New Shiso ALT Welcome Dinner and Kobe Beer Garden

Wednesday night we had our official welcome party for the new Shiso ALTs. It was at a really nice traditional Japanese style hotel, with the people from the Board of Education, and some of the English teachers and principals from the different schools. It was up in Ichinomiya, one of the smaller of the four towns that make up Shiso. It was really pretty up in the hills. But as it was a traditional Japanese dining experience, that meant sitting on the floor, which can be very uncomfortable to Westerners who aren't used to it (like me). 

This Saturday night there was a JET party in Kobe, at the beer garden on the roof of the Sogo department store in Sannomiya. I had never heard of beer gardens before I came to Japan, basically you pay a flat rate and it's all you can eat and drink all night (although they closed at about 10). A lot of JETs from all over Hyogo came, and its nice because we've been to enough of these functions already that we recognize people from elsewhere in the prefecture and are friendly with them. At the beer garden I was accosted by the editor of the Hyogo Times, which is like the Hyogo JET monthly publication, and she asked me to write for them, so I agreed, I'm not really sure what it entails but I'm looking forward to it. 

After the beer garden ended we went out with a bunch of JETs from elsewhere in Hyogo for Karaoke, my first experience, which I had kind of been dreading but which actually turned out to be really fun. You get your own room with a whole set up, like a big enclosed booth, and you just hang out and have drinks and sing songs. It was a lot of fun. We left there around 1:30 and stopped at a restaurant for some food (fatty beef and onions over rice, really yummy) and then we had to try to decide whether to find a place to sleep, or just stay out all night. The first bus back to Shiso was at 9:30 am. We had several options: go to a club that was open until 5 and then go get some breakfast and wait for the bus; try to get a room in a love hotel (the cheapest alternative) or go to a manga cafe to sleep for a few hours. We ended up going to a manga cafe, which is not really a cafe, it's a place where people go I guess to read manga (Japanese comics). But people use it as a cheap place to spend the night too. For a set period of time (one hour, five hours, eight hours) you rent what is basically a little cubicle, with a computer, a TV and DVD player, and a comfortable leather chair. Each cubicle has a door so you kind of have your own little room. While it wasn't the most comfortable night's sleep I've ever had, it only cost about 10 dollars. We stayed there until 7:30, then went to grab some breakfast and catch the bus back to Shiso. It was quite an experience, not the least because being in a big city after living in the countryside was a bit overwhelming. 

Kobe Beer Garden and Shiso ALT Welcome Dinner

Also, here are some videos from the night in Kobe. I hope my friends won't kill me for posting them :) 

Spencer sings "Bernadette"

Arashi "Wish" (Arashi is  very popular boy band in Japan right now, for those who were curious. For reference, see here and here).

Arashi "Wish" Part 2

Engrish

I'm starting an album of pictures or Engrish (butchered English) I find around Japan. 

Miriam's Engrish Collection

Also if you're interested check out engrish.com for some really funny ones. 

More Videos

Nothing too exciting, but I put up some more short clips.

Miriamjet Youtube

A Scary Encounter

Last night (Sunday) we went to another festival, this one smaller and I think more local. There was food and dancing and people playing drums and at the end there were fireworks, which they set off right from the ground in front of everyone (not something I'm used to seeing coming from Massachusetts.) It was a lot of fun, we danced and ate some good food. At the last festival, the BOE people kind of herded us around, plus the whole town was there. But this time it was small, and we were there by ourselves, so I think people were more aware of our presence. Some of the taiko drummers dragged us up on the platform and had us playing the drums in front of everyone, and then this old man got a microphone and started introducing us to the crowd, asking us what we thought of the festival, etc. A group of elementary schoolers crowded around us and were very talkative, and spoke surprisingly good English.

All in all it was a lot of fun, but there was one thing that troubled me. While we were on the platform drumming with the taiko guys, there was this one guy (he may have been drunk, I don't know) who kept laughing and making suggestive gestures. He was pretty young, and one of the drummers I think. They were all kind of laughing at us, which is fine, I expect that, we're obviously no good at taiko, and I know that a certain amount of laughter, from amusement or discomfort, is common when people are dealing with something foreign. I've also heard all the stuff about Japan being much less or an even playing field in terms of gender equality, but I hadn't encountered it yet. I feel like most guys in the states wouldn't do that. Or maybe I'm over-reacting, because now that I think about it, in a more traditional, rural area of the US you also probably find people who are less politically correct. Maybe this guy really was drunk, or just not particularly enlightened. 

I was in a good mood when I got home, but it didn't last long. I found a GIANT cockroach on the wall of my bedroom. It's the first real bug I've seen in my house so far. I freaked out, I HATE big creepy bugs, and I didn't know what to do about it. I was considering going to sleep downstairs, but instead I shooed it into the next room (which I don't use) and slammed the door. Whether that will keep it from coming back (hint: it won't) we'll see. I'm going to go to the store today and buy all kinds of bug prevention stuff. I'm really worried about it, because there are a lot of bugs here, and they're all way bigger than ants or little spiders (there are some HUGE spiders), and some of them are poisonous, and living in a house makes it more likely I'll encounter them. I can't wait for winter when they'll all die! (or seek shelter in my house... hmm... maybe that's not so good after all...)

Better in Japan...

I've decided to keep a running tally of things that are better in Japan than in America, like things that are simple innovations or ways of doing things that make you think, "duh, why didn't we think of that?" I'll try to add them as I come up with them.

#1: At the grocery, instead of unloading your entire cart at the register, which is a bit of a pain, you have a basket that fits into your cart, so you just lift the basket and put it on the counter,

 and the checkout lady takes your food, scans it, and puts it into another basket on the other side, which you then place back in your cart. They give you bags to bag your own groceries, which you do at a handy little counter just beyond the checkout, which keeps the lines moving

 quicker. Also then no stupid kid throws your eggs at the bottom of a bag under a gallon of milk. 

#2: Money. Like the Euro, and countless other currencies, the Yen is way better than the dollar. The bills come in denominations of 1000 ($10), 5000 ($50), and 10,000 ($100), but its the coins that rock. The coins are in denominations of 500 ($5), 100 ($1), 50, 10, 5, and 1 (1 cent). It frustrates me to no end that the American dollar doesn't have a one dollar coin in widespread

 use (almost no one uses the Susan B. Anthony coins).  Coin currency is so useful. Plus, Yen coins and bills (especially the bills) are so much prettier than dollars!

Pictures

New picture are up! Here are some shots of the area around my school, and the route I bike to get there. Also some pictures from another trip to Himeji (nearest city, closest civilization) and a festival in Yamasaki.

Yamasaki, Himeji and Another Festival

Himeji and Kobe Orentation

This past Sunday I ventured out of Shiso to Himeji, the closest city. It's about an hour away by bus, and the location of the nearest movie theater. Himeji is famous for its Castle, although I didn't go see it on this trip. My friends Lara, Lana and I hung out and shopped in Himeji for the afternoon and saw a movie before catching the bus back to Shiso. By the way, movies are INSANELY expensive in Japan. My ticket was $18. And that was in a small city, I wonder what it costs in Tokyo. But it's ok because most of my other living expenses are fairly low. My rent is dirt cheap to begin with (something like 320/month for an entire house), and that is further subsidized by the Board of Education, so I end up paying about 150/month for what is essentially a two bedroom house. Pretty sweet deal, no?

Wednesday the Board of Education drove us to Kobe for the Hyogo JETs prefectural orientation. It was a 3 hour drive, and I felt it was kind of pointless to go that far for what they ended up telling. The few pieces of useful information they did give us could have been included in the info packets they gave us in Tokyo, and in fact would have been more helpful then than two weeks later. Oh well. It's not like I had so much work to do that I couldn't spare a day. Since it's summer vacation, there's not a lot for me to do at school. I'm actually there right now, so you can see how busy I am. But once school starts I'm going to be busy I'm sure. I'm using this time to brainstorm things for classes and such. 

O-Bon Matsuri and Video of my house

O-Bon

Tonight was my first Japanese festival! It's O-Bon, which I believe is about honoring the souls of the family's ancestors. There was a big festival in Yamasaki (the town where I live), a maze of little streets was closed off and there were stands selling food, and games, and people in yukata (a type of summer kimono). Our supervisors at the Board of Education took us over to a kimono shop and outfitted us with yukata and geta (which absolutely destroyed my feet). It was really fun to dress up and go walk out in the streets with everyone. 

On the side of the main street there was a big bandstand where people were playing drums and singing, and people were dancing around it in a circle. We all joined in, dancing around under the lights. It was a lot of fun. At the end of the night there were fireworks, and we all went home exhausted and drenched in sweat (even after sunset it's so hot here). 

O-Bon Festival Pictures

O-Bon Videos

Video of my house

I've been trying to get a good video of my house to show everyone, but my camera sucks, so here's a link to the video the guy who lived here before me took of the house. The genkan (entryway) and living rooms look a little different, but basically it looks the same.

My House

Pictures from Tokyo Orientation

First pictures are up! Here are a few shots from Tokyo Orientation, August 3-6. We didn't have much time to see the city, since we were in meetings all day and we were all very jet-legged. We got out a little at night and walked around Shinjuku near the hotel, but that was about it. 

Tokyo Orientation

Enjoy!

Tokyo Orientation

Arrived in Tokyo. Everyone was talking about how long the flight was, but I was asleep the entire time, so I hardly noticed. I took a pill and passed out, so somehow I managed to avoid doing absolutely anything to pass the time, like reading, or listening to music, or watching one of the three movies they showed (yes, three, and I slept through them all).

Orientation is like a well-oiled machine. Around 1000 JETs arrived in my group on Sunday, from all over the world (but mostly the US). Current JETs and people from CLAIR (the body that runs JET) met us at the airport and led us to the buses that took us to the hotel in Shinjuku in Tokyo. The Keio Plaza Hotel is really nice. It's a big business center, and JET totally took over the place. They even put up notices by the elevator apologizing to the guests for the congestion in the elevators (caused by so many JETs trying to get to the same places all at once). 

The view from my window is of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which is very exciting. <Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building> Something really cool: the mirror in the bathroom is heated on the part over the sink, so when you get out of the shower and the mirror is all fogged up, that part is not. 

I'm extremely jet-lagged, and it doesn't help that we had to spend the entire day sitting through meetings with very little interruption. I woke up at 5:00 this morning, had breakfast at 7, meetings started at 9 and went all day (with a break for lunch), and at 6:30 there was a welcome reception with some heads of the different ministries involved in JET. At 8:30 my prefectural group are all going out for drinks together. I'm going to go because I want to meet more of the people in my prefecture, but honestly all I want to do is go to sleep, I am so completely exhausted. It's a 13 hour time difference from Boston, so at around 2, 3 pm today, when It was around 1 or 2 am back home, I started to feel like I was about to fall asleep. They say it takes a day for every hour or time difference until you're back on a normal schedule.

Contact Information

My parents insisted I take down my address and phone number, so I'll post them on my Facebook page instead. If you're not on Facebook, email me and I'll send you my contact information.

One day and counting...

The Mess...

I am leaving in less than 48 hours, and I am not even close to ready. I've spent every day this week running around making sure I have everything I need, and I am losing my mind. As it turns out, moving to Japan is a very complicated process. First, there is the 50 lb weight limit for my two suitcases. Then there is the fact that I have no idea how I'm going to fit everything into two suitcases. That's problem number one.

Problem number two: Shipping things to Japan is REALLY expensive. Which means it would be cheaper to just bring a third suitcase and pay the fee. But that means I have to lug three suitcases around. Eek.

Problem number three: I have to pack a small carry-on suitcase for four days in Tokyo during orientation, before I leave for my prefecture. Which means I have to plan in advance what I'm going to need, and also what satisfies the TSA requirements, ie no razor blades in the carry on. A week without a razor blade in the summer; girls, you do the math. 

Problem number four: I'm having a nervous breakdown! This may shock some of you, but I do not handle stress very well. I have completely passed the point of rational, functional thought, and have moved into a true and honest breakdown. I simply can't stand living in a giant suitcase for another second! I have been living with boxes all around me since the beginning of June, when I began packing up my apartment in St. Louis to move home, and the mess has finally reached critical mass (see above). Somehow I have to fit all of that in a suitcase.

I have literally had to force myself to remember why I am doing all this, because there have been times in the last four days when I seriously thought, "I must be out of my mind to be doing this. This is such a hassle, I should have stayed in St. Louis, I had a life and an apartment and friends there, and the fact that I have an Art History degree doesn't by default make me unemployable." I have to muster up a serious amount faith that this adventure into which I am running almost completely blind is going to be amazing. I never heard from my predecessor, so I don't know anything about the school, two days ago they changed my apartment so I don't know exactly where or how furnished my apartment is; I really know next to nothing. This is a huge leap of faith. I know rationally that it's going to work out, and it's going to be amazing, but my emotions are ruling right now, and they're telling me there's no way I'm ever going to get myself and my stuff over there. Ever.