Been back in America now for pretty much 2 weeks. Got to see a lot of people I had been wanting to see and overall I'm happy with the vacation I took back here. I got asked by some people why I went home instead of taking a trip somewhere else. Of course it's because I missed my friends and family, but the real reason is because I don't have a lot of close friends left, so the ones I still have here I want to keep a strong relationship with them. I'm not sure where they'll be in a year or so, so it's good to visit them now.
It's the same every time I come back home from living in a foreign country. I get into my room and it feels like the whole trip was just a dream. It feels really weird and for a split second like I never left. I don't really like the feeling because it feels like it cheapens the experience. I don't know how to really explain it.
Next post I'm hoping to get some price comparison pictures up. Should be interesting, Japan can be pretty expensive.
年休【ねんきゅう】 (nenkyuu) yearly paid vacation
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Goodbye Rachel
Last Tuesday we had a goodbye party for Rachel at Frisa's place. We had Mexican food and it was very good. It worked out perfectly as we had planned to do this for a while but didn't know how to get Rachel invited without hinting that it was a surprise party. Frisa invited her to go eat at a Thai restaurant while drunk so she believed him. It was a good night.
During the night we showed her a video that I had made (it took a month!) that had all the ALTs saying goodbye. The video starts out with a few seconds of karaoke, followed by ALTs' goodbyes, then some pictures that I tried to arrange to tell a story (probably failed on this), then goodbyes from some of the shops that she really likes in Kesennuma. Bloopers followed, and finally credits. I also downloaded and burned to DVD all of her Facebook pictures as she had mentioned a while back that she had wanted to do that but couldn't reasonably (by the time I finished downloading all the pictures, there were over 10,000 of them).
And just last night we had another surprise (sorta) goodbye party where BOE members and ALTs met up at PinPon. More good times. The after party was at Stray Sheep, the BEST bar in Kesennuma!
Goodbye Rachel, after 5 years of Kesennuma!
I'm going back to Oregon for a while and will be back on the 10th of August, just in time for Minato Matsuri. Looking forward to it!
送別会【そうべつかい】 (sou/betsu/kai) farewell party
During the night we showed her a video that I had made (it took a month!) that had all the ALTs saying goodbye. The video starts out with a few seconds of karaoke, followed by ALTs' goodbyes, then some pictures that I tried to arrange to tell a story (probably failed on this), then goodbyes from some of the shops that she really likes in Kesennuma. Bloopers followed, and finally credits. I also downloaded and burned to DVD all of her Facebook pictures as she had mentioned a while back that she had wanted to do that but couldn't reasonably (by the time I finished downloading all the pictures, there were over 10,000 of them).
And just last night we had another surprise (sorta) goodbye party where BOE members and ALTs met up at PinPon. More good times. The after party was at Stray Sheep, the BEST bar in Kesennuma!
Goodbye Rachel, after 5 years of Kesennuma!
I'm going back to Oregon for a while and will be back on the 10th of August, just in time for Minato Matsuri. Looking forward to it!
送別会【そうべつかい】 (sou/betsu/kai) farewell party
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Japan America Differences Part 3
41. When people here are sick, they wear masks (those SARS masks if you remember those).
42. At least in middle school, every kid has to join some school club, whether it be the soccer club or the art club.
43. While America uses 3 holes on the side of its paper for binding, Japan uses 2 holes. I believe this is the main reason Japan and America sometimes have a hard time being friends.
44. In English, people congratulate each other on the new year itself "Happy new years!" but in Japanese, people congratulate each other on the rising of the sun the day of the new year (more specifically, darkness giving way to light, and indicating that a new year is upon us, but yeah).
45. Japan speaks Japanese and America speaks mostly English (you don't say!)
46. At least in my city, there are bells at certain times of the day (6 am, noon and 6 pm are the only ones I can remember at this time) to remind you what general time it is.
47. Despite Japanese people being "quiet" and "polite," the way you get the server's attention in a restaurant is to yell "Excuse me (sumimasen)!" If they aren't around, you yell louder so they can hear you in the back. In the states we usually just raise our hand or make eye contact. There is also a button in many restaurants that you can hit to make a server come over. Very convenient.
48. Not that there isn't a glass ceiling still in the states, but it's VERY apparent here and women don't have near the respect that men have.
49. Japanese houses/apartments have a small place just to take off your shoes at the very entrance of the house called a genkan. Every Japanese take their shoes off before entering someone's house. Not everyone does this in the states.
50. The Japanese say something like "excuse me" as they enter someone's house.
51. Books are read from right to left and open from left to right in general.
52. People brush 3 times a day in Japan instead of 2 (or in my case, 1 often times).
53. Japanese can't tell the difference between a green light and the first 2-3 seconds of a red light.
53. Speaking of lights, Japan calls green lights "blue" even though they are green in color.
54. Instead of DMV and emission checks, Japan has bi-yearly car inspections to determine if a car is still road worthy. It can cost around $1,000.
55. ATMs can close. WTF? Very convenient in this CASH based society let me tell you.
56. When you receive change after paying for things, they hand you the dollar bills first and then the coins.
57. A lot of Japanese sit down when they take showers on little stools.
58. Nobody says "goodbye" on the phones here. They just say something like "ok then!" or something to that effect.
59. People point to their nose when they point to themselves here.
60. Instead of just a wave when someone lets you in a car lane here, people honk or hit their safety lights for a few seconds.
It's taking a while to knock these ones out so probably going to go down to 10 at a time from now on.
42. At least in middle school, every kid has to join some school club, whether it be the soccer club or the art club.
43. While America uses 3 holes on the side of its paper for binding, Japan uses 2 holes. I believe this is the main reason Japan and America sometimes have a hard time being friends.
44. In English, people congratulate each other on the new year itself "Happy new years!" but in Japanese, people congratulate each other on the rising of the sun the day of the new year (more specifically, darkness giving way to light, and indicating that a new year is upon us, but yeah).
45. Japan speaks Japanese and America speaks mostly English (you don't say!)
46. At least in my city, there are bells at certain times of the day (6 am, noon and 6 pm are the only ones I can remember at this time) to remind you what general time it is.
47. Despite Japanese people being "quiet" and "polite," the way you get the server's attention in a restaurant is to yell "Excuse me (sumimasen)!" If they aren't around, you yell louder so they can hear you in the back. In the states we usually just raise our hand or make eye contact. There is also a button in many restaurants that you can hit to make a server come over. Very convenient.
48. Not that there isn't a glass ceiling still in the states, but it's VERY apparent here and women don't have near the respect that men have.
49. Japanese houses/apartments have a small place just to take off your shoes at the very entrance of the house called a genkan. Every Japanese take their shoes off before entering someone's house. Not everyone does this in the states.
50. The Japanese say something like "excuse me" as they enter someone's house.
51. Books are read from right to left and open from left to right in general.
52. People brush 3 times a day in Japan instead of 2 (or in my case, 1 often times).
53. Japanese can't tell the difference between a green light and the first 2-3 seconds of a red light.
53. Speaking of lights, Japan calls green lights "blue" even though they are green in color.
54. Instead of DMV and emission checks, Japan has bi-yearly car inspections to determine if a car is still road worthy. It can cost around $1,000.
55. ATMs can close. WTF? Very convenient in this CASH based society let me tell you.
56. When you receive change after paying for things, they hand you the dollar bills first and then the coins.
57. A lot of Japanese sit down when they take showers on little stools.
58. Nobody says "goodbye" on the phones here. They just say something like "ok then!" or something to that effect.
59. People point to their nose when they point to themselves here.
60. Instead of just a wave when someone lets you in a car lane here, people honk or hit their safety lights for a few seconds.
It's taking a while to knock these ones out so probably going to go down to 10 at a time from now on.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Busy Month
So I haven't written for a while but it's not exactly because I'm lazy. Well, I am, but whatever. This month has been super busy for me as I prepare to go back to the states for a few weeks on vacation. I'm trying to figure out what I need to do when I'm back, what pictures to take to show people, etc. I also need to figure out my taxes as I've passed the deadline and have just kind of been "hiding" out and not worrying about them. Probably not a good idea but I'll deal with that back home.
Also been trying to hang out with people who are leaving this year. One of them is leaving Kesennuma after 5 years, the longest she's ever lived in one place, so that's pretty special. I'm also working on some projects that are taking up a lot of my time. They'll be well worth it when I'm done though.
I went to a place with Kevin over the weekend called Chuusonji 中尊寺 which is a temple located in Hiraizumi. I went there mainly to buy souvenirs for people back home, but also got to eat a cool dish called Wanko Soba. Picture below:
There were 24 bowls of soba and that sounds like a lot but each bowl only had a little bit in it so it worked out to be a little more than a normal meal. It was good.
This was the 2nd time I'd been to Chuusonji and it sucked because both times it was raining. Maybe if I go again it won't be raining.
Not sure if I'll get a chance to update again before I leave to the US, probably will, but if I don't, eat dirt!
Also been trying to hang out with people who are leaving this year. One of them is leaving Kesennuma after 5 years, the longest she's ever lived in one place, so that's pretty special. I'm also working on some projects that are taking up a lot of my time. They'll be well worth it when I'm done though.
I went to a place with Kevin over the weekend called Chuusonji 中尊寺 which is a temple located in Hiraizumi. I went there mainly to buy souvenirs for people back home, but also got to eat a cool dish called Wanko Soba. Picture below:
This was the 2nd time I'd been to Chuusonji and it sucked because both times it was raining. Maybe if I go again it won't be raining.
Not sure if I'll get a chance to update again before I leave to the US, probably will, but if I don't, eat dirt!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Time in Japan
I learned a few days ago that one of my close friends back in the states broke up with his girlfriend. What sucks is that this happened a few months ago. It's sad because they had been going out for a few years and I thought they made a pretty good couple.
I like Japan but for the most part I'm not having any luck making Japanese friends like I had hoped. Japanese people are a very group oriented people and as hard as it is to make friends, the ones I do make aren't interested in letting me into their groups, which makes it easy to drift away.
In contrast, back in the states, I do have some close friends. It's not many, and as they all have their groups of friends it's more one on one than anything else, but I do have them. But I feel like the longer I'm here the farther away I get from them, and that makes me sad. I'm already not very good at social situations so trying to make new friends on my own does not sound like a fun task.
I don't think I can do more than 2 years in Japan. If I didn't have any friends or family back in the states it would be an easy 5+ years. But the lack of Japanese friends, lack of real job satisfaction and the drifting from my good friends back in the states makes it really hard to do more than 2 years.
I am also more in love with what Japan appears to promise, its potential, than I am with its reality.
I like Japan but for the most part I'm not having any luck making Japanese friends like I had hoped. Japanese people are a very group oriented people and as hard as it is to make friends, the ones I do make aren't interested in letting me into their groups, which makes it easy to drift away.
In contrast, back in the states, I do have some close friends. It's not many, and as they all have their groups of friends it's more one on one than anything else, but I do have them. But I feel like the longer I'm here the farther away I get from them, and that makes me sad. I'm already not very good at social situations so trying to make new friends on my own does not sound like a fun task.
I don't think I can do more than 2 years in Japan. If I didn't have any friends or family back in the states it would be an easy 5+ years. But the lack of Japanese friends, lack of real job satisfaction and the drifting from my good friends back in the states makes it really hard to do more than 2 years.
I am also more in love with what Japan appears to promise, its potential, than I am with its reality.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Japan Junior High School Sports Competition
So over the weekend the middle schools had their sports competition where they compete with other schools in their prefecture (could be wrong about this and probably am). I went to see basketball and ping pong.
One of my school's girls team got blown out by around 13 to 60. One of the girls cried after the other team got off to a 13-0 run in the start. Sucks. The same school's boys team did better and won with a score of around 55 to 43. My other school's girls team ended up winning with a score of around 33 to 20. Neither team could shoot the ball, luckily for them.
Went to watch ping pong after lunch, and the boys didn't fare so well in either of my schools, but one girl killed it! She won the whole thing and will go on to the prefectural tournament. I think it's the prefectural tournament, which would mean my earlier guess of schools in prefectures competing would be wrong.
One of my school's girls team got blown out by around 13 to 60. One of the girls cried after the other team got off to a 13-0 run in the start. Sucks. The same school's boys team did better and won with a score of around 55 to 43. My other school's girls team ended up winning with a score of around 33 to 20. Neither team could shoot the ball, luckily for them.
Went to watch ping pong after lunch, and the boys didn't fare so well in either of my schools, but one girl killed it! She won the whole thing and will go on to the prefectural tournament. I think it's the prefectural tournament, which would mean my earlier guess of schools in prefectures competing would be wrong.
Picture of my students killing the tournament!
中総体 【ちゅうそうたい】 (chuusoutai) Japan Junior High School Sports Competition
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Shaken, New JET, States Visit & Mooland
Been a while huh?
My car's in the shop, not because it has anything wrong with it, but because they have this car inspection/insurance that has to get done once every 2 years. It can cost hundreds and up to over a thousand dollars, and if stuff is wrong with your car that they ask you to fix, you have to fix it. It sucks and I am expecting that in a week I will get a huge bill seeing as my car is 14 years old and probably needs things done that will cost a pretty penny. On the other hand, it keeps cars in great overall shape and is likely the reason they seem cheaper here than elsewhere. The ridiculous price of this bi-yearly insurance called "Shaken" (pronounced shaw-ken) drives the value on cars way down. You also don't see that many used cars on the road because they are just too expensive to maintain. Makes people like me who have cheap cars cry.
We've already found out who will be coming to Kesennuma this summer, at least one person. His name is Pierre but we don't know who he'll be replacing. He seems cool. I sure hope he is, normal people can be a breath of fresh air sometimes in this JET program. You have to do an interview and I seriously don't know how some people made it through. But anyway, we're getting one more person and I hope that person is cool too.
I've got a ticket back to the states, set for July 23rd to August 9th. I want to make it back for some festival that'll be happening on the 10th. I'm excited to see my family and friends who I haven't seen for a year.
I went to this place called Moo land (In Japanese it's pronounced Mow land, as in mow your lawn). Below is the best picture I took of the whole place.
車検【しゃけん】 (shaken) vehicle inspection
My car's in the shop, not because it has anything wrong with it, but because they have this car inspection/insurance that has to get done once every 2 years. It can cost hundreds and up to over a thousand dollars, and if stuff is wrong with your car that they ask you to fix, you have to fix it. It sucks and I am expecting that in a week I will get a huge bill seeing as my car is 14 years old and probably needs things done that will cost a pretty penny. On the other hand, it keeps cars in great overall shape and is likely the reason they seem cheaper here than elsewhere. The ridiculous price of this bi-yearly insurance called "Shaken" (pronounced shaw-ken) drives the value on cars way down. You also don't see that many used cars on the road because they are just too expensive to maintain. Makes people like me who have cheap cars cry.
We've already found out who will be coming to Kesennuma this summer, at least one person. His name is Pierre but we don't know who he'll be replacing. He seems cool. I sure hope he is, normal people can be a breath of fresh air sometimes in this JET program. You have to do an interview and I seriously don't know how some people made it through. But anyway, we're getting one more person and I hope that person is cool too.
I've got a ticket back to the states, set for July 23rd to August 9th. I want to make it back for some festival that'll be happening on the 10th. I'm excited to see my family and friends who I haven't seen for a year.
I went to this place called Moo land (In Japanese it's pronounced Mow land, as in mow your lawn). Below is the best picture I took of the whole place.
車検【しゃけん】 (shaken) vehicle inspection
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)