Fooooooood Plus another vid

That teeny tiny can is a $1.00 bottle of plum sake (even has a tiny plum in it!) It's in the fridge, LOL, I never drank it! Next is what my dinner usually looks like! It's some different pieces of rolls! The first (left to right) is cucumber sticks, then crab meat with egg and some other little stuff, then egg and what I think may be sweet onion or something, then tuna fish, then tempura... maybe crab, then a big slab of salmon (I think, LOL). Basically it tastes delicious so I just keep eating it every night! =D





This is pronounced "moe-chee!" It's basically rice that has been beaten and then rolled into balls (which look like marshmellows) then they're shoved on a stick and drizzled with... something that reminds me a bit like honey. LOL. Some expert I am, right? I know!

The little wrapped package was a gift from one of my students! She went on a special trip with her club and brought me back a different type of mochi. It was so sweet and generous of her to think of us on her vacation!!

And I forgot the other video (of the bathroom!)

Apartment videos!

Talking about the apartment! It's MEEEEEE!!!! =D
ENJOY!! =D

Some blanks to fill in...

I'm exhausted, LOL. I'm not able to get lots of sleep here yet (lesson plans are still taking a while) and the last several nights I've been having nightmares on top of that. One night I actually got 8 hours (yay me!) but woke up feeling sooo tired and raw thanks to a bete noire... darn it!

My friend Gary invited me to go to the Musical Instruments Museum in Hamamatsu today and I'm looking for any excuse to get out and see things! There is no time during the week to do anything fun (except relax at home for 1-2 hours watching movies or eating) and I always spend one day of my weekend working on lesson plans for the upcoming week so I need to get out more! I'm not exactly afraid to go out alone but my Japanese is still soooo bad!

Ai has been teaching me the proper way to say most things and (just like in America) it's not exactly the "textbook" way! She's been so kind and helpful to me, going with me any time I want her to for shopping or errands and helping translate for me! Within the first few days I felt comfortable enough to shop alone just by following her example. If I don't get something I say I'm sorry, I don't understand, which is "gomen nasai, wakarimasen." (I used to say I don't speak Japanese but learned quickly that I don't have to say that because it's so obvious, LOL!) Most of the clerks are so helpful and will mime things for me which really helps! =D

Two of the women at the grocery store even recognize me every time (I know, hard to miss, right?) and they've been teaching me a little Japanese and Ai and I tell them a little English! They're really sweet and try to speak a little English with me, which feels like a very welcome treat!

But I will receive free lessons from Ai at GEOS once a week so I'll soon start having real lessons, YAY!!

Before I forget, I promise tonight or tomorrow to get this room looking good and post some pictures!!

School went VERY fast this week! I feel like I blinked and a week FLEW by! Most of it was fun!! My students range from 4 years old to mid-50s. I now teach 17 different types/levels of classes! I feel more like a baby-sitter with some of the younger kids who have no interest in learning English, but I kind of understand too that they don't want to be there, their parents put them there. I try to make it really fun and we play tons of games but I think they know (and resent the fact) that they're educational games. They're still fun though! =D

Many of the students are advanced and we can have pretty great conversations! =D Ability ranges drastically though, sometimes even in the same class, and most students won't ask questions if they don't understand something. I beg them, PLEAD with them "If you don't understand ANYTHING, please ask! I'm happy to clear up any questions!!" One of the older students is too shy to speak at all and some of the younger students have to be constantly monitored (they like to rip my things up, like the wall map or other students' drawings!). The last teacher was very patient and would ignore everything mostly but the kids would continue to try to destroy things. I'm sure you can imagine, I let little slide that I consider inappropriate... =D At least I can do it in a Disney way, LOL. I'm totalling honing that skill once again!

It's getting late and I've got to shower so I can go to the Museum! I'll try to post more later! TAKE CARE!!

What I Love about Japan (so far!)

Haha, there are a few things that I think make Japan a great place to be!

~The measurements. I went to look at bathroom scales the other day and everything is in kg (1 kg to 2.2 pounds) so I basically weigh half what I used to, LOL (only in my head but I love it!) Although it does make my friends seem emaciated when they only weigh 50kg! ;)

~The consideration for the elderly and visually impaired. There are special seats for the elderly everywhere but I think the BEST thing is that every street and every sidewalk (even the mall's parking lot!) where I am has special indentations in the ground to let the visually impaired know what's happening! It's like braille for the feet! There are straight line indentations that are painted yellow that will lead you to the mall entrance from your car (should they be driving in the first place?) or around the subway tunnels and sidewalks. Because they're painted yellow it looks a *little* like Follow the Yellow Brick Road! =D There are also bumps in the sidewalk to let you know when steps are coming up! It's a simple idea that is extremely considerate to me! The sidewalks are also very smooth here and VERY wide (some as big as a lane of highway!)

~The grocery store! In Japan there are no chemicals added to the food so it goes bad very quickly. Because of this, every single day the grocery store puts all their fresh food (sushi platters, onigiri, tempura, little sweet potato donuts, even BREADS) on clearance for 50% off! It starts at 20% in the middle of the day and hits 50% sometime before I get out of work so every night I go to the grocery store and get something delicious for CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP! Last night Ai and I went a little overboard, LOL. We got a platter of sushi (12 pieces!) for only $2.50! Then I wanted to try the platter of tempura (5 HUGE pieces, one of which was a huge piece of fish) for $1.99, and a tray of 12 dumplings was also $2! Last, but not least, I bought one of my favorite dishes for the next day's lunch! It's hysterical because it tastes like really soft meatloaf or salsbury steak or something and comes with a bite of spaghetti with red sauce, a single potato piece cut like a steak fry, a small piece of carrot shaped like a flower, and a bunch of rice with corn and peas. YUM!

~The cute things! Everywhere you look feels like a Disney/Hello Kitty playground at our mall, LOL! There are whole shops (many of them) that just sell really adorable things! There's even a shop with some Very Hungry Cateppilar items! I was debating getting a new Stitch plush for my bed (since my old one is well loved and left in Mass) but the prices on a lot of Disney stuff are outrageous (EVEN for Disney!)! So I went to Nitori (our equivalent of IKEA sort of) and bought this adorable longgg plush bear for hugging at night! He looks like he's sleeping and is stretched out on his tummy, he's so funny! Gary named him "Elliot" for me! Elliot the Bear, super cute!! I'll post pictures soon... once I start taking them, LOL! My next day off isn't until Sunday but hopefully I'll get some sooner! Have a good one!!

Halloween Lessons and Sushi!

Sorry I haven't been able to post more lately! I've been working so hard that there's little time to do anything else (most days I don't have time to eat until 10pm)!

This week will be interesting! I teach 17 different TYPES of lessons (some repeatedly throughout the week) and a lot of the classes are on a set schedule across the country. This week everyone is doing the Halloween lesson (I know, I know!)! I brought candy corn and the Disney's Halloween Treat DVD and my Alice costume (which I plan on taking off for the adult courses, LOL, even though I'm assured by everyone that the adults would like it, too! But the adults don't do Halloween lessons, it's for the younger kids. We'll see.... ;)

Big news! I had my first real sushi on Saturday night!! My friend (and coworker) Ai took me to an amazing restaurant after work! You sit at a booth and there's a touch-screen computer monitor that you pick what you want off of! There's also a hot water dispenser and green tea at every table (and a big box of ginger!! YUM!!), plus three different kinds of soy sauces (one of which has tomato in it and tastes like Italian dressing, LOL) and a little conveyor belt! Through the use of magnetic trays, whatever we order comes directly to us (even though it takes a trip around the restuarant depending on where you sit, LOL, but it's always protected behind glass!)! We never see a waitress (unless we need water) and just go up and pay at the end!

Did I mention it was DELICIOUS???? (OF COURSE!!) Ai was teaching me about the different quality levels of the fish (some are extremely expensive) so I tried an expensive one and a cheap one and know what? The cheap ones are EXTREMELY YUMMY!!! (Must be my beginner level saying that, LOL!) Ai and I decided we're going to go every Saturday night! Ohhh, and the pieces are HUGE, like, the LENGTH of the fish! They put it on a smaller piece of rice though and you're still expected to eat it in one bite! (I decided if I go back alone or with other gaijin [foreigners] that I would eat it in little bites to savor it! Then I could blame my ignorance on being the dumb gaijin! With Ai there it would have been hard to do, LOL! It's amazing to me that size of the bites (like from the ROLLS) that people are able to fit in their mouth!

What else? What else? My apartment is getting closer to "acceptable" to me so I should be able to post a video next weekend maybe??

Haha, back to food! On Sunday night my friend (and coworker) Gary invited us out to dinner at a Thai restaurant. He brought his friend who brought two friends, so there were six of us (I asked Ai to join us) and it was also REALLY good!! There was a pineapple fried rice that I LOVED and a shrimp curry that was delicious! The salad in the beginning was so spicy it made everyone's eyes tear up! Im soooo glad I didn't try that! LOL! (I felt like the Queen! I'd wait until everyone tried a dish and then let them tell me if it was spicy!) We had SUCH a good time! Gary's friends were so nice! We decided we all must do it again soon!

I have to get ready for work! I hope you're all doing well and having a great day! Drop me a line some time!!
With Love Always,
Sarah

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

More pics!

So, the fourth picture is Hamamatsu Castle, somewhere I'm hoping to go SOON!! And the last picture is of a PLAYGROUND! Pretty cool huh? Totally reminds me of Spongebob Squarepants! I hope there's no size limit because I want to go in!! =D The rest of the pictures I borrowed from various websites. Hopefully I can add some of my own soon!! ENJOY!

A little more Hamamatsu

I had the funniest experience last night! After two shopping trips to the mall (having to come home each time because I purchased something large or heavy [like a new pillow and another futon mattress]) I decided I needed to go back a third time for groceries. Rather than make my sweet new friends suffer through my indecisiveness I decided to return alone. I went up and down every aisle in the supermarket which I am in LOVE with! I was going to try to make myself eat cup of noodles at least one meal per day but yesterday I discovered two wonderful things (haha, sorry for the side note!): 1. they make fresh bento box type meals every morning and if they're not sold by the early evening they drop the price about 25%! I'm going to ask Ai what time of day they drop the prices and if they drop again any lower before closing! =D 2. In their prepared food section you can get a bag of 5 or 6 DELICIOUSLY breaded veggie slices for $1.18!! This is plenty to fill you up but I decided to be an adventurer and try some onigiri, too! (I got some kind of pickled something in mine which was good! Next time I'm hoping for fish! Because I can't read the labels it's basically a guessing game! I'm so glad it's worked out well so far, LOL!) NOTE: THE ONE IN THE PICTURE HAS A PHOTO OF THE CONTENTS! The ones here just have a solid color in the label and some writing! No clues!!

Sorry, so back to the story! I was just contemplating the price of U.S imports (a whopping $3.30 for a NORMAL sized Toblerone bar, and $4.oo for a SMALL box of Ritz crackers) when I look up to a child running down the aisle with his own little cart. As soon as he locked eyes on me he literally SKIDDED to a halt. I smiled and there was a quick second before he SCREAMED BLOODY MURDER! HIGH-PITCHED and everything!! Who's hurting you, you silly thing?? He tears off in the other direction screaming what I think is, "Daddy!!!!" I am warned that this will happen a lot, LOL! Perhaps I was the first gaijin he's seen! =D

I was hoping to post some pictures I borrowed from various websites to give you a little idea about Hamamatsu but blogger.com is having a blonde moment apparently so I'll post them later! The map up top shows you Japan and there are five dots if you look closely. The two we are interested in are the two central most in Japan (the second and third dots when counting from the left). The right is Tokyo and the left is Hamamatsu! Hamamatsu is the second largest AREA in Japan! My new coworker told me it was made pretty recently by combining a few smaller cities. So I live in Higashi-ku which basically translates to a ward of a district of the city, Hamamatsu -shi (city) and in Shizuoka-ken (province) of Japan. There are TWO more lines of my address but I won't put them online because they basically PIN POINT my location. (The street name and then the building's name. There's also a postal code, then my name, then the country! Let's count together! I have an EIGHT LINE address!!! LOL! Sweet! (Oh gosh, I've already taught Ai "sweet" and I think she really likes it! I heard her use it once!) =D

Once I have more time to get into the actual CITY and do fun things I promise to post more pictures!! ENJOY!!

Safely in my apartment!

I arrived in my apartment today! I feel EXTREMELY lucky in my placement though I've probably not been here long enough to make a proper assessment, haha!

I REALLY lucked out because my internet is included in my rent!! It's really inexpensive to live here! I can't believe it!! And I really REALLY lucked out because I can see my school from my window! Even on a slow day it's a three-minute walk max!! And the best part? I'm within spitting distance of the biggest mall I've ever seen including a massive grocery store with lots of imports! There's a lot of American stores around here (Claire's Accessories, Tower Records, Starbucks, McDonalds, and of course Louis Vitton and Coach) but I'm determined not to fall into the pit of the familiar! I want to try lots of new things!!

My apartment is GREAT because it has a BIG loft! I was thinking about sleeping up there and using the rest of the room as a bit of a living room but there was a bed here (unexpected! YAY!) so I think I'll sleep down here on the bed! (If any guests come, nudge nudge, they can sleep in the bed, which I plan to line with LOTS of soft cushy pads, and I'll sleep in the loft. It's curtained for privacy and pretty unusual as far as I understand so I feel very lucky!! My neighbor and coworker, whose name is pronounced "eye" though I haven't gotten the correct spelling yet, told me she doesn't even have one!)

Speaking of neighbors!!! My coworkers, Eye and Gary, are also my neighbors and they have already made me feel SO WELCOME!! Gary picked me up from the train station and showed me the school and Eye has promised to help me decorate my sadly bare apartment! (Gary is a NET [Native English Teacher] from England and Eye is a JAT [Japanese English Teacher]) They're both extremely kind and I already know we're going to get along really well!! I've yet to meet my Manager and I don't know where she lives yet but I don't believe she's a neighbor.

I think that's about it for now! I am in desperate need of a nap before I go out tonight, haha!
I'm 11 hours ahead of people in Massachusetts if that's helpful to you all!!
Have a good one!! I'll try to post pictures soon (like, as soon as I'm able to look around, haha! Lots of cleaning today!!)

Sayounara Vancouver!

Wow, Vancouver is GORGEOUS! Picture NYC with NICER, more PATIENT people and a GORGEOUS view!! There's lots of cultural diversity here and everyone is so kind!! I'd like to visit again! I can't get over the HUGE mountains over the water! And I've already mastered the "long a" sound typical of most Canadians! I really enjoy that, too! ;)

So tomorrow (did I mention I should be packing again now?) I have an 18 hour day of traveling but I won't end at my apartment just yet. I'm staying overnight in Nagoya before continuing on the following day to my new home! One of the other trainees (who has lived there before and can speak and read Japanese) found my apartment on the realty website and showed me what she thinks the floor layout is. If she's right then I will have a VERY cool place! I'm going to video it and post it as soon as I can!

Speaking of, I'm writing this now because I have no idea how long it will be until I can access the internet again! You can't get internet (or a cell phone) without this special permission card and that can take several weeks to process! I'm assured that there are internet cafes but who knows when I'll have the time! I get one full day in my apartment before I start work so it should be a challenging few weeks. (But I'm totally looking forward to them!!)!

I'd better get packing!! Just wanted to tell everyone what was up! Enjoy some pictures of Vancouver!!
TAKE CARE!!!