Skype me!

If anyone wants to talk for free, I am signed up for Skype now. Just let me know when you want to chat, and I can make sure I am by my laptop. :)

Note: for those of you smarties that can't click on the hyperlink above, Skype is a VoIP service. You download their software onto your computer, set up a profile, create a contact list (of other Skype users), and then call them for free using your computers/headsets anywhere in the world. I used it over the weekend, and it worked great!

Current Weather Report:

I am doing better after venting and sleeping (thanks for calling Mom, and thanks for the e-mails everyone).

The essentials of my life over here. Since I spend around an hour minimum on trains each day, my MP3 player and e-mail equipped cell phone have become necessities. Also, my umbrella, commuter pass, hanko (wooden stamp used for a signature), Alien Registration Card, sunglasses, and digital camera are must-haves. So a small purse has become a thing of the past....

After another trying week of Jessica's Adventures in Japan, I decided to meet up with some other teachers for a night out in Tokyo. We met in Ebisu and quickly realized that 1. there wasn't as much as we thought there was there, and 2. our group was too big for any of the outdoor cafes there. So, we headed over to Shibuya to check out some cheap bars and the nightlife there. It turns out that you can get a reasonably-priced beer in downtown Tokyo (300 yen or about $2.60 for a tap beer), as long as you are willing to go to a bar that is standing only and who's servers don't speak English (beer here is biru and counting with fingers is completely acceptable). It was good to see everyone again and hear that I am not the only one struggling with simple tasks.

Lastly, I bought myself a frying pan today. The one thing I don't really understand, is the fact that they seem to try to put English on so many things over here. Go ahead, look at your frying pan at home, does it have a cutesy saying on the bottom? Well, I hope this holds true... ("Good Time & Happy Time... let's enjoy the tasty meal, tasty moment togerher! Brunch"). After a month of living in the world of processed food, I am itching to cook. My predecessor didn't cook, so I have had to do some reconnaissance work in finding a regular grocery store and locating some proper kitchen items.

That's all for now. Take care everyone!

Lot in Life???

Warning: this is not a pretty, flowery blog entry. They warned that the honeymoon period would wear off at around the two-month mark, but it seems to be coming early for me (at the five-week mark now).

I am wondering if maybe I should just accept the fact that no matter how hard I try, things are bound to be difficult and get messed up. I always try to do my best and work hard to succeed in life, but everything always seems to come up short. I worked hard in high school, only to finance the majority of my education on my own. I studied and worked hard at the UW, only to struggle to find a "good" job after graduation. I tried to move to a different country to broaden my outlook and experience, and lately all I've been experiencing is frustration. I don't speak or read the language, I have never been to Japan before, and things (appliances, stores, etc.) are different over here. Daily tasks take longer, and simple things are often hard to find.

I try not to ask for much. All I am looking for is a general merchandise store, yet I walked around for two hours today (between three train stops) looking for an elusive Daiei, before ducking into a bicycle shop hoping maybe someone spoke English there (hey, there was a Trek out front). Well, after a valiant effort, I learned that there maybe a Daiei nearby, and it may be off the JR line, or it may be off the Seibu line, or it may be in Guam. After this lovely conversation, I decided that since I found a regular grocery store, I would finally make myself a little stir-fry for dinner. My rice cooker couldn't require an advanced degree in physics? Wrong, I tried to match up the characters on my current rice cooker with the partially translated directions for a prior rice cooker, only to get over-cooked, starchy rice. At least the stir-fry portion was good. Then I thought I would try to relax and maybe do a load of laundry, but I think my washing machine is toast. I noticed that my clothes were still pretty wet when I took them out last week but assumed that I had too large of a load. Wrong, this week I noticed that the centrifuge portion of my washing machine doesn't drain properly (not allowing them to spin dry), and now it doesn't spin at all and has left a nice burned-up smell in the apartment.

So, needless to say, I am frustrated and a bit angry at 3:00 am in Japan. All I want is an apartment that has working/useful features (i.e. a peephole that cannot be removed from the outside, a small shelf utilizing the wasted space above my washer, and maybe a screen door on my patio doors, so that I can actually let in some fresh air and keep the bugs out), a little more help finding places/stores that are closer to my apartment (my school is 50 minutes away), and someone who possibly speaks English other than my co-workers.

And Mom, I don't need you to send money. I think I just needed to vent a little and try to fall asleep to the rhythmic sound of my laundry dripping on my carpet (I'm sure that's going to be great for the carpet, but I don't really have any other options).

Typhoon Side Effect

It has been raining here for most of the past week and weekend. A typhoon hit the southern part of the country, and the forecasts are predicting rain for the next week+ as the storm moves out to sea. Good thing I brought a rainjacket and umbrella!

Here is a weekly dispatch of pictures:


Our assistant manager is being transferred to a different school, so we went out for shabu-shabu on Saturday night. It was tasty, but we all ate too much and then decided to order dessert. After an additional drink with Kurt, I headed home on my last train and got to experience my first train puker. Kind of gross, but I felt a little sorry for the poor guy (he was about two steps from exiting the train).

I also headed into Tokyo for some birthday present shopping (A & J, your gifts will be in the mail soon). I went a store called Honda Free off of Omote-sando (pricey, designer-filled street in the Harajuku neighborhood). Aaron and Dad, you would like it. This is a picture of a perfectly preserved 1969 CB750 they had in the store.

This is a picture of one of my favorite signs in my neighborhood (everything has a cartoon character over here). Not sure what it says, but I'm assuming it says something about watching out for children playing? The streets are narrow and every intersection seems to be a blind intersection.

Lastly, here is a picture of my "backyard" from my tiny balcony. There is a farm/orchard/plantation of some sort next to my building (it's only about the size of two city lots though... things over here are much smaller).

Thanks for tuning into this week's update. And, my arm is almost completely healed from last week.

They say this will build character...

... well, it's official, I am living in a country where I am an alien who doesn't speak the native language. This past week has been a bit trying at times (from the commute with the expired pass to the hassle of exchanging American Express travelers' checks), but hopefully things will get a little better this coming week. I should be getting my Alien Registration Card, which means I can get a bank account and a cell phone. I can then rejoin the mass of humanity and function in my society. Don't really have any fun pictures from this week, other than...

Yup, I even manage to hurt myself over here. I burned my arm on a light while walking out of work on Saturday (don't worry Mom, I am keeping it clean, and it doesn't hurt that much).


Here you go Aaron, I went to Ueno today and checked out Corin Motors. It is actually a bunch of stores in the same area (kind of like a block of Corin). Their "motorcycle museum" closed four years ago, and they seem to sell mainly Harley stuff ("Outlaw gear") and helmets. They and the other stores around them had tons of helmets (probably 80% of the store). This area seemed to sell mainly parts, helmets, and a few used motorcycles and lots of new scooters (the passenger scooters that sound like street bikes). Haven't seen any of your mags yet though.

Shibuya and Tsukiji Market

On Sunday night, one of my fellow teachers, Kurt, invited me to go out in Tokyo with some other teachers and friends. This would be my first official night out in Tokyo and was a lot of fun. After having dinner at a small Thai restaurant, we headed over to the Shibuya neighborhood. This area has many foreigners and is also a young, hip part of Tokyo. After going to a few bars and a karaoke place, we decided to head over to the Tsukiji Fish Market to check out the early morning action.

Kurt and I near the Shibuya train station. There is a ton of neon in this country! Wherever there is a large concentration of people, there is sure to be tons of neon Many of the buildings have multiple businesses in them, and they all seem to slap a neon sign outside on the approriate floor of the building.

Kurt tries to befriend a lobster at the Tsukiji Market. The lobster proceeded to crawl over the edge of his "box" and fall on the ground.

Me with the head from a $50,000 tuna at the Tsukiji Fish Market. This place was huge, and you could get any type of fish or seafood you could possibly think of here. It didn't really smell like fish though, and apparently we missed the real action at the auction at 5:30 am. There seemed to still be plenty going on at 7:00 am though!

End of My First Week

So here it is, Sunday afternoon after my first week of teaching. I am still pretty tired but very happy that I decided to do this. All of my students are very nice, and the staff at my school is awesome. It kind of feels like I haven't really left the States in a sense, thanks to globalization (there's Starbucks, McDonalds, Eddie Bauer, and one of my students even works for GE Healthcare based in Milwaukee). I survived my first week of teaching, my first late-night JR train rides (think drunk businessmen, commuters, and creepy old guys... don't worry though Mom), and am ready for more next week!

This is a photo from our Welcome/Going Away party last night. I am replacing Nicky (in white), who has taught in Hachioji for 18 months.

This is a photo of some of our students and Shu from after the party (Shu is a fellow teacher on the right). The party was at a Jamaican restaurant, and then we headed to an Irish bar after.

I am content but very tuckered out after my first week!