Odd Flavored Things and Breakthrough!

The post title actually has something to do with the post! Imagine that! First things first: food (like I ever put food second, come on!). One thing about Japan is that while foreign foods do sometimes crop up in the supermarkets, there does seem to be an overwhelming desire for KitKats here--they seem to pop up everywhere. And there apparently exists a huge market for a wild variety of flavors. Last year I had an amazing Ramune flavored one during the excruciating Mt Fuji hike (ramune apparently comes from lemonade, but I wouldn't describe it as such; I don't really know what kind of flavor it is), and Hera swears by green tea flavored ones. A few weeks ago we sampled a combo pack of cola and lemon flavored KKs. The general consensus (i.e. my opinion) was that cola was meh, but lemon ROCKED. I have since been on the kick for different Kats. The latest I have found is Mixed Juice flavored (ミックスジュ-ス）, which is an interesting choice from the makers of KK. Observations: not bad, not my favorite; tastes more like candy bananas than mixed juice. I'm holding out for lemon flavored.

Next: Breakthrough! While I do teach a class by this name, this is not what I refer to. What I refer to is a certain child I teach who presents somewhat of a problem for me during class at times (ex. mooning), and overall doesn't listen to me at all. However, I had a make-up class with him on our Sunday Open (that is, my last in a six day week); since he was the only student, we basically played whatever game he wanted to do, and wonder of wonders, he listened to me--and he actually repeated what I said in English! And not only that, but he remembered after class! See, the absolute worst part of my job is the 5 minutes after a kids lesson where we teachers have to prove to the mothers that their children are learning--and if the child screws around in class, it becomes apparent after class (and as you can imagine, insanely embarrassing for me). So this Sunday was the first time he could actually repeat what we did in class, and quite well to boot. The fact that he got so much encouragement clearly pleased him; he turned bright red and kept squirming around on his mom's lap, trying to hide his smile. It was really satisfying to see that happen, and even though I know this will never happen again unless I have another private lesson with him, it's still the small victories that count.

A moment of...

There is one thing I wish for every day. It's the same thing day after day, basically since I've arrived. If I had this one thing, I feel like everything would be right in the world. All I want...is for it to be less bloody hot. All I want is to arrive at work not dripping sweat; or at least not have to base my wardrobe on what polyester styles best hide it.

Also, my apartment is about the same size as a cardboard box, and yet I always seem to misplace my AC remote. I can tell you where at least 4 tubes of mascara are, but when it comes to the only necessity in my apartment, I misplace it at least twice a day (once before I leave for work; the second before I go to bed--and a few times in between for good measure).

However, one thing I must say is wonderful is the soundtrack for (500) Days of Summer. Thanks to Hera for getting me that (that is, for uploading it to her own computer, and then allowing me to sneak it off while she was in the shower)--also, thanks for the movie itself; I watched it last week when I was, to put it kindly and culturally; feeling like merde. I should say the Japanese equivalent--kuso--but it doesn't have that certain elegance of the French variety.

Anyways, please ruminate this when you miss me:

"It's so damn hot! Milk was a bad choice."

Kids.

Tomohito (TH) has 3 phrases in frequent rotation: "Kids.", "Oh rearry?", and "Dammit!" So in his honor, I named this babeh-sized post after him.

Basically, after I caught the last train home, I had my music on shuffle as I readied myself to get on my bike to go home. One of the first songs to come on was "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, and in my cynical-about-love-state, I went "Pffffft," in response. Only I did it really, really loudly. I then decided the best way to get on my bike was to bunny hop over the seat and then kick off the brake (of course, I was wearing a dress). Needless to say, I have not mastered the art of Japanese elegance and grace yet.

Well, that's about all. Sorry if I got your hopes up for more. It's late at night and I am very sweaty. Which I just realized was due to my AC being set at 28 degrees.

Also, both times I came home today, I entered my house with a shout (which is just great; as I'm sure I already terrify the neighbors with my large gaijiness--as well as my midnight singing in the shower). The first was due to a lizard dropping from my ceiling into my room; the second was because a very large and loud cicada followed me down my outside hallway. Lovely.

Origami Wallpaper Fail

Random bits and pieces first:

I really like singing, but I get really flustered singing in front of people for fear of messing up (not a karaoke story, btw). But then, I was watching some Tegan & Sara videos (one of my hobbies) on u2b (youtube for you n00bs) and half of their live performances are titled "Tegan & Sara mess up (song)", which makes me feel much better about myself, because T&S are two of mah faves, and if they can mess up and still be awesome, then well--that's something, I guess.

Live Action Japanese Living Information Update!

Anyways, my apartment is really boring aesthetically, so I had this idea that I would try

to wallpaper my walls with origami. This is as far as I got. It looks like I put a quilt on the wall, basically. Not that quilts are bad or anything; but I feel like every attempt I make at trying to decorates ends with my room looking a little more child-like. I saw the apartment of one of the guys that I trained with, and his was all sophisticated and stylish, and it made me really jealous because I want to be cool, dangit! But instead I have clear dressers that you can see my underwear through, and a penguin bank (the guy I replaced passed that on to me, and I would get rid of it, but if you read my last post about trash separation in Japan [which no one did], you would understand how that is nearly impossible).

Also, one of my blankets is really just a big towel. But apparently those are big in Japan (big as in popular, not big as in towels in general--those are actually not very big normally).

"What you don't surrender, the world strips away." --Tegan tattoo (and Bruce Springsteen lyrics, apparently)

Flying jerky patterns like snowflakes in the air

I have become the serial killer of the fruit fly world.

I never wanted this to happen. But they just keep coming back; multiplying every few minutes or so. I don't how it’s possible; when I took a shower this evening, I killed about 7—when I came back to get ready for bed, there were about 10 more new ones. They tend to congregate in my bathroom; why, I don’t know—there are no open containers; there is nothing but make-up soaked Q-tips in the trash can. I don’t even feel safe buying fruit anymore—I started drinking juice drinks instead of buying anything that grows from the ground—I mean, I’ve already been reduced to a diet of carbs (mainly noodles and white bread, with the occasion bits of rice when I get sushi). But then…oh, dear—the bananas were on sale for 99 yen—99 yen!—I was having guests spend then night, and fruit is just so expensive that I couldn’t possibly pass it up.

And now I am paying the price. This morning, I was twice awoken by the sound of

buzzing near my ear—I am unfortunately so light a sleeper that fruit fly buzzing wakes me up—but considering the infestation that is going on right now, it’s a miracle I could sleep at all.

It’s not helped by the fact that Japan runs its citizens through a labyrinth of details when it comes to trash collection. I have included a sample collection schedule to give you an idea of what I have to do—but let me say that I would much prefer this simple, complimentary English schedule to my (more brightly colored, as well as more elaborate) schedule. It also doesn’t help that I rarely no what idea day it is if it’s not Friday (the night I have to go to bed early because Saturday is early up day), Saturday (day before weekend!), Sunday (weekend start ☺!), or Monday (weekend end ☹ ). The problem is that this slightly shifted schedule has not been something I have easily become accustomed to, and so my trash collection grows, and my 9x12 feet apartment suffers.

On the plus side, I have seen some of the other very intense bug life that exists in Japan—and considering the number of stag (or other) beetles, spiders, and moths of all sorts I encounter on my way home, I should be grateful that my nemesis (nemesises?) are no larger than 2 mm.

"I recall you said you missed me.

...then again, it doesn't matter."--Shout Out Louds

From July 5th

I feel like the luckiest girl ever!

But let me explain.

On Monday morning, I met my manager, K, at the station (I was the only one who got picked up at the same station we left from). K (who is pretty much the cutest thing ever) took me first to the school, which was definitely much smaller than I imagined (but I have my own classroom!--and I don't even care if it's smaller than my closet at home), but I think that makes it feel a little less intimidating. We then took a taxi to my new (very own!) apartment, which is full of charm (if not much else)--and even if it's the smallest thing ever, I still adore it. K got me curtains with the school's budget, and apologized profusely for not being cute, for being cheap, that I could buy new ones as soon as possible, etc.--I've heard of this modesty happening with Japanese gift giving, but I never had experienced it before. I assured her that they were lovely and would definitely keep them.

Later in the day, K came back to take me shopping (technically it's my off day), and we stopped by the Daiso first to pick up some basic kitchen necessities. From there, we went to the department store next door, where I got to pick out a brand new bicycle! It's awesome; it looks a bit like a beach cruiser and has 3 speeds and a basket. We then went to the grocery store in the store's basement, and I got some food to survive on for a few days (or in my case, a few hours--jk, but only kind of). We also picked up a pan and a tea kettle. And did I mention that these were all gifts from my company?

I was going to ride my new bike home, but it was raining so hard that I decided I would have to pick up the bike another day. Despite the raging thunderstorm, I was able to find my way home by foot. But somehow, despite having an umbrella, I arrived completely soaked.

Later in the night, I got a knock on my door, and it was the delivery man dropping off my futon, which K informed me would be happening. I didn't realize it was actually a set, however, which including a down comforter, pillow, and sheet. I feel so well taken care of!

Now that I've experienced all these little perks, I'm excited to see the actual aspects of my job in person. This next week, I will be mostly only observing lessons; right now I'm only scheduled to teach one lesson--the last one on Saturday evening. However, my head teacher told me that that could change if it turns out that one of the other classes only has a few students sometime in the week. I really hope I do well; I want my students as well as myself to eagerly await each lesson.

Herro Young Rovers

Part 3

Another character that blossomed into full crazy by the last day of Training was T; an odd fellow with Native American heritage and a Japanese fiancee. T didn't seem very odd at first, but I began to catch on to his strangeness when he started asking such questions as "Have you ever tried fancy cat food?".

On Friday, he seemed to be at peak form. One of the trainers went over the some last aspects of the company, and it came up that another trainer was a poster boy for the company. T asked suddenly if we would be made aware of our image being used for advertising, and if we could opt out if we wanted. The trainer said of course, and that they wouldn't do anything without our permission. T continued on that his image had been misappropriated during a teaching stint in another foreign country, where he had come across a cardboard cutout of himself. He began ranting that he didn't want to be exploited again, and the trainer assured him multiple times it wouldn't; T then demanded that he should be paid if they did. We had a break shortly after, and T continued to rant about his photo exploitation. I asked if he had at least taken a picture next to his cut-out, which he didn't find as amusing as I did.

The next trainer to come in was the previously mentioned poster boy, who was set to talk for about 15 minutes about another subject--what that subject was, I'm not sure, because about two minutes in, T ripped a fart during the talk. The trainer went on for a few more words, then looked at T and said, "Was that you?" I unfortunately looked at T then, who's face was still as stone as he said, "It just slipped out"--I started shaking from trying to hold back the laughter. When the trainer went on, I nearly lost it--he said, "Geez, man; at least say 'Excuse me'. This has got to be a first." Then he looked around and said, "You guys can laugh; I can see you're trying to hold back." Another explosion slipped out at this point, but fortunately it was from the other end as we let go of the suppressed giggles. I, unfortunately, have the maturity of a 13-year-old boy, and continued to hold back giggles as my face turned red and tears pooled in my eyes for the rest of the talk. At one point the trainer looked at me and said, "Jillian's having a hard time," which nearly set me off again--I couldn't look at him the rest of the night. We had another break, and I was able to pull it together a little better, though the next trainer to come in did ask if I was okay.

You would think this would be the end, considering it was the last day of training--but no; the insanity continued. After a weekend of fun and frolic, we gathered once more- and for the last time- at the seminar house, awaiting our 5-minute morning meeting before setting off for our schools. The trainers came in and prepped us, and asked a few of us to serve as representatives for our rooms as they were checked. As those who volunteered to go got up to follow the trainers, T once more let 'er rip--and this was a much more powerful one than the previous business. I was glad I was up and moving, because it better disguised my laughter, but as I came to the door, the trainer turned around and told T that he had better refrain from doing that at the staff meetings at the school. As we walked up the stairs, he said, "What the hell is wrong with that guy? He's so rude." I muttered "Too much to count", but it definitely got a little lost through the laughter.

And lastly, after the house was all squared away and we were waiting outside, T let one more loose (if only for the sheer purpose of reminiscing). And thus ended our time at the Omiya house.

BABY GOT INTAWEBS!

So now that I am finally hooked up to the nets, I can present you with wonderful wonderful bits of life from the last month or so of my time in Japan. I'll be doing a chronological reverse, so you get the earliest first. Read it in order, peeps!


Training Blog

On Friday, we finally wrapped up nearly two weeks of training, and the night ended with a bang (this is very funny, but you won't realize why until later in the story).

I'll admit that many people in the house were getting a bit restless with living with 7 other people (originally 9 total) for so many days straight; it was clear the proximity was starting to weigh on everyone's minds. The first to go was a teacher, D, who had actually worked with the company before, and actually had been a trainer 3 years ago before moving back to Canada. However, he came back with his Japanese wife for another go at teaching--and while it was clear that he had a lot of patience, all of us had been surprised to find out about his former position with the company, since he didn't seem to have a strong command of what was going on. Earlier this week, he was working with another trainee on a lesson plan they had to present the next day, when he began acting funny. We have to use drill cards with phrases on them in the lesson, and one of the ones he had was "skip lunch"--so when his partner was practicing with the cards, apparently D became confused and began asking whether they really had to skip lunch that day. His partner said he then began to act really odd--for example, he asked him why he had left Japan, and D's reply was something like, "I have to protect her; I have to protect her. But Canada has many good qualities. We have a really good relationship with Russia." When they went to the supermarket to get lunch, his partner mentioned getting sushi, and D then asked if they were allowed to get it. After they bought it, he told his partner he was allergic to it (I don't think this is true though...I think it just came out). Finally, back at the training house, he ate one piece of sushi and decided to go lie down (but only after asking his partner for permission first). After that, we found out he wasn't feeling well, and was taken to a hospital. Apparently, they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, so they sent him home to his wife and told us he wouldn't be coming back to training, but that at least he was feeling better.

Part 2
If anyone has ever seen Superbad, let me preface by saying two of the boys on the trip experienced a true bromance very similar to the main characters of the movie when they met at training. B & U were rarely seen separated in the house, and could often be found mouthing jokes or throwing gestures at each other's direction if they were paired with other people during training. B was cute, though a bit dorky looking, but definitely tried to over compensate with his trendy apparel; U made dumb jokes but was generally a pretty nice guy. It often seemed that U was really nice to me, and B gave off the impression that he wasn't very happy about it, especially when I began to tease them about their bromosexuality. I clearly exaggerated it so that they would know I was joking--U did and would laugh, but B was a very grumpy guy and didn't take it well (and actually has the face of a grumpy old man).

On the last night of training, U decided to show of his reversible belt to B; unbuckling it and showing the versatility of it all while B admired it in wonder. I stared at them with a pretend look of disgust, and as they sat down, B looked at U (who was distracted by something else), then looked at me, and quickly looked away as he flipped me off. I nearly died laughing at his attempt at retaliation. But the real death by laughter was yet to come...

Boobs
(the first of the promised topics)

P.S. It didn't end all badly with B. We had a bonding moment in the train station at departure on Monday when we were approached by a short, stooped old man in a suit with slicked back hair that was white at the rots and black and the tips. The man kept pointing at us in our business suits, then giving us an "OK" sign. Then he started miming female curves before pointing at me and giving me the OK sign. We both were choking back laughter, and I told him in Japanese that I already had a boyfriend (I figured that if my lie would get him to stop the gestures, then it was worth it). He then pointed at both of us and gave the OK sign. Next, he pulled out some snacks, which we both rejected; but after his insistence, we each took one. He kept trying to give us more, but when we refused, he stuck the entire bag in B's bag. After that he said good-bye and we waved him off.