Month: June 2006

SO, I had my first set of real days off and on Wednesday I took the subway down to Osu Kannon because I heard that there’s a flea market on the grounds of the local temple on the 28th of every month. Apparently Osu Kannon used to be widely known for their brothels and it was a popular place to go and purchase a girl. Sounds like fun right?!?! The temple was easy to find and the flea market was pretty good. There was probably more than 50 little booths of people selling stuff. Lots of kimonos, obis, scrolls, geta, pottery, and miscellaneous collectibles. It didn’t feel like it was obscenely cheap but a good price for most everything if you were buying for yourself or friends. I think I saw maybe a dozen or so foreigners wandering around – none of whom were too friendly (though I wasn’t trying to be friendly myself).

So after I walked around the little flea market I ventured into the regular shopping area of Osu Kannon. A lot of the shops were closed – I guess because it was a weekday. But there were a lot of little ‘cool’ shops for younger Japanese people. Clothing is pretty expensive. I saw a lot of $30-$40 t-shirts. There were also a lot of kimono shops. I found a sumi painting store that had little ink blocks for $300 and up (a few cheap ones too). !!!

So I didn’t take too many pictures as I didn’t have too great of a time in Osu Kannon. I walked around a bit outside of the main shopping area which is apparently not a popular thing for tourists to do. I had a couple people stop what they were doing, turn all the way around to watch me walk past and then spit on the ground after I got past them. could’ve been a weird coincidence but I really doubt it. I tried out a little restaurant for lunch and it was terrible. Chewy, strange flavors, some squishy stuff, and I don’t even want to know what else. It was shaped like a taco but was a thin omelette instead of a tortilla with a ton of stuff inside. All sauced up with a rancid-BBQ liquid. I dunno. At least the beer was good.

I was excited that I finally saw a little color – four whole black people!! And everyone of them said something to me (hello, how’s the food, hi, and ‘hey, white girl, genki (cute), where are you from). All kinds of fun. I think that’s the most conversation I’ve had with strangers since I got here (excluding while shopping or working). So there was a lot to look at and laugh over but I felt more like the whole day just highlighted my alone-ness. It’s rude to make eye contact in Japan and of course I don’t speak Japanese but it just feels really strange to have several days in a row where no one looks at you, let alone smiles at you. No ‘konnichiwa’s, no eye contact, no smiles, no head nods, no nothing.

On the plus side, I found a tattoo shop in Nagoya – couldn’t figure out how to get into it though. Only saw the sign but wasn’t sure which door or stairway belonged to the sign. Nagoya is supposed to have a pretty good night life so I guess one of these weeks here I’ll have to venture out and take a look. The only annoying thing is that the last trains are at midnight and then they don’t start again until six a.m. – which means it will either be a very short or a very long night….. I guess that’s it for this entry. Mt. Fuji climbing season started not long ago – my roommate Kerry is going to go next Monday with another girl from work. I’m going to try to go sometime during July or August as those are supposed to be the easiest months to try.

Kerry (my Canadian roommate) and I went to a little restaurant in Nisshin just a few days after I had arrived. We have no idea what it’s called, but it’s the only restaurant we’ve really found. We also have no idea what we ate but it was all pretty good. We felt awfully bad for our poor waitress as we spent most of the night saying ‘wakarimasen’ (i don’t understand) and then just giggling uncontrollably at our ignorance and the strangeness of the situation. ;-) We forgot to take a picture of our meals, but here we are as the fun gets under way:

Then the next day we went on two very long walks. We added it all up at night and I think we walked around for 7 hours that day! And you wondered how Japanese people stay so thin…..

So those pictures are kind of sort of old at this point, but I thought I’d better include them. And now, our beloved internet cafe…. And some better pictures of my sleeping arrangements. :-)

SO! Teaching is weird!! There are a lot of different levels of students and each class is something new. There are somewhere around 800 students that come fairly regularly (within the last 6 months). The school has 14 classrooms which are really just big cubicles with a curvy desk and a bunch of chairs (me + up to four students). So it definitely keeps you on your toes. Japanese is not allowed at any time, so with the lower level students you start to feel like Tarzan and Jane. Throw in some hand signals (‘square’, ‘next to’) and you’ll feel like a moron in no time. I’m already complaining that my intelligence level has fallen since arriving. :) But, it’s pretty fun. You just try to make people laugh and not make it a boring lesson….. I’ll try to take some pictures of the school so you can get a better idea of what it all looks like.

Answer to a popular question: I do NOT sleep on the floor. ;-) Those are tatami mats, and then i have a foam mat (2″ thick) and then a futon mattress that’s maybe 3″ thick that I sleep on top of. I’ll have to take a picture of the whole shebang…..

So, I’ve obviously found an internet cafe. :) Roommates & I hope to get internet in the apartment in the beginning of July, so I will hopefully update the blog more often. As for right now, there are three posts BELOW this one going all the way from the airport to Nisshin. I’ve actually finished my training at work now (as of yesterday). Tomorrow will be my first real day. Of course, it stinks to work again but it’s not too bad. A little nerve wracking so far!! Should get easier though. There are around 800 students. 10 or so teachers? Canadian, Australian, English, Irish, American, Japanese, and so on. All very nice and fun too. I don’t really know what else to say?!? There’s a hundred new funny stories I have to tell – like going to a restaurant and not understanding anything, fun food surprises, the train, the grocery store!!! I finally found peanut butter! SO exciting. :) I guess I’ll leave it at that for now. I’m doing well, adjusting alright so far. Nisshin is rather small. It’s only 20 minutes from Nagoya so that’s good. I work in Toyota which is 17 minutes away on the train. I guess once I get on the internet more often I will be able to write better posts about specific funny stuff…. I hope everyone’s doing well and having fun!!!!!!

Whew! So I’ve been busy!! I arrived in Nisshin on friday and didn’t have to work until tuesday, so i took out a map and walked around. took lots of pictures. there’s half a dozen temples and shrines within a 30 minute walk. i went to an iris park on saturday. there are THOUSANDS or irises growing next to a rice patty with little walkways. pictures below….

So then I walked back home and stopped at a shrine and temple on the way. I was glad that no one was there so I didn’t feel like I was angering the gods or something by just wandering around taking pictures of everything. :)

And finally, a few pictures of pretty flowers growing in gardens or on the side of the road. The hydrangea is the city flower of Nisshin!! :)

SO, on the very next morning after arriving and running around Osaka taking pictures of grafitti i had to get up and hop on a train to get to Nagoya. we rolled our little carryons to the station (a few blocks away) and went down an escalator and waited for the train to arrive. i was the only one going to Nagoya so a Nova employee said, here’s your ticket, when you get there in 2 hours someone will be meeting you. i took all of these pictures out of the window on the train. actually, i took at least double of what’s here, but i’m only putting up the best ones. it was a really beautiful ride. (pictures have bigger descriptions again and are posted in order from osaka towards nagoya.)

And where did i get to after that long trip?!?!? HOME!! Pictures of the apartment are below. We’re on the first floor, the apartment closest to the camera. So that little window right in the middle is mine. There are three rooms, three roommates – Kerry from Canada, Lisa from Australia, and ME! I got the only japanese style room with tatami mats on the floor (the rest is hardwood). There are sliding doors connecting my room & Lisa’s (not so great) and i have a huge closet too (all sliding doors).