Super good, Super bad!

     We've been getting a bit of snow here.  Wet, heavy snow that usually doesn't stick or melts by noon.  Last week on a day off I trekked through a heavy fall to the Mito International Center, only to find it closed for the public holiday; ¥500 for Japanese lessons plus an opportunity to meet other folks here.  With Mark - the teacher I've replaced - heading back to Australia, I'll only know two other native-english speakers that live in the area.  Woot!

     On this snowy day off I also went to Uchihara, one stop from Akatsuka where I'm located.  Take a look at the area on the map...what's there?!  Nothing; this dated map image lacks one thing: just to the NE of the station, there's a gargantuan, three-storie mall.  It's a 10 or 15 minute walk to get there.  I noticed immediately the general lack of care to houses and smaller restaurants/shops on the way - junk piled in front, dead/dying or no plants/bushes, rusting old cars used for storing more junk... the station was smaller than the one at Oarai and was all outdoors.

     This stark difference from the places I've seen - clean, well kept, aesthetically pleasing - gave me a pang of guilt as I fell in line with others from the train, marching like ants towards this local aberration of capitalism.

     Inside, it was just a big mall.  It felt like I was in the city again, navigating through throngs of people.  Shops were geared up for "St. Valentines Day;" not a couple's holiday here (that's Christmas, of course), but a day where women give men chocolate - coworkers, friends, family.  On March 14th - White Day - men return the favor, but with something more expensive than what they received.

     I just window shopped, with most store names being in English, always being greeted by staff directly, despite the crowds.  I wandered through the arcade, sad I couldn't try out a 3-D shooter game since they were all taken.  Surprisingly, it was a little bit much at one point...people stealing blatant looks, clerks giggling at my Japanese attempts, being surrounded by thousands yet quite unable to communicate.

     To cope, I listened to pop music at Tower Records, trying out random artists, whether I could read the name or not.  Yamashita Tomohisa's new release, Supergood, Superbad! was pretty groovy stuff - funk fusion, rock, jazz, techno, pop...it had it all, and in Japanese!  Click the link above to listen to the album then skip to 3:30 to hear a great track.

Then I grabbed a brew and sweet potato muffin at Starbucks, sat, and relaxed in a familiar environment...¥390 for a grande coffee alone.  Convert it.  Its atrocious.

     Just this past Sunday I taught my first three kids classes.  Age of kids, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12.  I was quite nervous, but it went well overall.  T'was a blur really, three 1-hour classes in a row with 15 minutes between.  I had prepared previously, so it was a matter of maintaining the energy - plus toning it down for the older kids, who are already too cool.  Some students gave me chocolate, yay!  One of my adult students gave me a set of travel chopsticks; I returned the favor by giving him a "I<3NY" magnet I brought...but of course, NYS being a marketing skank, you can get NY souvenir crap here already.  Thanks, NY, for ruining my gift.

     Mark, Eric and I went to Karaoke here too.  It was this small place...maybe 3 times the size of my apartment, with a few tables, a bar,  and two TV's.  You pay for an hour - all you can drink, all you can sing.  Female servers sit at your table to socialize and constantly refill your drink - Shochu mixed with water, served on the rocks - its clear and refreshing, with a mild, earthy taste when diluted, but it catches up quick, cuz it ain't water!

     Anyway, we sang, along with this older gentleman, singing Japanese love songs - he had a pretty good voice, as did Mark!  "Raishuu, Raishuu!" we said on the wait out - next week!  Eric and I tried to keep up.  I went with Green Day's Basket Case and Oasis's Wonderwall.  Here's a kicker; along with sitting and singing with your female servers, after each song the singer gets a 100 pt. rating - based on singing in tempo, maybe.  The better you do, the more of a photograph is revealed - the photo being a nude shot of a female Japanese model.  Everyone goes along with it, but when Mai ("My") sang a song, I said they should have male pictures for girls...Mark translated, we laughed, but oh well!  Its an interesting dynamic, to say the least.  Fun time singing though.

     I take pictures of everything I eat here...which - again - must be posted.  Here's a taste though.  I've been trying plenty of candy - green-tea chocolate shaped like mushrooms, banana chocolate malt balls, but especially Kit-Kats!!  Here's the most exotic flavor of Kit-Kat that I've found yet - I thought it was Cheesecake, but this won.  Guess what it is!!

     Sweet Potato!!  Mmmm-boy!  It's a popular dessert flavor/ingredient here.

     I've also been cooking a bit, now that I'm settled.  I've made noodles a bunch, then throw in veggies, meat, or mushrooms.  There's at least 10 varieties at the supermarket - mystery mushrooms #1 are below.

     Whatever they were, they were delicious.

     Oh, and the supermarket lists literally every item's price digitally with solar powered displays.

     I'd like to think they change prices wirelessly from the back too.

     Ok, kids.  Until next time!  I gotta take and upload more pics!!  Ahhhhh!

Nesting

     Ahhh...clad in boxers, sipping some Nest Beer - the Amber Ale - as I sit on the floor and post!  The main room is not entirely bereft of tangibile homeliness, though.  Besides the square coffee table that came with the place, I know have a set of three plastic drawers!  I purchased them at the Hard Off store - where things are "Off House!"  It is a second-hand store just around the corner - its better quality than anything I've seen at home though, with locked cases for high-end things and anti-theft devices for others.  I also got some file holders there...such a cozy place I have.  Hard Off didn't have a chair or desk that spoke to me, but I did get a love seat/fold out futon piece that's coming on Wednesday - come visit!!!!!!

     Though I don't have furniture, I do have a house plant and plenty of kitchen items now - including a bottle opener to prevent one from cutting their hand banging beer bottles open and spilling its precious contents.

     Work-wise, I've been finding my groove at the school, getting to know students and coworkers.  I've never been good with names - and my expertise in predominantly Judeo-Christian names doesn't help the process - but I'm getting there.  The students: there are older women and younger men; business men, mothers, managers, miners, whiskey drinkers, baseball lovers, world travelers, local musicians, ultra-marathon runners, surfers, and still more to meet.  The kids I have yet to teach, as I merely observed Marks' bittersweet goodbye's during his final week.  Soon though!

     Work feels comfortable, though quite different too.  As native speaking teachers, English is a must at school and exposure to our Western culture is a part of learning.  Japanese is spoken by other staff members or Japanese teachers to students, though, and students/kids talk with each other - of course - as scheduling and conversation also must occur.  Basically, the school is this outpost of English/Western culture imbedded within a Japanese community - for instance, I shake hands there, but bow everywhere else - though its hard to remember that sometimes.

     I have yet to concert a regular effort towards learning Japanese, but I did get a list of phone numbers of teachers/schools from the government office (in Japanese, of course...).  I've picked up bits and pieces during my required trips to places - like when I registered for national health insurance (Kokumin Kenkou Hoken), needed a home delivery (itsu takuhai?), or needed to find a particular lightbulb (kore arimasuka?).  I have some apps on the ol' iPhone now, and plan to call around this week - since I'll have a couch to do it from.

     On a day off last week, I took the train to Mito City to explore.  It was 12 degrees Celsius (forget Fahrenheit, C is how I roll now), sunny, and Senba Lake was beautiful, despite the naked trees.  Both black and white swans, familiar and foreign ducks waddled and swam near the path.  I didn't walk the full 3k around, but took the footpath to Kairaku-en Park.  The plum and cherry trees were also mostly bare, though in a month or so this one of the "Three Great Gardens" of Japan will be majestic - probably packed too.  The cedar wood forest and bamboo forest were incredible though...

     Entrance to the Cedar Forest...

  

His eyes are red too...another one hissed at me...scared yet?

The Bamboo forest...two hands would get around the trunk.

     With a bit of distance already covered after traversing the park, I decided to walk back home rather than succumb to sweeping my Suica Card at the station - the iPhone helped me decide ;-)  I stumbled upon what was either a museum or a conference center (or both), wandered through a small private college - Tokiwa University - and met many elementary school kiddos in full public-school uniform topped with their yellow hats; many were fascinated by a foreigner and offering me hellos, konichiwas, and some even offering shocked faces and whispers.

     I found myself walking down the main road I live off of, so I ducked into a few stores, corrected some clerks in assuming I was an exchange student, and found my houseplant.  The best part is being able to use the iPhone to Skype a call to the States from pretty much anywhere with a decent mobile network available, which is what I did at a Matsuya I came across - a vending machine/ticket chain place!  Here's the main walk mapped out, which resulted in a 1.5 hour nap - Jon Raab, you're right, walking is tough.

     Today I ventured to Oarai, a beach town via a 20 minute train from Mito.  It was literally one train car that sounded like a diesel engine with a bad cold...and whining about it.  One simply boards the train and pays cash on arrival, not being able to use the computer Suica Card.  The scenery quickly changed to farmland during the trip, with train stations literally in the middle of nowhere (picture an elevated track between cornfields).  All of the sudden we were at Oarai Station, which almost looked like a small office building were it not for the station name plastered on the side - salt was in the air.

Below: Stopping at a train station in...I believe Tom Cruise called it "Bumblefuck"

Below: We're here!  Wait, where?

     After fifteen minutes and a few turns down residential streets, I found myself at a newish looking outdoor mall, packed with surf shops - both chains and local - souvenir stores, and a ferry port next to it (which apparently goes to Hokkaido) all overlooking the Pacific.  I bought a sweatshirt on sale that says "Happy Mon" on it - just as Chinese/Japanese Kanji symbols can be cool in the States, random English can be cool here.  The best shirt read, "A cold does not coming from the cold itself, but a cold is because of the virus!"  I think they were getting at the virus of surfing a gnarly wave, and the cold isn't a bad thing in this case, its...huh?

     On the beach it hit me - I'm standing on the edge of an island nation 9000 miles from home, yet staring right at it; it smells like the beaches I know, looks like the saltwater I've seen, and shells are shells, but its all another world away.

     The Marine Tower offered a 60m view of the surrounding area - nice rolling hills and cliffs on the coast, reminiscent of CA.  From the beach I counted 30 something surfers waiting for waves, donned in full wetsuits.  Two school girls played duets with a trombone and trumpet on the jetty as I milled about the end enjoying the scenery, scavenging for shells and sand dollars, wondering how I'd manage getting a surfboard there from my apartment, let alone storing it; Hard Off has loads of used boards.

     I close with a great shot of some Engrish at a bakery in a nearby train station on the way to some of the best Indian food of my life.  I also close with a promise to upload my loads of pics to an album so one can view much more through mine eyes, since I really only hit the highlights... soon!

     Anyway, perhaps I can advertise myself to stores like this, providing an English correcting service...although, would I have taken a picture were it written correctly?  Despite the grammar, I really do smell the swelled artistan spirit's brown bread after reading it - do you?