Sunday, November 6, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
So life is pretty much the same as before. I got cats so that's fun, but they have been keeping me up at night and I have had to clean my apartment pretty frequently. Oh well, I guess good things don't come without responsibilities. The bright side is that baby poop isnt too much different from cats'.
Work has been so so. Last month was pretty rough because I had 4 sessions of two-hour-long mothers' classes but that's ending. I got paid so that's good. Looks like I didnt actually spend all that much money last month, and with one-off stuff purchased, I could save quite a bit from now on.
Japan has been nice as usual. I'm going out of my way to meet new people. I have 2 weekly dinners with Japanese friends I met on the internet - I know it might sound sketchy but that's really the only way I could go about meeting new people these days. At least they are nice, well-educated people who are interesting to talk to.
Till next time.
Work has been so so. Last month was pretty rough because I had 4 sessions of two-hour-long mothers' classes but that's ending. I got paid so that's good. Looks like I didnt actually spend all that much money last month, and with one-off stuff purchased, I could save quite a bit from now on.
Japan has been nice as usual. I'm going out of my way to meet new people. I have 2 weekly dinners with Japanese friends I met on the internet - I know it might sound sketchy but that's really the only way I could go about meeting new people these days. At least they are nice, well-educated people who are interesting to talk to.
Till next time.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
One month later
It’s about time I update this blog. It’s been a while.
I’ve settled into the swing of things. My schedule is not too hectic and I have a lot of down time during the day to plan my lessons and work on Japanese. I teach waku waku (5-6 years old) 9 times a week, mothers’ classes 3 times a week, 1st graders once a week, as well as two once monthly waku wakus.
M: 1 Waku Waku
T: 2 WWs, Mothers, 1st Grader
W: 2 WWs
Th: 2 WWs + 2 once-monthly WWs
F: 2 WWs, 2 Mothers
Pretty light schedule overall, so I can’t complain too much. The classes are fun and so far not very exhausting yet. I’m still finding it hard to develop a rapport with the other teachers, given my terrible Japanese and their non-existent English. It’s definitely an interesting culture here at the kindergartens, and I haven’t quite been able to figure it out yet. There are several layers of bureaucracies to navigate first of all, and second of all, it seems that the Japanese teachers themselves are not particularly close personally either. It seems all business out here in Chiba and you don’t chit-chat unless it’s something professionally important.\
In other news, I’m going to take the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Level 2 (2nd most difficult) next July. So wish me luck.
On the personal side of things, I’ve been going into Tokyo every weekend (since I’ve had Mondays off for the past three weeks). I’m catching up with a few old friends and meeting new ones so it’s been fun. I went to my first Japanese baseball game and it was quite something. Much much more exciting than an American game for sure. I’m also scoping out new opportunities for next year – hopefully something good will come up.
In all, all is good in Japan. Enjoying the good life while yall suckers are stuck in cubicles hahaha J
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
And the first week begins
今週、仕事を始める。昨日回向院のMという事務員で原山保育園で会いに行った。ちょっと怖くたけど、問題がなかったと思う。そのあと、市役所にいった。あ、そうか、もう昨日に書いてしまった。
じゃあ、今日ね、楽しかった！早く起きた、７時ごろーやばい！坪井幼稚園にPと一緒に行った。とってもとってもびくびくした。最初のクラスはお母さんたちの英会話くらす。お母さんたちはBeginnerなんですけど、楽しみしゃべってできた。紹介とか週末とか簡単など会話した。みんな楽しそうに参加しました。そのあと、子供たちと遊んで昼ごはんを食べた。みんなは僕が日本人だと思った（笑）.「なんで日本語が少ししかできないの」－「外国人なので」－「ええ、本当！！！」
日本学校素晴らしいな！うるさかったが、先生がピアノを引いたすぐ学生たちが静かになった（ももはそんなやさしく静かにされてできていいな～～～」
そのあと、わくわく（幼稚園の年長さん）を教えた！40分は走ったらしい。紹介、ABC, 動物、BINGOをして。驚いたのは全然驚かなかったことです。よく準備したからかな？
最後のクラスは小学校の1年生です。5人だったけど、一番難しかったクラスだった。三人の女の子は先生が行ったようにまねにしたけど、2人の男の子は難しかった！いつもいつもしゃべったり、
先生のことを逆にしたりしました。どうするかな！
がっこうが終わったとき、伊藤グランパが自転車を買い物してもらった。いい自転車が1万5千円ぐらい買えそうです。そのあと、伊藤グランパのうちに帰って楽しくご飯を食べた。いろいろなことについてしゃべった。食べ物をたくさん作ってもらった。優しいな～～～～
あした、原山！
じゃあ、今日ね、楽しかった！早く起きた、７時ごろーやばい！坪井幼稚園にPと一緒に行った。とってもとってもびくびくした。最初のクラスはお母さんたちの英会話くらす。お母さんたちはBeginnerなんですけど、楽しみしゃべってできた。紹介とか週末とか簡単など会話した。みんな楽しそうに参加しました。そのあと、子供たちと遊んで昼ごはんを食べた。みんなは僕が日本人だと思った（笑）.「なんで日本語が少ししかできないの」－「外国人なので」－「ええ、本当！！！」
日本学校素晴らしいな！うるさかったが、先生がピアノを引いたすぐ学生たちが静かになった（ももはそんなやさしく静かにされてできていいな～～～」
そのあと、わくわく（幼稚園の年長さん）を教えた！40分は走ったらしい。紹介、ABC, 動物、BINGOをして。驚いたのは全然驚かなかったことです。よく準備したからかな？
最後のクラスは小学校の1年生です。5人だったけど、一番難しかったクラスだった。三人の女の子は先生が行ったようにまねにしたけど、2人の男の子は難しかった！いつもいつもしゃべったり、
先生のことを逆にしたりしました。どうするかな！
がっこうが終わったとき、伊藤グランパが自転車を買い物してもらった。いい自転車が1万5千円ぐらい買えそうです。そのあと、伊藤グランパのうちに帰って楽しくご飯を食べた。いろいろなことについてしゃべった。食べ物をたくさん作ってもらった。優しいな～～～～
あした、原山！
Monday, September 26, 2011
The days are long
I didn't do much yesterday (Sunday). Woke up and put away the rest of the stuff we bought on a massive shopping binge the day before. After that I pretty much had the apartment set up. The afternoon was laid back. The weather was beautiful and I have a big balcony, so naturally I brought my uber-comfortable sofa (どうもありがとう、伊藤家族!) outside. Then P and I went for dinner at this nice Tonkatsu place. It was a bit on the expensive side, ~1400Y for a dish, but free rice/salad/soup refills, so it ended up being fine. There's a big restaurant area there, and I saw a 食放題(all you can eat) shabu-shabu place for $1500 :D Monocle girl if you come visit we will go there! There was also this place called Pet City:
Hold your excitement though cuz these cuties, presumably all pure-breeds, go for four digits. The last picture says: please take these kittens. There are four of them - I am tempted. But I'd rather not adopt and adopt kittens.
At night we watched a thriller, which we had gotten from Tsutaya - a big DVD/books chain. They have a deal where you can get 4 DVDs for a week for 1000Y, which comes out to be 4000Y a month for 16 DVDs. A little on the expensive side, but it does have a great selection of Japanese stuff hard to find on the internet (To AG - they have Trick too, of course they would)
Today was my first day, though it wasn't really a day. I met with M, my boss and just went over the basic stuff. It was short and a bit uncomfortable - all to be expected. Afterward, I headed off to the City Hall to get my alien card. I was unprepared because I didn't think I would be able to go after the meeting. The people there, like always, were polite and helpful, even though I would understand if they had turned me away for not having all the information. After an hour-ish, they said it would take 3 weeks. A bit slow but shikatanai.
Then I got on the bus to get back, and on the way, it passed by the more rural part of Chiba. Kinda reminded me of the countryside in Vietnam with narrow roads connecting masses and masses of rice fields. This might be what Vietnam's countryside will look like in a few decades.
Afterward, I went grocery shopping, which was kinda fun strangely enough - I spent more than an hour there. I got a bunch of stuff: banana, bread, bacon, pork, onion, spaghetti + sauce/parmesan, apple juice, enough to last me at least a week. And it only cost 2500 yen - who says Japan is expensive? Even if I feel too lazy to cook on a particular given day, ready-made meals at the super market are also really cheap. ~450Y for 8-10 pieces of tuna/salmon sashimi, ~100Y for spiced/seasoned piece of fish ready to be grilled. I think I can go along way toward saving a lot of money.
Hold your excitement though cuz these cuties, presumably all pure-breeds, go for four digits. The last picture says: please take these kittens. There are four of them - I am tempted. But I'd rather not adopt and adopt kittens.
At night we watched a thriller, which we had gotten from Tsutaya - a big DVD/books chain. They have a deal where you can get 4 DVDs for a week for 1000Y, which comes out to be 4000Y a month for 16 DVDs. A little on the expensive side, but it does have a great selection of Japanese stuff hard to find on the internet (To AG - they have Trick too, of course they would)
Today was my first day, though it wasn't really a day. I met with M, my boss and just went over the basic stuff. It was short and a bit uncomfortable - all to be expected. Afterward, I headed off to the City Hall to get my alien card. I was unprepared because I didn't think I would be able to go after the meeting. The people there, like always, were polite and helpful, even though I would understand if they had turned me away for not having all the information. After an hour-ish, they said it would take 3 weeks. A bit slow but shikatanai.
Then I got on the bus to get back, and on the way, it passed by the more rural part of Chiba. Kinda reminded me of the countryside in Vietnam with narrow roads connecting masses and masses of rice fields. This might be what Vietnam's countryside will look like in a few decades.
Afterward, I went grocery shopping, which was kinda fun strangely enough - I spent more than an hour there. I got a bunch of stuff: banana, bread, bacon, pork, onion, spaghetti + sauce/parmesan, apple juice, enough to last me at least a week. And it only cost 2500 yen - who says Japan is expensive? Even if I feel too lazy to cook on a particular given day, ready-made meals at the super market are also really cheap. ~450Y for 8-10 pieces of tuna/salmon sashimi, ~100Y for spiced/seasoned piece of fish ready to be grilled. I think I can go along way toward saving a lot of money.
Anyhow, adult life w00t! I might not cook or speak Japanese well, but I'm getting there! Watch out, world.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Cousin's and shopping
We visited my cousin's in Tokyo last night. I got to see my three-year-old niece for the third time in her short life. Since she has spent about a year here, she has quite a funny mix of Vietnamese and Japanese vocabs/accent so I spoke to her in Vietnamese and Japanese, but only when I'm confident that I was using correct Japanese - didn't want to give her negative formative experiences. They lived a few stations from Shinjuku, pretty convenient if transiting at Shinjuku weren't a giant mess. It's also a pain in the ass to get from my station in Chiba New Town to Shinjuku. It has taken us at least 2 hours each time with quite a few connections. We went to Fuchu for the afternoon/evening where we got food and did a fair bit of shopping (that's the theme of this weekend). We ran into a puppeteer at Fuchu and he put on quite an entertaining show.
After dinner, I left for Shinjuku to hang out with P and L, the other members of the crew and had a good time. Very nice guys, though it was expensive as hell. 2200 yen (that's $30) for basically two beers - with that amount I could have raged for a month in 'Nam. I didn't get home until 12:30 and I was so scared that I would miss the last train (I didn't).
Today, we did more shopping. The highlight was meeting my host family! Yay! It was great seeing everyone and hanging out with my host parents (ももは大きくなってきた!). I'm so happy that they will be around but sad that Tomomi-san is giving birth and I won't get to see them as often. We also met Yoshimasa-san's parents, who were really nice and offered to help me in case of emergency and non-emergency. They also gave me a sofa and a table to use! It's true what they say about Japanese culture - once you become part of a family, you're really a part of that family. Speaking of my family, my mom drove me batshit crazy these past days, but she left today, and suddenly all are forgiven - family is a funny business.
A lot of things that horrified me the first time around have become second-nature, like finding my way around the train system, grocery shopping and the likes. This is nice, but I think there's much more struggling and thereby self-discovery to be done and hopefully I'll come out on top and a better person.
Not much planned for tomorrow. I hope to get a post-paid plan for my cell-phone and a pocket wifi.
Till next time.
After dinner, I left for Shinjuku to hang out with P and L, the other members of the crew and had a good time. Very nice guys, though it was expensive as hell. 2200 yen (that's $30) for basically two beers - with that amount I could have raged for a month in 'Nam. I didn't get home until 12:30 and I was so scared that I would miss the last train (I didn't).
Today, we did more shopping. The highlight was meeting my host family! Yay! It was great seeing everyone and hanging out with my host parents (ももは大きくなってきた!). I'm so happy that they will be around but sad that Tomomi-san is giving birth and I won't get to see them as often. We also met Yoshimasa-san's parents, who were really nice and offered to help me in case of emergency and non-emergency. They also gave me a sofa and a table to use! It's true what they say about Japanese culture - once you become part of a family, you're really a part of that family. Speaking of my family, my mom drove me batshit crazy these past days, but she left today, and suddenly all are forgiven - family is a funny business.
A lot of things that horrified me the first time around have become second-nature, like finding my way around the train system, grocery shopping and the likes. This is nice, but I think there's much more struggling and thereby self-discovery to be done and hopefully I'll come out on top and a better person.
Not much planned for tomorrow. I hope to get a post-paid plan for my cell-phone and a pocket wifi.
Till next time.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
You know what they say about those tiny Japanese apartments...? Well this ain't one of those stories
A quick video of my apartment - sorry about the quality. It's big, even by US, non-big-city standards. There are 4 rooms, though only 3 are accessible per my boss's request. I like it a lot - it's spacious though the sliding doors can make the space feel small if need be, which I quite like. It's quite bare right now, since P is moving out and he didn't seem to have a lot of stuff to start off with and I don't have anything to fill out that space either. Perfect situation for a cat, or ten - it looks like it could get quite lonely up here on the 12th floor! One thing I don't like about the apartment is the internet situation, which is wired and limited to one computer at a time but that's a problem with Japan internet services in general. I did some shopping today, mostly for food and necessities at a GIANT mall nearby.
This is for Monocle Girl:
And this is for AG:
Some other pictures:
Off to cousin's tomorrow and then shopping/dinner with my lovely host fam (can't wait to meet them all!). Will probably catch up with the PiA crowd this weekend before hitting the ground running (literally since I will be playing with kids at the nursery on Monday).
First post!
I'm here in Japan, finally, after months of waiting and frustration, some man-made, others nature-made. Such would not end without a remarkable event either. Due to what was probably a combination of fatigue and stupidity, we took the express train that passed through Chiba New Town Chuo, my station, and went straight to Nippori, which was *gasp* some forty minutes away. I was supposed to meet P, my predecessor so-to-speak, at the station at 9, and by 10 at the latest since he had to go to the school. There was no way in hell that we were gonna be able to make it, what with 2 giant backpacks and 4 pieces of luggage 50lbs each (thanks mom) and all.
And yet somehow we did make it in the end - karma works both ways I guess. We ran into P coincidentally at 10:15 at the station (he had to take a taxi afterward) and managed to get inside what is a ridiculously big apartment (more to that later). But what was the most remarkable about the whole thing was how it helped me realize just how badly I really wanted to be in Japan. We were helped along the way by a family of complete strangers - they let us use their phone, looked up train routes that would get us to Chiba the fastest, and in an amazing act of kindness, helped us carry our luggage up three flights of escalator along with four pieces of their own - and we weren't even going in the same direction. I hate to generalize from one incident, but I'm pretty sure that Japanese (on average - there are nice and mean people everywhere) are just amazingly more kind than any nationality I have met in my life. If I were to be born again, I'd probably wish I were a Japanese cat.
And yet somehow we did make it in the end - karma works both ways I guess. We ran into P coincidentally at 10:15 at the station (he had to take a taxi afterward) and managed to get inside what is a ridiculously big apartment (more to that later). But what was the most remarkable about the whole thing was how it helped me realize just how badly I really wanted to be in Japan. We were helped along the way by a family of complete strangers - they let us use their phone, looked up train routes that would get us to Chiba the fastest, and in an amazing act of kindness, helped us carry our luggage up three flights of escalator along with four pieces of their own - and we weren't even going in the same direction. I hate to generalize from one incident, but I'm pretty sure that Japanese (on average - there are nice and mean people everywhere) are just amazingly more kind than any nationality I have met in my life. If I were to be born again, I'd probably wish I were a Japanese cat.
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