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
Showing posts with label okayama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label okayama. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
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!
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.
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