(01/08/03 - 31/08/03)
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01/08/03 |
Weather: very hot and humid
Local Orientation - Day 2 Only half a day of information and bits of paper, culminating in another bento box lunch in a tatami room - off come the shoes!
Meeting Supervisor, Alien Registration, Going to the Apartment We had another welcome ceremony, during which we met our supervisors. Mine is called Kasamatsu-sensei, and she's been absolutely brilliant!
After the formalities, Kasamatsu-sensei took me to register for my alien card, a necessity if you plan to live and work for any length of time in Japan. I have to pick it up between the 20th and 26th.
We then headed off to my apartment, which is lovely! It has two main rooms: a kitchen and a bedroom/living room. Both rooms are a good size, though. I also have a separate toilet and shower/bath room, a utility room, a balcony and loads and loads of cupboard space! There's definitely room for people to stay!!! (hint hint).
I spent the rest of the day unpacking everything my predecessor left behind for me from the cupboards.
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02/08/03 |
Did a bit of exploring today, trying to get my bearings!
Fukui Festival Today saw the start of the Fukui Festival, so a crowd of us met up and went along. The festival involved many large groups in costume performing traditional-style Japanese dances to Japanese music. There were a lot of people there, and loads of stalls selling all kinds of food. The atmosphere was fantastic.
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04/08/03 |
Kasamatsu-sensei picked me up to take me into school. Her two-year old son was in the car, and seemed absolutely petrified of me! I've never had such a profound (and negative) effect on a child before. He started to cry. A lot.
So, I went into school for the first time, and met the teachers and the Principle (the kocho-sensei). I had to do a self-introduction (in Japanese) to all the teachers, and was given about five minutes notice. No time to prepare! I managed to blag my way through, and they seemed to understand what I was saying...
I was then shown my desk - which is in a very central area in the large, air-conditioned teacher's room. (The classrooms in Japanese schools are not air-conditioned, despite the intense heat and humidity).
When all the intros and stuff were over, Kasamatsu-sensei and I went out for lunch at a local sushi-ya. The food was absolutely delicious, and very cheap. Afterwards, she took me to the local bank to set up my bank account, and then on to the Estate Agent to get all the admin stuff done. A small child was happily playing in the Estate Agents. Until I got there. Making two children cry in one day without even trying has got to be a record!
Fukui Fireworks Today was the last day of the Fukui Festival, and as part of the celebrations, there was a huge firework display. A crowd of gaijin (non-Japanese, short for gaikokujin) JETs met up and went along. The display was really really good - not like the crap we get at home - and lasted for over an hour. Again, there were hundreds of people there, and a whole load of food stalls.
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05/08/03 |
Met up with Flick, and went on a shopping spree. Amongst other things, we both bought yukata (summer kimono), primarily because it caused us much hilarity when we tried them on!
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06/08/03 |
THE COCKROACH (well, it might have been a beetle. a very very big beetle) Ok, so I've seen the giant cicada, and the huge huge dragonfly (some are bigger than your average pencil. Much bigger). But the cockroaches here. My god. None of you who know me will ever have seen me move so fast. Think: superman fast. It ran across the arm of the sofa. Right next to me. I chased it into the cupboard, threw everything across the room, and lost the bugger (if you excuse the pun...). Four hours later, while I was on the phone, I saw some big hairy legs sticking out from under the linen basket. Knowing that Tom won't be out for another two months or so, I realised IT must be there. The linen basket went flying. Clothes everywhere. And I took a flying, flayling, leap at the bastard. And missed. I got it on the second attempt though. Splat.
See the photo of the bastard that nearly gave me palpitations
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07/08/03 |
Received my first omiyage - my supervisor called round to collect some stuff, and gave me two half loaves of home-made bread (one carrot bread, the other sultana, and both absolutely delicious).
This evening I met up with some friends in Takefu (a nearby town) and went out for a meal. We went to an Italian, and had pizza and pasta! Most people had at least two courses, and some had beer. The total bill came to roughly £30. There were nine of us. Who said Japan was expensive?!
Over dinner we discussed the approaching typhoon. Not sure what to do when it hits, but the general consensus is: if it's a biggy, batten down the hatches, and don't go out...
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08/08/03 |
Went Em's apartment in Sabae (between Takefu and Fukui City) with Flick and Dave for dinner. Had a really chilled evening, but left fairly early - wind is picking up, and the rain is starting. Want to get back home, just in case!
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09/08/03 |
Keitai (mobile phone) Arrives True to their promise, J-Phone delivered my bilingual keitai to my door this morning. Fantastic! Had great fun playing with it. It may have most of it in English, but it has still been translated from Japanese - when you enter a new profile and save it, it comes up with the message "Entried". And, instead of "Updated" you get "Reload". Strange...
See the photos.
Cavegirl Gets Lost Very very lost. Horribly lost. But I was very drunk at the time, and consequently didn't care. I was, in fact, having a great time! A large group of us went out drinking, and Flick (who was staying with me) and I decided to leave in the (not so) early hours. I was adamant I knew which way to go. Which was foolish, because by the time we left, I didn't even know what bar I was at. So we set off. After maybe 30 minutes we realised we were lost. We asked for directions (you'd be surprised how many sober people are out at that time...). In hind sight, I think we were misdirected. We went past the university. The university is a long long way from home. We jumped a wall and kept on going. We asked for more directions, and looking on the map now, I think we were misdirected again. We kept on walking.
In the end (after about an hour walking in the wrong direction) we decided to try hitch-hiking. This actually proved quite successful. We managed to flag down a very kind lady who had GPS installed in her car, and a very fancy system it was, too. Unfortunately she spoke no English. My drunken Japanese would have to suffice. She typed my phone number into the GPS, and we headed off.
The others staying with me turned up within ten minutes of us. Apparently they managed to get to mine really easily...hmmm...
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11/08/03-16/08/03 |
Japanese Language Lessons Every morning this week. Far too basic, but it was quite good to refresh my memory, and I got to see some of my mates, and make new contacts.
See the photos
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11/08/03 |
Mikuni Fireworks Wow! Fantastic! I have never seen anything like this before. We were sitting just behind the tide-line with a great view across the bay, which was full of little motor boats. Some of the fireworks were let off from the shore, but many were let off over the water - which was absolutely beautiful. The explosions were huge - very intense. We could feel the blasts very strongly from where we were positioned. The fireworks (or "fire flowers" in Japanese) are of such better quality than those from home, there's just no comparison! Some of the fireworks were in the shape of glasses (which Fukui prefecture is famous for), and some were in the form of Kitty-chan ("Hello Kitty").
Getting back from Mikuni was not a very fun experience. In fact, it was pretty scary. The rain had started, and was absolutely bucketing down. The trains that run from Mikuni are very small (just two carriages) and not very regular. There were hundred of people trying to get the train. The crush of people surging forward when a train arrived was terrifying at times. I won't bore people with the details, but needless to say, if I ever go to the Mikuni fireworks again, I'll arrange to stay in the area that night, and not try and get home. It took us over four hours to get back, and we were soaked to the skin before we even joined the queue for the train...
See the photos
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13/08/03 |
Takefu Festival Takefu is a town just south of Fukui City (about 20 minutes by local train). I met up with a few gaijin friends, and a group of Japanese ladies had great fun dressing us up in Yukata (summer kimono).
It took two ladies and a lot of jiggling to get it to look right on me - with my "curves" the material just wouldn't fold in the right places. It was a very funny (and embarrassing) experience to have these two very patient ladies standing their staring at me in my underwear (they made me strip) looking very perplexed. But after a great deal of prodding and arranging, I was finally dressed in the traditional Japanese costume.
See the photos
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14/08/03 |
Went looking at cars today. Very exciting - soon I will be free!!! (and probably lost...)
This evening I met up with some friends in Takefu and we went for a Japanese style meal, where you cook your own okonomiyaki (bit like an omelette with meat or fish) or yaki soba (noodles) at a large griddle in the middle of the table. The food was delicious, and the owner and family of the restaurant were very friendly.
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15/08/03 |
Boxes arrive Finally! Hurrah! My clothes, books, make-up, shoes, EVERYTHING!!!! (can you tell I'm happy?)
Hayashi-san In the middle of me throwing everything out of the boxes all over the apartment (in a rather, um, random way), the doorbell rang. I climbed over the mountain of clothes, books, shoes, etc, and tried to find the door. When I finally got there, a man who introduced himself as Hayashi was standing there looking a bit bemused. He communicated that he is the owner of my apartment (talk about timing - the place had been really tidy until the boxes turned up...).
Using his non-existent English and my extremely poor Japanese, we managed to communicate, and I gathered he was asking me about my car. He wanted to know if I knew where I could park it. We ended up having quite a good "chat", and then he asked me back to his house. So off we went. He lives very nearby - less than 10 minutes by car - and has a lovely house. I met his family - his wife, sister, brother-in-law, (grand?)mother and the cat. Hayashi-san's sister speaks a very little English (but still less than my Japanese), and together we all managed to have an (admittedly basic) conversation. They said they were very excited about having an English person living nearby, and wanted to know where Jersey is. Out came the atlases, which incidentally, had Jersey marked on very accurately (unlike most, in which Jersey is a rather disappointingly small dot). Hayashi-san then proceeded to colour Jersey in bright red!!!
The family were very courteous and very friendly. We had iced Japanese tea, and suika (watermelon) which was a great relief considering the heat!
As I was leaving, I was presented with a gift of traditional rice "nibbles" (I can't think of a better way of describing them - they were an assortment of seaweed-flavoured rice snacks, beautifully packaged and in a very elegant bag). I will give Hayashi-san a reciprocating omeyagi (gift) of a Jersey tea-towel next time I see him.
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16/08/03 |
Kyoto Went on a day trip to Kyoto (only an hour or so away by express train, two and a half by local train) with Flick. We had an excellent time, but walked far too far (never navigate on foot by a bus map...). We visited the Imperial Palace, two temples (one Buddhist, one Shinto) and Gion. The temples were especially breath-taking. I don't have the words to describe them. They were both much bigger than I was expecting, and the "altars" were vast! We didn't have enough time to do even half of the things we wanted to, so we're planning to go back for the weekend sometime soon.
See the photos
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17/08/03 |
Have car, will drive (and get lost...) Picked up the car today. A fantastic little yellow-plate (yellow-plates must have 660cc or lower engines, but are more economical, in so many ways...). It's a 1993 blue Subaru, and goes like the...like the...um...like a rather small gust of wind. But at least it goes. It also has air-conditioning (which is a must-have, here), electric windows, radio/cassette player, five doors, etc, etc. See the photos.
Filling up with petrol in Japan is an experience in itself. Rubbish is collected, windscreens and windows are mopped down, and all you can even have the car vacuumed out, all for no extra charge! Another reason I like my newest purchase - it only costs £10 to fill it up, and it can go quite far on that!!!
I also met up with a Japanese friend today (Tamami), which was really good. She came back to my apartment and translated the remote control for the air-conditioning unit. Very useful! We've agreed to exchange language lessons, since she lives in Harue (where my school is).
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18/08/03 - 19/08/03 |
Takefu Higashi Senior High School Camp About 100 students, and 20 ALTs. The idea is to give the kids a two-day intensive English experience. They are only allowed to speak in English for the duration. We were each allocated a group of four or five students. Together we played games, planned presentations (or debates with the older students), and had all our meals. At times it was very tiring, but the overall experience was fun.
As a treat for the students, the ALTs put on two performances for them. The girl's group (of which I was a part) put on a show of "The Wizard of Fuji" (roughly based on "The Wizard of Oz") and the 'boy's' group (which had two girls in it) put on a blind-date type show. Considering we had very very little time to put it all together (about an hour or so), I think we did very well. The kids certainly seemed to enjoy it.
In the evening, or rather night (by the time we had finished rehearsals and other work) some of the guys drove down to the nearest shop (actually a fair distance), and bought beer and snacks. We then proceeded to get rather drunk, and ended up going to bed at around 3am. We had to get up at 6am and do morning exercises with the students. Now, THAT was an experience!
I also had my first experience of onsen (Japanese bath, where everyone has to be naked...). I did, however, wait until everyone else had been in, and used it alone! It was absolutely wonderful, although I'd only just pulled my top on when a hoard of students walked in -close call!
See the photos
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20/08/03 |
Contract Signing Ceremony Preceded by a rather pointless question and answer session, and group meetings according to where we were living, the Contract Ceremony was a very interesting occasion.
It was a very important, formal event, full of pomp and ceremony. We each had to stand (and stay standing) when our names were called. There were over 80 of us, and I was number 4! We then all had to bow and take our seats. The contracts were then brought in and taken up onto the stage by a man in white gloves, very formally, and one of the important dignitaries said a few words. I was sitting right at the front, right in the middle - a position which afforded an excellent view. Especially of the man-in-white-gloves' backside as he came down backwards from the stage and bowed right in front of me. (All my friends seemed to find this very amusing...).
The Ceremony was followed by a "banquet", and although there were no chairs we were given a "seating plan". A dignitary was allocated to each table, and before they arrived we were briefed on Japanese etiquette - not filling your own glass, etc. After the kampai (toast), or dignitary grabbed a large bottle of Asahi Super Dry (beer) and ran away. We didn't see him again. So much for etiquette!!!
In the evening we went to a social event at one of the night clubs, and partied the night away...
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21/08/03 |
School, and meal out with some teachers I went into school today, and got lost in the process. I did eventually find it, however, and spent the morning getting things sorted. 8 of us went out for lunch to a traditional Japanese restaurant, and had a really nice time.
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23/08/03 - 24/08/03 |
Mount Fuji Climb Yes, folks, I attempted the great climb. And actually got quite far, although I didn't make it to the summit (this time). It was a very difficult climb - not really the walk I was expecting. The coach ride to the mountain took 8 hours, and we got there at about 10.30pm, so we were in complete darkness. When the sun came up, I realised this was a good thing - looking back at the path we had taken was quite frightening. We actually had to climb most of the way, up a cliff face. Not as dramatic as it sounds, but it was very difficult.
Sunrise from Fuji-san was the most beautiful experience I think I have ever had. It was totally breath-taking. Unfortunately I don't have the words to describe it, but suffice to say, when the mountain re-opens in July I intend to have a second attempt at it.
After sunrise we kept climbing, and at about 7am we turned around and started to climb back down (easier in some ways than going up, but not exactly a walk in the park). In the end we were climbing for 12 and a half hours, and we didn't have much of a break (maybe one half-hour rest, and several 10 minute ones).
I would just like to say thank you to Cat, with whom I climbed. I think without our mutual encouragement, we wouldn't have made it so far! It really was a genuine experience of team work. I've never had to do anything so physically enduring and difficult, but we adopted the 100 paces and pause strategy. This got us to 3200m.
See the photos!
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26/08/03 |
Eiheiji Temple Today, Flick and I drove to this famous Fukui Buddhist Temple. It was a really beautiful, truly peaceful place, and we spent most of the day there. You can stay overnight and meditate with the monks, which is something we intend to do later this year.
Eiheiji is one of the few places in Fukui where you can buy postcards - we stocked up.
See the photos!
"Ever wondered how the hell you got to this point in your life" This is a quote from my gaijin friend, Adam. This evening four of us (Flick, Adam, Melanie and myself) went out for dinner to a Brazilian restaurant. So there we were, in a Brazilian restaurant, in Takefu, Japan, singing karaoke in Portuguese with the local Latino crowd. Is this what is meant by internationalisation?!
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27/08/03 |
Cable TV and Paper-making... This morning a guy from the cable TV company came to get me hooked up, and Kasamatsu-sensei called round to translate for me! She brought her son with her, who's opinion of me doesn't seem to have changed since the last time we met. He screamed and screamed and screamed for what must have been the better part of an hour. He finally stopped when he saw the going-away present Andy had sent me from Calcutta (a small silver-with-blue-enamel elephant). When Yosei saw this his little eyes filled with awe and wonder. He toddled over to it, and very gently picked it up and looked at it, brought it over to me, looked me straight in the eye, and put it carefully into my hand. We're now friends! Thank you Andy!!!
This afternoon I picked up Brandon and Laura and we went to Imadate (about an hours drive away) to make our own paper. We had a really great girly day, and explored most of the small town. We found a patisserie, a real French patisserie, with wonderful cakes and chocolates (we stayed here for quite some time, and had a cake each!). It was a welcome break from rice, seaweed and red bean.
See the photos!
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28/08/03 |
Tsuruga and re-entry permits I picked up Laura and Mary, and we headed off to Tsuruga this morning to go and get our re-entry permits. This allows us to leave and enter Japan on our existing visas as many times as we like. Tsuruga is over two hours away by car, and doesn't seem to be anything special, although we didn't explore very much. The drive their was beautiful, however, along the coast.
We stopped off for lunch on the way back at a pizza place. Oishii desu (delicious).
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29/08/03 |
The International Club, and a Malaysian meal I met up with Yoshi (founder of the International Club), and introduced Laura, Mary and Brandon (who also want to join) to him. We headed off to one of the Club offices (IC1), and Yoshi informed me I am going to be teaching two English classes every Wednesday evening (one to a group of kids, and one to a group of adults)...oh dear! Not quite sure how I landed myself with this...
After this, a group of more than 10 of us gaijin went out for a Malaysian meal (the restaurant is actually right next to IC1). The food was delicious, and very spicy. It was so nice to have such a spicy meal after all the rice and fish. We then headed off to Baskin Robbins for ice-cream!
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30/08/03 |
A chilled afternoon and a very very drunken evening A crowd of us drove to Edwina's in Ota, and had a really chilled afternoon in the sun in her garden. We had a wide selection of food and drink, which we'd all contributed to. Adam, Katie and I were designated drivers, so we weren't drinking. In the evening we drove everyone back to Fukui City, and we met up with another crowd of ALTs and CIRs in a bar.
Adam and I went on a mission to try and catch up with the others, and get drunk as quickly as possible. We ordered three tequila shots each. (It was nomi hodai - all you can drink for a flat fee). Unfortunately, the bar-lady seemed unfamiliar with the size shots should be. Each tequila was therefore the size of three shots in itself. I challenged Adam to a drinking contest, and to my credit I won. Nine shots, downed very quickly, however didn't take long to have their effect. I don't think I've ever been so drunk, but Adam was worse. He drank most of the jug of beer we ordered between the two of us...
He didn't remember much the next day!!! We did have a fantastic time, though!
See the photos!
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31/08/03 |
International Club - China Day The International Club held a China Day, in which we got to make and eat dumplings and what looked like naan bread. We also had the opportunity to dress up in Chinese costume (yes, I did. Yes, it was too small, and yes, it caused much hilarity!), and watch a Chinese film, amongst other things. I had a really good time, and found it very interesting.
See the photos!
Yosakoi This is the traditional Japanese dancing (like what we witnessed at the Phoenix Festival in Fukui). Today, I joined a Yosakoi dance team, run by the International Club. All the participants (except Brandon and myself) are Japanese. It's really hard work, but great fun. There is a performance on 15th September, which they are going to train us intensively for.
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