I don't think in straight lines, LOL!

Good morning!

I just received an e-mail from Krissie asking me some very basic questions about life here and I was laughing at myself that I had forgotten to post anything like that! :-P Obviously, I don't think in straight lines!

My apartment: I am going to take a video so you can see all the cool things in my apartment but first I wanted to put a LITTLE color in it! (It's a bit like a white cell right now LOL!) I'll post it here as soon as I can (probably another week or two).
~My apartment did come furnished and I was luckier than most in Japan because I actually have a BED!! It's very hard but I added LOTS of futons to it so now I'm like the Princess and the Pea, stacked up high! There's also a small square table that serves as my nightstand, desk, and dining room table, LOL but it means I have to sit on the floor usually! (Actually, which such WHITE sheets I'm scared to eat on the bed! Mom will be so proud!!)

There's also a little book case which is stacked high with supplies like this is a teacher's version of "Survivor!" Hopefully I will find a way to condense and organize most of it so I can put funner, sunnier things up!

The last tenant was a VERY dirty boy who, besides NEVER cleaning out his vacuum since he bought it, stained everything he could get his hands on and honestly, the mildew in the kitchen sink food catcher made me GAG! It was YELLOW and BROWN!!!! GROSS!! Pitched it! He also left a big iron burn right as you walk in the room! My trainer said she thinks I could have the carpet replaces for free but then I'd worry about staining it all up, too! LOL! I might look into it though! Otherwise, my neighbor just put down a cute rug in her room so it's not the same depressing tan/grey color! Smart cookie!! Anyhoo, he left a TV-VCR combo with small entertainment shelf/unit/thing, a cable box, a bunch of remotes and wires, a small fan, and a CD/Tape boombox! I put everything up in the loft except for the ent. unit because I'm hoping I can put it to good use... somehow! It is a small square with a glass door front to store DVDs and stuff! It's also on wheels which will come in handy if I can think of something brilliant to put in there!! ANY SUGGESTIONS??

Oh yes, did I mention the loft? It's also HUGE and has a curtain for privacy and lights and power plugs (and a CABLE plug!) up there so you can convert it into a bedroom if you wanted more space down here! I see myself falling off the ladder too often, LOL, so I plan on using it only when I have a guest (so they can use the bed down here!)! I'm so glad to have more room than I realized!

The kitchen area has a small stoveTOP (no oven) with two burners, a tea kettle, a microwave, a dorm-sized fridge, a sink, and a FEW places for storage. Right next to that is the washer and we hang our clothes outside the window or above the machine to dry.

There's a W.C separate from the actual bathroom which is pretty cool so visitors don't see all my private stuff laying around because again, there's very little storage area to hide anything! I've taken to camouflaging things, LOL! And the best part? The bathroom has all magnetic walls so I bought some magnetic caddy things for my personal toiletries! Now it's a game to see how much magnetic stuff I can get on the walls, LOL!

Another cool thing about bathrooms in Japan is that if you want to soak you sit in the tub (which is SMALL and almost square shaped! AWKWARD!) but if you want to show you can stand in the tub or just stand ANYWHERE IN THE ROOM! There's a drain in the floor so you don't have to worry about throwing water EVERYWHERE! It's pretty great!! It just rolls right down the drain! I think perhaps they were designed by MEN, yes?? ;-)

Adjusting to the food has been pretty easy because I look for bland stuff (you know me and SPICE, AUGH!!) but I was worried the only time I've been to a resturant so far! I ordered what my friend did because some of the pictures were all a little... liquid-with-egg looking and he had chosen something that looked like beef on rice! Can't go wrong, yes? =D The middle layer turned out to be DOZENS of longggg onion pieces that made me actually choke at one point, LOL! They burnt my tongue, it was insane! Next time, I'll still with the dumplings, haha! (You'll all be shocked to know, but I haven't had true sushi yet! Soon, hopefully!)

As for the fun game of "Guess the Onigiri," I think I may give up soon! I tried the brown one, which was some sort of beef... I think, and it tasted like DOG FOOD. It actually SMELT like a piece of dog treat! So I thought I'd make up for it with a pink one! It was the driest thing and it (shrimp) tasted and smelt like CAT food!! Oh gosh, this is why I should let my friend help me shop, so I don't make these mistakes, LOL! BUT at the end of every night everything fresh is 50% off so I'm going to start going after work every night for dinner and next day's lunch! Much smarter!

There's been little need to adjust to anything yet, really, and on the other hand there is constant adjustment! I don't feel like I've had to adjust but obviously I must have... perhaps it's too early in the morning for me to post blogs, LOL! I'm taking rambling to a whole new level, even for me!! Maybe it's because I spend my days talking slowly and in very basic English and I miss being around people who can follow my train of thought. Every night I come home and sing for about 30 minutes or so and it always makes me feel better! Legally Blonde's "(Keep it) Positive" is a great last song!! Then I'm all smiles again!

I feel like I'm making lots of mistakes but everyone has been really nice and supportive! They realize the learning curve will be big but my trainer promised me she heard only good things from my recruiters! (I'm thinking that means they forget to mention how fast I talk, LOL!) And the students don't know, they assume I know exactly what I'm doing, which honestly takes a lot of pressure off! I refuse to get lazy though (as my predecessor reportedly did) and insist on doing my job VERY well! Giving people good lessons that are worth their precious time and money is my goal! And I want them to have fun, too! (Funny side note: I'd prepared a lesson for a medium class but was still kind of in "kids" mode mentally and put in lots of games! Imagine my surprise when two VERY mature adults came in! They seemed to cut loose and have fun but I made sure to tell them at the end that if they liked the games we could continue but please, if not, I'm flexible and we can focus on what they want!) I'll get into that more deeply in the next two weeks though, when I start counseling the students.

My coworkers are both young and single. Everyone works on one year contracts so it depends when you got here that determines when you leave. The male coworker is leaving in January and the female coworker just arrived in the last 3 months I believe she said? (It was either 3 or 1... hmmmmm... blonde moment!) They're both extremely nice and helpful! I invited them over tonight to watch a movie after work because all of our schedules are a little light tomorrow! It will be sonice to have some relaxation time with other English speaking people!! =D

I think that's about all I can fit in for now! I have to create two lessons plans that are needed right off the bat at work (and two more over the course of the day!) Wish me luck!!

Love to you all!!
~S