the first time. I heard it was hot and humid in the summer, but nothing could’ve prepared me for how nasty it really was. From this experience, I knew what I was getting myself into (especially where I would be living). They say that Kansai, the region of Japan in which I am living, is the “sweat bucket” of the country. So I was absolutely not looking forward to the heat. To be honest, it’s not actually that particularly hot in Japan (it’s about the same temperature here as it is in the U.S…and recently, it’s been even hotter in the Chicago area), it’s the damned humidity! You can stand outside for literally 15 seconds and your face will start breaking into a sweat. Despite all the little gadgets and whatnot Japan has to help with the humidity, there’s really not much you can do but wait it out. You may be thinking, “Why don’t you just turn on your air conditioning?” A valid question, however, central air systems are pretty much non-existent in Japanese homes. The only places that are actually kept cool are stores/restaurants/etc, and even now, many of these places aren’t keeping their air that cool because they are conserving energy after the big earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster in March 2011. Anyway, back to the air conditioning in Japanese homes. First of all, small air units that are hung on the wall are common. Usually there is only one in the house (or on each floor I suppose) which means that it can’t keep the whole house cold, only one room pretty much. If your bed is not in the room with the air unit, good luck sleeping. The Japanese make use of fans…they kind of help. I’m astonished when I look out off of my balcony, and I see my neighbors with their windows open and obviously no air conditioning on (maybe they don’t have any?). Maybe that is just the way they grew up and they are used to it…

This is an example of a Japanese air conditioning unit.
I Googled this picture.

ALRIGHT! Now that I’ve gotten my long rant about the humidity out of the way, in a nutshell, my feelings before leaving were dread of the heat, sadness about leaving the ones I love, and of course, tons of excitement mixed with a little nervousness and anxiousness. As I posted before, I was a bit nervous about what my apartment would be like, whether or not I would have to drive, and so on. Obviously I was excited as well, but more specifically, I was excited about teaching young Japanese students, living in Osaka, learning more about what it’s really like to live in Japan, getting better at Japanese, and of course, getting to (hopefully) travel around Japan. Not to mention, I’m also proud and excited about accomplishing this life goal.

So, in list form, here are some of the things I did to prepare to live in another country (one of the main reasons I’m doing this is in case any prospective JETs want to read this):

·         Had a going away party.

·         Bought a large suitcase.

·         Got my International Driver’s Permit ($15).

·         Bought American toiletries to bring with, teaching clothes and school shoes, and gifts for people in Japan that represent where I come from (American candy, U of M T-shirts, U of M hat, Chicago book, Chicago magnet, Chicago key-chain, Chicago shot glass, America beach towels, Rocky Mountain National Park pencil, erasers shaped like American food, America stickers, pennies, and I think that’s it).

·         Worked a lot to save money (you need enough money for your first month in Japan including rent, utilities, food, furniture, phone, internet, car?, and so on).

·         Made a book of my favorite recipes.

·         Made sure I had all my friends’ and family’s addresses in order.

·         Filled out endless paperwork (JET walks you through most of it).

·         Got a physical.

·         Got my prescriptions in order for a year (which is a complicated mess).

·         Registered with the U.S. Embassy.

·         Converted my money to yen.

·         Packed, unpacked, repacked, unpacked, repacked again.

·         Ate all the food that I will miss while I’m in Japan (i.e. Taco Bell).

·         Spent time with my boyfriend, friends, family, pets (but not enough because I was busy doing all of this other crap).

·         Studied Japanese.

·         Shipped a box of winter clothes and a box of books to myself.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things, but it's a pretty good list, I think.