End of Orientation

自分で俺の年と同じくらい友達を作る目標は何よりです。

Leaving Sendai in the afternoon tomorrow.  Had some good workshops but for some reason was really tired and had to try hard to stay awake during most of them.  Met some cool people, but honestly wondering how many times outside of these orientations I'll actually meet them.  A lot of them are pretty far away.

I love the internet.  I just bought a Blu-ray player for my dad for his birthday and I don't even have to be there to have it wrapped and arrive on his birthday (although I wish I could).

Got a fairly full week ahead with things like hanging out and visiting schools to help with speech contests.  It's going to be exciting, probably more exciting than this entry, hopefully.

吐息【といき】 (toiki)   (n) sigh; long breath

More Orientations

So I have internet for a few days because I'm in a dormitory right now.  I've been shipped down to a bigger city (Sendai) for another orientation.  It's only the first day but it's been pretty cool.  Well not really, the air conditioning is set seemingly on the lowest setting and I am sweating buckets.  Gotta dry clean my suit soon, it's gone like a week without any washing and I've been sweating in it.  Freaking gross but there is no time to get it dry cleaned since I've been needing it at least every other day.

On another note, all the new teachers played Jeopardy tonight at the orientation's dinner reception and I was able to put my team in second place as I was the only one who knew the last question, which was "what is the word for 'wisdom tooth' in Japanese?"  Oh yeah, that definitely leveled up my badassness.

親知らず【おやしらず】 (oya shirazu)    (n) wisdom tooth

Pretty sure this should have been posted back on Sunday.  It's been a while because I don't have internet and I'm not sure when I'll be able to get it since I guess the tsunami took out some of the wires for it that are needed in my apartment.  Hopefully I should have it soon, unless my supervisor doesn't know what he's talking about.

I got to my city Kesennuma on Wednesday and the next few days were spent getting all the things done needed for new life assimilation.  Bank account, phone, alien registration card, shopping, car and other random things.  Of note, I am getting my car Tuesday possibly and it will be the first car I've ever personally owned and bought woohoo!  It's a cheap one at around $1,200 but it works.  Also I bought a smartphone which is the first one of those I've ever had.  Thank you Japan!

Yesterday I got to take my first real shot at Pachinko.  Pachinko is a game where you try to get these BB gun bullet-like balls into certain areas on this pin filled obstacle course.  It is mostly all luck and not very fun if you get the newer machines where you just hold a circular lever down while the balls come out.  Tara, another ALT (assistant language teacher, the jargon for my job) and I both decided to donate 500 yen (roughly $6.50 USD) to this new experience.  We ended up at a machine that featured big breasted girls skiing down mountains and fighting robots in swimming pools while dressed in bikinis.  Within maybe 5 minutes we had exhausted all our pachinko balls, smiled at each other and walked out of the parlor.  One of the attendants came out telling us to come back in for some reason, which we did, and when we sat back down he pressed a button that gave us a steady stream of pachinko balls to play with that lasted for around 20 straight minutes.  We didn't know what we were doing or how much we were winning, but at the end we had quadrupled our money!  We went from 500 yen each to 2000 yen each ($25)  I got a new wallet and a free drink with cookies plus my original 500 yen back.  It was a sweet experience, but not sure I can go back and try again.  I came out ahead, and that's not likely to happen again with those types of gambling games!

I'm meeting my schools for the next two days (Monday August 8th, Tuesday the 9th).  Should be interesting.  Hoping the English teachers I'll be working with are awesome.  If not I will still be stuck with them for a year!

恵み【めぐみ】    (n) blessing; grace;

Arrival

After I got off the plane there were probably around 20-30 assistants wearing pink shirts to guide me through the corridors of the airport.  All of them were full of energy and welcomed the new teachers to Japan which was cool.  We loaded on a bus for a hotel where another 10 or so assistants were waiting to guide us to information booths and our rooms.

View from my room in Keio Plaza Hotel

The place I'm staying at for a few days for orientations and such is called Keio Plaza Hotel.  It has a pretty nice view and although the view would be nicer if it were not cloudy, it would be a lot hotter and this country is hot enough as it is so no real complaints.

Slept decent, although only around 5.5 hours or so, which is why I have time to hash out this entry.  Breakfast goes until 9 and I don't eat breakfast so before orientation starts it's lazy time in the hotel room.

Angry game!

This game is awesome.  You get to pick a scenario from things like a botched wedding to a classroom full of misbehaving kids.  You pound the table as you get angrier and angrier until you can't take it anymore then you flip the table on them and try to take out as much of the people and damage as much stuff as you can.  Hilarious when you see the looks on the faces of the people you toss the table into.  Check out this link to see how it's played.

Well gotta go.  Battery is running out and I forgot this place is all about 2 tong outlets.


Edit: Forgot to put my 3 tong converter in the right suitcase but luckily my camera that I bought in Korea had some converters that worked with the computer.  Internet addict for sure.

放射能【ほうしゃのう】  (houshanou)  (n) radioactivity;

Off I Go!

So it's midnight and I leave at 2 PM Saturday.  Need to be at the airport by 11 AM.  I need to start packing but I forgot to do laundry so won't be able to pack until around 1 AM.  Had another orientation today that basically rehashed what they said at the old orientation.  Not sure why this one was mandatory besides them checking up to see if people are actually going or not.

I'm a little jealous of the people who have never gone over to a foreign country to teach before.  They are so nervous and have no idea what to expect.  I kind of miss that.  I more or less know what to expect, even though this will be the first time for me teaching middle and elementary school.

Got to see everyone before I leave!  Well, most everyone, I think I missed someone but I'm only planning for a year so it won't be that long anyhow.  It'd be nice if I were younger, I'd consider staying at least 2 years.

Off to get some online poker in before laundry finishes.  Next post from Japan!

異なる【ことなる】 (kotonaru) to differ; to vary; to disagree;

Getting Ready

Over the past few weeks I've been in contact with people from my city, figuring out what I should be doing, what I should bring and how life works over there.  They've all been really awesome and answered my long list of questions without telling me to shut up so I'm very appreciative.

I need to pick up some casual work clothes and take pictures of a bunch of things like buildings and such.  Also need to pick up some omiyage (presents) for the teachers I'll be working with.  After that it'll just be meeting up with people, saying goodbye and getting ready finally.

So far everything is in order!

耐久【たいきゅう】 (taikyuu) - endurance; persistence;

Information Slowly Coming In

So looks like I will be teaching at 2 junior high schools and 1 elementary school.  I will also need to drive a car.  Originally I was hoping for senior high school and not having to drive a car, but whatever this should be cool.  Currently trying to buy all the stuff I need before I go over, hygiene stuff, new shoes, still not sure what the environments of the schools are going to be like so holding off on work clothes for now.

Quit my job a little over a week ago now, now just hanging out and waiting for Japan.  Excited!

人見知り【ひとみしり】 (hitomishiri) - shyness; fear of strangers; stranger anxiety;