The past three weeks have been spent homeless, traveling all over Japan (and with a trip to Hong Kong thrown in for good measure), and I am now utterly exhausted!
I wish I had more time and inclination to share my thoughts but at the moment I am completely drained. Hoping to start recollecting my experiences and contrasting them with my reverse culture shock after returning home, at which point I will have a lot more free time and a lot less distracting activity.
Until then..!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
A spectacular failure (as decided in the eye of a typhoon)
Well, my attempt at blogging is, I must admit, a spectacular failure.
Over the three years I've spent here in Japan, I've always put off getting serious about my blog until later. Later is now a little over a month before I hop on that plane for the trip home.
I love the idea of blogging, but I have demonstrated a lack of dedication and have gained the knowledge that blogs won't write themselves.
As I type this, I am sitting in Typhoon Melor, and I'm thinking in the eye. About thirty minutes ago the rain and winds which had been raging hard all night suddenly ceased. For about ten or fifteen minutes, there was nothing but calm and silence. Now the winds are going again hardcore but still no rain.
I had been feeling disappointed recently, because before coming here I had read all about the typhoons and how they disrupted daily life in Japan every year. I expected to have my own experience, but after three years the most I ever got was a few days of rain (but not even crazy rain, just dull boring rain) when the edge of a typhoon just missed my region.
Not this time!
I'm having the full fledged typhoon experience, and all just weeks before I move home for good. Thank you Japan, you've been wonderful to me. Maybe I'll be back someday, who knows?
Also: savvy readers may recall my mentioning Nina? Well, she's volunteered to be my souvenir. She'll be moving back with me! For the holiday season, we'll hibernate in West Virginia, and after that we'll move north to somewhere in Canada and enjoy another six months to a year abroad, only this time much closer to home and in a culture that's familiar to both of us.
Over the three years I've spent here in Japan, I've always put off getting serious about my blog until later. Later is now a little over a month before I hop on that plane for the trip home.
I love the idea of blogging, but I have demonstrated a lack of dedication and have gained the knowledge that blogs won't write themselves.
As I type this, I am sitting in Typhoon Melor, and I'm thinking in the eye. About thirty minutes ago the rain and winds which had been raging hard all night suddenly ceased. For about ten or fifteen minutes, there was nothing but calm and silence. Now the winds are going again hardcore but still no rain.
I had been feeling disappointed recently, because before coming here I had read all about the typhoons and how they disrupted daily life in Japan every year. I expected to have my own experience, but after three years the most I ever got was a few days of rain (but not even crazy rain, just dull boring rain) when the edge of a typhoon just missed my region.
Not this time!
I'm having the full fledged typhoon experience, and all just weeks before I move home for good. Thank you Japan, you've been wonderful to me. Maybe I'll be back someday, who knows?
Also: savvy readers may recall my mentioning Nina? Well, she's volunteered to be my souvenir. She'll be moving back with me! For the holiday season, we'll hibernate in West Virginia, and after that we'll move north to somewhere in Canada and enjoy another six months to a year abroad, only this time much closer to home and in a culture that's familiar to both of us.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
So last night...
I went to the store and bought a few groceries, including an avocado. As with American grocery stores, the fruits and vegetables that aren't packaged can't be scanned. Last night, my checkout lady didn't know what to do. She tried typing in a number but for some reason it didn't work, and she had to call over another employee to help her figure out how to process the purchase. While I was waiting patiently, she said "I'm sorry" two or three times, distractedly.
This is where the cultural difference begins. After she successfully processed it, she started babbling about how very sorry she was, and that she was new and was very embarrassed she hadn't done her job well, and that she would study hard in the future, and again very sorry, and she will definitely study and it won't happen again! All this while she was bowing repeatedly in a deep, apologetic fashion.
I love the customer service ethic here in Japan!
This is where the cultural difference begins. After she successfully processed it, she started babbling about how very sorry she was, and that she was new and was very embarrassed she hadn't done her job well, and that she would study hard in the future, and again very sorry, and she will definitely study and it won't happen again! All this while she was bowing repeatedly in a deep, apologetic fashion.
I love the customer service ethic here in Japan!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The end of the rainy season, and various other musings
I've never noticed it in the past, but then again that might be because the past "rainy seasons" were vast disappointments. This year is the first year that the season lived up to its name with nearly non-stop daily rain showers. In any case, after the rainy season ended, the worst part of the East-Asian summer disappeared with the rain: the humidity!
I went to Beijing with Nina last month, and it was amazing! One of my favorite things about it, though, was the weather; it was quite hot, but not humid. Now, Japan's got a similar thing going on, and it is so nice! Anyways, Beijing was such a blast.. very cheap, the food was indescribably delicious (and with huge American-sized portions, not like the tiny amounts they give you here in Ye Olde Nippon), and it was quite foreign.
Foreign... that's a weird thing to enjoy about a place, I suppose? But when you're living abroad and you get comfortable, things stop feeling foreign. The Japanese lifestyle has in many ways become normal for me. Now of course, here in my apartment is a little piece of America, where I do things mostly American style (although I do still always take my shoes off as I enter.)
So for me to visit China, I got a refreshing blast of "oh wow a foreign country" again! It was really fun and super interesting to visit the capital city of China, since it has such a deep culture that goes back from forever ago and is likely shaping up to be America's chief rival in the coming century. That is, if America isn't in the descendant and actually will lose our superpower status...
In any case, I'm still sort of surprised about all the conflict I'm reading about back home. It seems like Americans are forever going to be in two camps, Conservative and Liberal, Republican and Democrat, and we're never going to get anything done without about half the country completely pissed off and making threats of impeachment. If anything, this would indicate to me that our power isn't going to remain what it was in the previous century.
Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Without a global threat like the USSR (which was bad because it was an aggressive authoritarian regime that wouldn't hesitate to use military force to expand its territory, not because it was supposedly "communist"), I feel like America as a superpower causes more harm than good. We alienate the rest of the world with our unilateralist policies, and often mettle in countries that frankly we have no business in. And the whole idea of a "preemptive war" that was Bush's justification for invading Iraq... well that scares me to my very core.
Regardless, I really enjoyed my trip to China and so decided to start trying to save more of my paycheck while in Japan and spend it on a few more trips abroad (well, abroad from where I'm living) before I leave East Asia and the same trips would quadruple in price and time necessary. I'm off to South Korea with my friend Jake in about two weeks, then we'll come back and both finally go take a look out Tokyo-way. A week after that I'll climb Mt. Fuji! Then, yet another week later, Nina and I will take an as yet undetermined trip abroad. (Maybe Taiwan?)
Speaking of Taiwan, I noticed a very interesting thing while I was at the airport in Beijing. It was a huge, brand new international airport that had just begun operations and was very impressive... and I noticed on the signs when we were boarding our return flight: "Domestic Flights" on one sign, and "International Flights, Taiwan, Hong Kong" on another sign. If you're familiar with the politics at play, then you might share in my amusement at this clever bit of propaganda.
All in all, I can't express how much I've loved working here in Japan, and am very sad to think that in a few short months I'll be leaving it all behind. Nonetheless, my experience has been a bit unique and I'm quite thankful for my job at the Multimedia Center of my company, where I've taught on web-cam instead of face-to-face. Lessons are a lot more enjoyable in-person, but the best part of the Multimedia Center is that all of my co-workers are from all parts of the world.
It is like a cosmopolitan crash course: I now know appropriate cultural jokes, references, and slang for New Zealand, Australia, Wales, England, Scotland, and Ireland. I can also mutter a few jokes in Mandarin, greet people naturally in French, can fake a pretty convincing Italian accent, have had many chances to butcher my high school Spanish, and I've even learned about exotic foreign cuisine! (A bit close to home, that one; surprising that I hadn't heard of it before. Then again, I'm from West Virginia... maybe not so surprising.)
The opportunities and experiences I've had here in such a diverse office has really been worth my time, and I can walk away from this without feeling like I wasted three years of my life. That is something I was worried about at first, but I now feel quite content with my decision and so happy that things worked out well.
I can almost taste that Thanksgiving Dinner.
I went to Beijing with Nina last month, and it was amazing! One of my favorite things about it, though, was the weather; it was quite hot, but not humid. Now, Japan's got a similar thing going on, and it is so nice! Anyways, Beijing was such a blast.. very cheap, the food was indescribably delicious (and with huge American-sized portions, not like the tiny amounts they give you here in Ye Olde Nippon), and it was quite foreign.
Foreign... that's a weird thing to enjoy about a place, I suppose? But when you're living abroad and you get comfortable, things stop feeling foreign. The Japanese lifestyle has in many ways become normal for me. Now of course, here in my apartment is a little piece of America, where I do things mostly American style (although I do still always take my shoes off as I enter.)
So for me to visit China, I got a refreshing blast of "oh wow a foreign country" again! It was really fun and super interesting to visit the capital city of China, since it has such a deep culture that goes back from forever ago and is likely shaping up to be America's chief rival in the coming century. That is, if America isn't in the descendant and actually will lose our superpower status...
In any case, I'm still sort of surprised about all the conflict I'm reading about back home. It seems like Americans are forever going to be in two camps, Conservative and Liberal, Republican and Democrat, and we're never going to get anything done without about half the country completely pissed off and making threats of impeachment. If anything, this would indicate to me that our power isn't going to remain what it was in the previous century.
Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Without a global threat like the USSR (which was bad because it was an aggressive authoritarian regime that wouldn't hesitate to use military force to expand its territory, not because it was supposedly "communist"), I feel like America as a superpower causes more harm than good. We alienate the rest of the world with our unilateralist policies, and often mettle in countries that frankly we have no business in. And the whole idea of a "preemptive war" that was Bush's justification for invading Iraq... well that scares me to my very core.
Regardless, I really enjoyed my trip to China and so decided to start trying to save more of my paycheck while in Japan and spend it on a few more trips abroad (well, abroad from where I'm living) before I leave East Asia and the same trips would quadruple in price and time necessary. I'm off to South Korea with my friend Jake in about two weeks, then we'll come back and both finally go take a look out Tokyo-way. A week after that I'll climb Mt. Fuji! Then, yet another week later, Nina and I will take an as yet undetermined trip abroad. (Maybe Taiwan?)
Speaking of Taiwan, I noticed a very interesting thing while I was at the airport in Beijing. It was a huge, brand new international airport that had just begun operations and was very impressive... and I noticed on the signs when we were boarding our return flight: "Domestic Flights" on one sign, and "International Flights, Taiwan, Hong Kong" on another sign. If you're familiar with the politics at play, then you might share in my amusement at this clever bit of propaganda.
All in all, I can't express how much I've loved working here in Japan, and am very sad to think that in a few short months I'll be leaving it all behind. Nonetheless, my experience has been a bit unique and I'm quite thankful for my job at the Multimedia Center of my company, where I've taught on web-cam instead of face-to-face. Lessons are a lot more enjoyable in-person, but the best part of the Multimedia Center is that all of my co-workers are from all parts of the world.
It is like a cosmopolitan crash course: I now know appropriate cultural jokes, references, and slang for New Zealand, Australia, Wales, England, Scotland, and Ireland. I can also mutter a few jokes in Mandarin, greet people naturally in French, can fake a pretty convincing Italian accent, have had many chances to butcher my high school Spanish, and I've even learned about exotic foreign cuisine! (A bit close to home, that one; surprising that I hadn't heard of it before. Then again, I'm from West Virginia... maybe not so surprising.)
The opportunities and experiences I've had here in such a diverse office has really been worth my time, and I can walk away from this without feeling like I wasted three years of my life. That is something I was worried about at first, but I now feel quite content with my decision and so happy that things worked out well.
I can almost taste that Thanksgiving Dinner.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Rainy Season
A few days ago, the rainy season officially began. This is about a two week period where it rains a lot more than usual, and after it finishes the summer humidity will have set in. East Asia, for a fact, has the worst climate known across planet Earth. The summers are just one big sweat-soaked misery. Some people bring their work clothes separately so that they can change out of their sweaty commute clothes. Its bad.
But for the next week and a half or so, the weather is almost pleasant. A bit too hot for me, but I'm a veritable bear of a man, covered with some extra "insulation" in the form of my beer gut, as well as a thick pelt of fur. For the average human, I believe this is quite nice weather. It lasts for all of two weeks before the summer hell sets in.
Much like the cherry blossoms last for about two weeks before they all wither and die. Japan is a place of very short periods of happiness and celebration, marred by endless weeks of drudgery and unpaid overtime.
Living here as a foreigner, a lot of people complain about discrimination. Mostly these are young white men who have just graduated college. I think Japan is a great place to live as a foreigner... we are immune to the cultural obligations that suck; unpaid overtime, excessive politeness demonstrated through very strict formulae, group obligations, blind loyalty to one's company, and so on.
I daresay that foreigners living in the States don't have it nearly so easy. Nor do people in the States feel that foreigners are a rare thing - we're not randomly inspired to give presents for absolutely no reason to foreigners visiting or living in America. Rarely does a week go by where I don't receive at least one random present from a virtual stranger just because I'm a foreigner, and they want to show kindness.
Then again, it could just be my rugged good looks...
I've begun to consider studying the one class I need for my CIS degree somewhere other than West Virginia. I'm addicted to seeing the world, going to new places, having new experiences. I've heard lovely things about Vancouver... I think I'll check into the universities there and see how much it'd cost to study for a semester.
If the world's that large, why should I remain?
But for the next week and a half or so, the weather is almost pleasant. A bit too hot for me, but I'm a veritable bear of a man, covered with some extra "insulation" in the form of my beer gut, as well as a thick pelt of fur. For the average human, I believe this is quite nice weather. It lasts for all of two weeks before the summer hell sets in.
Much like the cherry blossoms last for about two weeks before they all wither and die. Japan is a place of very short periods of happiness and celebration, marred by endless weeks of drudgery and unpaid overtime.
Living here as a foreigner, a lot of people complain about discrimination. Mostly these are young white men who have just graduated college. I think Japan is a great place to live as a foreigner... we are immune to the cultural obligations that suck; unpaid overtime, excessive politeness demonstrated through very strict formulae, group obligations, blind loyalty to one's company, and so on.
I daresay that foreigners living in the States don't have it nearly so easy. Nor do people in the States feel that foreigners are a rare thing - we're not randomly inspired to give presents for absolutely no reason to foreigners visiting or living in America. Rarely does a week go by where I don't receive at least one random present from a virtual stranger just because I'm a foreigner, and they want to show kindness.
Then again, it could just be my rugged good looks...
I've begun to consider studying the one class I need for my CIS degree somewhere other than West Virginia. I'm addicted to seeing the world, going to new places, having new experiences. I've heard lovely things about Vancouver... I think I'll check into the universities there and see how much it'd cost to study for a semester.
If the world's that large, why should I remain?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Lists
Things I missed about Osaka:
-Tons of delicious food shops very easily accessible
-A nightlife
-My favorite bars and cafes
-Stores with a wide selection of imported non-food items
-The excitement of city life
-The convenience of ATMs (and here I thought Osaka ATMs were inconvenient and few)
-Ease of transportation (convenience, timeliness, and locations available)
-The amount of friends I have
-Reasonably (comparatively) well-behaved high schoolers
-How it never feels like its "late" out since the city is so brightly lit up everywhere
-How easy my job is
-My co-workers
-24 hour stores
Things I didn't miss about Osaka:
-Public urination
-The smells (see above)
-The rudeness of so many people
-The crowds
-The pollution and litter
-The homeless people
-The many people who are ridiculously way too drunk in public
Things I miss about Okayama:
-Nina
-The peace and quiet
-The conveniently located imported foods store
-Having a super short commute
-My co-workers
-How fulfilling my job was
-Cheap cab fare
Things I don't miss about Okayama
-Being the ONLY foreigner in most places
-Stores closing before dark
-My boss working in the same room as myself
-Trains always being unreliable
-How boring it was
-No bars outside of the city center
-Tons of delicious food shops very easily accessible
-A nightlife
-My favorite bars and cafes
-Stores with a wide selection of imported non-food items
-The excitement of city life
-The convenience of ATMs (and here I thought Osaka ATMs were inconvenient and few)
-Ease of transportation (convenience, timeliness, and locations available)
-The amount of friends I have
-Reasonably (comparatively) well-behaved high schoolers
-How it never feels like its "late" out since the city is so brightly lit up everywhere
-How easy my job is
-My co-workers
-24 hour stores
Things I didn't miss about Osaka:
-Public urination
-The smells (see above)
-The rudeness of so many people
-The crowds
-The pollution and litter
-The homeless people
-The many people who are ridiculously way too drunk in public
Things I miss about Okayama:
-Nina
-The peace and quiet
-The conveniently located imported foods store
-Having a super short commute
-My co-workers
-How fulfilling my job was
-Cheap cab fare
Things I don't miss about Okayama
-Being the ONLY foreigner in most places
-Stores closing before dark
-My boss working in the same room as myself
-Trains always being unreliable
-How boring it was
-No bars outside of the city center
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Back to Osaka
Well, my time in Okayama turned out to be a bit more fun than I had first imagined. Met some cool people, got a few side jobs, saw a lot of really interesting places, and had a fun time overall.
Fell in love, too.
Life is interesting. Never imagined things would have worked out the way they did, but all in all I have to say I'm really happy that I decided to change things up and see a new part of Japan.
That said, I am still immensely happy to be returning to Osaka. Life outside of the city is just so much less exciting, and there are a lot less opportunities. Especially working as an English teacher in the eikaiwa industry, at least in Osaka I can still do a lot of stuff after my shift ends... here in Okayama, everything closes so early and options are really limited.
That said, I'll be sad to leave behind a special girl I met here in Okayama. It isn't really going to be that long-distance, since it is only about an hour away by train, but it will nonetheless be long distance.
Her name is Satoko, though she lived in Canada for 5 years and as a result picked up an English name, "Nina". Ironically, I met her right after I moved here, at a party. She's basically fluent in English, and we began hanging out and going on sight-seeing trips together... as time went on, we both fell for each other. She's a very fun girl and we get along quite well!
I'm still hoping to return home before Thanksgiving, but as it turned out, she is planning on leaving Japan to live abroad sometime towards the end of the year! We'll see how things turn out.
Anyways, I've got to get back to eating the last of the food still in the fridge. I'm packing up and getting ready to head back to Osaka, and I need to get a move on because I've got work tonight!
Fell in love, too.
Life is interesting. Never imagined things would have worked out the way they did, but all in all I have to say I'm really happy that I decided to change things up and see a new part of Japan.
That said, I am still immensely happy to be returning to Osaka. Life outside of the city is just so much less exciting, and there are a lot less opportunities. Especially working as an English teacher in the eikaiwa industry, at least in Osaka I can still do a lot of stuff after my shift ends... here in Okayama, everything closes so early and options are really limited.
That said, I'll be sad to leave behind a special girl I met here in Okayama. It isn't really going to be that long-distance, since it is only about an hour away by train, but it will nonetheless be long distance.
Her name is Satoko, though she lived in Canada for 5 years and as a result picked up an English name, "Nina". Ironically, I met her right after I moved here, at a party. She's basically fluent in English, and we began hanging out and going on sight-seeing trips together... as time went on, we both fell for each other. She's a very fun girl and we get along quite well!
I'm still hoping to return home before Thanksgiving, but as it turned out, she is planning on leaving Japan to live abroad sometime towards the end of the year! We'll see how things turn out.
Anyways, I've got to get back to eating the last of the food still in the fridge. I'm packing up and getting ready to head back to Osaka, and I need to get a move on because I've got work tonight!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Will life go on post-BSG?
Okayama is disappointing. Can't wait to get back to Osaka!
Last episode of Battlestar Galactica was amazing!!! I cried about 9 times... rare that a TV show can make me do that!
I'm sad to think that there will be no more BSG, but really look forward to watching Caprica.
If you don't understand what I'm talking about and didn't watch the reimagined BSG... well you've got some renting to do!
Last episode of Battlestar Galactica was amazing!!! I cried about 9 times... rare that a TV show can make me do that!
I'm sad to think that there will be no more BSG, but really look forward to watching Caprica.
If you don't understand what I'm talking about and didn't watch the reimagined BSG... well you've got some renting to do!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Moving On...
Well, I'm moving on. Both in the short term and long term.
Firstly, I'll be moving to a new place in Japan, but only temporarily. At the end of February, I'll be residing in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture. It's supposedly a very historical area, and I'm quite excited!
I basically volunteered when my company said they needed someone to move there for three months to help out while they're understaffed. They hope to have new blood being hired from overseas by three months time, but regardless of what they hope, I've been promised I'll be returned to my old job at the Multimedia Center here in Osaka. Given the company's past track record, I'll be looking for some new jobs just in case.
Regardless, it is a pretty sweet deal because the company's paying my rent and internet, so I'll keep paying my rent on the Osaka apartment (even though I'm basically wasting that cash, it'll be nice to have a place to sleep in Osaka that's *mine* and also it'll be nice to have a place that is completely independent and in no way beholden to my employer.)
I've had too many incidents of this company trying to screw me over to sleep easy knowing my only shelter is owned by the company.
Regardless, I don't seriously anticipate any problems, and very much look forward to my new locale. Last night was the last lesson I'll teach at my old workplace, and there was a bit of a surprise for me at the end of the evening; apparently everyone had chipped in to buy me a present... (originally, there was a list of 14 folks including myself, who were going to get fired unless one of us went to Okayama... and with that threat hanging over everyone's heads, still nobody volunteered and it was looking grim, so I thought "what the heck, I'll volunteer and save us the drama, but everyone on the list owes me a beer".)
Well, I got five beers and four bottles of top shelf imported liquor! A bottle of Cognac, a bottle of Black Bush Irish Whiskey, a bottle of Bourbon, and a bottle of single malt Scotch! I was a bit overwhelmed and quite appreciative of the gesture of thanks, to say the least!
Anyways, I'll be moving this weekend and will write up some first impressions of my new place hopefully in the next week.
Firstly, I'll be moving to a new place in Japan, but only temporarily. At the end of February, I'll be residing in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture. It's supposedly a very historical area, and I'm quite excited!
I basically volunteered when my company said they needed someone to move there for three months to help out while they're understaffed. They hope to have new blood being hired from overseas by three months time, but regardless of what they hope, I've been promised I'll be returned to my old job at the Multimedia Center here in Osaka. Given the company's past track record, I'll be looking for some new jobs just in case.
Regardless, it is a pretty sweet deal because the company's paying my rent and internet, so I'll keep paying my rent on the Osaka apartment (even though I'm basically wasting that cash, it'll be nice to have a place to sleep in Osaka that's *mine* and also it'll be nice to have a place that is completely independent and in no way beholden to my employer.)
I've had too many incidents of this company trying to screw me over to sleep easy knowing my only shelter is owned by the company.
Regardless, I don't seriously anticipate any problems, and very much look forward to my new locale. Last night was the last lesson I'll teach at my old workplace, and there was a bit of a surprise for me at the end of the evening; apparently everyone had chipped in to buy me a present... (originally, there was a list of 14 folks including myself, who were going to get fired unless one of us went to Okayama... and with that threat hanging over everyone's heads, still nobody volunteered and it was looking grim, so I thought "what the heck, I'll volunteer and save us the drama, but everyone on the list owes me a beer".)
Well, I got five beers and four bottles of top shelf imported liquor! A bottle of Cognac, a bottle of Black Bush Irish Whiskey, a bottle of Bourbon, and a bottle of single malt Scotch! I was a bit overwhelmed and quite appreciative of the gesture of thanks, to say the least!
Anyways, I'll be moving this weekend and will write up some first impressions of my new place hopefully in the next week.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Time flies!
GREAT NEWS!!!
December 24th came and went, and nothing terrible happened to me! Nothing at all! It is an immense relief to know that I've escaped without some terrible fate being visited upon me, as has happened the two Christmas Eves previous.
The past few months have FLOWN by! I had to deal with a ton of visits to various offices in the Japanese bureaucracy in order to renew my VISA and notify appropriate offices of my renewal, deal with some tax issues, and I also had bronchitis for about a month!
I also met my girlfriend's parents for the first time, which went as well as one can expect with a huge massive language barrier. They were very nice and paid for me to join them at a nice onsen, and we feasted on snowcrab. So delicious!!
Before I came to Japan, I was just barely beginning to dabble in seafood. At some point in my college years, I decided to open my mind (and mouth) and try out all the foods that I refused to taste out of some mental decision, taken as a child, that I wouldn't like whatever.
I took that to the next level when coming to Japan, arriving here in the mindset that I would try ANYTHING at least twice before making a decision. Interestingly, there is almost nothing I didn't like the second time, though often I dislike the first taste of something simply because it is so completely different from what I had expected it to taste like.
I'm still not a fan of prawn brains, though.
I had a nice two week holiday for Christmas and New Year's. Earned entirely by working extra shifts all through November and December. We got a measly three days paid vacation for the entire holiday season from our generous benefactors, but I can't really complain seeing as how my job is so easy and stress free.
I also went to Nagoya for the first time, adding another location to my "places been" list. (It is one of the largest cities in Japan, and the current "up and coming" city, seeing the most growth. It is an economic city with a lot of businesses based there.) It was a lot of fun, and I ate a ton of delicious food, including Nagoya's famous chicken wings, Nagoya's famous miso-tonkatsu, and a famous eel restaurant!
I also hopped over to nearby Okazaki city, which is home to the Tokugawa Ieyasu Bushi Museum. If anyone's read Tom Clavell's novel "Shogun", the main Samurai lord in that book is based on the real life Ieyasu.
He was a brilliant and ruthless man who ended the "warring states" period of Japanese history, brought peace and prosperity, and established a dynasty that would last for more than 200 years. Learning about his life and exploits is what originally inspired me to want to come to Japan, so it was really fun and exciting for me to visit the museum and see a bunch of stuff, including his real armor and other items that remain from his life.
For Christmas, we had a small party at the apartment and did a Secret Santa exchange. I got a really cool toy helicopter that really flies! That beats the hell out of the remote controlled race cars I had as a kid; toy technology impresses me constantly.
We also had 4 or 5 group dinners during the holiday break, where we (my roommates and I) met with our friends and celebrated over delicious food and cold draft beers. It was really fun and relaxing, but unfortunately my celebrating caught up to me and I ended up with a cold for New Year's day. (It's the most important holiday in Japan and a lot of fun.) Alas, this year I stayed home and rested, but caught some of the famous TV specials that they show every year.
At some point in the past year or so, it occurred to me that I wanted to work for the government. The harsh reality of being an adult, with a grownup job and the realities of needing insurance, savings, job security, and a decent place to live made me think that a government job would be sweet as far as most of those factors went. And most importantly: not having to work on public holidays!
I remember thinking to myself "it's a shame I can't work for the government and at the same time get to live abroad like I'm doing now in Japan", and suddenly realizing that its called Foreign Services (or "being a diplomat" in simpler terms)! So I've begun to research a career in that field, and things are looking promising. I'll have to return home to take a few tests first, however.
Home... that's a big question. Well, not really. I know where home is. The question is "When?". I've pretty much decided that I'll be home before next year's Thanksgiving, but at the same time this decision makes me incredibly sad whenever I think about it.
I'm 25 years old and not getting any younger. I do not want to waste my life as a career English teacher when there are much better options out there for me. But at the same time, my job is really enjoyable, with no stress, and I'm loving my life here in Japan.
I don't want to leave.
December 24th came and went, and nothing terrible happened to me! Nothing at all! It is an immense relief to know that I've escaped without some terrible fate being visited upon me, as has happened the two Christmas Eves previous.
The past few months have FLOWN by! I had to deal with a ton of visits to various offices in the Japanese bureaucracy in order to renew my VISA and notify appropriate offices of my renewal, deal with some tax issues, and I also had bronchitis for about a month!
I also met my girlfriend's parents for the first time, which went as well as one can expect with a huge massive language barrier. They were very nice and paid for me to join them at a nice onsen, and we feasted on snowcrab. So delicious!!
Before I came to Japan, I was just barely beginning to dabble in seafood. At some point in my college years, I decided to open my mind (and mouth) and try out all the foods that I refused to taste out of some mental decision, taken as a child, that I wouldn't like whatever.
I took that to the next level when coming to Japan, arriving here in the mindset that I would try ANYTHING at least twice before making a decision. Interestingly, there is almost nothing I didn't like the second time, though often I dislike the first taste of something simply because it is so completely different from what I had expected it to taste like.
I'm still not a fan of prawn brains, though.
I had a nice two week holiday for Christmas and New Year's. Earned entirely by working extra shifts all through November and December. We got a measly three days paid vacation for the entire holiday season from our generous benefactors, but I can't really complain seeing as how my job is so easy and stress free.
I also went to Nagoya for the first time, adding another location to my "places been" list. (It is one of the largest cities in Japan, and the current "up and coming" city, seeing the most growth. It is an economic city with a lot of businesses based there.) It was a lot of fun, and I ate a ton of delicious food, including Nagoya's famous chicken wings, Nagoya's famous miso-tonkatsu, and a famous eel restaurant!
I also hopped over to nearby Okazaki city, which is home to the Tokugawa Ieyasu Bushi Museum. If anyone's read Tom Clavell's novel "Shogun", the main Samurai lord in that book is based on the real life Ieyasu.
He was a brilliant and ruthless man who ended the "warring states" period of Japanese history, brought peace and prosperity, and established a dynasty that would last for more than 200 years. Learning about his life and exploits is what originally inspired me to want to come to Japan, so it was really fun and exciting for me to visit the museum and see a bunch of stuff, including his real armor and other items that remain from his life.
For Christmas, we had a small party at the apartment and did a Secret Santa exchange. I got a really cool toy helicopter that really flies! That beats the hell out of the remote controlled race cars I had as a kid; toy technology impresses me constantly.
We also had 4 or 5 group dinners during the holiday break, where we (my roommates and I) met with our friends and celebrated over delicious food and cold draft beers. It was really fun and relaxing, but unfortunately my celebrating caught up to me and I ended up with a cold for New Year's day. (It's the most important holiday in Japan and a lot of fun.) Alas, this year I stayed home and rested, but caught some of the famous TV specials that they show every year.
At some point in the past year or so, it occurred to me that I wanted to work for the government. The harsh reality of being an adult, with a grownup job and the realities of needing insurance, savings, job security, and a decent place to live made me think that a government job would be sweet as far as most of those factors went. And most importantly: not having to work on public holidays!
I remember thinking to myself "it's a shame I can't work for the government and at the same time get to live abroad like I'm doing now in Japan", and suddenly realizing that its called Foreign Services (or "being a diplomat" in simpler terms)! So I've begun to research a career in that field, and things are looking promising. I'll have to return home to take a few tests first, however.
Home... that's a big question. Well, not really. I know where home is. The question is "When?". I've pretty much decided that I'll be home before next year's Thanksgiving, but at the same time this decision makes me incredibly sad whenever I think about it.
I'm 25 years old and not getting any younger. I do not want to waste my life as a career English teacher when there are much better options out there for me. But at the same time, my job is really enjoyable, with no stress, and I'm loving my life here in Japan.
I don't want to leave.
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