School (lack of) Life

I suppose everyone is very interested in what my life working at the schools is like. I haven't talked about it because there isn't much to talk about yet. At the moment, it is still summer vacation for the students, so there are only a couple around doing sports and clubs. The teachers don't get to take the summer off, like they do in the states, but many of them are taking off their very brief vacation at the moment, so the office is all but empty. It has been impressed upon me how incredibly hard Japanese teachers work; they are essentially expected to raise the children, with more responsibility even than the parents! So, once the year starts, I think seeing the office empty will be a rare and strange thing.

To pass the time, I usually spend a lot of time on the internet. I have no internet in my apartment yet (nor will I, probably for another month), so I have to soak it up while I am at school. I do have crappy internet on my cell phone, so I am able to check my e-mail and train schedules whenever/wherever I want. In case you were wondering, I write all of my blog entries while I am at school. I have no official school responsibilities yet, since school hasn't started. At the elementary where I work on Fridays, I have 2 lessons to plan, but that is all. I also bring along my Japanese to study, but thus far, not much time gets devoted to that. For this reason, and the fact that the teacher's room is air conditioned (the rest of the school is not), I don't mind going to work for no apparent reason.

About the schools.. well, at the junior high school, where I am 4 days a week, I have met and talked to two of the English teachers who both speak English quite well. They are both female and very nice. I have my own desk and laptop computer (which is in Japanese...) next to one of the English teachers. The rest of the teachers do not speak English. However, many times, the English teachers are not at school, and the one people around are non-English speakers. Mostly, they don't try to talk to me too much. We are all nervous about our abilities with foreigners and foreign language. However, once the ice is broken, quite a conversation can be had. Lots and lots of gesturing, mixing languages until the point has gotten across, it works out alright. It's pretty cute/amusing really. I really appreciate their effort.

Everyone is very interested in my life prior to coming to Japan. I have a small album of photos from home, showing my family, my house, my college, and friends. This was the perfect icebreaker when I met the Principle at the JHS. Right after introducing myself, we were left alone. He is a jolly little man, but he speaks no English and I was not getting any Japanese out, so I whipped out my photo album and, BAM, instant communication. I remembered to bring it the first day I was staying at the elementary as well. I took it out just to show the two people I was talking to, and instantly, the entire office had gathered in front of me. My first experience as a 4th grade teacher. lol. Everyone is particularly impressed with the picture of my parent`s house + boat in Texas. Should have brought more of those.

My first day at the elementary was kind of awkward. None of the English teachers were there, and, as far as I could tell, no one spoke English. So I sat at my desk in the back quietly for quite a long time without anyone to talk to or anything to do. Then, one of the woman from the front came back, the computer tech, and it turned out that she spoke some English. Later, the school clerk introduced himself to me and spoke a little. People seem happy to see me there, but are very shy. I understand, of course. I am shy as well.

Just as the day was winding down, the computer-sensei came back and invited me to join them in a game of badminton. I wasn't the only one with nothing to do! So someone lent me some indoor sneakers and we went to the (un-air conditioned!) gym and played. It was super fun and hey! no language required!

A side note: at Gunma orientation, it was impressed upon us that we are not allowed to mention people by name or post pictures of individuals from school, especially the children. So, if my vagueness strikes you at some points, this is the reason.

Cheers,

teacher Baer

kimono and taxes

Tuesday and Wednesday, all the JETs from Gunma met in Maebashi for further orientation. Our supervisor was nice enough to drive the three of us Ota JETs there, so we didn't have to navigate the trains ourselves.

There was nothing particular remarkable about the first day of the meeting, as they mostly just repeated a lot of stuff that was already covered... The second day was more interesting. They had us do some cultural workshops. I learned how to put on a kimono! This one was my favorite, because I have had so much trouble trying to figure out how to wear the yukata I bought. I discovered earlier that I was missing parts, and that was part of the problem. However, just the act of putting them on is an art not self taught. We had these two little old ladies show us how to do it and then we all helped each other get them on. Chingyi (to the right) looked amazing. I even found a kimono store in Maebashi where I was able to buy the missing sashes I need to keep my own yukata on. I'll let you know how it goes.

I also got a lesson in the shamisen. This is a traditional Japanese 3-string instrument that looks sort of like a small, boxy guitar. However, instead of using your fingers to play, there is a large, flat paddle-like thing that you use to press the strings. It makes it quite awkward and difficult. However, the music is essentially like tabs, so it is very easy to read. Yay for that. I think I will stick to guitar though..

In addition, for the first time we were actually given a very brief, but effective idea about how to deal with American taxes. It's official! I don't have to pay any taxes for at least 3 years if I stay in Japan! Mwahahaha! Man, should stay here until that luxury runs out. This means I must stay completely out of the USA for at least 1 year, but I wasn't intending on leaving anyway. The other night I was calculating my paychecks in my head, trying to figure out how much disposable income I would have left over each month. Just to be safe, I was calculating taxes out of that as well... quite a depressing sum; I am sure glad to get it back! Though, I definitely think I'll be spending more on groceries than I expected... I do try and go to the farmers market to buy my fruit and vegetables, so that helps reduce costs.

Next to the grocery store that I go to (almost everyday) is a hyaku-en shop (dollar store) and a clothing store. I adore this clothing store. They have some cute, fashionable things but they are SO CHEAP! I bought a t-shirt there for about $7 and a cute little skirt for $14. They also have a good selecti0n of slippers/indoor shoes, which is faaaabulous, as non-hideous indoor shoes are hard to find. They have lots of other stuff too, like blankets and pillows and house stuff. Man, I really want to deck out my apartment with cute stuff! But it seems like such a waste since I will eventually leave... I am always caught between wanting to spend money on my apartment and not wanting to waste money on things I can't take home... hmm...

Today our supervisor is taking Taylor and myself to buy a new bike! Yay! I have to pay for it, of course, but that part doesn't matter... I just really really don't want my bike to break. Taylor's actually did! When it's the only way to get around, it can be a scary thing! So, I'm excited. My new bike will even have a little light on the front! I feel like a little kid.

Cheers,

dork Baer

Earthquake!

Wah, I almost forgot!
There was an earthquake last night! Even though it came all the way from the east coast of Japan, shaking up Tokyo, it felt pretty strong even from my apartment in Gunma! It lasted so long too, and after the first wave, another one hit that was even stronger.

Wah, I thought it was really cool. lol.
It made international news. Read about it here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090809/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake

shakin' bakin' Baer

An aside: In loving memory of Jasmine You...

An aside today from my regular journal... I was absolutely shocked today to find out that Jasmine You, the basist from one of my favorite Japanese bands, Versailles, died yesterday. So young and so damn unexpected...It breaks my heart... Just on Friday, I was making plan to go see this band play in October and I was so excited...

So much death lately... and he was truly beautiful and so talented. I actually saw a picture of him (see below), without his makeup, while I was in Tokyo and gods, he looked like an angel...

My adoration for Japanese music artists like Jasmine You was greatly a part of the reason that I became interested in Japan... so, it is quite a blow to me. I hope I will still get to see Versailles again someday, though one man short...

sad Baer

Tokyo at last!

Okay, with that title, you are probably thinking, "but Lindsay, you were already in Tokyo." Physically, yes, I was in the city. Lost, cloistered in a hotel, but in the city.

Well, on Saturday, I was went to Tokyo for real! First, I must tell you, getting there was something of a trial. I spent the entire night before going over maps and trying to figure out how to get there. Impossible. The maps are all in solid kanji, and there is no map of my particular railway. Finally, I went on my phone internet and found a route via hyperdia.com. This website is my salvation. Funny thing was, when I first tried to access it with my phone, it didn't work. It was only after hours of pouring over useless maps that it suddenly decided to work.

So, I wrote out my directions meticulously both in romanji and kanji, feeling a little nervous about making the trip by myself, but determined to go anyway. However, when I got to the train station, I found that the machine to buy tickets made no sense. Instead of asking for a destination or a route or any other method, it asked how much I should pay. How would I know?! I showed my directions to an attendant and he was able to print me the necessary ticket on his computer, but I still have no idea how to buy a ticket myself...

Overall, the trip was pretty quick. It took about 2 hours total and cost ~2200 yen (about $24). It wasn't the cheapest route but it wasn't the most expensive either, just the most convenient. I didn't take the bullet train (it's not convenience to wear I live) but the express trail. I didn' t realize that the express train had assigned seats (ohhh, THAT'S was 'reserved seating' means) so I was shooed out of my spot before I realized something was up.

I actually only went to Harajuku. I knew I wouldn't have very much time since I was only spending a day there, so I had a couple very specific stores picked out and nothing else. First, I went to Kiddyland.

Kiddyland is a huge toy store, 5 floors, each with their own theme. I lost track of time, so I can't say for sure, but I think I spent 2 hours in this store! It was totally packed! Probably because it is listed in many travel guides as well as because it is simply huge, I think. What I thought was funny was how much space was dedicated to foreign toys/characters. Micky mouse, Carebears, Snoopy, Disney... some had their very own floors! Mostly, I looked only briefly over this stuff. There were only two floors that were almost completely Japanese. I took a few pictures of the cute things they had for sale.


These dolls~ so pretty! The dresses! Wah! Angelic Pretty minature dresses! Everything on those girls are minature of real items that you can buy and wear, down to the detail on the skirts and bonnets! So cute! My love of Angelic Pretty (the brand) made me squee. However, the dolls were not for sale and the picture was free so...

Speaking of Angelic Pretty, that was actually the main reason for my trip to Tokyo this time and my next stop. The store is in a mall called Laforet, which I read was huge. Somehow, even though I knew (on a map) where it was, I still got lost finding it. Funny thing was, getting lost put me on the famous Harajuku St.


I didn't have time or money to spend there this time, so I just took a picture and headed to Laforet. Laforet was a huge mall, 7 stories, I think. From what I saw, all of the clothes there were very nice, very stylish, but also, very expensive. I spent some time in the store I had planned to go to, bought a yukata, and looked around a bit. There was just one little restaurant that I saw, nestled in the corner. It was more of a cafe than a restaurant, with most people ordering these really interesting drinks... they looked like colored ice cubes with milk poured over them. Some sort of tea. I would like to try it next time I go, but this time, I just had a regular lemon tea and pancakes. I was told I wouldn't find pancakes in Japan, but there it is.

(click for bigger picture)

For only really visiting two stores, my day went very quickly! I actually went back to Kiddyland and bought a teddy bear before I left. I can see the eyes rolling, but hey, I'm glad I bought it. It's nice to have a little companionship, even silent, stuffed, and pink, in my lonely apartment.

So, on the whole, my transportation cost about 4460yen (~$46). Not that expensive but not cheap either. I could have stayed in Tokyo overnight, but I had already spent all my money anyway and certainly didn't need more temptation to spend more! Gah, I could go broke there without effort. Still, I hope to visit again soon. I know Chingyi said she might want to go, so we will see!

One thing about this trip... I had really really wanted to wear one of my beautiful skirts from AP. That way I would look nice and not like a total tourist. However, it was (yet again) raining when I left Gunma. It rains and rains and raaaaaaaaaaains. I didn't want to ruin my skirt, so wore something else. It turns out, though, that I wore the wrong thing. It's a pink blouse from Anthropology that I have wore countless times in the US. It's very low cut but I don't worry too much about it. Well, that is NOT the case here! Everyone and their mother (literally) was staring at my breasts without even trying to hide it! It was... a little uncomfortable, I have to say. The worst part was actually on the local train home. It was pretty empty but this guy sitting across from me was majorly creepy. Even the boob-staring people would look away after a minute. This guy did not. He actually laid out on his side on the empty bench and just stared at me the entire 8 minutes I was on the train. Like he was watching a movie. Boy was I glad when he did not get off on my stop.

...

Cheers,

Tokyo Baer.

Not such a great cook

Last night's attempt at cooking from one of my cookbooks. It looks pretty, yeah? Chicken with roasted sesame seeds and bell peppers over rice. How nice. Except it wasn't ! It was terrible! I really didn't think I was such a bad cook... so I shall blame it on my gimpy kitchen.

Really, it is not too enjoyable to make food in my kitchen. Always I have to use the stove to cook, becaue I have no oven... but I spend the entire time fearing for my skin, standing as far away as possible while holding the pan, trying to avoid hot oil burns. This is crazy! One day I am afraid I may serioiusly hurt myself. I need some lessons -in my kitchen lessons.

Finally, internet!..er, Ota!

This morning something quite strange happened. It was the first day of my going to the Junior High School, so I had not slept well due to being a little stressed out. At 6:30 in the morning, my doorbell rang. Scared half to death out of my sleep, I grabbed my clock, wondering if I had somehow slept past my alarm. Seeing that this was not the case, I got up and saw from my bedroom door a couple large Japanese men dressed all in black standing at my kitchen window. I must say, this did not help my nerves one bit. Throwing on some pants and cursing myself for wearing my Japanese "dragon" shirt to bed (laughingly told myself the night before that no one would SEE me, after all), I hurried to the door. Actually, there were 3 large men in black uniform, looking rather like SWAT. However, very quickly, a very unthreatening beaurocrat-type man popped out from behind the door. He showed me his badge (kay, freaking out now) and then proceded to explain in Japanese that he was from immigration. He took my passport and a women appeared out from nowhere and came into my kitchen, explaining it was a "visa check" and couldn't she just look around my apartment? ...

I (obviously) don't have a lot of experience with Japanese government of any type, but an unannounced 6:30AM visit seemed pretty proactive to me... I think I must have been a very suspicious personage! Perhaps my neighbors had called about the strange American that had suddenly appeared!

...

wah... scary.

Welcome to Ota: A Recap

Since it has been a while since I have been able to write, now I must do some back tracking to fill you in on what has been happening here.

The next day after I wrote my last entry, I actually had the opportunity to briefly go out into Tokyo at night. Wah! I loved it. It really was beautiful. Everything on the street lights up, there are so many people out walking or shop employees attempting to lure people inside. I was amused that said employees never even gave us a second glance; lucky us! Even though we seemed to be in a little bit of a lost area of Shinkjuku, I definitely had the feeling, "Ah, Tokyo!" for the first time.

Unfortunately, soon after eating we had to return to the hotel.

The next morning, we got onto a bus and went to Gunma. The trip only took two hours and went by quite quickly. Some people on the bus were getting impromptu Japanese lessons, some slept, reminisced on previous experiences in Japan or with Japanese, and Taylor, another Ota JET, was even teaching himself how to tie his own tie. We did stop once, and everyone rushed to the vending machines, a first experience for many of us. There are so many vending machines everywhere, it is almost a joke. I have already learned to appreciate them though. It is very hot!

In Ota, we had a brief welcome ceremony in which we were introduced to our supervisor. Along with myself, there are two other JET ALTs in Ota, Taylor and Chingyi.

During the ceremony, we were called up to shake his hand but didn't have a chance to talk. At first, we were a little nervous because he seemed very stern. However, once the ceremony was over, we found this to be quite an inaccurate description. It turned out that one of his favorite things was old British and American heavy metal bands. This stern looking fellow! Whenever we are driving with him, he always has the music on, though quietly. What's funny was, even though the music was in English, I was comforted by it because it reminds me of my favorite Japanese band, X Japan! Pretty funny. Since then, I've found that this unintentional lesson of our sensei has been a true one; often times I see Japanese people walking or standing on the street, looking like they are scowling yet once I offer a greeting, their whole face lights up. (of course, I've had other responses as well, but never anything bad).

The next few days were quite busy. After getting our Alien/Foreign Registration out of the way, we purchased cell phones and set up a bank account. I had the ever thrilling experience of paying my rent for the first time. Bye bye 48,500 yen.

I did not get to move into my new apartment until the second day we were there. Mia was still at the apartment, just about to leave. She gave me a whirlwind tour of the apartment, showing me quickly how each of the electronics, such as the air conditioner and rice cooker, worked, then went off to the train station to begin her trip home. I was pretty overwhelmed. The apartment is pretty big, with a kitchen, living room, and tatami room. The tatami room is 6 mats big, the biggest and the nicest in the apartment. The kitchen was a little gross, and it was clear to me that I would be doing quite a bit of cleaning my first few days. This turned out to be quite true... some of it made me wonder how exactly Mia used to live. For example, I found that every glass and dish in the cupboard and in the drying rack next to the sink, was still dirty! It was seriously gross. I cleaned everything and then arranged the cabinet from most ugly to least ugly (I have found that it is quite easy to find cheap, nice looking glasses and dishes, so I'm not sure why everything is so mismatched and uuugly).

In addition to everything in the apartment, I also inherited a bike. I was in serious doubt about this bike when I first saw it, thinking that maybe I would just go ahead and get a new one. However, after giving it a couple tries, I found that, even though the breaks are a little... slow, it works well enough. It has a huge basket on the front, so I can (sometimes precariously) carry all my groceries or other purchases with me. Here you can see the sign for my apartment, Minamigaoka Heights, and that is my bike there on the end. From this distance, it looks pretty good!

A day or so after getting settled in my apartment, sensei picked us three ALTs up again and brought us to Joyful Honda, a HUGE home store. There are two floors and I have only been to parts of the first floor and have yet to go to the second story, so I am not sure what is up there either. What really cracked me and Chingyi up was the liquor store that is on the lower level of the store. The "Joyful liquor store"! Well, who isn't joyful after going to a liquor store!

After being in the apartments a few nights and cleaning everyday, I started to feel a little more at home in my apartment and was ready to cook my first meal. Let me tell you, making a trip to the grocery store for a specific set of items is no small ordeal! First, I get out my cook books and find a recipe I want, making a list of the items. That is pretty standard. However, then I have to pull out one or two dictionaries to translate everything into kana, and then to kanji! It takes so long to meticulously write these tiny, intricate kanji that I am wholly unfamiliar with! However, I figured that, by doing so, I could just find items by essentially playing "Match the Picture!". Once I got to the grocery store, I found this did not work at all! I have no idea what is written on the packages, but it somehow never corresponded with the dictionary definition. It worked out, for the most part, anyway. When I come upon something I cannot find by sight, I apologetically ask for assistance from either one of the other customers (this is chicken, right?) or from an employee (red miso is where?). The kanji prove useful because even though I cannot read them, everyone else can, and it makes my meaning very clear.

This was the result of my hard work, my first Japanese home-cooked meal!"How impressive!" you say, but actually, it is kind of boring. I think I need to make a sauce to go with it. If you could see the pitiful stove that I had to work with though, you would appreciate what a juggling act it is to cook there. Even though I have two burners, one of the burners is too close to the wall, and has burned the wall from past use (a situation I found to be recurrent, actually), so I am not allowed to use it. The stove is pretty scary altogether. It is gas and there are two little nozzle at the back where you have to turn on the gas before turning on the stove, but one of the nozzle isn't attached to anything! I give it a wide birth, in effort not to poison myself to death.

Pictures of the apartment will have to wait though. The Japanese have an extensive recycling system. Almost everything gets recycled. While this is nice in theory, it is also EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING. There is nothing that we open or eat that we do not have to sit and wonder how we are going to get rid of the packaging, and the answer is not always clear. Taylor and I decided it was better if we just stopped eating. lol. The result is that I have tons of garbage in my kitchen right now, separated into different bags and trash cans. I want to wait until I can get all of these out of my apartment before I take pictures. The recycling runs on a months schedule though, so it may be a while before I am able to clear it all out.

Wah, I am tired. More later!

Lindsay Baer

Fast Forward Tokyo

I made it to Japan!

Three suitcases and fifteen hours later, I made it to Japan with some pretty intense jet lag. Unfortunately, our plane was pretty ancient, so even with a little medicinal help, I was not able to sleep on the plane almost at all. Narita was a breeze, fortunately, since there was a line of purple-shirted JETs leading us throughout the airport, saving us from the most arduous task of independent thought.

For two days we have been at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo for orientation. I feel as though the main goal of this orientation is to give us a painfully firsthand view of what it means to be a Japanese businessman: fourteen hours days plus the expectation that you party afterward. Add 14 hour jet lag and you have the most physically exhausting conference you can imagine. We go to huge conference rooms in the hotel (there are 880 or so JETS here at the moment) and sit and listen to speeches for hours, then get up and move to a different conference room and listen to more speeches and advice. I found only the last few workshops useful, as they covered teaching and classroom management. Having no teaching experience myself, I am very nervous about the prospect.

One nice thing has been my roommate, Jennifer. We have gotten to know each other and feel comfortable with each other pretty well, so we go to many of the seminars together and laugh at some of the things they tell us. One time, we were sitting in the back, near the door (for a quick escape!) and one of the government ministers happened to be sitting in front of us. He was slumped down in his chair and texting "This is so boring!" on his phone. So funny.

I haven't gotten a chance to see much of Tokyo what with the whirlwind schedule they have us on. My roommate, Jennifer, and I snuck out for 45 minutes to take a peak of Shinjuku. However, we only made it a few blocks before we were lost and it started to rain. The fates were not with us. As far as I was able to see, we are in no part of Shinjuku that I recognize. I'd like to say we would make it out for more exploration, but extensive stress and a consistent lack of proper nourishment make everything except sleep more than slightly unappealing. I am comforted, instead, by the fact that, since I will be so close to Tokyo in my home prefecture, I will have plenty of opportunity to visit later.

We had a very nice view from our room. This is not a picture of that actually (XD) but my half of the room. The beds were real beds but still futon style and pretty damn hard. Once we were still in the room when the maid came to clean. They were so amazingly thorough, they even picked up and folded my jacket and socks! I thought it was so cute, I took a picture.


Tomorrow I will be going to my prefecture (which is more or less like a state) and after some pomp and ceremony, will be brought to my city and my apartment. At the moment I am using free hotel internet, but after I arrive in my city, I am told that it may be a month before I have any internet again. I will likely find a computer at school to write on, but I think I will more or less be disappearing from civilization for a while.

There are quite a few JETs here have have significant others on the program. I am most envious. While I have had to the chance to talk to my parents several times, this abstract form of communication is not quite sufficient when all I crave is to curl up next to someone or disappear in a hug and steal a little comforting contact. I suppose it will get easier, but... it's tough.

Cheers,

lonely Baer