orientation and arrival

I woke up past four this morning, which I consider a huge accomplishment. For the past week that I’ve been here (it’s one week today!) it’s been the same super early internal clock that wakes me up. But, today I woke up at 7:30!! Congratulations to me.
Now that I’ve patted myself on the back, I think that I should talk about what has happened since all communications have been cut off. Right now I only have a land line – talk about retro throw back – no internet, no cell phone. And I won’t get a cell phone till the 13th of August .
Okay, I’ll get back on track. Three days – two nights – ago orientation ended. For an orientation, it wasn’t so bad – considering that I didn’t attend all of the lectures. Instead my roommate (Amy – she’s going up north to Akita) and I decided to wander around Tokyo. The plan was to find a Nintendo DS. Conveniently, Nintendo developed an electronic dictionary and kanji (Japanese characters) recognizer. If you don’t know a character you can draw the kanji and the DS recognizes it and gives you the definition in English and Japanese. It’s original intention was to help Japanese preparing for the English proficiency test called the TOEFL, but it is just as useful for an English speaker wanting to learn Japanese. The program is called Kanji sono mama, and it’s actually cheaper to buy the game and DS than it is to buy an electronic Japanese-English dictionary. Plus, you can buy awesome games like Pokemon for the DS which you can’t play on an electronic dictionary.
Orientation wasn’t exactly like O-week at Rice, but when we broke off into our prefectural groups it felt more familiar. Nagaski group is HUGE. I think that we are one of the biggest, and luckily most everyone is really awesome and easy to get along with. Unfortunately orientation was so short I felt like I didn’t get to know many of them very well, but I hope to visit some friends I made that are living in the city of Nagasaki.
Luckily, I got to visit Harajuku before leaving Tokyo. It’s such an interesting place where girls dress in Lolita fashion (Wikipedia it) and there are lots of interesting shops and food. I missed the crepes, which are just thin pancakes stuffed with fruit, chocolate, and whipped cream, and wrapped like a cone (yummy!!!). Amy and I took some purikura – you draw on photo booth pictures electronically.
Somehow without knowing what was going on, we did it!! Dekitta!! Slowly things are coming back and feeling more familiar. Because we were always in a big gaigin (foreigner) group at orientation, speaking Japanese felt forced and awkward. At least it was a nice transition before being picked up at Nagasaki airport by Toki-san, although super sweet, cannot speak English well at all.
So after expecting the continued gradual submersion into Japanese culture, I suddenly had to dive head first from the moment after getting off of the plane from Tokyo to Nagasaki. I wasn’t happy, but had to keep smiling. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to be there, I was excited, but let me put my attitude in perspective. Lack of sleep was getting the best of me. I didn’t sleep on the plane from the States to Tokyo. At orientation my jet lag prevented a good night sleep – I would wake up regularly at 4 o’clock in the morning. Then we were expected to attended lectures all day with little breaks (which is why I took them myself), go to bed and repeat.
The flight to Nagasaki itself was pretty nice, especially for a domestic flight. Of course the Japanese stewardesses had cute uniforms with scarves tied into bows around their collars. The type of courteous service made me think that American stewardesses had manners like that once. Not to get nostalgic –especially because I’ve never experienced it – but it was quite a lovely experience compared to the flight from the States. I had the worst stewardess. And I have traveled enough to know when certain behavior is out of the ordinary. Such as, the stewardess yelling at my newly made JET friend and I during the flight safety video, “Ladies this gentleman might want to hear the safety instructions!” She reminded me of Dolores Umbridge, and she wouldn’t leave me alone for the rest of the flight, but smiled the whole time. I really wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, like she was having an extraordinarily bad day. But, I settled on the fact that she had power issues. And so, venting complete. Back to my Nagasaki flight. Luckily I sat next to a friend I made at orientation –Emily – and across the way from a fellow islander –David. New friends aided by the fact that I had gossip girl on my iPod made the trip so nice. Plus, the flight lasted only 1 hr and 30 min.
Emily and I chatted about our Nagasaki-ken (Nagasaki-prefecture) plans, especially since she lives in the actual city of Nagasaki. Hopefully we’ll go to a couple musicals this year in Nagasaki, and maybe some museums. I really want to travel. Even though I’ve already been around Japan, there is so much I didn’t get to see. Unfortunately I’m really far away from Hokkaido, the northern most region of Japan, but I want to go to the Yuki-matsuri (snow festival) in Sapporo where they build castles out of snow. Here it won’t snow too much, so it will be nice to visit the snow and come back to a more temperate climate. I also want to travel around the south of Japan some more and visit Fukuoka and Sasebo. If I get a chance I’ll go back up to Tokyo and visit my host family as well as go to Osaka (They have Universal Studios there).
But, back to my arrival in Nagasaki. They told me that an English proficient person would pick me up from the airport. Little did I understand. English proficient does not mean fluent. Far from it. As soon as I exited baggage claim Toki-san stood tentatively holding a sign with my name on it. Toki-san is my supervisor on my island Shinkamigoto. Although he is a very concerned and caring individual, he is a bit difficult to understand in any language. Nervous and constantly sweating, he gets flustered very easily. So there he was, and there I was ready to speak English and understand what was going on. And, then I realized that English meant a few poorly strung together words. These are the kind of situations I had mentally prepared for, expecting the unexpected. But, I was mentally fatigued already from lack of sleep and drained from the amount of new information told to me at orientation. At this point I didn’t want to find the words in Japanese, I wanted English.
Toki-san, like I said gets flustered, but I don’t quite understand how he sweats so much. Yes, it was a bit hot on the day he picked me up, but not that bad. What’s odd is that beads of sweat tend to accumulate just around his upper lip and around his mouth.
*Really funny. I’m typing in my office right now, and all of a sudden Eidolwiess from the sound of music alarms that it’s 12 o’clock. Teehee, oh Japan.
Adding to Toki-san’s weird sweat pattern is that he continually covers his mouth while speaking, as if he’s eating something. I don’t really understand. Other people don’t do it, just Toki-san. For sure, a character if I ever saw one. Very endearing, but very odd. An English Teacher picked up the other ALT (Assistant Language Teacher, it’s what I am), Deborah, from the airport. So lucky!!! She actually knew what was going on! Since Deborah works at the High School, it is a separate system –Municipal. I work primarily for the Junior High which is prefectural. In turn, we have different bosses and different systems. So even though we live close to each other (15 min bike ride) we had very different experiences – like she got to go her apartment that night and I got stuck in a hotel on my first night.
And so at the airport, Toki-san took me to a very awkward lunch where I tried to keep the conversation alive – thanks to my witty Japanese I did (haha, just kidding all I can say is “What are your hobbies?” “I am from San Diego” “I like…” etc.). The time was way too long until the time we had to board the ferry, which meant way too much Japanese conversation for me at the time. At least on the ferry I got my own seat in a different row, and listened to Lonely Island “I’m on a Boat” while we left the port. SOMETHING POSITIVE: Nagasaki is beautiful, and so green, and on the bus ride to the ferry and on the ferry itself I had such a secure feeling that this year is going to be a life changing experience. I felt pretty awesome, especially since I’ve been saving that song for when I got on my boat. Because I don’t get sea-sick the choppy ride was perfectly fine for me. Toki-san, however, did not fare as well as I did, and looked a nasty shade of pastel yellow. When he tried to lift my extremely heavy book-laden bag, I felt so bad, but he wouldn’t let me carry it. I seriously thought that he was going to pass out when we got to his car!
Something else I didn’t expect was sleeping in a hotel the night of my arrival. BIG surprise. Everyone else got to go to their place. Likewise I assumed I would too. Not the case. Too make things worse, Toki-san, still sick, insisted on carrying my bag up an extremely steep narrow winding staircase to my room. At that point his English became non-existent and he tried to tell me that he was calling the other ALT’s on the island to take me out to dinner. Unfortunately, I might have communicated that I didn’t want him to call because no one showed up for dinner. At that point I felt exhausted and a bit lonely. The first night in my new home was spent alone in a dank little Japanese hotel. Honestly I was too tired to eat and just passed out watching movies on my computer. But, I couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit disappointed that no one came to welcome me. I think that Toki-san may have caused some confusion for the other ALT’s.
Yes, it sucked that night, but the next day got better. I went to breakfast where, of course, everyone kept staring, and if they weren’t staring they glanced frequently. Being the center of attention constantly is a new experience for me. Everyone is just curious, mostly because foreigners don’t often come to Shinkamigoto. It’s too far out of the way to be a tourist center. In my opinion it should be. My breath has been taken away by the view from my neighborhood. And the beaches (apart from some trash) are scenic and unlike what I’m used to in San Diego because it looks like a Caribbean island.
Unfortunately, from my hotel window I only saw a dumpster and an old car. When Toki-san picked me up he was surprised to find out that I didn’t eat dinner. But really, what was I going to do? The hotel wasn’t serving dinner and I didn’t know my way around the town. Honestly I was fine because I had been so tired the day before. After apologies, Toki-san handed me the keys to me new house.
*Another funny: I commented on my co-workers cute shoes – they have bunny shaped straps – and she quickly got up measured my feet, leaves, and came back with a pair for me! I forgot that complementing something may land me in an awkward situation. Now I’m going to have to wear blue bunny shoes all year! Since you don’t wear outside shoes into school (you take them off at the entrance, or genkan, and then put on your indoor shoes), my bunny shoes have become my school shoes.
Once the keys to my first house were in my hand, my spirits immediately were lifted. We then traveled the whole two blocks to my house where we dropped off my suitcases. My impression of the house? First of all, I thought “Oh, no this is it?” It sounds ungrateful, but all I focused on at first was the peeling panels and peeling paint. Once again I had gotten something other than I expected. Before arriving I pictured a well manicured quaint house. But mine is pepto-bismol pink, and I absolutely love it!! At first, I had been shocked by something other than I expect. After the initial shock I have really grown to appreciate it. It is cute, and it’s big. I have the biggest house out of the other ALT’s on the island –score!
Toki-san herded me back into the car to do some errands, which weren’t as fruitful as I had hope. We immediately went to the city hall to get my foreign registration card. The man who helped me apparently attends my adult conversation classes on Wednesdays. It was nice to meet him and we got into a discussion about the difference between pirate and pilot. Japanese have a hard time distinguishing the L and R sounds, and for some reason Toki-san and the city hall man were really excited to learn about pirates. Oh, we also talked about the difference between travel and trouble (B and V are hard to differentiate as well). After my first free English lesson, we left the city hall and went to Docomo to get my cell phone. This was a huge moment for me because I have been looking forward to a Japanese cell phone for a long long time. A ketai (Japanese cell phone) is much more advanced. You can e-mail from your phones, and although this is a growing trend in America, everyone e-mails in Japan and it’s been that way for a while. I wanted to make sure I’m getting the cell phone that I want and the best plan so that I can e-mail anyone anytime from my cell phone. But, I was let down. At Docomo I learned that I can’t actually get my cell phone until I have my foreign registration card on the 13th of August. I was frustrated because I learned that after about an hour discussion about cell phone plans. It took forever to understand what the plans meant and which one was the best for me. I learned that there are no unlimited e-mailing plans, but if I don’t send an e-mail every two seconds it should be too expensive. But, after I get my cell phone I’ll post my e-mail and feel free to e-mail me with Japan questions or just to say hi!
Ketai was a bust. Then we went o my house, and internet was a bust. Toki-san couldn’t set it up, which really frustrated me because he had offered no alternative way to contact anyone. He kept saying please feel free to use your phone. Well, that would have been great if I had know how to dial to the US, but since I didn’t have internet I couldn’t look up exactly how to dial home. Aggravating. Then the bank was a bust. I needed my personal seal (inkan) which is used instead of signing. Without one, I couldn’t open my bank account, and without my bank account I couldn’t actually sign up for my cell phone or internet anyway. So many hurtles to jump over just to set everything up. I wish that I didn’t have to rely on Toki-san to set everything up for me. He is already so busy with his own job, and he doesn’t need to worry about taking me around all day.
Visiting my school (Arikawa Junior High) proved to be the most climatic part of the day. I met my principal and vice principal of the school. This was extremely awkward. Most of the time no one spoke. Silence dominated the conversation, but I didn’t want to be the first one to speak. I figured that it was best to let Toki-san do most of the talking. He would say, “She likes sports…” ….silence…. “She is from San Diego…” ….silence…. “She likes little kids…” ….more silence. This took place in Japanese, and I actually had a hard time holding back laughter. I couldn’t tell if Toki-san killed the conversation with his awkwardness or if they were expecting me to speak. So the coffee in front of me went mostly untouched while I tried to look interested in the very rigid and forced conversation. Then I was introduced to the staff room where I was expected to give a self introduction to all of the teachers. I though it went okay and some people very kindly told me my Japanese is good. They don’t actually mean it; they just think if you can utter a Japanese sentence you are smart because foreigners can’t easily learn Japanese. To them, good means you can say, “Hi, my name is Adriene, it’s nice to meet you.” Or, directly translated it’s, “Humbly, I’m Adriene, Please allow me to rely on you.” It’s a Japanese compliment to rely on someone. It ensures the building of trust within a relationship. As much as I would love to ditch Toki-san and set things up myself (like carrying my bags and connecting the internet), it is very important that I let him help me in order to build a relationship.
The overall day fell short of being fruitful. And, I still needed to unpack my bags. Once I got dropped off at the house I got to start unpacking my two large suitcases as well as my smaller one. Toki-san told me I had Friday off and then the weekend to unpack. But, before I decided it was time to unpack, I wanted to see what treasures were left behind in my house. I took over my house from a previous JET –Joe. From what I have been told he is an eccentric individual. And, I found such items as rap snacks. What are these you may ask? They are chips that are named after rappers with interesting saying on the front. I would write down what they said, but I’ve already thrown them away. The strangest thing I found I don’t think came from Joe, in fact I am almost 100 percent certain that Joe did not leave it. So, I opened my closet and found a plastic container filled to the brim with crocheted things. But not the normal scarves or blankets. There were the upper halves of plastic dolls with crocheted dresses on, booties (for adults), and cans that had been crocheted around. I don’t understand the purpose of the cans. Really, how bored was this previous ALT?? Joe left me some very thoughtful things like an N64 and a Playstation and lots of VHS movies. Teehee, so antiquated.
I thought I wasn’t going to have much to do for three whole days, but I ended up cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. Joe left lot of things spotless, which I was grateful for, but there were lots of crooks and crannies that haven’t gotten attention in a long while. Dust is predominately the issue. There was mold in the bathroom, but I think that will be a common occurrence in such a humid place. It actually is a lot nicer weather here than I expected. Much more temperate for the time being than Houston, but I think that I just got lucky. During this time of the year it’s supposed to be much much hotter. I’ll take the weather right now!
The first night in my house I met the other ALT’s and we went to a local restaurant. When they asked what I was doing all day, I told them how much I had been scrubbing and cleaning. They all looked so surprised and told me how neat and clean Joe had been in the house. I didn’t know if they were that much dirtier or if Joe really was clean, but after several years some areas did not register in the cleaning radar anymore. For me, being such a new place, everything caught my attention. The tiniest spec of mold made me cringe, and so I think I’ve been cleaning to make my place livable to my standards and it has taken my mind off of no communication to the outside world.
Once I went through everything a new problem arose: how to separate trash. Japanese don’t just throw everything into one pile and call it a day. Oh no, they actually wash some of their trash, and now so do I. There are several categories: burnable, nonburnable, dangerous, etc. I don’t even know all of the categories yet. And, to make things more complicated, each of the categories have their own pick up days. If you don’t separate your trash correctly, it won’t get picked up. Some categories only have one day of the month to get picked up. I’m worried because tomorrow is one such day, and tonight I need to figure out what I need to haul up to the trash area. That is one more thing, they don’t just come to your house, you take your trash to a general collection area. Mine happens to be up an incline up the block. A little far for carrying heavy trash bags.
I think that I’ve gotten things a little more under control – in regards to cleaning. I have spent so much time scrubbing and dusting only to realize I’m nowhere close to being finished. But, I only have a small bit to clean now, and most everything has been put away in a good place. I have even found the time to paint – I fashioned my own easel from a plastic rack I was going to throw away. Also I got to bike around the town on both Saturday and Sunday. It is so beautiful , and the bike Joe left me is great and perfect for biking around the island. It is a bit more hilly than I expected, but I get to build my muscles and get really strong.
So far I’ve met all the old ALT’s on the island – Carlo, Andrea, Laura, and Nathaniel. The first night at my place we all went out and they introduced me to two Japanese girls that speak English really well- Megumi-san and Saiya-san. Laura and Nathaniel both live further away, and Andrea and Carlo live a bit closer. I’m so glad I got to meet them because they’ve told me about their experiences as well as shared what they wish they could have done, what they enjoyed doing, etc. I’m especially grateful that they introduced me to Megumi because she scuba-dives, as do Laura and Nathaniel! I am definitely going to start scuba diving at the first chance that I get. Kelly, another new ALT from So Cal also wants to learn! This is one of the many new and exciting things that I’m going to try while I’m here on the island. I saw the pictures from Nathaniel of the underwater pictures, and there are so many beautiful places to dive. What’s better is that I’ll have someone to go with me. Tonight, I’m going to go to Tai Chi! We’ll see how that goes…I’m really uncoordinated when it comes to being graceful.
There are so many opportunities I have on this island to enrich myself, and I plan to take advantage as many as I can. Carlo told me to take it easy at first and not burn myself out, but I don’t think he understands how I function. I want and need a busy schedule. I’m also thinking about trying Kendo (martial arts with a sword), and starting an English club at my school.
Today was my first day on the job, which I spent mostly writing this. School doesn’t start until September, and so there is a lot of down time. From 8:30 till 4:15 to do pretty much what I want. I plan on studying my curriculum and planning lessons soon, but there is so much to write about I wanted to make sure I covered it all. There is a lot of ESL material at my school, enough to cover all possible lesson plans. And, since I have about a month to prepare for my first ones, I’m not too worried about rushing into anything. Joe left me a book about what to expect, and he was really thorough.
There are only some things I really have to worry about. One being the mukade. Mukade are really long black poisonous centipedes that like warm moist places. I’ve only seen pictures but they look frightening. If you happen to get bitten by one, depending on the size, the part that was bitten will swell to unnatural sizes. The larger one can send a person to the hospital, but the smaller ones will just be irritating. I am terrified to even see one. Everyone I have talked to has been bitten and had several encounters with mukade. Last night I had trouble sleeping, thinking that one would crawl on me in the middle of the night! I’ve been diligently shaking out my towels and shoes and whatever else they might crawl into. But, I know sooner or later they will find me.
Besides the mukade, the other dangerous fauna on the island include poisonous snakes and aggressive wild boar. Both I don’t have to actively worry about as much as the mukade. I don’t even have to worry about earthquakes or tsunamis, just typhoons. So, my potential dangers are mukades and typhoons.
*Funny: I just got back from the bathroom. The toilet seat was heated. My bum was surprised.
Here in the teacher’s lounge there is a smoking area. It’s pretty small, and covered by some plastic drapes. Everything inside it looks yellow, and I am so thankful that they have that barricade. Some teachers go to smoke more often than others, and I can see how it must be a nice break. They are expected to work work work, and then work some more. Some teachers will stay till 10 o’clock at night because on top of their actual courses they will often have to be in charge of a club or after school activity.