Hiiiiiiii!

I just got internet at my school! Finally, oyavei. Least to say this is going to be a giant entry. I've omitted actual names and instead replaced random ones, just for privacy's sake, also for my own amusement.

The apartment is great, and i have an air conditioner which is a godsend. I've been sleeping downstairs on the floor since its just so hot upstairs and the air conditioner is downstairs. Hasn't been too bad, and thankfully jetlag is still with me so I crash around 8 or 9 and wake up at like 5, haha. Tokyo orientation was fun, albeit exhausting, and on the last night our Prefectural Advisors took out all the Americans to an izakaya (sort of like a bar-ish type place where its a flat rate for all you can drink and eat), since we didn't have an embassy night. It was a lot of fun, haha, and part as an apology since there was a mix up about my arrival. So I went to the prefecture meeting in Tokyo and I was listed under Group B for some reason. Y-Sensei made a few frantic calls and my principal (kocho-sensei) said it was fine for me to arrive. They thought I was coming in August, eek. None of us know what happened, it was probably the smallest of errors, but it caused a lot of commotion. Anywho, the izakaya was fun and I tried some random ass food... like jellyfish (which is good, though oddly crunchy at some parts and doesn't have that much flavor, and fried chicken cartilage... which was quite good. Also, Bri Bri forgive me, I ate edamame (soybeans). They're rather tasty. Think of them as peapods but a lot plumber and with a firmer texture.) Anywho, back to the mix-up... it's all alright though, all my utilities are working and I haven't burned the place down yet (I have a gas stove). My first rent payment was all of $15 for three days, haha, and it turns out they lowered it, so I only pay $153 or so a month. WOOHOO! Even better. That was a fun contract to sign, haha.

So one of the teachers picked me up at kencho (BOE pretty much), Coldplay-sensei, and he drove me to Yaizu... we chatted about Coldplay and history. Haha. He brought me to the school where my he introduced me to the principal (haha lots of bowing here and my broken sputtered Japanese). He asked me a few random questions, like where I was from and if I played sports... in my intro I said I like photography but I must have said it wrong since they kept going on about me liking to swim... which is true granted (haha). There's a pool at the school but only students can use it, so they lamented this fact. After that I was introduced to the office (nicest ladies ever) and then brought up to the quite empty staff room (summer holidays and all) where I met my supervisor Smiley-sensei. He introduced me to some of the teachers there, including my quick favorites Blueberry-sensei (rather older gentleman who has traveled a lot and loves to talk... I mean... loves to talk) and Candy-sensei (adorable little Japanese lady right out of college). After that we headed to my apartment where Smiley-sensei and the office ladies showed me how to use everything (which is useful since its all in kanji). Then he took me grocery shopping for dinner where I got some sort of curry udon noodle soup, bananas, grapes, and some sort of iced green tea that tastes like dirt. First day over! Whooot!

Second day I had to report to school for 8:15... which was fine since I woke up at 4:30... haha. I played around with the TV for a bit (there are only 15 channels) and checked the apartment for bugs (so far so good). After worrying too much about what I was going to wear (Smiley-sensei laughed at me for wearing a suit when meeting everyone that first day, haha) I ate a banana and walked to my school (around 10-15 minutes) without getting lost! Haha this is where the stares started. Everyone driving in their cars or students riding their bicycles just turned and stared, haha, the gaijin (foreigner) is in the hooooouse. When I got to school I nervously said good morning (ohayou gozaimasu) to those I saw and attempted to introduce myself before Smiley-sensei saved me and did it for me. Haha. I met the vice principals (more important than the principal really...)  (HAHAHA okay, Smiley-sensei just stopped by to make sure everything was alright with the computer and he was very excited about my wireless mouse so he started playing with it, lol... and then he said I should get a mousepad because the desk isn't smooth... XD... ah the little things amuse me. He says my computer is very kawaii... aka cute.) Ok... where was I.... errr yes, kyoto-senseis... aka vice principals. Met them, blundered horribly in my Japanese, and then was showed the little staff resting area. This is when Blueberry-sensei comes over and hands me a little box of blueberries from his garden as a present to me. Ahhhh, so sweet! Okay so I went through the previous ALTs files and such, read over some books, and practiced a little Japanese (which I promptly forgot today) when Candy-sensei asked if I had lunch yet. I said I hadn't and wasn't sure where to get it, so she showed me where the vending machines in the school were and brought me to the combini (7/11) across the street where I got some sort of chicken sandwich and a radish salad. There were some students there so she made them say hello to me in English, haha. They're so adorable and shy, haha. When we left I saw two of the girls pulling their hair a bit and smiling while looking at me. The hair has made me an instant celebrity. Everyone keeps talks about it.

So I ate, and it was tasty, when I was talking to another Japanese teacher and asked if they knew where the 100 Yen shop was. They did, but didn't know how to explain it to me how to get there, only that I should bike, that I should not walk there because it was too far, haha. Now they asked another teacher, who then asks another. I go down with one to find a map of Yaizu to the office... we come upstairs where around five teachers and I are trying to figure out how to not only read the map but how to map out a route, hahaha. Oh my god it was so freaking funny. They're asking others in Japanese, they're all speaking in English to me, haha. Eventually one, Stiletto-sensei (rather modern woman who likes very high heels) said she would drive me because she felt like it, haha, so we went to her car (it was a little red sports car) and drove to the shop (WHICH IS FREAKING HUGE... and very pink) and we both did a bit of shopping, haha. I got pancake mix (I was SO excited) and ramen for food, and hangers and towels and little things. We made sure I knew how to get there and then went back to the school. Like an hour later Blueberry-sensei took me to the city office to get my Gaijin Card aka my alien registration. He had to go grab something, so I was left with the lady who didn't speak English as we tried to figure out what to do, haha. We laughed a lot and eventually we figured out I had to bring a paper to her after August 21st to get my card, woohoo! Blueberry-sensei then took me to the ports because he wanted to show me the deep water center... basically in yaizu and in Suruga Bay there are three different types of deep sea water, and they have it there for you to drink. THere's also a little aquarium there, so we went in and I saw the fucking BIGGEST crab I have ever seen in my life. I swear it was like three times the size of Scottie. I screamed when I saw it and Blueberry-sensei just laaaaughed, haha, and then taught me about it. I taught him the word for pinchers, lol, and we watched a little movie they had and he translated for me. After that we saw a rather large and goofy looking albino turtle and tasted some of the water, which was insanely cold but quite tasty. He showed me where the AQUAS center is (where I can actually swim) and the other high school, before bringing me back to school around 5ish... Chatted with a few teachers before I left about which bank I should get and around halfway home one of the English teachers (Quaf-sensei (large hair)) picked me up and drove me to where the bank was, and then to my apartment... or rather h overshot my apartment and I walked to it, haha. He had a tv in his car. Jesus. So that night I made some noodles and watched this weird game show where they had to guess weird house hold remedies for things. I crashed at 8 and woke up at 4 today, though I forced myself to sleep until like 5:45.

 I got a tour of the school today by Smiley-sensei and I'm about to head out for lunch, for I am hungry. I wonder what 7/11 shall bring today... I got to talk to a student today who studied in Texas, her English was practically perfect and she had no accent... I think her name was Asoko? But I shall call her Eigo-San (Eigo meaning English in Japanese), for now. Craziness.

Ahhh I miss you all so much! Come to Japan! We have cicadas as big as your face! (ok, not that big, more like your hand…)

Labels: beginning, hiragana, musings, NYC, yaizu

Labels: hiragana, japanese

Labels: beginning, musings

Labels: apartment, yaizu